AN HOUR AFTER THEO AND LOCK HAD LEFT MY SUITE, intent on murder, Lock arrived back. He told me Daniel had received a message, Theo hadn’t been arrested, and everyone was still breathing. Call me a barbarian, but knowing Theo beat the hell out of Daniel in my honor sent a shot of pleasure up my spine. That was the only type of justice a girl like me could expect to have—and Theo had given that to me.
You make it easy to light the match, Tiger. Now watch me make it burn.
Of course, that pleasure was tempered with his absence. Lock said Theo had some things to take care of and he’d be in touch with me soon, but still, he wasn’t here.
I could admit I wanted him with me. I hadn’t forgiven him. I didn’t know if I could go down that road with him again. But his presence made me feel safe in a way no one else did. Not even Lock, who I had no doubt would throw down for me in a heartbeat because he was that kind of man. Theo’s protectiveness came from a different place, something I’d never experienced and couldn’t name, but when he gave it to me, it was like being shrouded in a snug, warm blanket.
Lock bought pizza for Zadie and me, then stayed with us to eat. We watched a couple movies, Lock in the armchair, Zadie and I snuggled on one of the love seats. None of us really talked, but we didn’t make a move to leave each other’s company either.
Theo texted halfway through the second movie.
Theo: Hey…I’m taking care of some things. It’s taking longer than I thought, but it’s getting done. Are you with Lock?
Me: I’m fine. I’m with Lock and Zadie. Don’t worry about me.
Theo: I am worried about you. I don’t know if I can make it back there tonight. Are you going to be okay to sleep?
Me: I didn’t expect you to come back. I’m good. I’ll probably take Zadie’s meds again and pass out. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.
Theo: You’re safe, baby. Nothing is going to touch you again. I promise you that. I’ll see you tomorrow.
The door burst open just as I shoved my phone in my hoodie pocket. Elena flounced in, threw her weekend bag on the floor, and let out a dramatic sigh. Then her eyes landed on us. First Lock, because he was unmissable, then Zadie, and finally me. Her jaw dropped.
Her finger made a circle in the air as she pointed to my face. “That better be from a car accident.”
I shook my head. “My mom’s loan shark.”
Elena charged at me, took my chin in her hand, and moved my head back and forth to examine me from every angle.
“This is unacceptable. Is this person dead now?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Why not?” Her attention shifted to Lock. “Who are you?”
He barely glanced at her. “Lachlan.”
Elena stared at him, then me. “I need a hell of a lot more information. Begin with the massive man occupying my favorite chair and fill in the rest.”
Lock abruptly rose to his feet. “I’m going to go.” He lowered his chin, capturing my gaze. “I’m five minutes away. Anything you need, you call. Don’t hesitate. Even if you want me to sit in your living room while you sleep. Do you hear me?”
I nodded, the backs of my eyes stinging. “I hear you, dude. Thank you.”
He left quietly but quickly, closing the door behind him with a gentle snick. Elena rushed over and locked it, then she turned back to me, her hands on her hips.
“Tell me everything so I know how many hit men I have to ask my dad to hire.”
It took a surprisingly short amount of time to recount the trauma that had punched me in the gut over the last twenty-four hours. When I ended the tale of events with Daniel having the shit beat out of him, Elena’s smile was satisfied.
She waved her hand in front of her. “Back up just a sec. I need to know what went down with the whole hostage situation.”
Zadie’s cheeks went pink.
When I’d gotten back last night, Amir had been gone. I’d barely been able to stand, but the first thing I did was check over Zadie while she tried to bat me away so she could take care of me. We were both crying messes, but Zadie hadn’t been injured, and her tears seemed to be solely over me. Once Lock got us in my bed, me covered in ice packs and drugged up, Zadie promised Amir hadn’t hurt her, but that had been all she’d offered.
“It was awkward and kind of scary.” Zadie shrugged. “He didn’t take his gun out again, so that was good. He used his phone a lot, we talked a little, and um…I don’t know. He got a call, I think from his brother, then he rushed out of here really fast. That was right before Helen and Lock got back.”
Elena drummed her perfect nails on the arm of her chair. “That’s it? Your first time being held hostage, and that’s the extent of your story?”
“I’m kind of hoping it’s my only hostage experience.” Zadie tucked her hair behind her ear. “That would be great.”
Elena wagged her finger at Z. “I think something else happened. One day, once we’ve dismantled the corrupt patriarchy in Savage River and shoved dicks down Daniel and Reno’s throats—perhaps each other’s, I haven’t decided—I’ll get the full story from you.”
Zadie released a sound that was a cross between a whimper and a laugh. “There’s no story.”
Elena’s eyes narrowed to suspicious-looking slits. “Okay, babe. I’ll drop it for now. Now, let’s discuss everything I know about Daniel that could positively ruin him.”
With Elena’s graphic revenge plots as bedtime stories and Zadie’s meds, I got a full night of dreamless sleep, so by Monday, I was aching, but feeling close to human. My hoodie mostly covered the bruises on my throat. I couldn’t do much about my face, but if anyone asked, I’d tell them it came from a rad skateboarding accident.
Thankfully, everyone minded their fucking business because the meds wore off by midday, and I was a grumpy, aching bitch. My head was down on the table when Lock sat down beside me in Shakespeare. I grunted at him in greeting. He laughed back.
Except that low, lovely laugh wasn’t Lock’s.
I peeked up, finding Theo’s gentle smile. “You’re not Lock.”
He cupped the back of my head and leaned his face closer to mine. “Sorry to disappoint. I bribed him to switch seats with me today. How are you?”
“Bitchy.”
He kissed my head. “Does it hurt, baby?”
“It doesn’t feel great.”
“One more class, then you can go home and take a nap. You can do it, Tiger.”
I nodded. “Okay.” His hand rested on top of the desk. I knew hands like that. Swollen and scabbed-over knuckles. Maybe it was how I grew up, but I liked it. His fighting hands turned me on and sent a rush of heat between my legs. I pulled his hand to my lips, touching his knuckles gently. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” He dragged his thumb across my lip once. “It was my pleasure. Do you understand me? I loved every second of delivering that message to Daniel.”
Watch me make it burn.
Warmth pooled low in my belly at the savagery of that statement. “I wish I’d seen it.”
His grin was smooth and wicked, and he gave me the kind of look I never knew he had in him—a look that said he understood exactly why I wished I’d been there to see him beat the hell out of Daniel, and it wasn’t only about retribution.
Theo helped me sit up and scooted his chair closer so he could drape his arm around the back of mine. And I let him. I was feeling all kinds of vulnerable and strange, and having Theo near muted all that. I barely paid attention to a thing Davis said, but the hour went by fast anyway.
After class, he walked me back to my dorm and followed me inside without asking if it was okay. When I told him I needed to nap, it felt natural when he had lain with me, even though we’d never just lay in my bed together without it leading somewhere.
We were face to face, barely touching. Our feet were stacked together, and Theo’s fingertips were grazing over my injuries.
“I have the money Daniel stole,” he murmured. “You don’t need to worry about working this week, okay?”
An anvil lifted off my chest. “Okay. That’s good. I was wondering if I could play the sympathy card for tips, but dudes don’t really come to strip clubs to hear our life stories.”
His exhale was heavy. “You’re not working there much longer. Do you hear me?”
I touched his mouth with my fingers. “Shut it. We’re having a nice moment. If you start trying to act like my daddy, I’ll have to be a brat.”
“You just got the shit beat out of you, baby. How can you think I’ll let you go back there?”
“The strip club didn’t do it. Reno did. And guess what? I’ll have to go back to him too. This is me. There’s no escaping it. Not yet anyway.”
He cupped my cheek. “Soon. This will be over soon.”
“Stop it, Theo. Please?”
He kissed my forehead and pulled me close so I was tucked under his chin and cocooned in his arms. “Go to sleep.”
By Thursday, the pain had eased enough—thanks in part to daily naps snuggled with Theo—that I was pissed. I wasn’t the type of girl who took my hits lying down. If I got knocked on my ass, I came up swinging.
Admittedly, this had been a pretty big hit, but I was done feeling sorry for myself. I wasn’t going to be afraid of my shadow just because a guy, who I already knew was scary, acted like a big scary guy. That wasn’t a surprise, and I should have expected it. The fact that Reno, and by extension, Amir, had any power over my life, made me mad enough to want to break shit.
I needed to deliver a message to Reno, but there was no way I was doing it firsthand. I may have been pissed, but I wasn’t stupid.
Amir lived off campus in a Cape Cod–style house with a big porch running along the front. It was surprisingly…housey for a gun-carrying drug dealer who was quite possibly a little psycho.
Like he knew I was coming, Amir was sitting on the porch, his feet kicked up on the rail. I climbed the steps, somewhat deflated I couldn’t pound on the door and demand he come out and speak to me.
“You look like shit, baby girl.” His face remained impassive, so I couldn’t tell if he actually cared or not.
“No kidding. You should have seen the other guy.” I snapped my fingers. “Oh, that’s right, you’ve seen him. It was your brother who backhanded me, strangled me, then let his bitches loose to kick my ass. I almost forgot.”
His jaw tightened for a beat, then he went back to being impassive. “My brother is not me.”
I shrugged. “You’re his little errand boy. Guilty by association, dude.”
He dropped his feet, braced his elbows on his knees, and steepled his fingers. “I think you misunderstand, Helen, but I’ll explain. I don’t necessarily always agree with Reno’s actions, but I am not your friend. You will not come to my home and disrespect me. Since you’re injured, I’ll let it pass, but I won’t next time. Be sure there isn’t a next time.”
“Got it.” Amir may have been the lesser of two evils, but this was a helpful reminder that he was still evil. “I wish I’d known you were a woman beater when I had a crush on you in high school. I would have gotten over you a lot faster.”
Amir’s nose twitched, and his lip curled into a snarl. “Helen…”
“No, no, I heard you. You’ll beat me bloody if I get too mouthy. My lips are sealed.”
He gave me a long look from beneath a furrowed brow, then kicked the chair beside him. “Sit. Talk. Then leave.”
I sat, only because it was easier not to stare down at him and the walk off campus had worn me out more than I would have ever admitted out loud.
I took a filled envelope out of my backpack. “This is for next week. I want it out of my possession so I don’t have to worry about it anymore. Then I need to rework my loan payments. I don’t think I can keep up the—”
“Keep it.” He pushed the envelope back to me. “No more payments.”
I clutched the envelope hard, suddenly afraid again. Was Reno calling in the entire loan? Holy Christ, was he actually going to kill me and I’d just served myself up on a silver platter?
“What the hell does that mean?” I couldn’t even pretend to keep the shake out of my voice.
Amir pressed his fingertips together, frowning hard at me. “Obviously not what you’re thinking. Chill, girl. I got a visit from your boy on Sunday. He inquired how much you owed. I told him. He was back the next day with the cash. I’m surprised he hasn’t had you down on your knees to thank him.”
My mouth fell open in shock. What the ever-loving fuck? “I owe like thirteen K.”
Loan shark interest was no joke. I could actually kill my mother for thinking it was a great idea to borrow money from Reno. I would have questioned what had been going through her mind, but I knew her well enough to know the answer: not much.
“Owed, baby. Past tense. He got you out from under that bitch.”
“Why?” I breathed out.
Amir canted his head, frown deepening. “Baby…” he cooed, “I know you’re smarter than that. That boy came here with bruised knuckles, ready to throw down if he had to, and he wasn’t doing it for his health. That was for you.”
I still didn’t understand, so maybe I wasn’t so smart. “You’re talking about Theo, right?”
He nodded once. “I thought he was a little pussy bitch. It’s rare someone changes my mind, but I might be swayed by how he showed up for you. It’d have been better if he’d shown up a few weeks ago but can’t change history.”
I rubbed the center of my forehead, worried my brain had been more damaged from my beating than I’d thought. “Theo paid it all?”
“All of it.” Amir unfolded from his chair and stood over me, his hand out to help me up. “I’m about done with this conversation, Hells Belles. Time for you to go.”
I folded my arms around my middle. “Do me a favor.”
“I’m not in the business of favors. I like things reciprocal and aboveboard.”
I shot him a sharp look. “Considering you held my roommate hostage and terrorized her, you definitely owe me.”
The look he gave me was even sharper. “Is that what she told you? I terrorized her?”
“She didn’t have to. You had a gun on her, dude. That would terrify anyone, especially a girl like Z. What did you do to her for all those hours?”
He shut down in an instant, going back to his earlier impassiveness. “I think you should talk to Zadie about that. Tell me the favor you want, then you need to leave.”
Worms squirmed in my stomach. What the hell had gone down while I was out of our suite? Zadie was acting normally, so it couldn’t have been anything bad. Then again… I shoved the thoughts of what Amir could have done away. I couldn’t deal with that. Not right now.
“If my mom comes around looking for money, tell her no. Pass the message to Reno too. The Ortegas are turnips, and you can’t get blood out of us.”
Amir raised a brow. “True…but now you’ve got a rich boyfriend, so—”
My hand was up, shooting through the air toward his face before I even thought about it. Amir intercepted me easily, lowering my arm to my side and holding it there. I hissed at him like a feral cat.
“Don’t you even think about Theo. He’s not my meal ticket, and he’s not going to be yours either. He’s off-limits to you and Reno. Remember what I said about ruining you? I’ll find a way if you go after him—”
“Baby.” A slow smile spread across Amir’s face, which was pretty disconcerting. Amir wasn’t a smiler. “That boy’s got you, doesn’t he? Good for you, Helen. I like that for you.”
“I don’t know—”
He shooed me off, his smile instantly dropping. “All right. I’ve got shit to do. You can go.”
He walked into his house without a backward glance, and I started my long walk back to campus, my mind rushing.
What had Theo done?
What. Had. He. Done?
You make it easy to light the match…
