Saint arrives in the kitchen, yawning and scratching the back of his head. His hair is damp from the shower, and little droplets of water cling to the scruff on his cheeks. I pour him a coffee, walking toward him with a smile. I stretch up and peck his lips. “Morning, Saintly.”
“Are you ever going to quit with that Saintly shit?”
“You gonna stop calling me princess?”
A hint of a smile ghosts over his lips as he rolls his eyes.
“Do we need to stop by the house, or are we heading straight to school?” Galen asks in a clipped tone, and we all turn around. His butt is perched on the edge of the table, and his arms are softly folded across his chest. His face is a mask, hiding all emotion, but from the rigid way he’s holding himself, I can tell he’s unhappy.
“Princess, you need anything from the house?” Saint asks, maintaining eye contact with his cousin.
“Nah. I’ll manage although I should probably start keeping a bag here.”
“That’s a good idea,” Theo says, handing me a bowl of chopped fruit. It’s got a plastic lid on it, and he’s included a fork and paper towel. “For later, when you get hungry.”
My features soften. “You remember I don’t like breakfast first thing.”
He kisses me tenderly, his adoring gaze pinning me in place. “I remember everything.”
Caz snorts. “You are so fucking pussy-whipped. I can’t decide if I want to puke, laugh, or swoon.”
Theo flips him the bird, and Saint smirks.
“I’m gonna take my truck,” Galen says, striding toward the door.
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to get it thoroughly cleaned, in case there’s any trace evidence from last night,” he says, cutting across whatever Saint was about to say. “I’ll see you at school,” he adds without looking at any of us.
The door slams violently behind him, and I flinch.
“Fuck.” Saint runs a hand over his hair, his eyes finding mine.
And I know what he’s not saying.
We’re at risk of losing Galen.
He probably feels like more of an outsider now than ever.
“I’ll fix it,” I promise, feeling more charitable today. And I’m more hopeful too. I didn’t think I could repair things with Theo, but we’re on the right road, and I can’t deny how much happier it’s made me.
It’s time to repair things with Galen too. If I need to be the bigger person, I’ll do it, because this needs to happen.
Saint nods, gulping down coffee, and I see the worry building behind his eyes.
“What happened last night?” I ask. “Did you plant the remains?”
“Yeppers,” Caz says over a mouthful of toast. “And one of our guys called in an anonymous tip.”
“Cops should be crawling up Ruben’s butt right about now,” Saint says, grinning widely, showcasing a set of perfectly straight, white teeth.
“Good. Maybe, he’ll forget about murdering me for five minutes.”
“We’ll move to stage two of our plan now,” Saint says, drawing me to his side and slinging his arm around my neck. He kisses my temple. “Don’t worry about The Bulls. We’ve got it in hand. Where they’re going, they won’t be able to touch you.”
I’ll believe it when I see it.
CHAPTER 22
