A night away from the Stone-Prince house was exactly what I needed. For a few hours, I’d been able to shut it all off.

Dad.

The past…

Summer.

The present…

Maverick.

The tensions, secrets and lies that were slowly eating away at me like poison. And for those few precious hours, I’d been a normal teenage girl hanging out with her friend. We’d rented a movie off Netflix and ordered pizza. Laurie even broke out a bottle of her mum’s wine and we sipped Chianti while giggling every time Channing Tatum’s perfect arse filled the screen. It was nice. Fun, even. But the next day at school, when my eyes landed on Maverick across the hallway, I knew something was wrong. His friends laughed and joked around him but his attention was elsewhere. His jaw clenched as his hardened gaze, the one I’d come to recognise, searched for something.

Or someone. 

It happened so fast.

One minute he was standing there, the next he was gone, storming through the huddles of kids, while his friends stared after him, confusion shining in their eyes. I slammed my locker shut and went after him. I knew I shouldn’t care about whatever he was doing—whoever he had his sights set on—but the same girl who stumbled across him on the beach last summer, refused to let me walk the other way.

When I turned the corner, my feet skidded to a halt as I watched him wrap his hand around a shaggy-haired boy's throat and slam him against the wall with such force it echoed down the hall.

“Maverick!” Summer yelled, panic flooding her voice. I rushed to her side and slipped an arm around her shoulder, hugging her into me.

“Touch my sister again and you're dead, got it? Dead!” His free hand collided with the wall and we both winced.

“Maverick, stop, stop, you're hurting him.” Summer tried to get to him, but I pulled her back. He looked possessed, anger pulsating from him.

“Maverick,” I said calmly but loud enough for it to be clear. “Think this through.”

The poor boy trapped between the wall and Maverick's arm looked ready to crap himself, his eyes wide with terror.

“Maverick,” I repeated and this time his head moved a fraction. He didn't meet my eyes, but I knew I had his attention. “You need to let him go.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Maverick's arm pushed against Nick's throat, and the boy clawed at his human restraint, gasping for breath. Maverick was unaffected. He didn't budge, didn't flinch a muscle as Nick thrashed against him. He was completely lost to his rage.

“I should beat the shit out of you right here. What the fuck were you thinking?” His voice was raw with anger as Nick spluttered and choked out a string of garbled words that had Summer sobbing into my shoulder as her body shook with fear.

“What the … Fuck.” Kyle appeared out of nowhere and rushed straight over to Maverick and Nick. He was too calm. As if he was used to dealing with this version of Maverick all the time. 

And it occurred to me, maybe he was.

He laid a hand on Maverick's shoulder and squeezed. “Rick, come on, man. You can't afford to get benched which is exactly what coach will do if he finds out about this. Let him go.”

Maverick let his arm fall away but fisted his hands into Nick's hoodie still holding him in place. “Stay away from her.”

The blood drained from Nick's face as his frantic gaze searched for Summer. Maverick shoved him hard before releasing him fully, and Nick hesitated. I didn’t blame him. Maverick still looked ready to kill, his eyes icy and unresponsive.

“Get out of here,” Kyle urged. “And the rest of you, show's over.” The crowd dispersed in a frenzy of hushed whispers. 

“I hate you,” Summer choked out as she stepped toward her brothers.

“Sum—” It was Kyle who spoke, but she silenced him with a narrowed glare, turning her head to Maverick. She laughed bitterly. “And you wonder why I never tell you anything. You need help Maverick. Before you hurt someone. Really hurt someone.” Summer spun around, barged past me, and ran off down the hallway. 

“Shit,” Kyle murmured under his breath just as Maverick said, “Lond—”

“Don't.” I clenched my fists at my side. “Did you tell him?” I looked to Kyle and his expression grew serious.

“Don't put this on me. I'm only just finding out exactly what that fucker did because you wouldn't tell me.”

“You knew she knew?” Maverick's voice was scathing, but we both ignored him.

“Macey told you,” I sighed. “Didn't she?” 

“Answer the question, Kyle.”

Kyle's eyes widened, but I kept going. “Fuck you, Maverick. I'm going to find Summer because someone needs to try to fix your mess.”

When I turned around Macey was standing there, guilt written all over her face. “What did you do, Rick?”

“Oh, this just gets better and better,” I exhaled a shaky breath. “What did you think telling him would achieve?”

Macey looked to her brother, but he remained silent. When her eyes flickered back to me she stuttered, “I... I don't know.”

“And you wonder why she kept it from you.” I shouldered past her and went in search of Summer.

~

I found her sobbing into Nick’s chest, in an empty classroom at the end of the hallway. “Hey, can I come in?” I whispered.

Nick nodded, and I stepped into the room, closing the door behind me. “Are you okay?”

He let out a shaky breath. “I'll be fine. I'm more concerned about her.” He motioned to the girl breaking in his arms. 

“Can I?” I inched forward.

“Sure, I think I should lie low anyway. Give Prince chance to cool off. I'll call you later.” He dropped a kiss to Summer's head and turned her into my arms.

“Hey, Summer, it's me, Lo.” Brushing damp strands of hair out of her face, I tried to soothe her. 

When the tears subsided, she lifted her head and smiled weakly. “This is becoming a regular occurrence. I'm embarrassed.” She swiped her eyes with her sleeves.

“Don't be. Maverick was out of order.”

“Nick left?” Her eyes darted around the room and I nodded. “He said he'll call you.”

“I think I checked out for a minute. I'm so embarrassed. Now everyone will know and they'll look at me and...”

“Hey, hey, none of that. Maverick probably did you a favour,” I said. “At least now boys will know you're off limits.” It was supposed to be a joke but Summer burst into tears again. 

“Crap, I'm sorry.” I hugged her tight, rubbing soothing circles over her back. 

“I hate him.”

“No, you don't. He's an impulsive prick, but he's just looking out for you.”

“Nick will never want to—”

“Nick's not going anywhere, okay?” I’d seen the resolve in his eyes. The way he held her like she was the most precious thing in the world. “This will all blow over, you'll see.”

Because someone needed to put Maverick straight—even if that person was me. 

“I told Macey. She wouldn't let it drop so I told her. She promised not to tell him, she promised … I should have known, they tell each other everything.” 

Not everything, my mind whispered. Something told me if Macey knew about me and Maverick, she’d be making my life a lot harder than she already was.

“Ssh, it doesn't matter. All that matters is Maverick didn't hurt Nick.” His ego had taken a hit but physically, he was nothing more than a little shaken. Knowing Maverick, the way I’d begun to, it could have ended a lot worse.

“But what if he—”

“Maverick won't touch him again. I promise.” Even if it meant going head to head with him, I'd do it. Someone had to. I brushed more loose wisps of hair out of her face. “Do you think you can get through the rest of the day?” 

Summer sniffled and dried her face with her sleeves. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Good, because I don't think we can cut class again.”

She managed a strained laugh. “Yeah, you're probably right. Thank you, Lo, again. I don't know what I would have done without you.”

I hugged her into my side and guided us toward the door. “Like I said before, that's what family is for.”

~

I met Summer outside her last class and Kyle gave us a ride home. He tried to apologise to her, but I shook my head warning him not to push. She needed time. And the elder Stone-Prince siblings needed to let Summer come to them, on her terms, when she was ready.

When we arrived at the house Summer fled the Jeep and ran straight inside, and me and Kyle sat there, staring at the house.

“That shit was messed up,” he said, his voice laced with regret.

“Are you really surprised?”

He ran a brisk hand down his face. “Rick is...” he searched for the right word but I said, “A loose cannon. Summer is heartbroken, and what about Nick? He didn't deserve that. And you want to know why I didn't tell you? This is precisely why, Kyle. Because you would have run off to Maverick and who knows how it would have ended.”

Kyle shifted, so he was facing me. “I know, I know. Is she... okay? She wouldn’t even look at me on the ride home.”

“What do you think?” I bit out. But I could see the regret in his eyes. He wasn’t happy about how things had gone down either. So I added, “She'll be fine.”

“Good. That’s good.” Respect shone in his eyes. “She’s lucky to have you, Cous.”

“She should have the three of you, too.” 

“I know.” He swallowed and then cleared his throat. “It’s just different with her. We’ve tried to protect her from…” Kyle’s voice trailed off and I knew he was shutting me out again. “Listen, I need to get to back for practice. You'll be okay?”

“Go, I'll be fine, and I'll check in on Summer later.”

He nodded, and I took that as my sign to leave. I climbed out of the Jeep and headed inside, going straight to the kitchen. Loretta had left some pie on the counter. Loading a plate with a healthy slice, I sat at the island. The front door rattled, and I smiled to myself. “What did you forget?”

But Kyle didn't reply because it wasn't him.

“Oh.” My eyes settled on the person standing in the doorway. “It’s you.”

I went back to my plate of sugar, ignoring Maverick as he stood rigid. “Is she ups—”

“Don't even think about it. You've done enough today.”

“I want to apologise. I saw red and lost it.”

I slammed my fork down. The clink of metal against marble pierced the tension rippling in the air. “It's a bit late for that, don't you think?” I met his conflicted gaze. “Not only did you embarrass her in the middle of school, you hurt the one person she cares about.”

He flinched. 

“Summer isn't a child, Maverick.” My voice was shrill, and I lowered my tone. I didn’t want to risk her hearing this. “They know they jumped into things too quick. They know it was a mistake. But it was her mistake to make and deal with. Not Kyle's, not Macey's, and certainly not yours.” I rose from the stool and moved toward him but didn't let myself get too close. He was my Kryptonite and I couldn’t risk getting distracted.

“You treat her differently. You all do. Everyone keeps her at arm's length, wraps her up in cotton wool. It's not fair on her.”

“I just want to protect her. You don’t think I know what guys that age are thinking? Macey told me you had to take her to the clinic for fuck’s sake. She’s fifteen.”

“I was only sixteen last summer.”

His face turned ashen but Maverick was an expert at schooling his features, and his impenetrable mask slid back into place. “That was different.”

“Different, right.”

“We didn’t do anything.”

We’d done enough, but obviously it didn’t matter to him.

“Whatever you tell yourself so you can sleep at night,” I murmured.

Maverick’s eyes darkened suddenly as he inched forward. I stepped back, maintaining my distance. I couldn’t let him get too close.

“London…”

“You need to give her time. Nick isn’t going away, Maverick. They’re in love. She loves him. They might be young but they care about each other. Don’t get in the way of that or you’ll lose her forever. And you might want to think about apologising to Nick. Something tells me you need to make a grand gesture if you want to get back into her good graces in the next ten years.”

Maverick blew out an exasperated breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. I could see his temper rising. He didn’t like being told what to do. But he didn’t intimidate me, not like he did others.

“You know I’m right,” I said.

He didn’t reply.

He continued staring at me—his darkened gaze cutting right through me. I wanted to get inside his head, to hear his thoughts, and experience the world through his eyes. To find out what made Maverick Prince tick. But something told me I might not like what I found, so I left him standing there hoping that if he cared for his sister—if he cared for me, at all—he’d do the right thing and fix it.