Chapter 20 Kaylor
KAYLOR
Kreed was already waiting in the circular driveway when I stepped outside, his black SUV idling in the nippy morning air.
Exhaust plumed from the tailpipe in white clouds, dissipating slowly in the cold.
He leaned casually against the driver’s door, a steaming to-go mug gripped in his hand.
“I got you coffee,” he said, offering me the cup.
Normally, I’d make an offhanded comment about loving him, but since the other day, I figured that wasn’t the right thank you, so I opted for something more generic.
“God, who knew you could be this thoughtful so early.” I wrapped both hands around the mug, letting the warmth seep into my fingers.
The coffee smelled heavenly, warm, rich, and dark, and the first sip lit up every receptor on my tongue.
Perfect temperature. A hint of sweetness and just enough bitterness.
Kreed knew how I liked it. That alone did dangerous things to my heart.
Mason and Maddox were already sprawled in the back seat when I climbed into the passenger side. “Where’s my coffee?” Mason demanded, one brow arched in betrayal the second Kreed climbed behind the wheel.
“No shit,” Maddox groaned dramatically. “Menace, share.”
I hugged my mug protectively to my chest. “Touch my coffee, and you’ll lose more than your balls.”
Mason snickered, flipping a card between his fingers. “Man, I miss your threats. It’s good to have you back, kitten.”
“What did I say about the nicknames?” Kreed gritted out, gripping the steering wheel as he shifted into drive.
“What did I say about the nicknames?” Mason mocked in his best brooding Kreed voice.
I lost it.
I shouldn’t have laughed, but it was so ridiculous and eerily accurate I couldn’t stop the giggle from bubbling out.
Maddox socked his twin on the shoulder.
The second I put the coffee into the cupholder, Mason snatched it up. “Hey,” I complained, unbuckling my belt and about to crawl into the back seat, when Kreed hit the brakes. Coffee sloshed out the side of Mason’s mouth as he was taking a sip, dripping down his chin and onto his shirt.
“What the fuck, Kreed?” he snapped.
“Get back in your seat, little raven,” Kreed growled before turning around and pinning the twins with a glower. He grabbed the stainless-steel cup. “If you want coffee, get it your damn self. Keep your lips off hers.”
A car honked, swerving around Kreed’s SUV stopped in the middle of the road. Without looking or taking his eyes off his brothers, Kreed flipped the driver off.
Mason was feeling daring and bold this morning. “You sure have a lot of fucking rules about where we can’t put our lips.”
Maddox coughed, covering a laugh.
Mason just grinned.
Kreed shook his head, his foot easing back onto the gas, and handed me back my coffee. Our fingers brushed as I took it.
This was what every morning was like on the drive into school. Weirdly, I liked it. I enjoyed the chaotic banter between the three of them.
We were only a few miles from school when I got a prickling sensation at the base of my skull, spreading slowly up the back of my neck. It was an instinctive hum of awareness I’d become far too familiar with over the past several months. It wasn’t a good feeling. It never was.
The problem was pinpointing the source. I sipped my coffee and stared out the window.
Was it possible we were being followed? I twisted slightly in my seat, trying to make the movement look casual as I glanced through the rear window.
The tinted glass made it difficult to see clearly, but I could make out the familiar shape of Evan’s black sedan following at the usual discreet distance.
Of course, we were being followed. My assigned security detail was doing exactly what Donovan paid him to do.
I took another sip of coffee, forcing myself to draw a slow, controlled breath. You’re being paranoid. You’re just rattled from this morning. There’s nothing out there.
Except Rusty, and that gave me reason to be spooked.
Kreed noticed my sudden change; of course, he did. He noticed everything when it came to me. His gaze flicked sideways from the road, then up to the rearview mirror, and I watched his eyes narrow. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Just feeling out of sorts this morning. Didn’t sleep well.” Always blame it on sleep.
“You’d sleep a lot better in my room.”
My lips twitched. Since returning to the Corvo estate, we’d been sleeping in separate rooms despite Kreed’s protest. I hadn’t wanted to give his father another reason to come down on Kreed. I was trying to protect him for once. “Maybe,” I conceded.
“Does that mean you’re finally giving in, little raven?” His tone dropped, richer, amused.
“How about we get through school first?”
“If we’re taking votes for whose bed she sleeps in, I’m putting my name into the hat,” Mason chimed in from the back, walking a thin line of death because Kreed was going to kill him.
I braced myself for another halting stop, but Kreed’s foot pressed harder onto the gas.
Shit.
Turning in my seat, I shot Mason a what-the-fuck-are-you-doing glare. “It wouldn’t matter. I’m not sleeping in your bed.”
“I have a huge bed. It’s definitely more comfortable than Kreed’s or Mason’s,” Maddox added, jumping on this crazy offer of sleeping arrangements I had no interest in entertaining.
My eyebrows crashed together. “Seriously?”
“Just letting you know you have options,” Maddox said with an earnest shrug that somehow made it worse.
“She doesn’t,” Kreed snapped. “I’m her only option.”
Mason folded his arms across his chest. “Is that so? And why is that?”
Why the fuck were they baiting him?
Kreed’s eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, giving new meaning to if looks could kill.
A knowing smirk curled on Mason’s lips. “You could just admit you love her.”
Holy. Shit.
I froze. My heart stopped. The world went still.
Everything inside me froze—my breath, my pulse, my ability to blink. Even the goddamn air stilled in my lungs.
I couldn’t believe Mason had just said that. Out loud. In a moving vehicle. While Kreed was behind the wheel with a documented history of road rage and emotional repression.
“Would that get the two of you idiots to leave her alone?” Kreed shot back.
A beat of stunned silence passed.
“No,” the twins answered in eerie, perfectly timed unison.
“That’s what I thought,” Kreed muttered, gripping the wheel like it was the only thing keeping him from committing a double homicide.
When we finally pulled into the school parking lot, the feeling of unease was completely gone. The Corvos were good at one thing…distracting me, whether it was intentional or not.
Kreed navigated to his usual spot and cut the engine. Before the key was even fully out of the ignition, Mason and Maddox were already moving, both doors opening simultaneously. Kreed came around to my side, opening my door and waiting for me to hop out.
I sighed. They’d done this ridiculous thing every day since we started back at Public. As we walked toward the main entrance, they arranged themselves into a loose but deliberate protective triangle around me: Kreed on my left, Mason on my right, and Maddox a step behind me.
I thought I would get used to the attention my involvement with the Raven Crew brought at school. Heads swiveled as we passed, conversations cutting off mid-sentence. Whispers erupted in our wake like static electricity, following us across the parking lot and up the front steps.
She thinks she is so special. I don’t get what the big deal is. It’s not like she’s that pretty. I heard she’s fucking them. I thought she had a hit on her head. Maybe she’s paying them. Gross. That’s worse.
This was my first week back at school, and to say it was an adjustment was an understatement.
I felt like the new girl all over again.
The assumptions got worse each day. I still despised being talked about, and the Corvos weren’t making it easier to disappear into the crowd.
I didn’t bother straining to listen to the specific words, didn’t try to pick out individual voices from the collective murmur.
Let them talk. Let them stare with their wide eyes and dropped jaws.
Let them create whatever wild stories and theories made them feel better about their boring, safe lives.
Until Rusty was dealt with permanently, until his entire operation was picked apart and every person involved was exposed or dead, I wasn’t taking any chances.
If being shadowed constantly by the Corvos meant I got to keep breathing and walking and living, then I’d gladly take the whispers, the stares, the judgment, and whatever speculation came with it. I’d take it all without complaint.
The cafeteria smelled faintly of burnt cheese and disinfectant, which seemed to be Public’s signature aroma, recognizable from three hallways away.
Poppy and I claimed our usual table by the tall windows overlooking the courtyard.
I peeled the plastic wrapper off my turkey sandwich, the safest bet, and took my first bite when the crawling sensation started up again between my shoulder blades, raising the fine hairs at the base of my neck.
I was in a crowded room with at least a hundred people, and it was nearly impossible for me to distinguish if someone didn’t belong, someone who might work for Rusty.
Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rusty was ballsy enough to sneak into my school.
Desperate people do stupid things, but they also made mistakes, and I was counting on him fucking up.
A part of me wished he would try something because, this time, I’d be ready.
I wouldn’t be alone or a willing hostage.
“Seriously,” Poppy muttered, stabbing aggressively at a cherry tomato with her plastic fork until it split and spurted seeds across her tray. “How much longer is he going to follow me around? It’s been over a week.”