Chapter 27
Hawk
It’s late when we get on my bike to head home. Rehearsal ran long, and Annie seems completely exhausted, but she kept going. Fortunately no one said anything about the posts. She’s got some respect from her cast.
Maybe not all the cast since Sophie kept trying to flirt with me backstage.
Evan curls against me as we cruise down the streets.
“Did I tell you how I lost that bet for Shakespeare in the Park?” I say over Bluetooth.
Her arms tighten around me a little. “You said you did it on a dare?”
“Yeah, there was this night we were all bored at a party. Really, the party was boring, so we rode out to the woods.” I smirk, remembering.
“Our spot?” she asks.
“Yeah, our spot. We didn’t want anyone to find us. It was hot for early summer, and we had beers with us. We figured we’d get wasted and then head back when the buzz wore off.”
“How responsible of you.” Her tone is flat.
I chuckle. “It’s not like we did it every night.”
I stop at a light and put my hand on her bare thigh. Her breath catches over the Bluetooth, and I smile. I love the effect I have on her.
“We were fucking around, daring each other to do shit. It was right before Damon was heading to camp for the summer. Cam and his parents were going on vacation in the Bahamas. And I was going to be left here on my own. Dad and Mom were in and out every now and then, but mostly it was just me.” I roll the bike forward and turn toward Annie’s house.
“So how did you end up with a dare to perform?” she asks, relaxing into me a little. I can hear the smile in her voice and really wish I could be facing her right now. She’s been pale since she found out about the account. It’d be nice to see a genuine smile from her.
“There was a lot of the usual shit like run naked through the woods, shouting I am a hockey god, and finishing a bottle of beer and then running in a circle. Stupid shit.”
“I wish someone had taken video of that.” Annie chuckles.
“I’m glad no one thought to.” That would be embarrassing. “But it was getting late, and we were practically sober when Cam asked what I was going to do over the summer while they were gone.”
I pull into the driveway and park in the garage, because it’s habit from years of being friends with Damon. Long before Annie became part of us, binding us together even tighter, we were brothers.
Annie slides from the bike and takes off her helmet. She sets it on Damon’s bike like it belongs there, like she belongs there. “Okay, that’s the setup, but what happened that caused you to take on the dare? And whose idea was it?”
I get off my motorcycle and put my helmet on the handlebar before scrubbing my hand over my hair. I give Annie a smug smirk, and she raises an eyebrow.
“No guesses?” I ask.
“I don’t think either of them would go for Shakespeare in the Park as a way to dare you to do something.” She leans against the wall of the garage and folds her arms over her chest. At least I’ve got her mind on something else for a little while.
“You’re mostly correct. From what I remember, and I wouldn’t trust my memory of that night, we were saying things we never got to do because of school or hockey or just because we were too lazy to add anything to our schedule.” I close in on Annie and lean my hands on either side of her head.
She smirks up at me. “And you’ve never had a chance to act?”
I loom over her, but she doesn’t cower, and I wouldn’t expect her to. If anything, her body almost aligns itself to mine, like we’re meant to be two parts of one whole. “Someone said they always wanted to bungee jump. I think Cam said he always wanted to go to a Renaissance Fair.”
Annie perks up like she wants to go too. “Ohh—”
“Because of the bodices that show off women’s breasts.” I smirk.
She shakes her head. “Yeah, now I don’t want to go.”
“Damon had read about a theater company doing Shakespeare in the Park this summer, which was the closest to the Renaissance Fair he thought Cam would get. Cam thought he’d be excellent with a codpiece and long-winded poetry about Juliet.
Damon said he bet I’d be better at it than Cam.
Cam said I’d never do it. That I would never wear tights.
Damon thought I could definitely...” I pause before I say fuck Juliet.
Annie laughs and arches an eyebrow. “Let me guess, fuck one of your costars?”
I lean down and kiss her softly as an apology. “At least you’re the first director I’ve banged.”
“Yay for me,” Annie deadpans.
“Anyway, one thing led to another and they dared me to do it. To get the part and to spend my summer doing Shakespeare while fucking costars.” I shrug.
“This was a lot less exciting than it could have been.” Annie grabs my loosened tie and tugs me down so our faces are level. “We need to work on your delivery and figure out a way to really sell this story. Maybe amp it up with a sordid tale of bed hopping.”
“You want to help me grow into a better actor?” I pull her into me and kiss her.
When she wraps her arms around my neck, I deepen the kiss and lift her against the wall so I can straighten. Her legs wrap around my waist. I can’t stay tonight, which sucks. As soon as I know someone is home with Annie, I should really leave.
But I don’t want to stop kissing her, tasting her lips, sliding my tongue against hers.
Cam will be over later, but I don’t want to leave Annie. I want to bring her upstairs and take my time with her. Show her how much I love her. Make her laugh and smile and sigh with pleasure. Keep away the thoughts of what’s closing in on us.
When I pry myself away, Annie’s stormy blue eyes are dark with desire. Her lips fuller from our kiss. It would be so easy to just be inside her and forget about going home for a night of talking with my parents over everything they feel they’ve done wrong to each other and me over the years.
“Are you sure you can’t stay too?” Annie asks. Her fingers skate down my tie. Fuck, do I want to. She bites her lip, making me groan.
I press my forehead to hers. “Not tonight. We’re rebalancing our chakras.”
She chuckles, but releases me. I step away and pick up her backpack to bring into the house for her. She takes my hand and we walk up to the house. The lights are on. I didn’t pay attention to what cars were here.
When we walk in, Heather is on the couch with Adam. She stands up and crosses over to Annie and pulls her into her arms.
“The school called. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it? You can stay home if you want. I’ll stay with you. We can make it a pajama and movie day.” Heather pulls back and tucks Annie’s hair behind her ears. “What do you think?”
Annie glances at me before stepping away from Heather. “I’m good, Mom. It’s not anything truly embarrassing. And yes, it’s awkward and mean, but I’m fine.”
“The school wanted to report it to the police.” Adam stands behind Heather. “We went in to make sure the police knew what was going on.”
Annie swallows and looks at me before asking, “Do I need to talk to the police?”
“Not unless you have anything you want to add to the report. Right now they’re trying to track down the user if possible,” Adam says and looks at me. “You guys are making sure no one’s messing with her at school?”
“Yes, sir,” I say automatically. But I mean it. “No one’s going to get near her at school.”
“Good.” Adam frowns. “Maybe we should move your bedroom closer to ours until Damon gets back.”
“No,” Annie says quickly, and then clears her throat. “I’m fine where I am, and this house is really secure. As long as I’m here, I feel safe.”
And as long as she’s in their rooms, Damon can see her and it’s easy for us to sneak in and out.
“It’s an option if you want to.” Adam backs down and Heather squeezes his hand.
“Are you staying for a while, Hawk?” Heather asks.
“No, I have to get home.” I step closer to Annie and draw her into my arms for a hug. “I’ll pick you up for school.”
She hugs me, and when she pulls away, her cheeks are scarlet. “See you in the morning.”
Adam looks like he wants to say more, but doesn’t.
What do they know that we don’t? Maybe there’s more going on to this game than we’re aware of.
Cam’s guy hasn’t been able to get to Heather’s texts yet.
Apparently he has a big project he’s working on.
We could just ask, but with the way things are with Damon and Evan and their parents, I don’t want to stir up anything more.
Damon
“You’re sure?” I ask Cam for the seventh time.
“If we could get in, we’d be in.” Cam sighs over the phone. “Your server is secure. Your nerd is content and verified no one can get in, including him. I need to head over to your house soon. Evan’s expecting me.”
“She’s still working on homework.” I’m glad to know no one has gotten into my camera feed. That shit’s just for us.
“You know that’s creepy, dude.” Cam chuckles.
“Maybe, but she’s into it.” I pull up the live feed and she’s still working at my desk. Her bare legs pulled up with her toes dangling off the edge of the chair. She has on my Devil’s t-shirt and not much else.
“How’s the situation there?” Cam asks. He’s asking about Jackson who, because of this program, seems to be everywhere I am.
I blow out my breath and look up from where I sit on a bench outside the athletic complex.
There are a few students walking around, but I left the gym to take the call from Cam.
“It’s hard to get a read on him, honestly.
He’s trying out for the team too, so he’s got a lot riding on this.
It’s not like he’s going to admit to stalking my girl in front of everyone here. ”
“Do you think this is him?”
By this, he’s talking about the account and the creepy ass messages, basically telling us how he wants to fuck my girl. “I don’t know. Do we know how this became public knowledge?”
“Some girls shared it, and it spread. For a while, they kept it to a small faction. But then Fletcher caught wind of it. He told me and Hawk this morning and we’ve been scrambling ever since.
” Cam breathes in. “Hawk said the school turned it over to the police. Your dad and Heather went up to make sure everything was properly filed.”
I stare across the green space in front of the complex unseeing. “We need to figure out who’s doing this and soon. I don’t like that we’re just finding out about this account. It seems like we should have known about it a lot earlier.”
“I guess no one wanted to tell us and possibly get punched for the effort.” Cam rustles something in the background. “But maybe they figured we deserved it or she deserved it.”
“When has Evan ever deserved what this fucker’s done to her?” It’s not a question, and I’m done playing. “We need to close this loop, start pressing in hard on the people we suspect.”
“Should we schedule a call?” Cam shuts a door.
“Not yet. We don’t have any real information.” I rub the back of my neck.
“You could talk to Evan.” Cam dangles that out there.
“I can’t tonight. When we have more information, we can talk.”
“Fine.” Cam sounds smug when he says, “I’ll go tell our girl you’re not in the mood tonight.”
I roll my eyes. “Keep me updated.”
We end the call, and I return to the gym. My headphones are still in as I get on the treadmill next to Axel. He’s already at a fast pace, so I don’t say anything as I set my speed and program.
I flick my screen over to where Evan’s studying. She glances over her shoulder toward the camera almost like she can feel me watching. Something that’s been twisted all day unravels inside me.
She’s safe, waiting for Cam to come over to sleep with her. She’s not alone.
While I warm up, I watch her and listen. There’s not much sound. The rustle of movement, the click of the keyboard. It’s soothing. The door to the bedroom opens, and Cam walks in. Evan swivels in her chair and grins.
I cut the connection, just in case things go the direction I’d take them in. I don’t mind someone catching a glimpse of my girl studying, but no one but us gets to see her fucked. I click through the files and skip the ones in the bathroom for now.
I scroll back to when she walked into my room and follow her walking over to my desk and deciding whether to work there or go back to her own room. She glances guiltily at the camera I told her about, but then makes herself at home in my chair.
Pushing my books gently to the corner and using my space like it’s her own. I smile as sweat drips down into my eyes. My heart rate is up and my legs strain at the pace, but it all feels good. Normal.
Axel is still walking when I slow my pace to cool down. Jackson’s on the other side of the gym, but he’s been watching me. Fuck him.
“Is your girl all settled?” Axel asks, nodding to the phone. He can probably tell I’m watching her, but he doesn’t say anything. “The media thing?”
Jackson doesn’t appear to be listening to us, but I’m betting he is. We stop our treadmills at the same time.
“Yeah, the school took it to the police because of the threats and pictures are being taken inside the school.” I grab my towel. Dad texted earlier about it. I’m glad he thought to loop me in.
“I’m glad the police are involved.” Axel grabs my shoulder. “You need anything, let me know.”
I nod and wipe my face with my towel. Jackson walks over to the free weights, and I move to an arm machine near him. He works as hard as I do at this, which I would expect given where we are and what we’re going for.
How can I find out if he’s still interested in Evan? Besides using her for bait, which I’m not going to do. I doubt he has anything like a lock of her hair in his gym bag. But there might be proof on his phone.
“You know the girls go nuts for the brooding look.” Wilder asks as he takes the machine next to mine. “But this almost looks like you’re contemplating something. What’s up?”
“Espionage.” I set the weights to what I usually work out on.
Wilder chuckles. “What kind?”
“Wondering if a nerd I know can get into someone’s phone.”
Wilder leans back on the machine and looks me over. “There’s this guy at my old high school who knows fuck all about everyone. There’s not a machine you can keep him out of. I know, I tried.”
“Is he trustworthy?” I hadn’t thought to look outside our school, but maybe that’s the answer.
“I mean, he usually is for a price, but Jack usually barters with information rather than money. I don’t know if you’d have anything that would interest him.” Wilder shrugs. “I can give you his information. He’s the best I’ve ever seen.”
I nod and glance at Jackson. It couldn’t hurt to get an outsider. Maybe he can check my system for leaks too. “Text it to me.”