“No,” I said. “This time, I’m serious. This ends. This fucking ends.”

  There was silence.

  Leo had already walked away to call Ryker.

  Flynn held Charlotte tight against his body. She was scared. She was always fucking scared. Kailey and Nova had their arms locked, realizing things were going to change. Emma stood alone, stone faced, back to the bitch look that everyone knew her for.

  When my eyes got back to Aira, she grabbed my shirt.

  I could tell she was fighting back the urge to cry in front of me.

  “I can’t lose you,” she said. “I can’t lose you…”

  I grabbed her hands off my shirt.

  And I just stared at her.

  Anything I would have said in that moment would have been a lie.

  But there was one truth that mattered.

  The promise I made to her when she came to town.

  To protect her from this town… at all costs.

  * * *

  Ryland was alone.

  He was far off the edge when it came to everything.

  Ditching Nick and Dean.

  Trying to make a cheap move at Aira.

  Spilling things about our families like that actually fucking mattered.

  Yeah, it was no secret that his parents had tried for years to convince Pop to sell the shop and the land. They made offer after offer. They pulled in other families and investors and all of that crap, but Pop would never sell. There were times when they’d try to set up the shop. To make it look like it was shady. Anything to rattle Pop enough to sell.

  We didn’t rattle.

  At least not enough to make a big mistake.

  Then again, I was the one sitting in my SUV wearing all black, knowing what I wanted to do to Ryland.

  Break his jaw. Cut out his tongue. Kill him.

  The rage that surged through me was like nothing I felt before.

  I told everyone to stay back.

  They were all at Jett’s place. That included Leo and Flynn. So they could make sure the girls were safe. Walker and Ryker were on their way there next. I told them I would be back, which was possibly true. I believed it to be true, but if this went down the way I had planned, then I’d end up with Dusty.

  Jett would be pissed.

  Ma would be crushed.

  Cherry would want to bail me out just to smack me upside the head.

  Whatever the case, Ryland needed to pay.

  When I blinked, I saw his lips against Aira’s.

  Over and over.

  So I waited.

  I sat outside Ryland’s mansion and waited.

  At the end of the mile long driveway, across the street, my lights off, blending into the night, it was just me and my thoughts.

  My phone was next to me, constantly buzzing with messages from Aira and the guys.

  I always had some kind of plan going into things.

  This time… I wasn’t sure.

  Aira’s words rang in my head.

  I can’t lose you…

  I didn’t want to lose her either.

  My mind began to repeat everything I had been thinking.

  That’s when I saw Ryland.

  He was on his street ride, flying out of the driveway.

  He went so hard and so fast, I thought he was going to cross the street and go right into the brush that led the way to the beach.

  At the last second, Ryland turned.

  He put his left foot down and caught himself from falling.

  The back wheel of the ride cut left to right, over and over.

  Ryland came to a stop and leaned to the left.

  I thought he was going to climb off the ride.

  I figured he saw me.

  That’s when I knew what I was going to do. To end it all for good.

  We had money. Plenty of money. Pop and Jett would figure out what to do. What lawyer to call. How to use that money to make this go away.

  As I opened the door to my SUV, Ryland looked to his left, but not back at me.

  He started to go forward again.

  Slow and unsteady.

  He was wasted again.

  Then he took off.

  He hit the throttle and the street ride cried out into the night with its whine.

  I had to hurry and shut the door and hit the gas pedal.

  I kicked up some dirt and rocks as I got on the paved road to catch up.

  As I sped, I feared he was going to get away.

  Even if that happened, I’d fucking drive all night to find him. He was not getting away with this. Not tonight.

  I pressed the gas pedal more. The engine of my SUV roared. It wasn’t like my ride though. I wished I had taken out the motorcycle. Then I could get alongside Ryland. Right next to that piece of trash street ride. Cut close and kick him. Watch him drop his ride the way I made Nick and Dean drop their rides.

  I finally spotted Ryland.

  He was in the middle of the road, stopped.

  Standing there.

  He was taunting me.

  He must have seen me for sure.

  Wanting me to chase him down. So he could stop. So he could start again. And just really push at me until I exploded.

  “Too late, motherfucker,” I whispered.

  I kept the same speed.

  I knew what I was going to do now.

  My hands gripped the steering wheel tight.

  My heart raced.

  Part of me wanted to call Aira and tell her I loved her. One more time. Just in case.

  I even looked down at my phone for a second.

  There was a text message from her on the screen.

  pls wes - come back to me

  I looked up and Ryland made his move.

  He throttled his ride and cut to the right.

  But he slumped over the front of the street ride and went off the road.

  I slammed on my brakes and watched as he slammed into a tree.

  The street ride twisted and threw him off.

  “Shit!” I screamed.

  It all happened so fast.

  He was there and then he wasn’t.

  Ryland started to move again.

  I had no idea how that was possible.

  He crawled.

  From where his street ride had crashed to the side of the road.

  He reached forward and slowly rolled to his back. He reached for his helmet and took it off.

  And then he stopped moving.

  I got out of my SUV and approached slowly.

  I fully expected him to be setting me up.

  That Nick and Dean - or maybe the BFH guys - would come out of nowhere and pummel me.

  But that didn’t happen.

  When I stepped up next to Ryland, I felt my stomach squeeze like a fist was pulling it out of my body.

  I figured out why Ryland had been riding the way he was. And why he crashed.

  Someone had already put a bullet in his gut.

  Chapter 17

  Aira

  Ryland was dead.

  The news spread fast. Because that’s what news did in Hidden.

  It seemed like everyone’s phone was going off all at the same time.

  That on the road toward Ryland’s house he was found.

  Shot. His motorcycle crashed.

  Dead.

  My heart sank.

  I forgot how to breathe.

  I dropped my phone and watched it hit the chair next to the pool and bounce once, twice… then stop.

  My knees started to buckle.

  Leo was there to save me from completely collapsing.

  “I’ve got you, girl,” he whispered. “Come on. I’ve got you.”

  He turned and walked me away from the pool and toward the beach.

  When I felt the sand touch my toes, I fell to my knees.

  I lowered my head and felt tears fill my eyes.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Leo said as he crouched next to me.

  “How?” I asked. “Wes killed him. Just like he said he was going to do. He shot and killed Ryland.”

  “We don’t know that,” Leo said.

  “Bullshit, Leo. He went looking for him.”

  “That doesn’t mean he…”

  Nova and Kailey appeared in front of me. Reaching for me.

  Kailey was already crying.

  Which was sort of odd.

  I figured Charlotte would be the one bursting into tears by now. Which she probably was. She was with Flynn though.

  “I’m so sorry,” Nova whispered. “This is fucking crazy.”

  I pulled at Kailey and Nova, not wanting them to let me go.

  Leo’s hand touched my back. “Let me make some calls and see what I can figure out.”

  “Hey, bro, we’re out of here,” Walker’s voice said.

  I turned my head and looked up at them. “Where are you going?”

  “We have to find Wes,” Walker said.

  “Shit, look at this,” Ryker said, showing Walker his phone. “He was there.”

  “Who was there?” I asked.

  “Wes was there,” Ryker said.

  “Fuck,” Leo said.

  “Aira, come here,” Kailey said as she tugged at my shirt.

  I swung my left hand and caught her lip with the back of my hand.

  Her head snapped back and she let out a cry.

  I scrambled to get to my feet.

  I ran after Walker as Ryker went to check on Kailey.

  Everything around me was falling apart.

  Everything.

  This was as bad as the fire.

  No.

  It was worse than the fire.

  Walker touched my arms. “Hey…”

  I pounded my fists to his chest. “I need to see him. I need to know what happened.”

  “You stay here with everyone,” Walker said.

  “I can’t just stay…”

  “You need to listen,” Emma said. Her voice cracked a little.

  “If anything is wrong, I’ll call,” Walker said.

  “Wrong? What else could be wrong?” I asked.

  “Well, if Wes killed him…,” Flynn said. “I mean, he’ll be in jail, right?”

  “Dammit, Flynn,” Charlotte cried out as she smacked his chest.

  I covered my mouth and my knees buckled again.

  I felt sick. Physically sick.

  I sucked in a breath but it felt like there was no air.

  Emma hurried toward me and wrapped her arms around me.

  That gave me the chance to cry.

  Ohgod… I needed to cry.

  “I’m sorry for hitting you,” I said to Kailey. I reached for her hand.

  “It’s okay,” she said.

  She joined the hug.

  The three of us hugging.

  Then Nova joined.

  And finally, Charlotte.

  Tears everywhere. And in a strange way we probably couldn’t figure out why we were crying. Death being so close to us. The madness that led to this moment. Knowing it was coming. Not being able to stop it. Or maybe we all could have stopped it but didn’t.

  “You know, without being an asshole here,” Flynn said, “this is kind of hot to watch.”

  Charlotte turned her head. “I hate you.”

  “I’m not complaining either,” Walker said.

  “We need to go,” Ryker said as he shoved Walker.

  “I’m coming too,” Leo said.

  “You should stay,” Ryker said.

  “He’s my best fucking friend,” Leo snapped in a way I never heard him snap before.

  That made us break our hug.

  Leo was bigger than Ryker.

  And Ryker slowly just nodded. “Fine. Do we call Jett?”

  “He probably already knows something happened,” Walker said. “This is going to be crazy for a while around here.”

  “Go,” Kailey said. “Stop talking and just go.”

  “So I get the ladies all to myself?” Flynn asked.

  “You’re an asshole,” Leo said. “Think about what’s happening…”

  “I’m scared out of my mind,” Flynn said. “Laughing is all I know to do.”

  Charlotte left us and went to Flynn.

  When they hugged, Flynn shut his eyes tight.

  Ohgod…

  I tried to take a breath but it wasn’t there.

  Nova, Kailey, and Emma hugged me again.

  I lost everything once before in a fire.

  And I found something new… I found everything I had ever wanted in Hidden.

  Secrets, danger, drama, fine. I could handle that.

  But not this.

  Not Wes doing this.

  Ohgod… Wes, what the hell did you do?

  * * *

  I thought about all the last words Ryland said to me. The sound of his voice. The look in his eyes. He was wasted and cold, but maybe in a way he knew things were going to come to this. Maybe that’s what he wanted.

  I slid to the edge of the seat and buried my face in my hands.

  “Aira?” Flynn asked. “Hey. Talk to me.”

  I had my phone in my right hand, waiting for it to ring.

  Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease

  “What if Ryland did this all on purpose?” I asked Flynn as I peeled my hands from my face.

  “What?”

  “What if Ryland knew he couldn’t have me so he took down Wes too?”

  “Don’t say that,” Flynn said. “We don’t know what happened.”

  “Yes we do,” I said. I stood up. “Wes went looking for him. And he found him.”

  I walked toward the pool.

  The water gently moved. The color was locked on a deep shade of red.

  How fitting, huh?

  Nova was by my side, holding my hand.

  “Just keep breathing,” she whispered. “Until we know more.”

  “No, Nova. I see it now. The way Ryland came at me. And when I walked away he told me it was our goodbye kiss. I just thought he meant goodbye. But he meant forever.”

  “Leo just texted me,” Flynn said.

  I turned so fast I almost knocked Nova into the pool.

  She let out a yell and tiptoed to keep her balance along the edge of the pool.

  “What did he say?” I asked. “What’s happening? What do we do?”

  “Take a breath, Aira,” Flynn said.

  “Fuck you,” I said. “Tell me what’s happening.”

  “He said he’s on his way back here.”

  “What? What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know. I responded.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “It was a second ago,” Flynn said.

  I felt the anger ready to boil over for good.

  I turned and started to run.

  From the pool to the sidewalk. And I kept running. All the way to the front of the house. The giant set of steps down to the giant driveway. I saw Jett’s custom truck sitting there. The windows were all fixed now. Then stuff started to go through my head. Coming to Hidden. Then Wes going after Jesse. Then Jesse coming after me. Breaking Jett’s windows in his truck. Among other things.

  It was one disaster after another from the second I saw the sign that read HIDDEN.

  It was my disaster. Not Wes’s. He looked at me. He came to me. I became addicted to him. I brought him into this disaster.

  And I’d never forgive myself.

  I sat down on the top step of the porch and stared down the driveway. The longer it was, the darker it got.

  There was no easing my mind.

  Ryland was fucking dead.

  He was shot.

  A gun.

  A bullet

  His body.

  And that was the end. The ultimate end. The kind of end where there was no turning back from. That meant his parents would have to bury him. They’d have to arrange a funeral. Oh, and don’t forget Miss Carson. She was going to have to be readily available to anyone for grief counseling. The hallways were going to be quiet but yet so loud at the same time. The stories and rumors were going to fly through the halls like nothing ever seen before.

  In the distance I heard the rumble of a motorcycle engine.

  It grew louder and I saw Leo and Walker on their motorcycles as they came up the driveway.

  I stood up and made it one step.

  “Aira.”

  I turned my head and saw Nova. “Did Flynn say anything else?”

  Nova nodded.

  I looked forward and saw Ryker’s custom car flying up the driveway.

  The motorcycle engines died.

  I cupped my mouth and yelled, “Did you talk to Wes?”

  Leo pointed and when I looked I saw Wes’s SUV coming up the driveway.

  Who was driving it?

  I ran down the steps so fast I thought I was going to trip and fall.

  I had my arms out and hurried across the driveway as Leo put an arm out to catch me.

  When I slammed into his arm, he pulled me back.

  “Easy, Aira,” he said.

  The SUV door opened and out stepped Wes.

  Smoking a cigarette.

  His eyes as dark and as bad as ever.

  He took a big drag and flicked the cigarette away.

  I screamed as I broke away from Leo.

  I ran to Wes, tears running down my cheeks.

  I never thought I was going to get to hug him again.

  He scooped me up off my feet as I screamed again.

  He was here… but for how long?

  * * *

  “It wasn’t me,” Wes said.

  Leo poked at the fire, sending embers scattering up into the beach’s night sky.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  I refuse to let Wes’s hand go.

  “Darling, I didn’t kill him,” Wes said.

  “What?”

  “He was shot when Wes got there,” Ryker said.

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  “Wes, tell her everything Dusty said,” Walker said. “She’s been a mess all night here.”

  “Fuck you, Walker,” I said. “You’re a mess.”

  “Nice comeback,” Walker said.

  Wes grabbed the stick from Leo’s hand and tossed it at Walker, sending him jumping to get out of the way of the orange colored red hot tip.

  “I want to know what happened,” Emma said. “I can’t get my heart to calm down here. And I don’t get like this. But the more I think of it…”

  “I didn’t know what I was going to do to him,” Wes said. “Okay? I just had to get there. He came down the driveway on his ride and was wobbly. I figured he was drunk. He took off and when I caught up to him he was in the middle of the road. I thought he was fucking with me. So I sped up and was going to hit him. But at the last second, he took off again. Off the road. Hit a tree. It was…” Wes rubbed his forehead. “He crawled to the road and rolled to his back and that was it. He was gone. There was a bullet hole in his stomach.”

 

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