Three Days Later
STANLEY CRANE IS GONE. The nightmare has ended, and I don’t feel an ounce of sadness. Will I miss the man I thought he was? Of course, I’m only human. But that man didn’t exist. He was a figment of my imagination, built on manipulation and lies. The world is a better place without him in it, and I’m a better man without him in my life.
After Lev fulfilled his assignment, there was just one more thing he had to do, and being his best friend, I accompanied him. Stood by his side as he used the last bullet in my dad’s gun to end the life of Dr. Edmonds—another monstrous man who was a waste of skin and air.
Lev finally got the justice and closure he’s sought so desperately for, for years. The book of his past is closed, and we’re all ready to live in the present while soaking up each moment we have with our girl.
“Do you hear them?” Riley says, speaking about the students who fill the coffee shop. “They’re all looking at us. Laughing and whispering. We’re a fucking joke to them.”
News traveled fast about everything that went down. How my dad went on a killing spree and we were all tangled in his web. It’s only natural that people would gossip and begin to spread their own versions of what happened. Hell, I’d do the same. But it’s still annoying as fuck.
“Just ignore them,” Lev says. “Give it a week and they’ll be gossiping about something else.”
Ridge sticks a forkful of pancake in his mouth, talking as he chews. “I can give them something to talk about. A new murder mystery to try and solve.”
“Don’t you dare.” Riley scoffs. “It’s way too soon to jump into that ring of fire again.”
“Fiiiiine.” Ridge drags out the word. “I’ll be on my best behavior.” He gives her a wink. “For now.”
Riley leans over and kisses him on the cheek. “That’s all I ask.”
We all continue eating, and I can’t help but notice Riley’s eyes dancing around the coffee shop as the hushed voices and unwanted stares resume. She drops her fork down on the glass plate with a loud clank and I stiffen in my seat.
“Don’t worry about them, babe,” I tell her, knowing a bomb is about to explode.
“No,” Riley grits. “Fuck them. They want something to talk about, I’ll give them something to talk about.” She nudges my side and pushes herself up on the seat. “Let me out of the booth, please.”
“Uh-uh,” Lev waves her back down, “they’re not worth it.”
“What I have to say will be.” She pins me with a hard glare. “Now please let me out.”
“Let her the fuck out.” Ridge grits. “If she has something to say, let her say it.”
My eyes roll and I slide out, giving her the space she wants. But once I sit back down, Riley sticks two fingers in her mouth and blows out an ear-splitting whistle.
“Do you all think we don’t hear you? Your laughs and whispers. Your fears that we’re all just a bunch of crazies over here? We hear you, and guess what? We don’t fucking care. The truth is, we’re all a little mad here. Each and every one of us, including all of you.” She stands up taller as she meets their eyes, her finger pointing at them as she continues. “We’re Blue Bloods. We’re a society comprised of selfish assholes who would feed their own families to the lions just to save themselves. But we’re also a unit. There might be some bad apples in the bunch, but there’s still some good. So sip on your coffee and whisper about how we were all involved in The Society’s latest scandal, but be careful. Come tomorrow, you yourself might be the latest gossip.” The entire room is silent. Not a sound to be heard as everyone listens to Riley.
She shrugs her shoulders, the tension settling a bit. “I guess what I’m saying is, watch your backs because half of the students in this room are crooked.” She goes to sit back down but stops herself. “Oh, and if any of you have a problem with anything I just said, you can take it up with me or one of my three boyfriends.”
I bite back a laugh as she swats my arm, the vein in her neck protruding. “Lemme back in.”
Ridge starts a slow clap. Then Lev drops his fork and says, “Screw it.” Then he joins in.
My face turns beat fucking red because I hate the attention laser focused on us, but I drop my chin to my chest and clap along with them.
Unfortunately, it ends there. No one else joins in, and no one cares about anything Riley just said. Some laugh. Some become quiet. And some still whisper and stare. But, Riley is smiling, pleased with herself, and that’s really all I care about.
“So,” I begin, hoping to say something that will slice through the tension at the table. “My mom invited everyone to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. Who’s down?”
“I promised my parents I’d come home for break,” Riley says. My shoulders tense slightly, thinking about spending a holiday without her. “But I never said how long I’d stay. I can probably get away after our dinner and come to Glendale for the remainder of break.”
“Count me in,” Lev chimes in. “No way in hell I’m missing your mom’s blueberry pie.”
All three of us look at Ridge. He holds his fork in the air as he swallows down his food. “I’ll get back to you on that.”
We’re all taken aback by his response, but I’m the first to voice it. “What else do you have to do?” It’s a good question because Ridge has been with my family for the holidays since he lost his mom. He hasn’t missed a single one.
Ridge zips his fingers across his lips, but I notice Riley nudging him underneath the table. There’s something they’re not telling Lev and me.
“What happened to no more secrets?” I ask.
“No secrets,” Ridge retorts. “Just need to figure something out before I can commit to anything.”
I have no idea what he could possibly be talking about, but I decide to let it go…for now.
We finish eating and we’re heading out of the coffee shop with our heads held high when some jackass sitting at a high-top table by the door decides he’s got something to say.
“Yo,” he calls out, and we all snap our heads in his direction. “When you guys are finished with her, pass her this way. Pussy is pussy. Loose or not.”
My jaw locks as I lunge at him, going right for his waist. His chair crashes into the ground, me on top of him. Ridge and Lev jump in, and fists are being thrown in every direction. I take a blow to the side of my face and I can’t even tell if it was the asshole or one of my friends accidentally punching me.
Sounds echo through the room. People shouting—some chanting. My adrenaline is pumping so fast that each voice is nothing but muffled static.
I see Lev get pulled off the guy first. He pretty much flies backward then disappears. Ridge is now straddling the big-mouthed asshole’s lap, whaling him in the face over and over again like a lunatic. I stumble back onto my ass and just sit there watching as the guy’s face gets rearranged.
“Ridge!” Riley howls. “Enough!”
As if she is the only one who can snap him out of the trance he fell into, he immediately stops, his arm poised to strike again if she commands.
He looks over his shoulder, his bloodied hands at his sides. When she shakes her head, he gets off of the guy who’s definitely unconscious.
I push myself off the floor then grab him by the arm. “Come on. We all need to get the hell out of here.”
Ridge follows suit and all four of us haul ass out the door. All I can think about the entire jog back to our dorm is, I hope like hell we didn’t just kill the guy. We’re supposed to be getting on the straight and narrow for a while. It’s only been three days since we got our lives back.
“That was fucking epic,” Ridge beams with his adrenaline still pumping. He balls a fist and punches it into his palm. “We knocked that dickwad out.”
I look at Riley, noticing her caved-in eyebrows and creased forehead. She crosses her arms tightly over her chest and walks steadfastly as we all try to keep up with her.
The guys and I share a look as we jog up to her side.
“Angel?” Ridge says.
Then I place an arm around her waist. “Babe?”
“Trouble, what’s wrong?”
She exhales deeply through her nose and shakes her head. “I can’t take you guys anywhere.”
“Sure you can,” Ridge tells her, but when he looks at me and Lev, he cracks a smile. “We’re good boys.”
“You’re all hellions,” she gnashes, then throws her hands in the air. “We’re all hellions.”
I squeeze her waist and pull her side close to mine as we continue walking. “Better to raise hell than be in it, right?”
Lev jumps up to her other side and throws an arm around her shoulder. “Fuck that guy. He got what he deserved and half of the people in that coffee shop would agree.”
Ridge comes barreling behind Riley and grabs her waist, scoping her up and away from us. He throws her over his shoulder and starts running down the sidewalk. “We’re all a little mad here.”
Riley lifts her head and starts laughing. “Help me, guys. He’s lost his damn mind.” We all laugh as we chase after them. Ridge swerves around a tree then back on the path, and Riley’s hair is thoroughly tangled by the time Ridge comes to a halt. He carefully sets her down, then looks at her like he’s actually worried. “Are you mad at me, Angel?”
Lev and I pick up our pace and Ridge finally sets her down.
“You’re fucking crazy, Ridge Foster.” She slaps his shoulder.
“Crazy about you,” he responds, pulling her waist to him and planting a kiss on her lips.
“And I’m crazy about all of you.” Her eyes dance from one of us to the next. “No matter what happens in this lifetime, we’re in this together. I love you, guys.”
“I love you, too,” I tell her, while Ridge and Lev say the same.
Somehow, we all end up in a cheesy group hug with the blood on Ridge’s hands getting all over us, but I don’t mind much, not when the center of our attention is the most beautiful girl in the entire world. Seeing her smile while sandwiched among all of us, all the worry and fear she had been holding on to since the day I met her gone, that alone makes my heart beat faster.
