When we arrived at the end of the street where Mary Beth's foster home sat, Rick pulled up and let me off. He couldn't drop me to the door because the old witch would hear the bike and come out screaming bloody murder. Then she'd put me on lockdown for weeks on end and make it really fucking difficult for me to enjoy my damn life.
"I'll walk you to the door if you wanna flash me again?" Rick teased and I cursed at him, reaching out to ruffle his fancy hair again while he was holding the bike up and couldn't stop me.
"You'll pay for that tomorrow, asshole," he warned, giving me a dangerous smile that made my stomach knot.
"I'll just tell Fox you flashed your cock at me and he'll beat your head in for me," I replied and he laughed.
"Nah. I can take out Foxy boy."
"I don't think so," I teased, knowing how much it would piss him off. Fox was pretty much the leader of our group but Rick always butted against that idea. "Not when Chase and JJ join in to help him."
Rick rolled his eyes and shook his head at me. "Let them try. Catch you later, beautiful."
I watched him ride off with a smirk playing around my lips, waiting for the sound of his motorcycle to fade into the distance as reality came sinking back in and I knew I was going to have to go back to my stupid shared flowery room and be woken up by Rosie snoring all night long. Christ, I couldn't wait until we were all eighteen and we could go rent some place of our own. Chase could escape his toxic family and JJ wouldn't have to listen to his mom screwing random guys all night long. I didn't know if Fox and Rick would come too but even if they stayed with Luther, they would practically live at ours. We were all too tight to stay apart.
I dragged my feet as I headed up the sidewalk towards the building inaccurately known as home, cutting a glance at Axel's house and releasing a sigh as I saw the lights were off on the porch. I didn't need another awkward invite for beers to fend off from the weirdo, thank you very much.
My cell phone was in my hand thanks to my lack of pockets and I seriously wanted to text JJ and ask to crash at his tonight. But my skateboard was in my room and his house was on the other side of town so the trip over would be a bitch and it was already past midnight. I should have thought to ask Rick to drop me there but fuck it, Rosie's snores would have to do.
I headed on towards the group home, spotting movement by the trees to the side of it and pausing for a moment as I wondered whether or not Clive might still be waiting around for me to come back. I was starting to think I might have to give him a clearer message like a black eye or a dick kick to make him fuck off in a more permanent way. The dude needed to stop trying so damn hard and find his own friends. The Harlequin boys were mine and I had no interest in sharing.
I opened my mouth to call out to him, but before a sound could leave my lips, a sweaty hand landed over my mouth and I was hauled off of my feet as I was dragged back against a large body.
I screamed against the hand, kicking and thrashing as fear spilled through my veins like lava and my cell phone fell from my hand to clatter down on the sidewalk as I tried to claw at whoever the fuck was holding me captive.
"I knew you were almost ripe, sweet thing," Axel purred in my ear, his hot breath washing against my neck as he dragged me backwards, around his house and into his yard.
I screamed louder but the sound was muffled by his fleshy hand and he chuckled darkly. Like my attempt amused him or was getting him off and that was even more terrifying. This guy was a fully fledged member of the Harlequin Crew. They were killers, every last one of them and I knew he had a reputation for being one of the most formidable members of their gang. And I was just some girl with combat boots and someone else's shirt on.
"Come on now, I let your boy give you your first ride. I was sweet about not taking your innocence away," Axel said as I continued to thrash and fight, but he was so much stronger than me and with my arms clamped to my sides and my feet held off of the ground there was no way for me to strike at him with any real force.
I bit down on his hand just as he dragged me through the back door to his house and my scream burst loose as he yanked his hand away with a curse.
"Stop that," he snapped, whirling me around and throwing me down face first over his kitchen side. "God gave you a pussy for a reason. Now you've learned what it's for, it's time to spread the love."
I kicked out behind me blindly, catching his knee with my heavy boot and managing to haul myself up and away from him as he reared back.
"I haven't," I gasped, scrambling away from him. "I'm a virgin. My clothes just got dirty - I'm just a kid. I-"
"Well, you've had plenty of time to figure it out. I've been more than patient," Axel said, licking his lips as he advanced on me again, gripping the bulge in his pants and making me want to puke.
I turned and ran for it, aiming for the front of the house as I screamed again, hoping someone at the home might hear me and come to help. But this house stood alone at the end of the street, we weren't that close to it and people knew not to help anyone out in Sunset Cove. If someone started screaming here you pretended you couldn't hear them just like no one ever admitted to hearing gunshots. But I had to try.
Axel chased after me, gripping my ponytail and yanking me back so hard that I fell crashing to the ground, my shirt riding up over my hips and making him groan as he looked at my fucking Power Ranger panties.
I cursed the fact that I'd forgotten my knife in my shorts back at the summer house as I scrambled back on my elbows, hunting for anything that I could use for a weapon as he advanced on me again.
My hand closed around an empty beer bottle on the floor as he reached down and caught my ankle and I swung it at his head. The damn thing didn't even break, it just bounced off of his thick skull with a dull thunk and he snatched it from me before launching it across the room.
I kicked him again but he barely even grunted, picking me up and carrying me over to the coffee table before the fire where he threw me down on my back and pain exploded up my spine.
I was so fixed on trying to reach for something to use to fight him off that I hardly even noticed him forcing his hips between my thighs as he reared over me. But as his hand grabbed at my panties and ripped them aside, I screamed unlike I ever had in my entire life.
He moved over me, unfastening his fly and I launched myself at him, my forehead colliding with his nose as I swung my head forward and spilled his blood over both of us.
Axel reared back with a cry of pain and I lunged towards the fire, grabbing hold of the poker and swinging it towards him as hard as I fucking could with a roar of rage and terror.
There was a sickening crack as it connected with his temple and his eyes went wide as his jaw fell slack, the metal embedded in his skull.
Axel fell forwards and I screamed again as his weight slammed down on top of me, but he wasn't moving anymore.
I cursed and kicked and shoved him off of me, scrambling to my feet and ripping the poker back out of his skull before swinging it down again and again making more blood fly before finally releasing it and staggering back against the bloodstained wall, shaking and crying.
The heavy silence that fell told me he was dead, but I didn't know what that meant. I didn't know what I was supposed to do about it. I couldn’t call the cops. No one in Sunset Cove ever called the cops if they knew what was good for them. Besides, Axel was a Harlequin. I couldn’t let anyone find out I’d just killed one of the members of the most bloodthirsty gangs in the entire state, I might as well sign my own execution notice.