I tried not to let jealousy rear its head, but the thought of this skinny bitch wrapped around Beck made me feel sick. “You don’t mean shit to him,” I countered, knowing this for a fact. “But since you seem so sure about it, we should ask Beck to choose. Let’s go out right now and do that.”
I waved a hand at the door, and for a moment, fear flashed in her eyes before her natural confidence reasserted itself.
“Would probably be the fastest way to get rid of the trash,” her friend chimed in, boosting Brittley’s confidence further.
She nodded. “You’re right, Jade. Beck and I were together last week, I’m sure he wants more of what I brought his way.”
My hands clawed, ready to rip her head off, but I refrained for the moment.Last fucking week.I was going to kill him. My fury was bubbling over as I slammed the bathroom door open, startling a few students lingering in the hall. Beck was leaning back on the lockers across from the door, seeming relaxed, but he had been waiting for me, because he straightened immediately. I stormed across to him, and before he could say a word, I slammed both of my hands into his chest and shoved him as hard as I could.
I’d been hoping he would hit the locker, but he didn’t move at all.
“What’s up, Riles,” he asked, looking amused.
I jerked my head toward Barbie one and two behind me. “Britters here seems to think you two were fucking last week. You know. When you were…”
“In a plane crash with you,” he cut in, that amusement going nowhere.
Brittley shifted uncomfortably, and it almost looked like she was about to take off, so I reached out and snagged her arm dragging her closer. “When was the last time you fucked her?” I asked Beck.
He shook his head. “Never. I don’t touch chicks like this.”
“I—” I opened and closed my mouth, words dying on my tongue.
Brittley let out an aggrieved sound, fighting against my hold now. When she jerked herself free, I just stared at her. “What sort of overconfident cumbucket pretends she’s important to someone, when he’s never even touched her?”
She sniffled, crossing her arms in a protective manner. “He’s touched me plenty, and it was only a matter of time before he realized how good we would be together. That we’re meant to be together.”
Jesus. She was delusional.
Beck had dismissed Brittley completely at this point, his gaze scorching me with its intensity. “You hit me, Riley Jameson,” he growled slowly. “You didn’t trust me, believing the word of a fucking lying skank. Right now, I’m about ready to take a hand to your ass.”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my expression neutral, even though my insides were doing a happy sexy dance at the thought of Beck losing control with me. “Promises, promises,” I purred. It got me hot pushing him, because angry Beck might be scary, but he was also sexy as hell.
“What is wrong with you?” Brittley screamed then, her hands fisting in her hair. “She’s trailer trash. Poor and pathetic. She’s not good enough for you.”
Beck’s attention went to her for the first time since she’d stepped into the hall, and I almost felt sorry for her, because the look on his face was not one I would want directed at me.
“Riley is worth a hundred of you,” he said soft and menacing. “If you value your life, and the life of your family, you’ll stay the fuck away from her. Don’t talk to her. Don’t look at her. Don’t breathe in her direction.”
Brittley looked like she was going to pee herself right there in the hall, and it took Jade three attempts to finally get her friend moving away from us. I still felt somewhat sorry for her, because I’d been reasonably sure of how this situation would go down.
“Come on, heartbreaker,” I said with a smile. “We’re late for class.”
This was becoming the story of my life.
22
That night, Beck didn’t even give me a choice. He just drove me straight to his house after school, and I didn’t complain. As badly as I hated to admit it, I was falling for him. He made me feel safe, and in a world where people were literally trying to kill me, that was a big deal.
Once again, I slept in his arms and didn’t have a single nightmare. He kept my darkness at bay. Thursday was much of the same, and I kept waiting for something to burst this perfect little bubble my world was currently in.
Friday at school I spent the day giddy with excitement and anxious Beck would catch me out on my lie of omission. Eddy had already declared that I’d be getting ready at her house, and we would meet the boys at the race. I didn’t believe for a second that Beck would actually just leave me alone with Eddy, but at least it was Evan on Riley Duty again, and we were pretty sure he’d be curious enough to let it all play out.
“Fuck me, you look dangerously sexy,” Eddy muttered as she admired her handiwork a full half hour before the race was due to begin. Once again, she’d chosen my outfit, and done my hair and makeup for me. She was right, though. I looked all kinds of dangerous in charcoal jeans, black crop top and leather over-the-knee boots with killer heels. “You’re going to kick their asses,” she breathed, grinning from ear to ear. “Are you okay driving in those heels though? I thought you needed like… flats or some shit?”
“Yeah, if you’re an amateur,” I snickered. Not that I had a huge amount of experience driving in heels but I had total faith in my abilities, heels or not. Laughing nervously, I tossed my dark curls over my shoulder. Eddy had put some sort of magical serum in it that made it look like I’d just stepped out of a shampoo commercial. “Let’s just hope I don’t choke and end up totaling Jasper’s baby.”
Eddy cringed. “Don’t joke, babe. Jasper would murder you ... and that’s only if there was anything left after Beck was done. Come on, we have a race to get to.” She grabbed her phone and started tapping out a message while we headed through to the garage where Jasper’s canary yellow Lamborghini waited for us. “Just telling Evan to keep his trap shut,” she told me, waving her phone in the air. “He’ll see Jasper’s car and assume it’s me driving, but the last thing we need is for him to mention it to Beck. A suspicious Beck is a scary Beck.”
