“Then explain how it came to be in your possession.”
“I—” Cleo’s eyes land on my smirking face. Her mouth twists into an ugly scowl. “She must’ve planted it to frame me.”
Principal Foster tsked. “Ms. St. James, I’m disappointed. The whole reason we were called down here today was to addressyourconcerns about drug use on the team. Since Ms. Malloy had no knowledge of our random test, she cannot be responsible for slipping drugs into your possession. This is not the behavior of a senior role model. You’d better come with me.”
“But, it’s not mine,” Cleo yells. “It’s Mackenzie’s. It was in her bag and—”
As Cleo is marched off the field, I wave cheerfully. The remaining cheerleaders glare at me. They were all in on it. Bitches. Well, they learned something tonight – don’t try to plant drugs on Mackenzie Malloy. I caught onto what they were doing as soon as Daphne brushed up against me, and I slipped the baggie into Cleo’s pouch before I joined them on the field.
Gabriel’s waiting for me after practice. One look at my face and he shakes his head sadly.
“We’re not having hot tub shenanigans tonight, are we?”
I lean into his shoulder as I whip out my phone and text Eli and Noah. “Cleo just tried to plant drugs on me.”
Gabriel lets out a string of beautifully poetic British profanity. My phone beeps. It’s Eli. He says he’ll swing around to school and pick us up. (Gabriel usually leaves his car behind because his place is walking distance from school.)
“We need to get together to strategize,” I say. “We want to teach Alec and Cleo that they can’t do whatever they want to people without consequences. The thing about that is that people like themcan. They’ll always have Daddy’s money to bail them out. Cleo’s parents are probably in Principal Foster’s office right now, writing a check for a new tennis court to make this go away.”
“I believe it.” Gabriel lifts an eyebrow. “I take it you have a plan?”
“I thought hurting Alec’s face would wound him, but he’s got enough money to just keep repairing it. I have a feeling the desert isn’t the first time he’s tried to take without permission, and I don’t want a woman to ever feel afraid of him again. We need to take away the one thing he values over everything – his fame – so people aren’t afraid of him anymore. That’s how we destroy and take away his power.” I rub my hands together. “This is going to befun.”
37
Mackenzie
“You’re ready for this?” Gabriel nudges me, his grey eyes sparkling with mischief.
It’s Thursday night, and the three of us are in the parking lot of the Emerald Beach country club, facing rows of fancy-ass sports cars and giant, gleaming SUVs. Since Gabe paid off the security guard to abandon his post for an hour, the lot is empty apart from us and a few goths smoking weed in the bushes. Everyone else is inside watching the regional tennis match. As I stand here, Alec LeMarque is running and sweating in tiny white shorts, with not a clue what will await him when he returns to his car.
I stare down at Alec’s car – a rare candy-apple red 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 in mint condition. He clearly loves the car, because even though I saw it only days ago covered in sand out in the desert and Iknowmy nails scratched paint off the hood, it gleams like new.
I suck in a breath. “It’s criminal what we’re about to do to such a beautiful vehicle.”
“It’s criminal what Alec tried to do to you,” Noah growls.
“Yes, but it’s notherfault.” I rest my hand on the hood. Big mistake. My mind flashes back to the desert, to Alec holding me against the burning metal, leering down at me, his fingers tugging my panties—
I jerk my hand back.
“You chickening out, Mac?” Gabriel reaches for me, but I jerk away.
“Not on your life.” I stride forward, screwdriver in hand. I tug off my sweater and wrap it around my fist, then punch out the back window. Glass shatters on the seat. I reach inside and unlock the driver’s side door.
Gabriel climbs into the passenger seat, watching as I unscrew the casing on the steering column and tug out the ignition wires. “How do you know how to steal a car?”
“Remember our agreement – you don’t ask. I don’t tell.” I strip the insulation from the battery wires and twist them together.
“But that’s about your disappearance, not about car-jacking—”
“Gabriel, shut your beautiful mouth so I can concentrate.”
In a few minutes I have the engine purring. Noah comes around to the driver’s side and motions for me to get out. I shake my head. “I’m driving.”
He looks like he wants to argue, but he obeys. Eli uses my sweater to sweep the glass off the seat, then he and Noah slide in, their legs tangling together in the tiny space. I gun the engine and speed out of the parking lot. We have a specific destination in mind, but I turn onto the highway, picking up speed as I dart between cars.
I’m driving a Shelby Mustang.
