I flick my angry eyes to the side to see him. “Slater, tell this asshole to put me down,” I demand, hoping that he will see reason.
Kasen tosses me into the Ranger Rover like I weigh nothing and holds me there with a heavy hand gripping my thigh. I glare back at the two of them, my heart racing like mad in my chest. This was not how I saw our reunion going. Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on seeing either of them in my very short time back in town. The plan was to slip in unnoticed, take what I needed, and move on with my life. But I hit a snag when those Southern Breakers scumbags tracked me down and decided they wanted to mess with me.
“She got fiery in her time away.” Slater chuckles like he’s in on his own private joke or some shit. I shouldn’t be surprised Kasen called him in to help. He was Kasen’s childhood best mate, that’s how I met him. As a kid, I would have done anything for him once upon a time, and him me. They were always pretty inseparable. Slater’s brown eyes roam over every inch of me, a deep scowl etching its way onto his now very manly features. His eyes are still the same, but that’s the only part of him that is. He got tall, bigger than Kasen, he would have to be a good six foot six. Not the scrawny boy I knew, that’s for sure.
My eyes narrow in on them. I might be in pain, but I’m not giving them the satisfaction of thinking they have anything over me. “You fuckers can’t force me to go with you,” I tell them, even though it’s pretty clear they can do whatever the hell they want. Slater leans into the car and when his eyes lock with mine they make my stomach doa flip. One I don’t understand, because these two might have been the most important people to me once upon a time, but now they are nothing. My body hasn’t read that memo though, and she is quite chuffed to see him again. His gaze fixed on me sends a warmth through my body that resonates all the way to my soul.
Kasen turns away from me, ignoring my request; instead, he looks to Bodhi. “She left a bag of her stuff in the house, get it while I watch her. She can’t be trusted not to run again.”
“Yeah, this place gives me the creeps. The sooner we’re out of here the better.” Bodhi marches off to my parents’ old house, disappearing inside.
I bet it does, asshole, I want to say to him. But I don’t, because what’s the point? I’m not bleeding my heart out for them over what I have lost at their hands. I stare back at my old house, trying to find the happy memories like Talon would tell me to, but the truth is, all I can see is that night. The last time I was in this town, and even that is a big fat blur. Fresh pain radiates through me. I have lost so fucking much over the last ten years, it hurts my soul to be back in the place where it all started.
Kasen’s fingertips press a bit firmer into my thigh, pulling my attention back to him. His eyes are cold, calculating, but there is something more in the depths of them. Pain, maybe. “Why did you come back tonight?” His voice is softer now, like he actually cares, when we both know that shit’s not true. His weight presses into me as he holds me captive, the scent of his aftershave assaulting my nostrils. It’s mixed with something else, salt spray I think, an intoxicating combination on him. Not something I would ever admit out loud, but still, I find myself inhaling deeper. How can he feel like coming home, when I know who he really is?
When the Kasen fog clears, I remember what I’m doing. I shove at him, trying to get some space. “What’s the plan? Are you really about to kidnap me?”
That sends a thrill of excitement flashing in his eyes. “You stay here, you will end up buried in a pile of rubble by morning, birdie.”
I fix my glare on him, my heart getting stuck in my throat. He’s going to destroy my family home. “Maybe that’s what I want,” I growl back, choosing anger instead of tears.
This time the flash of pain in his features is more obvious. Like the two of us share common ground in at least one area, but I know that can’t be right, because where I have nothing to live for but revenge, Kasen has it all. Youngest CEO around, a town that looks up to him and respects every word that comes out of his mouth. Cars, mansions, the lot. I saw the article on him, and it turned my stomach knowing he became his dad. “I have a safe place for you to sleep, food. Come on, we both know you need it. Don’t make this difficult.”
Bodhi comes back with a backpack overfilled with my belongings and tosses it in the back seat before climbing in the driver’s seat. “Like to travel light these days, sunshine?”
I glare at him, deciding I don’t have to tell him shit about why I only have a small bag of stuff to my name. They don’t know me and they never will. They knew the innocent girl I was before, and they are about to be sorely mistaken if they think I’m going to slot right back into this life and act like all the shit that’s happened to me over the years never existed. I want someone to pay for what I have lost. I came back to this town to make sure of it.
Kasen forces his way in behind me so I’m perched on his lap. With nothing more I can do, I cross my arms over my chest, anger vibrating off me. Who the fuck do these assholes think they are, just snatching me up and taking me home with them?
I glare out the front windscreen. Now that I’m sitting in one place, the pain is starting to become unbearable. A throbbing from my chest, and my head feels so damn heavy. So much so that the streets in front of me start to blur. I need to get away from them. “Drop me off at the bus stop,” I try and spit it at them, but my voice is barely a whisper. I close my eyes for a split second, trying to get a moment of relief from the now persistent thump in my head.
“Absolutely not. You need a doctor,” Slater huffs.
I hold my head in one of my hands to keep it up, my eyes narrowing to slits mainly because I can hardly keep them open. “I’m serious, fuckers.”
Kasen’s fingers brush over my chin, and I try to pull away from him, but I can’t. His face blurs. “You need medical attention, and some fucking food from the looks of it. Let us help you.”
“I don’t need anything...”from you, I want to say, but my words have dried up, I’m too weak to even talk. “Ka...” I try to get out his name as a sickening nausea comes over me. Then it all goes black.
Chapter 3
Dove
The persistent squawk of an annoying flock of seagulls pulls me from my sleep. “Shut up,” I mutter, pulling a plush pillow over my head so I can block it out. But it’s no use, my head still hammers like I have a blender inside of it. What the fuck was I drinking last night?
Last night, oh God. I sit up in a rush, the memories suddenly flooding in. Pain splits through me as my head spins, and I catch it in my hands. “Motherfucker,” I cry, trying to suck in a sharp breath, but that’s almost impossible with the stabbing in my chest.
“Sleeping Beauty’s awake,” comes Kasen’s voice from someplace close by.
Fuck my life, it wasn’t some twisted dream. I really did come face to face with him last night. I peer through my fingers to find him sitting in a chair by the bed I’m in, one foot casually resting on the bedframe like he’s comfortable and has been here a while. “Where am I?” I try to sound tough, but my voice is hoarse and more of a whisper.
He leans forward, his eyes raking over me with cool assessment. “You’re covered in bruises,” he mutters, completely ignoring my question.
It’s then I realize my legs are bare, and his eyes are lingering way too long on them. I pull the cover over myself. I’m in an oversized black button-up shirt and my panties, that is it. Not what I was wearing when I passed out last night. What the hell. “Did you change me?” I snap.
His lips twitch at the sides just a bit but enough for me to know he did, and he enjoyed it. Creep. “Your clothes were splattered in blood from that dude you shot.”
“Doesn’t give you the right to… to… What the fuck, Kasen.”
