By the time lunch rolls around, my lack of sleep is really kicking in. My eyelids feel heavy and I can’t stop yawning.

“You look tired?” Londyn notes with worry as I approach her locker.

I yawn for at least the umpteenth time. “I am a little bit. I think I need some coffee.”

“I don’t think the cafeteria has any.” She bumps her locker shut. “But maybe we can go someplace for lunch. I know Payton and Bailey were planning on staying here, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind going somewhere.”

As much as the idea of going to lunch with my sisters sounds amazing, I already made plans with Blaise. Sure, Austin said he may know where the bags are, but I’m not going to rely solely on a guy who’s the son of the man threatening me. And besides, even if Austin comes through for me, I don’t like the idea of owing him a favor.

“Actually,” I tell her as we start down the hallway. “I’m supposed to go to lunch with Blaise today.”

Her eyes slightly widen. “Like on a date?”

I dismiss her with a flick of my wrist. “Nah, we’re just friends.”

“Friends who have lunch together? And kiss?” she questions with her brows elevated.

“That’s a normal thing,” I lie, knowing I sound like an idiot.

“Except you usually don’t kiss your friends,” she points out with insinuation.

I give a nonchalant shrug. “Maybe I do.”

“Had, I know you. And I know you don’t just go around kissing guys,” she says, digging her phone out of her pocket. “You’ve kissed like, what? Two guys? And one was on a dare.”

I scratch at the bandage on my wrist. “Yeah, so what?”

She glances at her phone before stuffing it into her pocket. “So? You’ve kissed Blaise two times. Three if you want to count that kiss you gave him after you guys tied in that drag race. You’ve never kissed the same guy more than once, and I’m pretty sure you’ve never kissed anyone because you wanted to.” She pushes open the doors and we step outside. “That has to mean something.”

“Yeah, it means I’m a teenage girl who decided to kiss a hot guy. That’s not that weird.”

“So you’re admitting you think Blaise is hot?”

“He obviously is,” I reply with a shrug. “Everyone with eyes knows that. Hell, even Blaise knows it.”

She muses over something. “You two would be a really cute couple.”

I glare at her. She so did not just say that. “I don’t want to date Blaise. I don’t want to date anyone period. And we wouldn’t make a cute couple. We’re like night and day.”

She rolls her eyes. “Like you said this morning, you guys have a lot in common. Plus, you’d look really good together.” She gestures at my outfit. “Especially with the whole goth thing you’ve got going on today.”

“Why are you being so persistent about this?” I ask, feeling uneasy. “Just a few days ago you were telling me we needed to stay away from the Porterson brothers. That they were bad news.”

“That was before Rhyland gave us a ride to school. And Blaise stepped in when dad was…” Her gaze drifts to the bruise on my face and she swallows hard. “If he was a bad guy, I doubt he would’ve done what he did that day.”

I instinctively touch the bruise on my face then wince. “Yeah, probably.”

She offers me an almost apologetic smile and I know she’s about to say something I’m not going to like.

“I think he might really be good for you. I really do. Not that I think you need a boyfriend, but it seems like, I don’t know, you usually try to handle everything by yourself. But for whatever reason, you let Blaise help you.”

I massage my temples, feeling a headache coming on. “Lon, I love you to the moon and back, but please let this go. Blaise and I are just friends and I don’t want to be anything more.” I lower my hands to my sides. “I don’t want to be anything more with anyone right now.” Can’t be with anyone right now.

A squeezing sensation fills my chest, making it hard to breathe. I have no damn clue what’s causing the feeling, but it’s almost as annoying as the fluttering sensations I’ve been feeling lately when I’m around Blaise.

She studies me, the light breeze blowing strands of her hair into her face. “All right, I’ll let it go for now.”

A relieved exhale eases from my lips. “Thanks.”

She forces a smile. “Just remember, I’m here if you ever need to talk.”

“Thanks little sis. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I lightly nudge her shoulder and her smile turns real.

Then we start across the grass and toward a tree where Bailey and Payton are sitting in the shade. Bailey is babbling about something with a sandwich in her hand while Payton dazes off into the empty space. It reminds me of yet another problem I need to deal with, but I’m not sure I can deal with this one on my own. I need some help, even though I’m not a huge fan of asking for it, especially from my sisters. But this isn’t really about me. This is about helping Payton.

Taking a deep breath, I do something I haven’t done in a long time.

“Maybe you could take them to lunch,” I suggest to Londyn. “And work on finding out what’s going on with Payton.”

Londyn appears a bit surprised, probably because this is the first time I’ve asked for help in a very long time. “I can do that.”

Taking another deep breath, I prepare to do something else I rarely do. I dig my keys out of my pocket and hand them to her, my chest tightening again, but for different reasons. “Just don’t be too pushy with her. If she gets too irritated, maybe back off for a bit. Pay’s stubborn and getting to the bottom of what’s going on might take us some time and a lot of careful prying.”

She takes the keys from me. “I can handle this. Go have lunch with our hot neighbor and try to enjoy yourself. You need the rest. You look like someone who’s stayed up for days planning for the apocalypse.”

“Gee, thanks,” I say dryly.

She stuffs the keys into her pocket. “Sorry, but it’s true.”

I sigh. She’s probably right. And much as I’d love to just go out and enjoy myself, I won’t be able to until I fix all of our problems.

The shitty part is that deep down, I know I may never be able to do that. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last handful of years it’s that problems have a way of always being part of the Harlyton’s lives. It was part of the reason I wanted to take off to college so badly. I thought maybe if I got away from my dad and his world, I could escape the problems. Perhaps I was being naïve, though. Perhaps they would’ve followed me. I guess I’ll never find out, since I’m not going anywhere for a while.

That thought makes me feel super depressed, but I shove it aside and focus on looking composed as we reach Bailey and Payton.

“Hey my favorite people in the whole wide world,” I greet my sisters with a smile.

Bailey smiles back, but Payton scowls at me.

“Hey big sis,” Bailey says, picking the crust off her sandwich. “Wait, we don’t have to call you mom now, do we? Because that’d be weird.”

I promptly shake my head. “No way. Never, ever call me mom. Not just because it makes me sound old, but because I could never replace her.”

“Obviously,” Payton mutters and I sigh.

Bailey frowns at her before looking back at me, her brows dipping. “Where’s your lunch?”

“Oh. I’m actually going off campus to eat.” I could tell them with who, but I’m hoping I don’t have to.

“Cool. This sandwich tastes like balls anyway.” Bailey rises to her feet and collects her bag from off the ground. “So where are we going to eat? Please say somewhere good.”

I scratch at my wrist and prepare myself for what’s coming. I know my sisters well enough to know how they’re going to react. “Actually, Lon is going to take you to lunch. I have something else to do right now.”

Londyn gives me an amused look, knowing I’m being vague on purpose.

“What do you have to do?” Bailey wonders with her brows knit.

“Um…” I scratch at the back of my neck. “I’m going to lunch with someone.”

“With who? Wait, are you making friends without us?” she jokes, slinging the handle of her bag over her shoulder.

“Hey.” Blaise’s voice sails over my shoulder, causing me to tense. A second later, he steps up beside me, his blond hair blowing in the wind. “I was just headed out to my car to meet up with you.” His gaze skims across my three sisters then lands on me. “Are you ready to go?”

“Wait… This is who you’re going to lunch with?” Bailey’s looks at me, her brow meticulously arching.

“Yeah, so what?” I say defensively. “It’s not a big deal.”

Bailey glances at Blaise then back at me. “Are you guys dating or something?”

“No,” I stress, giving her a dirty look. “We’re just friends.”

Bailey’s grin is all sorts of mischief. “Is that why you’re dressed like that?” She mocks, gesturing at my outfit. “To match with your boyfriend?”

Blaise chokes on a laugh.

I point a finger at him. “Don’t encourage her.”

He holds up his hands in front of him. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re laughter said enough.” I give him a dark glare, then return my attention back to Bailey. “I’m dressed like this because I didn’t have any clean clothes this morning. That’s it. And FYI, if I was dating a guy, I sure as hell wouldn’t dress to match him.”

“I guess that’s probably true.” Bailey’s gaze dances back and forth between Blaise and me before settling on Blaise. “So where are you taking my sister on this not-date?”

I give her another dirty look but she ignores it.

“I’m not sure yet.” Blaise digs out his car keys from his pocket. “But somewhere good. I promise.”

Bailey trades a secret smile with Londyn and I shake my head.

“Well, we’re going to need to know where you’re taking her,” Londyn says, turning to look at Blaise and crossing her arms. “Or else we can’t let her go with you.”

I shake my head, but a smile pulls at my lips. I’ve taught them well.

“We’re not doing this to be mean,” Bailey adds. “We just need to know she’ll be safe with you.”

“I get that.” Blaise rubs his jawline, his face set in amused contemplation. “I think I’ll take her to this diner that’s in the middle of town. A lot of people go there for lunch and it’s in a very safe neighborhood. I swear.”

“And you promise she’ll be safe with you?” Londyn struggles to keep a straight face.

Blaise’s lips quirk. “I promise to the moon and back.”

Londyn’s eyes widen in surprise, her gaze drifting to me.

“He heard me yelling it out to you when the people from social services took you guys away,” I stress. “I didn’t teach the saying to him.”

“You made me use it to make you a promise,” Blaise reminds me.

Well, shit. I forgot about that.

Londyn stares me down with a knowing look on her face, to which I respond with a bored expression.

Blaise’s gaze skates back and forth between us. “Why do I get the feeling you guys are having a secret conversation right now?”

“Because we are.” I blast Londyn with another warning look then glance at Blaise. “I’m sure you recognize the secret siblings look because you and your brothers do it all the time.”

His smiles. “You noticed that?”

“It’s pretty obvious,” I say through a yawn while stretching my arms above my head.

“You tired?” he asks with concern.

I shrug, my hands falling to my sides. “A bit, but I’m fine.”

He stares at me for a heartbeat or two then nods toward the parking lot. “We should get going. I don’t want you getting another tardy today.”

“How the heck did you know I already got one?”

He winks at me. “Because I know things.”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever, dude. Keep your secrets then.” I wave bye to my sisters. “Be careful with my car,” I tell Londyn as I back away from her.

“I will,” she calls out as Bailey says, “You be careful too. If you need some extra carefulness, make sure to stop by the house and visit the cookie jar.”

For the love of all damn unicorns, she so did not just yell that out.

Blaise shoots me a puzzled look as I turn around and walk beside him.

“What’s in the cookie jar?” he asks.

“Cookies,” I lie, scratching at my brow. “Obviously.”

“What sort of cookies? Or is cookies code for something?” he asks curiously. “Because you have this look on your face that, I don’t know…” He stares at me, as if trying to read the answer on my face.

Luckily, I’ve never been one for blushing or else my cheeks might be bright red right now.

I lightly elbow him in the side. “There’s just cookies in it, so stop staring at me like that.”

He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip. “Fine, I’ll let it go for now. But one day I’m going to get to the bottom of what the hell you’re hiding in your cookie jar.”

I yawn again. “Good luck with that.”

He smiles but concern floods his eyes. “You’ve yawned like ten times in the last five minutes. Just how much sleep did you get last night?”

“I didn’t really go back to sleep after I left your house,” I admit.

“Too excited about having your sisters home?” he asks.

“That and confused why my sisters were home.”

A crease forms between his brows. “Why did they get dropped off at your house so early anyway? That’s not how social services usually works.”

“I know, which makes the entire situation super strange.” I start giving him a recap of what Londyn told me, how some woman dropped her and my sisters off at the house without giving much of an explanation, how the same woman gave Londyn an envelope with a weird wax crest stamped on the seal, how inside the envelope were custody papers signed by my mom.

“Your mom signed the custody papers?” Blaise stares at me in confusion as he unlocks the passenger door of his SUV. “But I thought your mom…” He trails off with remorse in his eyes

“Is dead,” I finish for him, my heart aching inside my chest. “She is, which is why I’m so damn confused about these papers. I mean, she had to have gotten them drawn up and notarized before she died, but why? It doesn’t make any sense.”

He opens the door. “There wasn’t a note in with the papers that explained why?”

“There was a note from her, but it didn’t explain much of anything other than if I was receiving the papers then my dad lied to her.” I heave a sigh. “I know I should be grateful about the papers—and I am—but I also feel a bit apprehensive about the situation. I almost feel like at any second someone is going to show up and tell me it’s not real and that the papers are fake. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to relax until I can figure out why my mom had the papers drawn up, and how the hell she knew I was going to need them. Which means I probably need to track down whoever gave the papers to this woman that dropped off my sisters in the middle of the night.” I shake my head at myself. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I keep dumping my problems all over you. I bet you’re really regretting the day you decided to hit on me, huh?”

He rubs his lips together, contemplating something. “I might regret that day, but not for the reason you just said.” He steps back, holding the door open and gesturing for me to get in. “Lets go get something to eat and see if we can get this bag situation taken care of. Then we can move on to figuring out where these custody papers came from… Maybe I can call up the person I know at Social Services and see if she knows who the woman is that dropped your sister off and then maybe we can talk to her.”

There he goes again with that we shit. I should put a stop to it right now. Walk away and handle this myself, but the truth is I need him.

Dammit, I’m so screwed.

Still, I don’t argue, reminding myself that I may need help to clean up my father’s mess. And I need to clean it up or else… Well, I’m not going to think about that right now or else I just might lose it.

“Wow, you really are a gentleman,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood. “Do they teach you those skills in football?”

He gives me a hardy har har look. “You’re really getting a kick out of this football thing, aren’t you?”

I slide into the passenger seat. “I totally am. It’s beyond amusing and kind of weird.”

Amusement glitters in his eyes. “Why’s it weird?”

I shrug, reaching for the seatbelt. “Because you don’t look like the type of guy that plays football?”

His amusement remains. “So what sort of guy do I look like?”

“I don’t know. When I first saw you, I figured you were the kind of guy that got trashed on weekends, got into a lot of trouble, was cocky and a total player.”

“And now what do you see?” he asks.

“Well, I definitely still think you’re cocky,” I quip and he smiles. “But as for getting trashed on weekends and getting into trouble… I think I may have been wrong about that.”

“And what about the last one?” he asks, holding my gaze. “Do you still think I’m a player?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Only time will tell.”

He scans my face over with the oddest look on his face. Then he steps back and shuts the door, leaving me to wonder what on earth he was thinking about.

Leaving me to wonder a lot of things.

Leaving me to realize I’m starting to wonder a lot about this guy.

Of course, my thoughts get distracted as he rounds the front of his SUV to climb in, and a tall, curvy girl with long blonde hair stops him before he can get in. She starts talking to him. Or more like flirting since she keeps laughing at him and touching his arm.

I once made a joke about how she was the kind of girl that’d look good with Blaise, how they’d be a super pretty couple. I was only mostly kidding when I said it, but seeing them standing by each other, I realize they do look good together. And I don’t like the way that revelation bothers me.

See, this is why you’ve stayed away from guys. Because they’re distracting and complicated things.

To keep myself from staring at them, I focus on picking the chipped fingernail polish off my fingernails. I also make a mental note to inform Rhyland that Blaise does know how to flirt, since he once tried to convince me he didn’t.

About a minute later Blaise climbs into the car.

“Sorry about that,” he says, shutting the door. “Layla had a couple of questions about the notes we took in history class today. Honestly, it’s kind of weird she asked me. Usually people keep their distance from me and my brothers. And I’m not really the guy you ask for notes.”

“I think she was hitting on you,” I tell him, rotating in my seat to face him.

“I got that vibe too.” He starts up the engine. “I’m not sure why, though? I know girls check me out and everything and who can blame them.” He flashes me a smirk to which I respond with the most dramatic eye roll ever. “But they’re usually too scared of my last name and what it means to actually flirt with me. Well, except for Amelia, but she’s straight up crazy. Plus, her father could probably give my father a run for his craziness.” He sighs, gripping the wheel.

I almost say: oh trust me, I know. Luckily, I catch myself or else I’d have to explain how I know his father is as batshit crazy as Axel, and I can’t tell Blaise about the deal I made with his dad.

“Maybe you’re not as scary as you think,” I manage to get out a teasing remark. “Maybe your pretty boy looks are becoming more prominent by the day and people don’t find it very scary anymore.” I give him a sly grin. “Pretty boys really aren’t that scary. Well, unless you’re allergic to prettiness, which I totally am.”

A smile quirks at the corners of his lips as he steers his SUV out of the parking space. “Bullshit.”

“It’s complete un-bullshit.”

“Un-bullshit?” he questions, highly amused.

“It’s totally a word,” I say with a sassy grin. “In my dictionary, which is the dictionary you really should start living by.”

“And what’s this dictionary called?” he plays along. “You know, so I can purchase a copy and memorize all the words.”

“I’m not sure you can do that. There’s like a millionbagillon of them, which is a lot.”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re so adorable sometimes.”

I hold up my hand. “You so did not just say that to me.” When he grins, I lean over and lightly pinch his arm. “Take that back, Blaise Porterson, before I throw up all over the floor of your car.”

“Why would that make you throw up?” he wonders.

“Um, because I’m almost as allergic to adorableness as I am prettiness,” I say like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

But it should be because I’m not adorable. At all.

He fights back a smile. “If that’s the case then you must be allergic to yourself.”

I gag. “Oh my God, cheesy overload. And if you don’t knock it off, I may have to kick your ass.”

“Please don’t tease me, stubborn girl,” he quips as he slows down to exit the parking lot.

“You think my ass kickings are amusing?” I question. “Because I’m betting your balls wouldn’t agree with that.”

He winces, one of his hands drifting toward his crotch. “Yeah… I get your point.”

I smile to myself, completely entertained until I become aware of the fact that I’m sitting here with him, joking around and laughing like it’s the easiest thing in the world to do.

Before I can over analyze that—which I was about to—the back door to the SUV flies open and Rhyland dives into the backseat.

Blaise and I both startle, nearly jumping out of our seats. Then Blaise taps the brakes.

“Jesus Christ, Rhy.” Blaise grips the wheel and shakes his head. “You damn near gave me a heart attack.”

“That makes two of us.” I blow out a shaky exhale, trying to get my heart rate to calm the hell down. Then I turn around in the seat to look at Rhyland. “Okay, so do you normally jump in the back of moving cars or is this just some random thing you decided to do today?”

He grins at me as he situates in the seat. “Actually, I was trying to chase down a pretty girl.”

I elevate a brow. “I sure as hell hope you’re not talking about me.”

“I actually am.” He scoots forward in the seat. “I come bearing a message for you.”

“From who?” Blaise and I ask simultaneously.

“Aw, look at the two of you. So in sync with each other.” When I give him an unimpressed look, he retorts with an innocent smile. “What?”

“Don’t start with that shit,” I warn, aiming a finger at him. “And tell me about this message.”

His gaze flits from Blaise to me. Then he scratches his brow, seeming uneasy. “Austin told me to tell you that he has information for you about that thing you discussed with him earlier today.”

Blaise’s gaze snaps in my direction. “What?”

When I make no effort to explain, Blaise grits his teeth.

“But anyway.” Rhyland clears his throat. “He said if you’ll meet up with him, he’ll tell you what he found out. He actually wanted me to give him your number, but I refused to, not just because I think it’s a terrible fucking idea for Austin to have your number, but I also don’t have it.” He gives me a joking stern look. “Which I’m trying not to feel too hurt about, but I kind of am.”

“No one has my number except for my sisters.” I pause. “Well, and him.” I nod at Blaise.

Rhyland’s gaze shifts from Blaise to me then a knowing smile touches his lips. “Interesting.”

I give him a dirty look.

For the last couple of days, Rhyland has been suggesting that Blaise and I secretly like each other and that are arguing is our way of flirting. While I find his accusations annoying, the more time I spend with Blaise, the more difficult it becomes to defend myself against Rhyland’s accusations.

“What’s really interesting is that you and Austin were having a conversation.” Blaise glances at me, worry filling his eyes. “Is it about what happened yesterday? Is his dad having him keep an eye on you or something?”

I shake my head, facing forward in the seat. “No. Austin approached me today and said he might be able to help me find the bags my dad stole. That there’s some surveillance guy who may have information, but is holding onto it because he wants to get something out of it.” I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. “He gave me this big speech about how that’s how things work in his father’s world. And your father’s.”

Blaise works his jaw from side to side. “He’s right about that, but I don’t believe for one second that he has a way of getting information about the bags. Axel treats Austin like shit, which means Axel’s men treat Austin like shit, and they aren’t going to give him important information. And I know this because our dad treats us the same way.” He trades a look with Rhyland, who swallows hard.

“Yeah, I guess I kind of understand that,” I mutter, thinking about how my dad treats me and my sisters like crap, and how he took off and left us to deal with this mess.

All it’d take is one phone call to tell us where the bags are, but so far, we haven’t heard a word from him, which makes me wonder if perhaps he has the bags with him.

I really need to check the backyard and see if that other bag is still buried there.

“Yeah, I think you kind of do too.” Blaise reaches over and grazes his finger along the back of my hand.

A shiver begs to roll through me, but I stop it before it starts, knowing it’s too warm in the cab to blame any shivering on me being cold.

Rhyland sharply clears his throat. “Okay, I don’t want to say this because I know it’s probably going to piss you guys off, but I’m going to say it anyway, because it needs to be said.” He slumps back in the seat and crosses his arms. “You guys are nauseatingly cute.”

I throw a glare at him. “And you’re about to be nauseated.”

A sparkle twinkles in his eyes. “Why? Are you two going to start making out?”

“No. I’m about to punch you in the balls,” I quip. “And from what I’ve heard, if I hit you with just enough force, you might puke.”

He bites back a smile. “You’re so snarky.”

“And you’re a troublemaker,” I retort. “I didn’t think so when I first met you. I thought you were the nice one, but now I’ve decided that you’re just a bit more sneaky about causing trouble than your brothers are. Well, minus Jaxon.”

His brows rise. “That’s an interesting observation. Makes me wonder what you think about Blaise.”

The first word that pops into my mind is: sweet. Is he cocky? Sure. Although, I feel like a lot of that cockiness is directed at me. But underneath his arrogance, Blaise is a sweet guy.

“I need to get gas,” Blaise mumbles suddenly.

Then he veers into a parking lot of a nearby gas station, slams to a stop in front of a pump, and hops out without saying another word.

“He seems annoyed.” I watch through the window as Blaise pushes buttons on the gas pump.

“I don’t think he is,” Rhyland mutters, staring at Blaise through the window. “I think he’s confused.”

I glance at him. “Over what?”

He shrugs, looking at me. “Over you.”

What? “What did I do?”

“Nothing really. He just likes you, but I think he’s confused about it. And confused about how you feel.”

“I like him the same way he likes me,” I insist. “As a friend. And FYI, I think you’re wrong about him not having the ability to flirt. He was totally flirting with this girl in the school parking lot before we left.”

He rolls his eyes. “That’s total bullshit.”

“It’s total un-bullshit. Her name is Janie and she was touching him and smiling at him like he was the prettiest guy in the world.” Which he could very well be, but like hell I’m going to say that aloud.

“Sounds like she was flirting with him. Not the other way around.”

“No, he flirted back.” Didn’t he?

Rhyland gives a lazy shake of his head. “I really doubt that. And honestly, at this point, I think you might be a little clueless when it comes to flirting.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Wow, way to be harsh, dude.”

“Sorry, but it’s true.” He gives an unapologetic shrug. “I also think you might be a bit clueless about whether or not a guy sees you as more than a friend.”

“If you’re referring to Blaise, you’re wrong. We’re just friends.”

He heaves a sigh. “Please don’t be like that, sweetheart. If you’d just be honest with yourself, you’d see that Blaise doesn’t like you as just a friend. I told you he’s never really hit on anyone except for you. And he spent all night letting you cry all over his shirt.”

“Friends do that for each other,” I insist, but squirm a bit. “And don’t call me sweetheart.”

He starts to smile, but then his lips tug downward. “I know I’ve been pushing you guys into admitting you like each other, but if you really do just see him as a friend, I think you should take a step back from whatever this thing is going on between you two.” His gaze strays to his brother. “Before someone gets hurt.”

“Why can’t Blaise and I just be friends and spend a lot of time together?” I question. “Not every guy/girl relationship has to lead to a boyfriend/girlfriend thing.”

“I know that.” He looks at me again. “But Blaise likes you. I can tell, even if he won’t admit it. And yeah, I know, I’m kind of ratting out my brother right now, but he’s been through a lot and I think it could end up really messing him up if you don’t reciprocate his feelings.” He sighs, yanking his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry. I know I probably sound like an asshole, but I’m trying to look out for my brother because no matter what he says, he’s not as tough as he pretends to be.”

“I get that,” I tell him. “I act tough in front of my sisters, and I think Blaise is kind of that way with you guys.”

“He is. And most of the time he gets so caught up in us that he forgets to take care of himself, kind of like how I’m guessing you do.”

I dismiss his statement with a flick of my wrist. “Nah, I take care of myself just fine.”

His eyes wander to the bruise on my face then his brow curves upward. “Was that the first time your dad hit you?”

I smash my lips together, wanting to lie, wanting to be tough, but the words won’t seem to leave my lips.

“I figured so.”

“And why’s that?” I sound more defensive than I mean to, but I feel really exposed at the moment.

The Portersons know too much about me.

He rolls his tongue in his mouth, studying me for a moment. Then he tugs the sleeve of his shirt up. Just along his bicep are mounds of elevated scars.

“What happened?” I whisper, but deep down I think I have a good idea of the answer.

“My father’s an asshole and a pyro, among a million other things.” He yanks down the sleeve of his shirt, covering up the scars. “The really shitty part is those aren’t the first scars he put on me. Blaise has had it worse, though, because he always tries to take the fall when one of us fucks up. Kind of like what he’s doing with you.”

“I never asked him to do that,” I reply, feeling awful. “He offered and I just didn’t have anyone else to turn to and I…”

He hurriedly slides forward in the seat and places a hand over mine. “Hey, I didn’t mean that he shouldn’t help you. I just…” He gives my hand a squeeze. “Just don’t break his heart, okay?”

Every one of my instincts scream for me to say that Blaise and I don’t like each other enough for me to have the power to break his heart, but instead I find myself nodding.

“Okay. I won’t.”

He relaxes a drop. “Thanks.” He examines me for a second. “You know, I think you’re not quite as snarky as I first thought.”

I snort a laugh. “Oh no, I’m totally snarky. And I like being that way.”

“Yeah, but you’re also kind of sweet underneath all the sarcasm and toughness.”

I glare at him. “You did not just call me sweet.”

He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, chuckling. “And cute.”

“Rhyland,” I warn. “Stop insulting me or your balls are gonna pay.”

He busts up laughing. “Only you’d see me calling you cute and sweet as an insult.”

“It is an insult,” I insist, trying to remain pissed off because, hello, he just called me cute and sweet, but, I don’t know, something about Rhyland’s laughter is a bit contagious.

“Look at you, trying to be pissed off,” he jokes through his laughter. “Now that’s fucking cute.”

“Dude, I warned you.” I start to lean over the seat, pretending like I’m going to hit him in the balls.

Really, I’m not. I just want to scare him.

Apparently, Rhyland doesn’t think I’m that scary though, and he only laughs harder. I could smack him, maybe punch him in the dick, but he’s not really doing anything that justifies a dick punch, no matter how much I want to do it.

“You’re lucky,” I say, lowering my hand onto my lap.

“Why’s that?” Rhyland asks, his eyes stained with tears of laughter.

“Because during this car ride, I’ve wanted to punch you in the balls twice, but I have some self-control. Although, if you keep it up, I may lose it.”

He scoots forward in his seat, a wicked grin playing at his lips. “Those are some big threats coming from your cute mouth.”

Shaking my head, I ball my hand into a fist. “You know what? Screw this whole self-control thing.” I move to hit him.

I’m not really going to. I just want to make him flinch, which he totally does, but then laughter tickles his lips again. I give him a nasty look right as the driver’s side door swings open and Blaise climbs in.

His gaze skates between the two of us and then a crinkle forms at his brows as his eyes settle on Rhyland. “Why does it look like Hadley’s about to punch you and you find it amusing?”

Rhyland lifts a shoulder, a mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes. “Because that’s exactly what was happening.”

“You didn’t find it amusing.” I smirk. “You totally flinched.”

“I had an itch in my eye,” he insists, reclining back in his seat.

“Liar,” I argue, but I’m on the verge of smiling.

A real smile too.

How that’s happening with everything going on is a mystery, but I’ll enjoy it while I can.

The smile is short-lived, though, as Blaise pulls back onto the street and I spot the same car I saw this morning driving just behind us.

I’m about to ask Blaise if he knows who it belongs to when he mutters a string of curses.

“What’s up?” Rhyland asks, casting a glance behind.

Blaise shakes his head, his gaze flicking at the rearview mirror. “I think one of dad’s lackey’s is following us.”

My heart slams against my chest. “That car was following me this morning.”

Blaise attention snaps in my direction. “What?”

I nod. “When I drove to school this morning, I noticed it.”

His grip on the wheel constricts. “Why didn’t you say anything about this earlier?”

I shrug. “It slipped my mind.”

“How did a car following you slip your mind?” he asks in astonishment.

I give him a duh look. “Because I have a bunch of other shit taking up space in my brain.”

A look of understanding crosses his face, but then he suddenly tenses, his gaze darting to the rearview mirror. “Shit.”

I twist around to see what he’s looking at and my muscles ravel into knots.

The car is no longer tailing us, but is in the other lane and pulling up beside us.

“Should you maybe try to outrun them?” Rhyland asks with a hint of worry.

Blaise chews on his bottom lip. “I’m not sure…” He trails off as the car zooms by and swings in front of the SUV.

As the brake lights of the car flash on, Blaise curses and slams on his breaks, the tires skidding as he struggles to get the SUV to stop.

“Mother fucker,” Blaise growls as he steers the SUV to the side of the road and skids into the gravel.

Dirt laces the air as he gets the SUV to a stop. As the car pulls off to the side of the road in front of us, Blaise shoves the shifter into drive and reaches for the door handle.

“What the hell are you doing, man?” Rhyland asks as Blaise pushes the door open.

“I’m going to go kick the driver of that car’s ass,” Blaise growls, moving to get out.

But Rhyland reaches forward and grabs Blaise’s arm. “More than likely that’s one of dad’s lackey’s and if you go pick a fight with him…” He shakes his head. “It’s not going to be pretty.”

Blaise grits his teeth, glancing from Rhyland to the car in front of us. Then, slowly, he moves back into the driver’s seat.

I release a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “Why do you think they did that…” I start to ask but then trail off as the back door to the car swings open.

My jaw nearly hits the ground as Austin climbs out of the car, a smile rising on his lips as he strolls up to the passenger side and raps his knuckles against the window.

“I’m going to kick his ass,” Blaise mumbles, moving to get out of the car again.

I place a hand on my arm and shake my head. “Don’t.”

He gapes at me. “Why not? He just about made us wreck.”

“I know, but…” I think about how Austin may know where the bags are. “Let me hear what he has to say, okay? In case it’s about the bags.”

Blaise rubs his lips together then shakes his head. “Fine.”

Rhyland makes a whipping sound and Blaise blasts him with a dirty look, but Rhyland only grins.

Mentally rolling my eyes, I roll down the window. “May I help you?” I ask with indifference.

His lips quirk into an amused grin. “Actually, I’m here to help you.”

“Help her how? By making her almost get into a car accident?” Blaise glares at him.

Austin rolls his eyes. “Don’t be overdramatic, Blaise.”

Blaise’s glare deepens. “I’m not being overdramatic. You seriously about made us wreck and it was completely unnecessary.”

“But completely amusing,” Austin quips.

Blaise clenches his hands into fists, but before he can say anything, I interrupt, wanting to know why the hell Austin is here.

“Did you find the bags?” I ask him, telling my heart to settle down, that it’s pointless to get excited just yet.

His smile grows as he rests his arms on the windowsill. “I did.”

I still don’t let myself get too excited. After all, this is Austin we’re talking about.

“Okay, so where are they?” I ask as calmly as I can.

With a devious glint in his eyes, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded up piece of paper. “I talked to the surveillance guy and with a bit of bribery, I managed to get the locations of all six bags. And FYI, one of them is located in your backyard.” Relief starts to trickle through me as I reach to take the slip of paper from him, but the feeling is quickly stifled as he moves the paper out of my reach. “That’s the only location I’m giving you until we make a deal. Once we do, you can have this paper.”

“No fucking way,” Blaise and Rhyland say simultaneously.

I ignore them, though. “How do I know that the addresses on that paper are really where the bags are hidden?” I ask Austin.

He smirks. “I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

I snort a laugh. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

Austin wavers, biting on his bottom lip. “I’ll tell you what. We’ll make the deal and then I’ll give you twenty-four hours to check and make sure the bags are located at the addresses. If they’re not, you can back out of the deal. If they are, though, you’ll have to follow through with it.”

Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad. At least to me. Apparently, Blaise doesn’t agree with me, though, and places a hand on my cheek, steering my face in his direction.

He carries my gaze. “Don’t trust him. Even if the bags are located at those addresses, it’s not going to be worth whatever he wants.”

“You don’t even know what I want,” Austin chimes in.

Blaise’s gaze cuts to him. “Whatever it is, she’ll be in debt to you.”

“Only for a while,” Austin quips. “And being in debt to me is nowhere near as bad as being in debt with my father.”

Blaise shakes his head, his gaze returning to mine. “I don’t want you getting mixed up in this world.”

As sweet as his remark is…

“It’s already too late for that,” I utter. “And Austin is right. I’d way rather be in debt with him then with his father.”

Blaise smashes his lips together and shakes his head, his fingers stiffening on my cheek.

“Maybe one of us can make a deal with you,” Rhyland says to Austin.

“No way,” I quickly say. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know that,” Rhyland assures me. “But it might be better if Blaise or I did this for you.”

“Why?” I question, but he only shrugs.

I blow out a sigh then I lean away from Blaise’s hand, even though the feel of his palm against my cheek was bringing me a tiny drop of comfort. “I’m going to make the deal,” I tell them. They both frown, but I disregard their looks of disapproval and turn back to Austin. “What do you want?”

He bites back a smile. “I want you to be my date to my sister’s party on Saturday.”

“That’s it?” I question in skepticism.

He nods. “And that’ll give you plenty of time to go make sure these locations are where the bags are.”

Just a date with him? That doesn’t sound too awful. Or well, it sounds better than what’s probably going to happen to me if I don’t get these bags to Axel.

“Had,” Blaise starts to protest, but I hold up my hand in his direction.

“Fine, it’s a deal,” I tell Austin, then reach to grab the paper from his hand.

But he moves it out of my reach again. “We need to shake on it first.”

I grimace, my lip twitching in annoyance. “Fine.” I stick out my hand and he places his in mine.

But instead of shaking it, he lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles.

“Gross,” I say, wiggling my hand from his. “I’m seriously going to need like a gallon of hand sanitizer now.”

Austin smirks as he backs away from the SUV. “Pretend all you want, Hadley Harlyton, but we both know you secretly like it.” With a wink, he spins around to leave, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll be in touch about the party. I’d like to coordinate our outfits beforehand.”

“No effing way!” I shout at him. “That wasn’t…” I trail off, grimacing as he climbs into the car and shuts the door.

“That’s why it’s a bad idea to make a deal with him,” Rhyland tells me, resting his arms on the console. “There’s always strings attached.”

“Yeah, well, it might be worth it if these locations check out.” I unfold the piece of paper and skim over the addresses. I don’t know this town well enough, though, to know where any of them are, except for the one in my backyard.

“Most of them are in pretty conspicuous places,” Rhyland mutters, leaning over my shoulder to look at the paper. “You’re probably going to have to wait until dark to check them out unless you want to risk getting busted digging up bags of cocaine and drug money.”

He’s probably right, but tonight I’m supposed to be driving for their father. I’ll have to find time, though, to check out the locations, at least one of them, so I’ll know if Austin is telling the truth before I go to this party with him.

“I still can’t believe all he wanted is for me to be his date to this party,” I mutter as I fold up the piece of paper and stuff it into my pocket.

“I have a feeling there’s more to it than that.” Blaise reclines back in his seat and stares out the window with a contemplative look on his face. “Especially since Amelia blackmailed me into being her date for the same party.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” I frown, realizing there might be more to this deal with Austin than I originally thought.

But what?

“I want you to be careful around him.” Blaise straightens in his seat and looks at me, his gaze intense. “In fact, it can be your favor to me.”

“I thought you were giving me a break from those?” I joke.

“Actually, I want to eliminate the deal completely, but after this one final thing.” Swallowing hard, he quickly brushes his fingers along my cheekbone. “Promise me you’ll be careful around Austin.”

My heart is a lunatic inside my chest, mostly from his touch, but in Hadley style, I manage to sound perfectly calm. “Okay, I promise. But I don’t want to eliminate the deal—I don’t like freebies.”

“I don’t care. I’m not going to ask you for another favor, so…” He shrugs.

I sigh. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll be careful around Austin, but I’m still going to do you random favors if you don’t give any to me.”

“What sort of favors?” Rhyland wonders with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Probably not anything you’re thinking,” I quip with an eye roll.

His eyes glint even more. “Are you implying I’m thinking something dirty, because I’m not, so you must be the one with the dirty mind.”

Rolling my eyes, I face forward in the seat as Blaise steers back onto the road. “I think sometime tonight, I’ll go check out one of these locations,” I say to no one in particular. “I want to find out ASAP if Austin is telling the truth before I start coordinating outfits with him.”

“Can you do it early in the morning?” Blaise asks as he flips on the blinker and turns into the parking lot of an old school looking diner lit up with neon signs and flashing lights.

“I want to go with you,” he says. “But I have something I need to do tonight. We can get up before the sun rises, though, and go.”

“You don’t need to go with me,” I start to protest.

But he reaches over and places a finger to my lips. “Yeah, I kind of do. I mean, for all we know, this could be a setup.”

“A setup for what?” I ask.

Blaise shrugs as he steers into a parking space. “I’m not sure, and maybe it isn’t a setup, but it easily could be so…” He pushes the shifter into park, shuts off the engine, and lets out a stressed breath. “I know you’re not a fan of accepting help, but I’m more used to this world and I just think it’ll be better if I’m with you.”

He’s right. I’m not a fan of getting help. But he’s also right about me not knowing this world very well. A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have cared that much, but with me now being responsible for my sisters…

“All right, you can come with me,” I say, unfastening my seatbelt.

He takes the keys out of the ignition. “Thank you.”

I’m not really sure why he’s thanking me, and I should probably be the one thanking him. But he doesn’t give me an opportunity to do so as he hurries and climbs out of the car.

“You two are disgustingly adorable,” Rhyland remarks as he shoves open the door.

“Stop making it sound like we’re a couple,” I protest as I open the door and climb out.

Rhyland smirks at me as he hops out and pushes the door shut. “You may not officially be, but you’re definitely becoming besties. You should probably start making out, though. You know, make this friends thing a friends with benefits thing.” He winks then dashes by me, hurrying for the door.

“Oh, I’m so going to kick his ass for that remark,” I mutter, hurrying after him.

But I hastily come to a confused halt as I spot an SUV parked across the street that looks similar to Blaise’s. But that’s not what has me confused.

No, it’s the woman staring at me through the rolled down window.

A woman with eyes so similar to mine…

“Mom?” I start toward the SUV, my heart racing in my chest.

But when I get halfway across the parking lot, the window rolls up and the SUV quickly drives forward.

Scratching my head, I turn back and wander toward the diner, confusion flooding my mind.

It couldn’t have been her… Could it?

Blaise is waiting for me when I reach the entrance door of the diner, and Rhyland has already gone inside. Blaise takes one look at my expression and frowns.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

Normally, I’d give him shit for the move, but right now I’m too lost in confusion.

“I thought I just saw my mom in this car…” I shake my head, still a bit stunned. “But I’m sure it wasn’t her. I mean, there’s no way it could’ve been.”

His frown deepens, his gaze straying to the street. Then his forehead creases as he sinks into deep thought.

I want to go there too, want to over analyze this, but deep down, I know it’s pointless. There’s no way that could’ve been my mom, unless she somehow came back as a zombie. Which yeah, as much as I love imagining that kind of stuff is true, I know it isn’t.

“You know what, forget I said anything,” I tell Blaise. “Lets go get something to eat. I’m starving.”

He nods, but his brows remained dipped as he holds open the door for me. I refuse to allow myself to stay confused, to stress about this. Not when I have more important things to worry about. Not when there’s no way that woman could’ve been my mom.

Not unless she somehow died and came back to life. And stuff like that is impossible.