“The fuck is going on?” Chanel demands, yanking Ilaria’s phone out of her hand and immediately starting her investigation. “Oh no. What an idiot,” Chanel chuckles, her lips stretching into a wide grin as she shakes her head.

  “Okay, what gives?” I question, needing to know what the hell is going on. Chanel whips the phone around and our eyes are assaulted by Riley’s latest thirst trap. “Oh no,” I groan, taking in the image of the dude, butt naked at some party, holding his junk with one hand and holding up the other to flex his muscles.

  The girls laugh as Ari reaches across and takes the phone from Chanel before zooming in on all the good parts, and when it comes to Riley Sullivan, it’s a damn guarantee that it’s all going to be good. What can I say? The kid has a certain appeal and he knows it. Doesn’t help that he’s a complete flirt with the kind of charm that has women dropping their panties.

  Ilaria wipes a stray tear before leaning in and pointing to her phone. “Look at the hashtag.”

  Every eye drops to the screen as Ari presses on the information at the bottom, expanding the text. “Tell me he didn’t,” Addison laughs, shaking her head as the secondhand embarrassment becomes all too real while we each read over the single hashtag at the bottom. #Beastmode

  “Oh, he did,” I laugh, unable to resist glancing up across the room to find the idiot in question only to see the pride shining through his eyes, probably certain his latest thirst trap will go viral. I wouldn’t be surprised if it did though. They usually do.

  Ari continues zooming and frothing over the image when something in the background has her mood souring. “Uggghhhhh,” she groans, looking down at Jax who stands in the background in nothing but a pair of swim shorts with his hair all messed up and dripping from the water. She pushes the phone away and drops her head to the table. “I can’t get away from him. Everywhere I look, Jax is right there, practically rubbing it in my face.”

  My hand falls to her back as Ilaria swoops in and steals her phone back off the table. “But you guys talked yesterday. I figured things were better after that.”

  “No,” she mutters. “All he did was undo all the progress I made over the last few weeks while he was healing and remind me how badly I want to be with him. You saw that shit in the pool, right? You saw just how sweet and nice and caring he can be. It’s like he knows just how easily he can reel me in and then BAM, he hits me with the you’re my best friend bullshit. Like, fuck. I don’t want to be your goddamn friend, dude. Love me, already!” She lets out a heavy huff, her cheeks blowing out as she props her chin up on her hand. “I swear, all he’s good for is twisting the knife that’s already buried in my spine.”

  “It’ll get better,” Ilaria promises.

  Ari shoots her a blank stare. “If you honestly think that, you’re fucked in the head.”

  “Yeah, maybe, but I just—”

  Addison flies up off her seat, determination in her eyes as Ilaria stops talking, all four of us looking up at her with anticipation. Her hands shake as she stares across the room. Hell, she looks like she’s about to throw up, but she shouldn’t be nervous. If she’s wanting to do what I think she’s wanting to do, then she’ll be perfectly fine. Though, I can’t pretend to know how she’s feeling. What she went through with Colby would make moving forward with any relationship scary as hell.

  She hovers by our table, standing motionless as she tries to remember where the hell she left her balls, and then just like that, she steps out from behind the table and storms across the cafeteria.

  I suck in a breath, watching with wide eyes as Arizona gasps and clutches my arm, her nails digging into my skin. “Holy shit, she’s actually going to do it.”

  Ilaria shakes her head, positive she’s about to bitch out while we watch with bated breath as she marches all the way over to the boys’ table. Hudson’s head shoots up first, almost as though he can sense her there. He stands as she walks around to his side of the table, all the guys finally noticing her presence.

  Seeing the terrified look on her face, Hudson steps toward her, his brows furrowed, more than ready to beat down every last fucker who even looked at her wrong. He reaches her, taking hold of her shoulders as the boys watch with wide eyes, ready to back him up.

  Hudson searches her face but before he even gets a chance to demand answers, she pushes up onto her tippy toes and crushes her lips against his. Addison doesn’t touch him anywhere else, just kisses him deeply as he freezes, too scared to make a fucking move.

  A second passes and Hudson relaxes, but just as Jax and Riley start cheering them on, Addie’s whole body tenses. Her hands come up and she slams them against Hudson’s chest, shoving him back with a force none of us were prepared for. He stumbles back into the table and the cheering immediately stops.

  Addison just stares at him, horrified, and as Hudson straightens himself up, she bolts toward the exit. I stand, ready to go after her, but Hudson already has it under control, flying out the door in her wake as Tanner remains standing by their table.

  Tanner glances back at me, anger and hurt burning in his eyes. It’s one thing for an older brother to see his sister making out with one of his best friends, but it’s another to watch her suffering while she’s trying to find her happiness.

  His gaze falls back to the table, and as he drops into his seat, Logan claps his hand over Tanner’s shoulder, murmuring something I couldn’t even dream of hearing from across the room. Tanner nods and just like that, leans back in his seat, ready to get on with his afternoon.

  “Hey,” Ilaria says, claiming my attention. “She’ll be okay.”

  I shrug my shoulders and press my lips into a hard line, not really sure anymore.

  “She will be,” Ilaria says, determination thick in her tone. “I know it sucked and she’s probably out there bawling her eyes out and refusing to let him even touch her, but whether she knows it or not, she took a huge step today. It’s only going to get easier from here.”

  “I hope so,” I say, knowing she’s right, but nothing on this green earth will stop it from sucking. Addie tried, she took a leap, and I’m sure for a moment it felt amazing. She was bold and courageous and went after what she wanted, but despite everything, she wasn’t ready. Lifting my head, I give the girls an encouraging smile, one I don’t feel in my soul. “Let’s just hope she gets her justice along the way.”

  “Speaking of,” Chanel says, reaching across to take the remaining slice of pizza off my plate. “What’s going on with Colby? Is he still a dead man, or will the asshole magically revive himself?”

  “No idea,” I say. “I haven’t spoken to Tanner much this week, but last I heard, there was no change. I’ve tried ringing the hospital a few times, but because I’m not family, they won’t give me any updates. And the cops aren’t really forthcoming with information to Tanner, so it’s like walking on eggshells with him, always waiting for the other shoe to drop and our lives to spiral out of control again.”

  Ilaria’s face scrunches up. “Hypothetical question that has absolutely nothing to do with the current conversation at hand. Does it make me an asshole for not wanting someone to wake from a coma?”

  Arizona snorts an ugly laugh, sounding like a bulldog getting a rectal exam. “Classy.”

  Ilaria rolls her eyes as a smirk pulls at her lips. “What’s classy is the fact I haven’t asked Bri about her brother despite how thoroughly he rocked my world after her mom’s wedding.”

  I send a sharp glare her way while shaking my head. “You just had to go and ruin my appetite.”

  “Oh, please,” she scoffs. “You could be sitting in a pile of rotting corpses, using some dude’s grubby toenails to pick shit out of your teeth, and you’d still have a rock-solid appetite.” I grin. She’s not wrong, but damn, there’s something seriously messed up in her head. “Now,” she continues, “answer my goddamn question. When the hell is Damien getting back and do you think he’d be down to bend me over like a freaking pretzel?”

  Dragging my hands over my face, I groan. “Ughhhhh.” Not thrilled to be having this conversation, I give her what she wants just for the sake of being able to move on. “He’ll be back soonish, I think, and seeing as though he’s the kind of guy to fuck anything that walks, I think it’s a safe bet to say he’ll bend you over any way you want.”

  Ilaria grins, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “You really do know the way to a girl’s heart, don’t you?”

  I flip her the bird, and not a moment later, the bell sounds through the school, sending us all back to class and bringing me that much closer to finally getting the answers I need from Tanner.

  Chapter 13

  BRIELLE

  I never realized how much of a needy bitch I was until now. Any normal girl would be using this time to give herself a facial, maybe scroll through socials to add some thirst traps to her spank bank, hell, she might even paint her nails, but not me. I’m standing at my window, staring at Tanner’s driveway just waiting for him to get home.

  Pathetic, I know. This is what Tanner Morgan has reduced me to.

  Does it make me lame that I wouldn’t have it any other way?

  I hear Mom and Orlando downstairs, arguing about something ridiculous. Well, to be honest, it’s more like Orlando arguing and ranting at her while she’s probably on her knees, begging him not to leave her. If I hadn’t needed this space from Tanner to think, I never would have stepped foot back inside this house. There’s just something so humiliating about being here. The way Orlando has been looking at me over the last few days has been … weird. It’s a strange sort of smugness mixed with deep irritation and intrigue. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one fucking bit.

  If I didn’t have Jensen keeping me company, I would have gone insane. He came and barged his way through my door last night, arms full of candy and popcorn, demanding we Netflix and chill, without the chill. He dragged an oversized bean bag through the door, plonked it at the foot of my bed, and that’s exactly where he stayed while I did everything I could to not focus on Tanner’s bedroom window.

  Like I said, pathetic.

  Letting out a heavy sigh, I’m just about to give up when I hear the familiar rumble of Tanner’s motorbike coming from down the street. A thrill shoots through me and my back straightens, more than ready to bolt down the stairs and throw myself out the front door.

  The bike grows closer and with it comes the intense anticipation I’ve felt all day, only now it’s so much worse. Despite living next door and seeing him in the hallways at school, I’ve missed him this week. I hate the divide between us. Yes, I was the one who put it there, but now that I’ve had a moment to understand how he is nothing but a victim in this, I’m ready to move forward. I just hope I haven’t hurt him by asking for this space.

  The sound of his bike is almost deafening as Tanner flies up the street and pulls to a stop in his driveway.

  Then just like my very first day in Bradford, he looks up at my window, that sleek black helmet concealing his eyes beneath but doing nothing to mask the feel of his intense stare locked on mine. Nerves settle deep in my bones, and I curl my fingers into my palms, pressing my nails against my skin to distract me from what I’m about to do. It doesn’t make sense to be nervous—it’s Tanner—but here I am, feeling as though I’m about to shit myself.

  He reaches up and removes his helmet as he relaxes back on his bike, looking like a fucking treat with his black shirt clinging to his skin and stretching around his biceps. He doesn’t say a word, just stares up at me, knowing damn well the kind of effect he has on me. It’s always been this way, and always will be. I don’t think anything will ever change that. Tanner Morgan has got one hell of a hold over me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  My need for answers pulls me from the window and all the way down the stairs. A million questions filter through my mind, but by the time I hit the front door adrenaline pulses through me, and I can’t remember a single one of them.

  I’m being ridiculous. Tanner was open with me about what happened that night, and I have no reason to doubt that he won’t be open with me now.

  Stepping out through the front door, I immediately glance over to Tanner’s driveway to find him in the middle of putting his bike in the garage. I walk across, skipping over the small hedge between the two properties before stepping into the opening of the garage. He kicks the stand down and balances the bike before hooking his helmet over the handle.

  Tanner glances back at me with a heaviness in his eyes that nearly brings me to my knees. He indicates toward the interior door with a small nod. “Come on,” he mutters.

  He holds out his hand and I willingly take it, allowing him to lead me inside. He presses a button on the wall to close the garage door as we enter the house, and I let him pull me into the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

  I shake my head, my appetite completely gone, though I’m sure that’s not the case for Tanner. He’s always starving after training. I take a seat on one of the chairs around the island counter while Tanner dives deeper into the kitchen, becoming one with the refrigerator.

  He pulls out a container of leftover takeout and grabs a fork, not even bothering to heat it before digging in like some kind of psychopath. “Where is everybody?” I ask, watching as he lifts the fork full of noodles to his mouth.

  Tanner shrugs his shoulders. “Addison said something about going to a friend’s house after school, but really, I think she’s trying to avoid being here in case Hudson shows up to talk about her little spontaneous make-out session, and Mom has some fundraiser meeting at the country club.”

  “So, we’re alone?”

  His brow arches and a cocky grin stretches across his gorgeous face. “All alone,” he says, his tone thick and suggestive.

  I roll my eyes. “What’s with men and their one-track minds? Does everything have to be about sex?”

  “No, not always,” he says, digging back into the take-out container. “But we try to keep it at a respectful eighty to ninety percent, otherwise we’ll get kicked out of the sleazy men’s club. When that happens, they take our license to fuck, and no one wants that.”

  I shake my head. “How do you even say that shit with a straight face?”

  Tanner shrugs his shoulders and walks around to my side of the island, sitting down beside me as he continues to annihilate his noodles. “I can’t tell you all my secrets now, can I?”

  “Maybe not,” I mutter, a seriousness coming over me. “But there are some we need to talk about.”

  Tanner nods and puts the container down on the counter, pushing it away from us before swiveling on his seat. “Are you okay?” he murmurs, grabbing my knees and swinging me toward him to put us face to face. “What I told you the other day, it wasn’t my intention to scare you.”

  I shake my head, reaching up and cupping the side of his face. “I’m not scared of you, Tanner. I was just … I was heartbroken.” His brows furrow, not having expected that response. “I’ve painted this picture of you in my head of this untouchable, incredible guy who could do no wrong, and it’s probably one of the reasons why I was so taken aback that night you lost control at the track. You made me realize you had flaws just like the rest of us, and so when you told me what you’d been involved in as a kid and how you never stood up and reported it, I was in shock. It’s not something I ever thought you’d be capable of. I was so angry, I couldn’t understand how you’d gone so many years without doing something about it, but after you explained why you couldn’t, and I had some time to process that information, I started to see the bigger picture. You’re just as much of a victim in this as the mother and her child were.”

  Tanner shakes his head. “No, I wouldn’t go as far to say that,” he tells me. “I still helped break into that house, and I still looted the place when they told me to. I could have walked away the minute I realized it wasn’t a house party.”

  “That might be true,” I tell him. “And I don’t want to justify what you did, but you were just a kid getting pressure from the Hardin brothers. They had no business taking you there or even hanging out with you in the first place.”

  “Either way, I’m no victim, and while what I did can’t even compare to the horrors they put that woman through, I still have a lot to make up for.”

  I nod, agreeing with him wholeheartedly. “I get you’re coming from a good place, but I honestly doubt there’s anything you can do or offer that could ever make up for what happened that day. She lost her child and was raped beside his dead body. She doesn’t need you to try and make up for it. She needs justice and closure, just like Addie does.”

  Tanner nods, his gaze dropping to where his hands rest on my knees. “You’re right,” he tells me. “But I don’t know how I can give her the justice she deserves without putting you and my family at risk.”

  “I know you don’t want to hear this, but sometimes the risk is worth the reward.”

  “No, absolutely not,” he says. “I told you this. If I go to the police, they will come for my family, come for you, my friends, me. I’m not putting us through that. Fuck, Killer. I nearly just lost you, Addie, and Jax. I watched you bleed out in my hands. These guys are no joke, Bri. The shit Colby did … that’s nothing compared to them.” He shakes his head, panic beginning to plague him. “I only just got Addie back. What do you think it would do to her if they got their hands on her? I just … I fucking can’t, okay?”

  “Okay,” I say, grabbing his hands and squeezing. “Okay, we’ll figure it out, but one way or another, that woman is getting justice. I can’t live with myself knowing the truth about this and not doing anything to help her.”

  Tanner nods, able to agree with that. “We will,” he says. “I promise you that. I don’t want to be that guy who stands back and allows this shit to go on. After everything Addie went through, it’s opened my eyes, and I’ve realized how fucking wrong I’ve been to hide from this.” He swallows hard, his lips pressing into a firm line as indecision plagues his stare. “There is one thing I’ve been thinking about, but I don’t know how to make it happen or where to even start.”