I’m going to fucking kill him.
I lost track of Magnolia after her loser boyfriend hit me in the face. That asshole can’t even stick around to fight it out. He bailed out like the little bitch he is.
Since Landen’s keeping an eye on Noah, I focus on finding Travis. I need to stop him before he takes advantage of Magnolia in her drugged-up state.
Sprinting outside and between parked cars, I find Travis pushing her into the back of a black SUV. He shouts something at her, and when he nearly slams the door into her bare foot, I see red.
As he rounds the back, I whip open her door and remove her buckle. “Get out. Now. Quick.”
Her eyes shoot to mine as Travis notices from the other side.
“The fuck?” he grumbles, reaching for her across the seat.
I push Magnolia against the seat, then lean over her body and slam my fist in Travis’s face. He curses, flailing back and cupping his nose.
When I hear my truck’s engine roaring behind me, I grab Magnolia’s hand and launch her over my shoulder.
“Hey!” she squeals.
When Landen hops out of the driver’s seat and opens the back, I set her down and motion for her to scoot over so I can sit next to her since Noah’s in the passenger seat. But either way, I’m not giving Travis another opportunity to take her.
As I shut the door, this asshole grabs it and tries to pry it open. I lean back, covering Magnolia from him, and with all my strength, slam my boot into his chest. When he falters, I grab the handle and slam it closed.
“Go, go, go!” I yell at Landen.
The tires squeal against the pavement, and when we finally hit the main road, I blow out a breath. “Jesus fuck. He’s like the Ghostface in Scream who never dies.”
“Technically, there were several Ghostfaces,” Noah tells me, and I thank her with an eye roll.
“You okay, Sunny?” I ask Magnolia and notice her eye twitching. “Come here.”
The events of what happened tonight with the rush of serotonin hitting her bloodstream are confusing her on how she should be feeling right now.
“I’m so horny right now,” she blurts out with a laugh. “Do you wanna do anal?”
I blink hard. “The fuck did you just say?”
“What? That’s why Travis gave it to me, so it wouldn’t hurt. Would hate for it to go to waste now.”
That sick motherfucker. I’m going to kill him.
I should’ve kicked him in the dick instead, so he couldn’t ever use it again.
“I don’t care how high or horny I am, there’s no way a cock is touchin’ my booty hole,” Noah says, then turns and adds, “I poop out of there.”
My nostrils flare and inhale a long, frustrated breath. Dear God, please erase that sentence from my sister’s mouth out of my mind fucking immediately.
“Okay, so no anal.” Magnolia nods as if it was even on the table. “We could sixty-nine, doggy, reverse cowgirl, or hell, eat whipped cream off each other. I’m game for any of those.”
Fuck me. I shouldn’t have let her kiss me or played into her little BJ shot game because her listing a variety of sex positions is getting me hard now that I know how her lips feel against mine. Her telling me to kneel and open my mouth should’ve been my clue. But I saw the way Travis was treating her tonight and wanted her to have a good time on her birthday.
“Tulip, no one’s havin’ sex tonight.” Unfortunately.
Magnolia frowns and her nostrils flare, which is freaking adorable, but I’m not giving in no matter how much my dick wants to.
“How about you, Landen? We did go on that date. Wanna continue it in the bedroom? I’m way more flexible now.”
His eyes shoot to mine in the rearview mirror, and I want to smack that grin off his smug face. I never admitted to him that I like Magnolia even after they decided to stay friends, but a part of me wonders if he suspects it.
It was pointless to say anything after that anyway since she started dating Travis once again—as she always does.
I hate that even after what he did tonight, she’ll crawl back to him and take the blame for his actions. Even if I shared my feelings with her right now and told her we should be together, I’d always worry about the day she left me and went back to him.
Though I can’t figure out why she does because he’s a controlling asshole who treats her like shit. It’s like he has a spell on her that prevents her from seeing her worth and just how awful he truly is.
Travis and I used to be cool until I found out he’d cheated on her, then gaslit her into thinking it was her fault for invading his privacy when she looked at his phone. And somehow, she ended up apologizing to him.
Then he lost all my respect the minute he started taking advantage of her when other guys would murder someone just for a chance to have her.
But after tonight, he’ll never take her for granted again.
I just need to convince her she deserves better.
“You can’t sleep with Landen!” Noah giggles, glancing at me before she looks at Magnolia. “Tripp would get jealous.”
Goddamn her.
“Of Landen?” Magnolia cackles in disbelief.
“Of any guy you’re with, duh!” Noah rolls her eyes. “He was ready to murder Travis tonight. He abandoned his own sister to get you.”
“I knew Landen had you!” I defend. “Plus, I wouldn’t let any guy take advantage of a woman who’d been drugged. Especially a friend of yours. So shush your mouth.”
Magnolia smiles at me, and I hate that it calms my racing heart. “So you only saved me because I’m Noah’s bestie? No other reason?”
Instead of falling into her trap, I tighten my lips to hold back from spilling everything.
“You did kiss me earlier…” she reminds me as if I could possibly forget.
“Against my will,” I tease. Not that I minded at all. But when she does shit like that, it messes with my head.
If she wanted to kiss me so badly, why is she dating that loser?
“You’re right. So we should even the score.”
“What’s that mean?” I ask, knowing I shouldn’t.
This is definitely another trap.
“You get to kiss me now. Or hell, do anything you want to me. This high is makin’ me needy and so, so horny. Plus, I deserve birthday sex.”
I cover my groin so she doesn’t notice the bulge forming in my jeans. She needs to stop talking and confusing my dick.
Turning away from her, I growl, “No.”
“Wh—”
“Because unlike your douchebag boyfriend”—I meet her pleading eyes—“I don’t take advantage of women under the influence or fool around with those who are in a relationship.”
She winces as if I verbally slapped her, but she needs to hear it. Innocently flirting with guys is one thing, but cheating isn’t something I want to be involved in. Even if they break up after this, I’d just be a rebound.
“You’re not stayin’ with him after this, right?” Noah asks her.
‘The Statue of Liberty will walk before I ever take him back. Plus, he never wanted to do anything I wanted to do. Even go to the movies! What kind of psychopath hates the theater? So yeah, we are never, ever gettin’ back together.’ Magnolia shakes her head as if she truly means it, but I know better than to get my hopes up she’ll smarten up this time. ‘I’ll need to grab my stuff from his place at some point. That’ll be fun.’
“You ain’t going alone. Landen and I will come. Waylon and Wilder, too, if needed.” Our older twin brothers are more unhinged than both of us together.
Magnolia’s hand reaches for my thigh, but before I can stop her, she pulls back. “You really consider me a little sister type, dontcha?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her the truth, but I also don’t want to lie and pretend she’s right.
“I consider you a friend, Orchid.” I lighten my tone so she doesn’t scold me for using my nickname for her.
“Ugh. Friend? I have enough of those.”
“You deserve better than him. I hope you realize that,” I tell her instead of acknowledging her friend comment. “Relationships aren’t supposed to be this hard. Love isn’t supposed to be this toxic.”
“Since when did you become the expert?” Noah chimes in with a chuckle. “You’ve never had a serious girlfriend.”
“Because I don’t want just a fling and that’s all girls my age are interested in.” And that’s not even a lie. At twenty-three years old, I’m ready to find my person and settle down. I work hard on the ranch every day. It’d be nice to come home at the end of a long day to someone I love.
“What about that redhead at the bar? She seemed into you,” Magnolia asks with a hint of jealousy in her tone, but I don’t even know who she’s referring to. My eyes were glued to her most of the night.
As Landen drives down our long driveway, I’m confused as to why most of the lights are on in the house with how late it is. Though Noah lives in the cottage behind our parents’ house, I don’t trust these two on their own tonight. When our cousin Mallory moved in last year after her parents died, Noah moved out so there was enough space for Mallory to have her own room.
Once Landen parks, I help Magnolia out, then carry her up the porch stairs since she’s not wearing any shoes. The door whips open with Wilder and Waylon standing in the entryway, looking like smug fuckers.
“What’re y’all doin’?” Landen asks as I set down Magnolia on the warm floor.
“Sheriff Wagner called Dad. Y’all in trouble,” Wilder singsongs, leading us deeper into the house.
“For what?” I snap, watching Noah and Magnolia rush to the kitchen. Moments later, I hear them digging through the pantry for snacks.
“Landen! Tripp! Get your asses in here,” Dad shouts from the living room.
“Good luck. I’m going to bed.” Waylon checks out, but I don’t blame him. Five a.m. comes early when it’s close to midnight.
“Nah, I’m stayin’ for this.”
I glare at Wilder, tempted to punch him just for being a taunting asshole, but my knuckles are still sore from hitting Travis.
Landen and I walk in, dragging our feet like dogs with their tails between their legs. I’ve no idea what the sheriff said, but I’m playing innocent until proven guilty.
“Care to tell me why Sheriff Wagner called ten minutes ago asking about your whereabouts?” Mom asks with a hand on her hip.
Dad’s intimidating scowl means if we get caught lying, he won’t think twice about putting us on bitch work for a month.
“Not sure.” I shrug, shoving my hands in my pockets while Landen stands silently next to me.
“Cut the bullshit. What’d y’all do? It’d be better if we know before he comes and arrests you,” Dad states.
“Arrested for what?” Landen asks.
“Aggravated assault.” Dad folds his arms across his broad chest. “So tell us again. What’d you do?”
“It’s not their fault,” Magnolia comes in with a mouthful of food. “My boyfriend, well ex, drugged my drink and when he dragged me out of the bar, Tripp punched him before the Uber could take off.”
“And kicked him in the chest the second time he tried to take her,” Noah adds.
With a groan, I squeeze my eyes and tilt my head back, silently cursing my sister for adding to my charges.
“It’s true,” Landen says. “He was just protectin’ Magnolia.”
“True or not, someone called 911, and Travis is tellin’ a different story,” Mom says.
“What’s he sayin’? There’s witnesses anyway to prove he punched me first.” I stand taller, plant my feet firmer, and hold my stance. I’m not going to jail for that fuck face.
“That you assaulted him and abducted his girlfriend,” Dad explains.
“I’m not his girlfriend anymore!” Magnolia interjects.
I shake my head at the part she’s focused on. “And I clearly didn’t abduct you…”
“Well, duh.” She takes a bite of a brownie that Mom and Gramma Grace baked yesterday. “Can’t we just call the sheriff and explain what actually happened? We can give our statements, and Tripp will be off the hook.”
“It ain’t that easy.” Dad shakes his head. “It’d be better for Tripp to turn himself in and give his full testimony. Then they’ll confirm his story with the witnesses, and if he agrees with your version of events, you’ll be released.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Better to get ahead of it. Our lawyer will show up first thing in the mornin’, and if the sheriff’s in a good mood, you’ll get points for not makin’ him drag you in.”
“This is fuckin’ bullshit.” I’m close to losing my temper and the only thing holding me back is Magnolia being close enough to inhale her perfume.
I’d punch and kick Travis a thousand times if it meant he kept his slimy hands off her.
I’d face the sheriff, give my statement of the truth, and then prove I was within my rights to defend myself and Magnolia.
“Fine,” I spit out before Mom can scold me for my outburst. “But the girls need to stay here tonight. That asshole laced her drink with ecstasy, and Noah drank from it, too. The comedown from it could make them depressed. They probably have a couple more hours until it’s out of their system.”
“I’ll stay up with ’em,” Wilder says, finally approaching from watching the shitshow. “No way I’m going to bed now anyway.”
“Aww…you love us,” Noah teases.
Magnolia chuckles. “No, he loves the drama.”
“C’mon, son. I’ll drive you.” Dad goes to walk past me but then pauses with his hand on my shoulder. “Proud of you for watchin’ out for Magnolia.”
Lowering my gaze, I nod, then follow behind him.
“Don’t lose your temper with the sheriff, Tripp. Orange ain’t your color,” Wilder taunts.
I flip him off, and he smirks.
“And don’t worry about your chores. They’ll be waitin’ for ya when you get back from prison.” He chuckles, and I’m tempted to get one last punch in before leaving.
“Tripp, wait.” Magnolia comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my waist, pressing her cheek against my back. “Thank you for riskin’ your life to save mine. You’re a good friend.”
Friend.
Maybe I’ll ask the sheriff to shoot me instead of putting handcuffs around my wrists. At least it’d put me out of my misery.
But I’m the one who called her a friend first, so I can’t even be mad at her for it.
I pat her hand once before removing her body from mine. Without facing her, I say, “Go to bed, Rose. Sleep it off and don’t get your stuff from his house alone.”
She pulls my arm, quickly grabbing my attention, and I meet her eyes over my shoulder.
“If you insist on callin’ me flower names besides my own, Sunny’s my favorite. Sunflowers are a sign of positivity, happiness, and hope.”
The corner of my lips tilts up slightly that she’s not giving me shit about it for once. “I’ll remember that.”
Then I walk away before doing something I’ll regret—like kissing her for real this time.
