Chapter Thirty-one
H e wins.
By a mile and as the car crosses the line and the flag is waved, he lets out a loud holler and throws his arm out the window, punching the air like this is his first win. I let out a giggle, still running on the high of the win. We’d gone faster this time, not giving any of the other racers a chance.
Sadie came in second and Jake third and they follow us round the track as River does a final cool down lap. He brings the Plymouth to a stop and then opens the door, throwing his arms up to the crowd that is all making their way onto the track. The way the people here celebrate, you’d think we were competing nationally or something but it’s just this community. I pull the helmet off my head and place it on the backseat before I climb from the car and lean on the side, watching River celebrate with Sadie and Jake.
My eyes scan the crowd that pulses around them only to stop when I see Rachel standing at the back, her arms crossed. She glares at us, lips turned up in our direction.
She’s pissed.
Before she can catch me looking at her, I turn my attention back to the rest of them, watching Zara get wrapped up in Jake, his arm banding around her while his helmet dangles from the other and then he kisses her and the crowd cheers even louder.
I can’t help but laugh at it, happy for my friend.
My cell buzzes in my purse and pulling it out, I see it’s Liam calling again. It’s the fifth time today and like all the others, I cancel the call and put my device on silent, slipping it back in my purse.
I’ll be heading home soon, and I’ll call him in the morning. I don’t need him to ruin the high of today.
For the next two hours River celebrates with his friends, them sharing a few beers and when it gets close to eleven, we walk back to the garage so I can drive home for the night.
“I’ll come with you,” River tells me after he puts away the Plymouth and comes back holding a small duffel.
“Now?” I ask, surprised. He always joins me later, either by an hour or so or when I’ve already fallen asleep.
“Sure, why not, princess?” He grins, throwing the duffel into the back seat of the Mercedes. He fixed the scratch in the paintwork the day before and it’s as good as new now.
“Well okay,” I breathe and climb behind the wheel. His hand slides across my thigh and that’s where it stays the entire car ride across town.
Pulling up to the gates, they begin to slide open, and I roll the car up the long drive, hitting the brakes when I notice my brother’s Bentley parked out front and all the lights are on, beaming out through the windows.
“Shit,” I hiss, and River whips his head to me, probably because I never curse but this situation warrants it. “Get down.”
“What?”
“My brother is here,” I panic, “He can’t see you.”
River stiffens in the passenger seat, whipping his head around in time to see the front door open and the figure of my brother step out onto the porch.
“Oh God,” I whisper cry, “River, get down.”
His jaw is pulsing as he grinds his teeth, but he dips down below the window and then moves himself through the middle and into the back, laying himself across the seats.
It’ll have to do. I can’t back out of the driveway now he’s seen us; I just hope he didn’t notice the second figure inside the car when he stepped out and looked right at us.
Swallowing down the fear, I press back on the gas and make my way toward the house, pulling my car to a stop as far as I can get from the front porch.
“Stay here,” I tell River as I grab my purse and climb out of the car, already seeing my brother walking toward me.
“Liam,” I greet him, continuing passed him toward the house so I can redirect him from my car and ultimately River inside of it.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Liam growls, following close to my heels.
“Out, Liam,” I scoff, “I went out for dinner.”
“With whom?” He demands.
“Zara, who else?”
“You’ve been ignoring my calls all day.” He’s still close to me, following right on my heels.
“I’ve been busy,” I’m impressed with myself, and all my answers. I’m not giving him room to doubt me and report back to our parents. “I didn’t know you called.”
Hopefully River has made it out of the car and is getting off the property. He’s been sneaking onto it for weeks so there’s no way he can’t get away without being seen.
“Why are you here, Liam?” I sigh as I walk into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the fridge.
“Well, I wouldn’t be here if you picked up the fucking phone, Marly,” He snaps, “You’re wasting my time.”
I stare at him with a frown, “You’re the one who’s here, Liam. I would have called you back as soon as I realized you called me.”
My brother is blond like me, but with darker eyes and paler skin. He’s tall and built athletically and so clean you’d think he’d just walked off a magazine cover. There’s not a flaw to be seen, unless you count his lacking personality of course. He scowls at me, his teeth grinding together but I keep moving, like ignoring him for an entire day isn’t a big deal.
I make it to the stairs before I stop and turn to him, “What did you need anyway?”
I then continue up the stairs. I’d hoped me walking away would force him to leave me alone, but I should have guessed not.
“We have dinner tomorrow night,” He tells me halfway up and it takes me the rest of the way to process what he just said.
“What? No.” I only go to dinners with my mother and father, not out of choice but because they expect me to sit and look pretty for them.
“It’s not optional,” He snaps, “You’ll be joining me for a business dinner tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because dad has left me in charge of dealing with the developers for the south side,” He puffs out his chest, “And they seemed to take a lot of interest in you, Marly.”
Swallowing down the bile, I turn to him, my back to my door and the safety it can provide me, “I have nothing to do with it.”
“Of course you don’t,” He sneers, “But dad made a good point.”
“What point?” I grind out.
“Pretty faces have been winning wars for years, Marly,” He tells me, “And if we have to use you to get what we need, then we will.”
“I have nothing to do with it,” I repeat.
He smiles cruelly, “Perhaps it’ll be good for you too.”
My stomach drops, “What do you mean?”
“You can finally lose that v-card for a good cause, and we get what we want. This town is suffering because of the fucking trash on the south side, it’s time we fix it up.”
“They are people,” I snap at him, “You can’t do that!”
“We can and we will,” He sighs impatiently, “Make sure you’re ready by seven P.M. Wear a pretty dress Marly, it’s time you start pulling your weight for this family.”