But that look, her lips pulled into a tight line, jaw set, and eyebrows pulled together. That’s the face from the window, the hurt that twists her gorgeous features, and I put that hurt there.
“Yo, Lucas!” Cody jogs from the front door of Shyann’s house to me. “Thanks for helping me out.”
“No problem.” I clear my throat. “What happened?” Mind off the woman inside and on the project. Stick to work, professional relationships only, don’t get too close.
He jerks his head for me to climb into the truck. I do and he follows, firing up the four-wheel drive and pulling away from the house.
“Guess they vandalized the place.”
My eyes stay glued to Shyann’s window, hoping like an addicted junkie I’ll get one more hit before we pull away. Not even a rustle of the curtains.
“We’ll check it out, call Austin if we need to.”
I drag my eyes away from the window and turn to him. “The sheriff?”
“Yeah, we’ll need to file a report.”
I swallow hard, nerves making me break out in a sweat even in the sixty-degree weather.
Would Shyann call the cops on me after what happened last night? I don’t know the details, but she was wet, scared, and almost naked. God, what did Gage do to her? I swear if I could I’d confront him and beat him senseless.
I rub my temples, amazed still, even after all these years, how crazy I sound.
If it barks like a dog . . .
“Headache?”
“No.” Just regret.
“That won’t do.”
I stare at him, confused.
He chuckles. “Just sayin’, dude your age, single, you should be hungover as hell on a Saturday morning. Friday nights are for booze, your bros, and hoes.”
“Oh . . .” I open my mouth to tell him I was out last night and kissing his sister. With tongue. But I think better of it and keep my mouth shut.
“Tonight. We’re going out to a bar. You need to loosen up.”
I shake my head, the idea of being at a bar with Cody making me want to throw myself from the truck. “No thanks, I don’t—”
“Nope. I won’t take no for an answer. You’ve been here two months. How many times have you gone out?”
Only one that I know of, thanks to Shyann. “I haven’t.”
He jerks his gaze to mine. “What? But you decked that Dustin prick at the bar the other night, right?”
“Oh, right. So once.” Thanks a lot, Gage.
He lifts a brow. “One time in two months? What the hell is wrong with you?”
You don’t want to know. My skin breaks out in a sweat and I roll my window down to free myself from the suffocating cab.
“Whatever, I’m dragging you out tonight.”
“I don’t—”
“You’re going, if only so I can buy you a beer for helping me out on a Saturday.” We pull onto the job site and already we can make out the jagged peaks of broken glass in the windows.
“Fuck me . . .” He throws the truck into park with force. “Punk assholes.”
We move to the front door and he pulls the key from his pocket. I’m hoping the kids who did this just needed a place to hide and drink for the night and the damage is left to the windows.
One foot through the threshold and our feet are frozen to the unfinished floor.
The entire place is destroyed.
Holes the size of basketballs punched through drywall, insulation hanging from some of the bigger ones, and spray paint. Everywhere.
“Dammit to shit, those fucking pricks!” Cody storms through the house, ducking into bedrooms and releasing string upon string of curses, giving away the devastation lying within.
I move into the kitchen, the cupboards ripped from the walls, electrical wiring pulled and cut. I run my fingertips through a slash of black paint. Dry.
“Dude, come check this out!”
I head back to the master bedroom where I find Cody staring at a wall.
His eyes are filled with anger and they dart to mine. “What the fuck do you think this means?”
The black words are spray-painted in thick letters from one end of the room to the other.
DIE RETARD
I stare blankly at the wall and shrug. “No idea.”
“I got a bad feeling, man.” He pulls his cell from the pocket of his jeans. “This doesn’t seem like your typical high school prank.” He punches out a few numbers and presses the phone to his ear. “Hey, Austin? Yeah, we’re at the house.” He turns around in the space, shaking his head in disbelief. “You can try, but there’s gonna be fingerprints all over this place from our crew alone.”
My heart races. Fingerprints. If they run mine, my entire past will come up. What will they do if they know where I’ve been? I push that thought away and remember I’m a free man. I only have one thing to hide, and as long as I keep myself out of trouble, that shouldn’t be too hard to do. If Shyann keeps my secret.
TWENTY-ONE
LUCAS
Tonight is the coolest night since I moved here. As soon as the sun dropped, there was a chill in the air and even a distant rumble of thunder. Lightning slices through the sky to the north, warning that a storm is coming.