Will exhales, giving my brain a second to compute the piece of information it’s been fed. Too bad I’d need a whole damn month to even begin wrapping my head around it.
“She got taken. I know… it’s fucked-up.” He seems just as overwhelmed as I am. “It happened at the fight. But she’s fine now. She’s safe.”
My shoulders shed the heaviest of weights.
“Thank God.” I smack my palm to my racing heart. “What happened? Who would do that?”
“Haze’s brother, Tanner. That fucking psycho.” He clenches a white-knuckled fist around the steering wheel.
“But… why?”
“Something about Haze going soft because of her. He said he wanted his brother back. Whatever the fuck that means.”
While a part of me feels trapped in a real-life nightmare, the other has no trouble believing what he’s telling me. Haze did get soft. He fell for Winter. I knew it from the second he laid eyes on her when he crashed Kendrick’s dinner last week.
“How long was she gone?” They disappeared for four days. Was Winter locked away this whole time?
“You don’t need to know that.”
“How long?” I insist.
He caves. “Two days.”
Tears scrape at the backs of my eyes before coating my cheeks. Poor Winter. She must’ve been terrified. Here I was, blowing up her phone like an idiot, asking her where she was, while she was held somewhere, suffering and alone. No wonder she never replied.
“How is she? Is she hurt? Is she—”
“She’s fine.” Will’s warm hand envelops mine. I relax at his touch. “She cut her leg open when we were escaping, but she’s okay. And trust me, she’s lucky. Haze’s brother wanted her dead. It’s a wonder a fracture is all she got away with. She can’t walk right now, but she should be good to go in six weeks or so.”
I release a huge sigh of relief.
She’ll be fine. She’s alive. Breathe, Kass.
“And where is she now? Why isn’t she home? Does my mom know about this? She’s been acting so weird.”
“Slow down.” He gives my fingers a squeeze. “Yes, your mom knows about this. She’s the reason Winter didn’t bleed to death after she cut her leg. She called a friend of hers. He’s a doctor. Then she sent Winter to stay at a friend’s penthouse out of town.”
So, my mother does know about my brother’s secret. That explains why she asked me to stay at Morgan’s a while longer. She was buying herself more time, trying to come up with a believable explanation as to why Winter disappeared overnight. She wanted to keep me out of it. To keep me out of trouble.
Little does she know I’m dating trouble.
“Winter’s never coming home, is she?” I figure. “Not until she goes back to Canada?”
“No, she isn’t,” he confirms.
To think I had no idea the day I comforted her in the kitchen was the last time I’d see her in a very long time.
“It’s not safe here anymore, and we can’t protect her,” he adds. “Especially now that we’re a member short because of…” He stops, his eyes growing as though he’s just remembered something. “Oh.”
My sadness gives way to fear.
“What? What is it?”
“It’s… Blake.”
“What’s wrong? What about Blake?”
“He’s a traitor.”
Of course he is.
“He helped Haze’s brother set the whole thing up. He’s been working on both sides for months. Something about knowing things would go to shit when Winter got involved and looking out for himself.” Will heaves a bitter scoff, disgust prominent on his face.
I know I should be shocked, hurt that my ex-boyfriend was not only a backstabbing piece of shit toward me, but he also betrayed his best friends. But somehow, I’m not even remotely surprised to hear the bastard who cheated on me with my own best friend had his own agenda.
“He took a bullet in the leg when we rescued your cousin. Kendrick also beat the shit out of him. Safe to say he won’t show his face anytime soon.”
“So, to recap, Winter will be living in another town from now on.” I recall the story out loud in the hopes that it will feel real. “She’s not there alone, is she?”
“No, Kendrick is staying with her. They’ll both be graduating online. It took a shit ton of arguing with the school, and Maria feeding them a bunch of BS, but it was nothing doctor’s notes from her friend couldn’t fix.”
I can’t believe Winter won’t be at prom. That she’ll flee Florida and move right back to Canada as soon as the school year is over and her parents return from their work trip.
“I-I could’ve stopped this. I could’ve done more. Warned her more often. I—”
“Don’t.” Will’s blue eyes flicker to mine. “Don’t do this to yourself. It’s not your fault. It’s Blake’s, and Tanner’s. End of story.” The authority in his tone puts out my guilt before it soars out of control.
“And Haze? What’s up with him?”
“Kendrick said he’s out of Winter’s life.”
Like hell he is.
“Although if I’m being honest, I don’t buy it for a second.” He speaks what’s on my mind.
“Why not?”
“Well, for starters, you’re never going to believe what Haze told Winter when she was passing out after she cut her leg.”
“What?”
He laughs quietly. “He told her he loved her.”
No way.
“I know. Haze fucking Adams said he loved someone other than himself. Can you believe it?”
The answer comes to me.
Actually, I think I can believe it.
“And that’s not even the end of it. He betrayed his fighters and worked with us to find her after the fight. Kendrick would rather cut his dick off than admit it, but Haze is not the monster he makes him out to be.”
“So, you disagree with my brother, then? You think Haze is good for her?”
Will snorts. “Fuck no. But I think Kendrick has no business telling people who they can and can’t love.”
A thick silence descends over us.
He’s not talking about Haze and Winter anymore, is he?
“Anyway. That’s why I didn’t text you. I’m sorry, we spent every waking moment looking for Winter, I couldn’t—”
“Will, stop. Don’t apologize. You were trying to save my cousin’s life. I couldn’t be mad at you if I tried. I was just afraid that you… ” I shut myself up.
“That I was what?” he presses, searching my eyes. “Running after we slept together?”
Running after I told you I loved you.
Twice.
And you didn’t say it back.
Ugh, I want to punch myself.
I know he doesn’t owe me the L word. After all, it is still early in our relationship, but I can’t help the disappointment creeping into my heart whenever I think about his deflection.
Does he not… feel the same?
I nod halfheartedly, diverting my eyes to my feet. Silent, Will trace circles in the core of my palm with his thumb.