He and Shane arrived an hour ago. That could be another reason the tension is high in this house. “He won’t tell you anything.”
“Oh, he’ll talk.” Deke snorts.
“You don’t know him,” I argue.
“I don’t need to know him. There’s something he loves, and if he doesn’t tell us what we want, we take it from him.”
Austin finally speaks. “You’re gonna kill the professor? That’s not smart. You’re all gonna end up in jail.”
Cole smiles at her. “I’m glad to see you still care about me, sweetheart, but no. No one is gonna die tonight.”
“That we know of. But plans change,” Deke says cryptically.
I sigh. “Then what are you gonna take?”
“His legs. His arms.” Cole shrugs carelessly. “Hands. Whatever body part the man needs to play football.”
“You’re gonna break his bones?” I ask.
Deke chuckles behind me. “No, princess. Bones can heal.”
I swallow at the amusement in his voice, but I feel butterflies in my stomach. This is the part of Deke I wanted to see. The ruthless evil that swims inside him.
Cole leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “I’ve got a question, though. There was a woman. She was at UT. Before we knew he was gay, we saw him talking to her outside the classroom. And we thought he was cheating on you with her. Do you know who she is?”
I frown. Seth has a lot of girls who are friends. He gets along with everyone. “What did she look like?”
“Pretty,” he says with a smirk and I know he said that just to piss Austin off. “She had brown hair and brown eyes—”
“That’s his twin sister.” I interrupt Cole, knowing who they are talking about. “She is dating Peter. The guy who you guys beat up the other day after swim practice.”
A slow smile spreads across Shane’s face and it has me sitting back more into Deke. I don’t know much about him. Less than the others. He was closest with Kellan. Who knows what Shane is thinking now?
“Are you going to hurt her?” Austin asks.
Cole sits back and runs his hand over his chin. “We’ll do whatever needs to be done.”
“Our concern is Seth,” Bennett says, looking at Austin. Clearly trying to smooth over what Cole just said. “He’s our main priority. I doubt she knows much.”
Austin gets up and walks out of the room. Cole watches her from his seat but makes no move to go after her. Seconds later, you hear their bedroom door slam shut.
Shane laughs. “Don’t you worry she’ll kill you in your sleep?”
Cole just smiles. He’d probably get off on that.
CHAPTER THIRTY
DEKE
IMAKE MYway through the crowd of kids who clutter the living room. “Boneshaker” by Redlight King blasts through the large speakers that are placed in the corners.
I take a drink from my Solo cup as a blonde pushes her way past me. She steps up onto the coffee table and removes her shirt, showing everyone her pink bra with white polka dots on it. She tosses the shirt to another girl who stands beside me. Guys and girls holler over the song. I keep walking, not seeing who I’m looking for. I exit the living room and head down a long hallway. I catch sight of Cole standing in the kitchen talking to a girl who sits next to us in one of our classes at UT. His eyes meet mine briefly, but he doesn’t acknowledge me in any way. I pass the kitchen and keep going until I’m in the back of the house.
The lights are dimmed back here, and the song changes to “Legend” by The Score. I take another drink and spot who I’m looking for.
She stands back in the corner, leaning up against the wall. She has a cup in her hand and a smile on her face while talking to another girl. And I recognize her. She doesn’t look the same, but I would never forget her face.
What are the odds?
