Chapter 44
Damon
“It’s a calculated risk, but my dad and Heather are in tonight. We pick up Evan at seven and take her home. She’ll be safe there.” I grab my shoes out of my locker. “We get Nina to text him to meet her at eight.”
“What if he recognizes us?” Cam rubs his hand over his hair. “If he gets hurt…”
I look at Cam, and he nods. Yeah, I don’t care if the fucker gets hurt.
“He needs to know how it feels.” Hawk tosses his towel on the bench. “He needs to fucking learn from his mistakes. Not be rewarded.”
We finish getting ready. Cam heads into the back of rehearsal while Hawk and I check the parking lot. The car Evan and Hawk saw that tried to run them over hasn’t been back, but we don’t want to risk it.
Maybe the texts were just to make Evan scared because we haven’t heard from the fucker since. I’ve checked her phone. Mia hasn’t heard from Jackson either.
Hawk and I head out to make sure everything is ready for tonight. Cam has our girl, and Evan has a project she’s been working on all week. She even told me in the shower this morning that she needed to focus when she got home tonight. It’s the perfect night.
By seven, we’re back at the high school waiting for Cam and Evan. The cast walks out. Chase still has glitter on his uniform. I’m tempted to pour more into his truck. It’s satisfying but not enough.
This might not be enough. It will get him back for what he did to Evan though. That’s the goal.
Evan comes out. Cam’s got his arm around her shoulders, and she leans into him. I suppose something like that should make me jealous, but I’m not. Evan is just as much mine as she is his or Hawk’s. Her smile grows when she sees us.
But when she gets to us, she turns serious. “I need to work tonight.”
“That’s the plan, little devil.” I smirk, knowing she’ll think I’m implying sex.
“You need to make yourself scarce.” She shakes her head before putting on her helmet. “You’re a nuisance and a distraction.”
She’s referring to earlier in the day when I trapped her in a closet and fucked her so hard I had to cover her mouth to muffle her screams so no one would think someone was being murdered.
“Don’t worry. We’ll keep him occupied.” Hawk closes the distance between them. “But it will cost you, baby girl.”
She narrows her eyes like she’s going to tell him off too.
“After you’re finished with your assignment. Of course.” He kisses her hand, and she blows out a breath. “You want a full bed tonight, don’t you?”
She puts her visor down and turns on the Bluetooth. “Yes, but later.”
Perfect.
It’s dark. It’s one of those nights the moon plays hide and seek in the clouds. Our bikes are hidden, and Nina drove her car out to meet us. We recorded her voice and told her to wait with our bikes. Once he’s in, she can head out.
We have on black clothes and masks with voice modulators. Nina’s been working on him for a week, telling him her deepest, darkest desires. He’s taken the bait.
We find our places. Hawk goes to the right, and Cam goes to the left. I have my phone ready to press play.
It’s five to eight when Chase’s truck pulls into the parking lot. The same one he left Evan at two weeks ago. He parks next to Nina’s car.
When he climbs out, he runs his hand through his hair and looks into the car.
“Nina?”
I hit play. “Come and find me.”
“Fuck.” The word is soft and carries on the wind. He takes a breath and moves into the woods. He has his phone light on as he walks slowly.
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. We should just fuck in my truck.” Chase shifts to the left. “It’d be more comfortable.”
“I want you to chase me.” She ended that take with a little giggle.
He moves farther into the woods, until he passes where Hawk and Cam are. They step out like shadows and move to follow him.
The car engine roars to life, and Chase looks behind him.
“What the fuck?” He swings his phone toward the road and catches the two figures in black, their masks lighting up in the flashlight beam. “What the fuck?”
He turns and runs deeper into the woods. The others follow after him while I track him, waiting for the right moment. I step out and he skids to a halt.
“I have money. You can take my truck.” Chase holds his hands up in the air. The smell of urine fills the air.
“You wanted her enough to come into the woods.” Hawk’s modulated voice breaks the growing silence.
“Yeah, man. She’s hot.” Chase turns to look at the other two, his hands still raised. “I swear my dad will pay you a lot of money if you just leave now. No one has to get hurt.”
“That’s not what you promised her.” Cam’s voice is low with reverb. “You wanted to fuck her.”
“She texted me,” he almost screeches. I always knew he was a coward.
“Not Nina.” I let that wash over him.
“This is about EvanAnn?” Chase straightens. “Damon?”
A fourth person steps out from behind a tree and then a fifth.
Chase’s eyes widen. “I don’t know what you want from me, but I’m willing to pay.”
“You will pay, Chase. On your knees.”
He starts to cry as he falls to his knees. “I didn’t mean it. I wouldn’t have hurt her.”
“You wanted to hurt her. You left her out here for hours.” Hawk’s modulated voice is loud over Chase’s sniveling.
“I would have come back. I did. She was gone when I got back.” Chase’s head swivels to watch all of us surrounding him.
I snatch his phone out of his hand and open the timer app. I set the time to the exact amount of time Evan sat out here alone.
“When this timer goes off, you can come and get it at your truck. If you come out before, we’ll teach you another lesson in obedience.”
I set the timer and we walk away. All five of us toward the truck. He doesn’t move, but we hear him sucking in gulps of air. Good.
We get to the truck and I set the timer on the hood. We wait ten minutes to make sure he doesn’t try to come out. Cam pulls a hunting knife out and jams it into the sidewall of the back tire.
“Insurance.” He pulls it out and the tire releases its air.
We walk to our bikes and Liam’s car. I pull off my mask.
“Thanks for your help.” I grab Liam’s forearm, and he grabs mine.
“Anytime.” Liam knocks Fletcher in the arm. “We’ve got a girl to see.”
They head out. We wait a few more minutes, watching the camera I have set up on him. There’s one on the truck too. It’s more than he gave Evan. It’s more than he deserves.
The alarm goes off. Chase looks around him before getting to his feet. An owl screeches in the night, and Chase takes off running toward the sound of the timer. He falls but he scrambles to his feet and races to his truck.
He jerks his keys out and snatches his phone before getting in. When he tries to pull out, he realizes his tire is flat.
We take off. He’s got his phone and his truck. That’s more than Evan had when he left her.