“You tasted that on her lips?” A short, sharp burst of laughter escapes him.
“Whatever she was caught up in, it was bad, that’s all I know.” I check the time on my phone, seeing it’s nearly twelve o’clock. “She’s a pretty distraction, and you know it. If she wasn’t, you would be down the office already, it’s close to midday.”
He checks his watch then runs a hand through his hair, his obvious insomnia clearly catching up with him. Maybe with her around, he can start sleeping again. “Keep an eye on her, make sure she takes her meds and eats. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Then he’s gone, leaving me in charge of our hostage.
I move over to the security monitor, bringing up her room. She’s slumped on the carpeted floor by the bedroom door, her head in her hands, defeated, her pretty silver hair all splayed out over her shoulders like a cape. She’s so little all balled up, so delicate when I can’t hear her smart mouth snapping back at me. Is she going to be too broken for us? The boy in me, the kid who was hung up on her, wants to go right back in there, scoop her into his arms, and never let her go. Promise to take care of her for the rest of her life and never let her be hurt like this again. But this life has taught me that would all be bullshit.
She hates us, rightfully so, because we hold all the power, and she has just stepped back into a world she doesn’t understand. The night she left, shit got real and power shifted. Keller Throne crawled his way out of the gutters and clawed his way to the top through a calculated cocktail of intimidation and subtle coercion, his fucked-up specialty. It would have been magnificent to watch if we didn’t all lose so much in the process. A girl I once loved, a brother, my fucking childhood. We survived, but will she? Who knows. Yet I’m sure we’re already tooselfish to let her go. She might be broken, but so are we, and she might just be the only one who can fix us.
I’m not sure how long I watch her for, but eventually she picks herself up off the floor and moves back to her bed, pulling the covers up and around her body, settling in. She must be exhausted after all she’s been through. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m touching the screen, stroking her face. I already know I’m not going to be able to give her up. She’s etched under my skin and has been for way too long. And that kiss might have been a mistake, but it triggered something in my brain that will have me craving her until I can have one more taste.
Chapter 5
Dove
Staring blankly out the locked double French sliding doors, I watch as waves crash into the jagged cliff this house appears to be perched on. The view from this room would be stunning from the balcony if I could get out there to see it.
Why am I not surprised Kasen’s house is as close to the sea as humanly possible. He was always obsessed with the ocean, we all were. Any time we weren’t in school, I was at the beach or swimming in the river with the boys. Salt water was our life. They were my best friends in the world once. That was before they had something to do with my mum’s murder.
They were there that night. First, I saw Kasen and Slater sitting in Daddy Throne’s truck while it was parked out the front of my house. Then later I remember them both down at the beach. My memory is still foggy from that night, but I know it was them, I remember snippets of their conversation. They were with Kasen’s dad, ready to ship me off to some fancy boarding school in America. I remember that part. I knew the truth that night as much as I do now. They were already under Keller Throne’s thumb. The lure of the new money he was earning and the promise of a shiny new life neither of themhad ever experienced would have been enough to turn on one of your oldest friends.
That night changed the trajectory of all our lives. Keller Throne got what he wanted—my mum, the only one still stopping him from taking over all development of this town, out of his way. And my dad and I lost everything. Keller might be dead now, good riddance, but it was ten years too late for us, and I will never forgive any of the Deadwater Bay Crew for letting him get away with it.
I smash my fist against the damn lock of the door. The fucking thing still won’t budge. It must be double locked. If these jerks think they can keep me trapped up here in their mansion, they have another thing coming. After they locked me back in the room I slept in last night, I crawled back into bed, feeling sorry for myself and confused as hell, and I slept the day away. My bet is there was a sedative in that combo of meds Kasen gave me. I knew it was stupid to take them, but the pain in my chest had me desperate. Now I know better, pain is the safer option, because me being here with them doesn’t make any sense, yet they are carrying on like I owe them something. And that is fishy. Even if they had spent years regretting their dumb decisions and there really was something between us, you don’t just lock your once-friend up in your house and demand she do as you say. That’s just ridiculous. Nope, there is something more going on here, and I’m not sticking around to find out what it is.
This afternoon when Slater shoved a lamb and rocket sandwich my way before closing the door in my face, I decided to ignore the two tablets sitting at the side of the plate and instead flush them down the toilet. I have been through worse; I can suffer through a couple of broken ribs. At least without the meds, I’m thinking more clearly.
This morning was strange. They were so different that it’s jarring. Slater is all sharp focus and unsettling intensity, like there’s somethingbarely restrained beneath the surface. He’s so unpredictable that when he kissed me, I kissed him back, too shaken up to fight it. Okay, well, that’s a lie. I wanted him just as badly and kissed him back just as intensely as he did me. It was like we were fighting with our tongues and teeth. When he bit me, I fucking moaned. I wanted more. And that right there is what’s wrong with me.
I’m broken.
Messed up.
I wanted the rough kiss of a man I have hated for ten years because it made me feel more than I have in so damn long.
There is still no sign of my clothes that are apparently being washed, and the fuckers have my phone as well. Did they think I wouldn’t notice? I’m attached to the thing. My socials have been a big part of my life of late. But now that I’m more awake, I know what I have to do: escape them before I have to deal with them again.
The front door looked like it had some kind of fancy security system, but what’s the worst that can happen if I try? They catch me? Big deal. At this point I don’t have anything else to lose. I had to leave my old life behind, my apartment, most of my stuff. If I leave this place with just the clothes on my back, I’m really no worse off. And if I can pull this off, I’ll come back for my clothes and phone later. I’m not giving them the answers they want, it’s not their fight. Besides, the last thing I want is them thinking I owe them something. If anyone else from the Southern Breakers surfaces, I’ll take care of them myself. I have been looking after myself for long enough, I don’t need anyone to help me now. Especially some ghosts that I would prefer dead and buried in my past. Even if they might be easy on the eyes.
The summer sun is setting behind the house, and the sky over the ocean is all oranges and pinks as darkness rolls over the cliff face, a desperation coming with the night. I can’t stay here with them again.I won’t. My search of the bedroom for a sharp object, anything that I can shove through the window to break the glass or help me jimmy open the lock, comes up empty. But I know there has to be a way out of this room. Come on, Dove, think. You’re smarter than this.
Who knows if I’m already too late to get back to my parents’ house, with Kasen’s company set to demolish it any day. But on the chance I’m not too late, I need to try, and fast. That place holds answers to questions I have had for years, secrets my dear mum was hiding from us all.
I’m desperate to know exactly what happened to my mum that night and why. For closure, for my dad and the shit we went through in the years after her death. For fucking revenge. If I can find out exactly what happened, then I can make them pay. Anyone who was involved in her murder. If it was Kasen and the Deadwater Bay Crew like I suspect, then so be it. They are dead to me now anyway.
It’s like a lightbulb goes off in my head.A coat hanger.I run for the walk-in closet and find the tool I’m searching for. It’s not the full wire one I was hoping to find but the fancier cousin with a timber hanger and metal hook. It’ll be enough to do the job.
With all the strength I have, I manipulate the metal just enough so that I can shove it in the keyhole-style lock of the balcony door. Sweat drips down my forehead and into my eyes as I focus on the task at hand. It’s hot today, even with the air-conditioning blasting through this room. And this idea for my escape might be my only hope.
I tinker it around then,click.
My heart pounds like crazy, excitement racing through me as the door to the balcony swings open, cool evening air hitting me in the face with fresh relief. I wait for some sort of alarm to trigger, but to my luck, I don’t hear a thing. Ha, the boys are smart enough to have theirdoors security locked with some fancy system but not their windows and balcony doors. Thank the Lord.
I peer over the balcony, salt spray licking at my skin, its iciness sending a wave of goosebumps over me. Relief floods through me as I assess the drop. I’m only one story up, the jump is doable, and my carefully calculated plan can slot into place. Grabbing the fabric curtains off the window, I tie them together and pull to make sure the knot is secure. Then, I dangle it from the balcony, securing the opposite end to the very top. Throwing a knitted cardigan from the pile of clothes Slater left me over my shirt for warmth, I start my descent down the makeshift rock-climbing rope, using my toes to grip onto the rough wall for stability.
Excitement races through me as I hit the cold hard concrete below. I’m in a courtyard, a fancy-looking pool to one side and ten-foot-tall concrete retaining wall all around. I could try to scale it, but it would be easier in my current state to leave via a gate or opening, and I know there has to be one round here someplace. Spotting it off to the side, just by a jasmine bush, I run for the gate and shove it open. As soon as I do, an alarm screams in my ears.
Fuck. I should have known better.
