Such A Bad Girl (Hush Hush Bachelor's Club Book 2)

Prologue

Deep in the woods, on this sweltering Texas summer evening, the last thing I wanted to do was stick around and be anywhere near Avett Brooks, who I could hear laughing as I stepped around the tree and into the darkness. I was anxious to get back to the last party of the summer before my friends and I went our separate ways to go to college.

Avett was the school bully and besides Harlan, not many people liked him. If they did, they hung out with him because he had the good weed. I wasn’t usually interested in what he had to say, but his voice broke through the muffled hum of partiers in the distance. And his words stopped me in my tracks.

“What do you think of Everleigh?”

He was talking to his side-kick, Harlan. The two of them never seemed to leave each other’s side, even when nature called, apparently.

“Everleigh? Seriously? She’s kinda stuck up, if you ask me,” Harlan slurred. A handle of Jack Daniels had been dangling from his meaty fingers all night. “Why are you even asking?”

His drunken voice was laced with irritation.

“Yeah, but she’s fucking hot. That ass? Dude,” Avett replied. I heard the zip of his jeans and the distinct sound of liquid hitting the hot, cracked Texas soil beneath his feet. My stomach churned but I stayed frozen in place, listening. “Besides, crazy girls are hot. I can’t believe she tried to set fire to her old man’s place! That’s fucking sexy. Don’t you think so?”

“Not really, no,” Harlan replied. “Seems a little extreme to me.”

“I’m gonna fuck her.” I gasped at his words. No wonder everyone hated this asshole. Anger bubbled up inside me.

“What the fuck? Avett! Seriously? You are? Is she even into you?” Harlan’s distressed voice echoed up through the pecan trees, followed by Avett’s evil laughter that was as dark as the night surrounding us.

“I don’t give a fuck if she’s into me or not,” Avett sneered. “I’m going for it tonight. Did you see that slutty red skirt she’s wearing? I can’t wait to push that up over that sweet ass and go to town!”

“Whatever,” Harlan muttered, their voices fading away as they walked back down the trail that led back to the party.

My blood was boiling now. Every cell in my body told me to storm back through the woods after him and punch his stupid fucking lights out. But first, I needed to warn Evie.

The thing is — I knew that wasn’t really necessary. Ev could take care of herself just fine.

Everleigh was West’s sister. She’d been through hell and back.

I knew her well. Too well, in fact — but that’s beside the point.

She didn’t need my protection. I knew she could stand up for herself, she’d proven it many times throughout the years I’d known her. If she wasn’t fighting with West, she was getting into scuffles with other unsuspecting boys who made the mistake of underestimating her toughness. I had no doubt that if Avett tried to force himself on her, he’d come away deeply regretting that decision. He should know better, actually.

Still — his blatant declaration of his ugly intentions enraged me. And since West was in Hollywood for that audition, it was up to me to watch over Everleigh tonight. It wasn’t like I didn’t already have my eye on her anyway, truth be told.

Over the years, my affection for Everleigh had grown increasingly unmanageable. She was purely off-limits. West would kill me if he knew how I felt about his sister. But that didn’t make the feelings go away.

In fact, I suspected it just made them worse.

I did my best to hide them and not act on them. It was a constant effort, and it felt like torture some days.

I was successful. Most of the time.

Every now and then, though, I found myself slipping up. I’d catch myself looking at her a little too long, my gaze lingering on her lips when she talked to me. I was pretty sure she’d noticed. But my focus was always on making sure West didn’t notice.

Yes, it might reveal my feelings for her. And yes, I knew she could take care of herself. But I wasn’t going to leave her to deal with Avett alone.

I waited in the darkness until those two assholes stumbled back towards the music, and I followed them, keeping my distance and watching from the tree line as they rejoined the crowd.

They made straight for a truck that was parked in the lot under a bright street light. Everleigh was always the center of attention in any crowd, and she was in her element as she held court on the tailgate of her 1978 Ford F-350. Midnight black with an extended bed, it was loud and obnoxious, and Everleigh’s pride and joy. She looked like a Texas princess riding around in that thing, turning heads everywhere she went.

Her two best friends were at her side. Donna and Frenchie. They clutched a couple of Zimas like they were lifelines, sucking them down as fast as they could and throwing the empties into the bed of Ev’s truck. They scanned the crowd while giggling and whispering, gossiping with each other. They greeted their friends as they streamed by.

Avett stood at the edge of the crowd with his gaze trained on Everleigh; he was stalking his prey. When he saw Donna walk away with another friend, he spotted his chance and moved in on her.

I watched as he leaned in close to Everleigh and whispered in her ear. She looked up at him and shook her head. He whispered something else and she paused, wrinkling her nose in that way that made my heart skip a beat.

Don’t do it, I urged her silently from my perch in the darkness.

To my horror, she shrugged and hopped off the tailgate. With a definitive nod, she waved to Frenchie and walked away towards the lake.

“Fuck,” I muttered, shaking my head. “What the hell are you doing, girl?”

I took a deep breath, hoping Frenchie would go with her. When she didn’t move, I groaned.

What if everything was fine? What if she called me out for following them? What if my stupid feelings for her were making something out of nothing?

These thoughts slowed my steps enough that I was spotted before I could catch up with Everleigh. “There you are!” The shrill voice made my bones rattle and I resisted the urge to shrug away the hand on my bicep. “I’ve been looking for you for fifteen minutes, Theo!”

“Jill, hey, sorry about that,” I said, keeping my eyes glued on Avett and Everleigh. The dancing crowd around them was thick, and they were quickly disappearing from view.

“It’s okay,” Jill said, rising on her tiptoes and kissing my cheek. “You’re here now.”

“Right, but um…I gotta go, though,” I muttered, my irritation growing as I took a step away.

She pulled me back and stepped in front of me.

“Go where, Theo? You brought me to this party! Are we not going to hang out together?”

I groaned, shaking my head. I had brought Jill to the party, that was true. But I’d regretted it as soon as she’d hopped into my truck. Jill was pretty and smart, and she came from a good family. On paper, she was exactly the kind of girl my mother thought I should settle down with.

But her voice — loud, shrill, whiny and constant — was growing increasingly hard to endure. I’d only asked her to the party because I thought she’d be a good distraction from thinking about Everleigh.

Everleigh.

My eyes darted past Jill, frustration rising through my veins as I realized that Avett and Everleigh were completely out of sight now.

“Theo! I’m right here!”

“I know that, Jill!” I barked down at her. “Obviously! Look, just stay here, I gotta take care of something, okay? I won’t be long.”

I stepped around her and left her there with her mouth hanging open. Jogging through the crowd, I searched for any sign of Everleigh or Avett, but between the darkness that surrounded the ring of trucks, and the flailing limbs of all the drunks dancing in the headlights, it was impossible to see anything.

Avett’s words echoed in my mind, driving me on as I pushed through the crowd, determined to find them.

If anything happened to Ev, West would never forgive me. I’d never forgive myself. Panic gripped my heart.

They couldn’t have gone far. It had only been a few minutes. If only Jill hadn’t stopped me.

I searched for ten desperate minutes before I finally spotted them. They sat alone on the boardwalk, the pungent scent of weed hanging in the air, the red glow of the joint’s cherry breaking through the darkness. I sighed with relief.

Everleigh was safe.

Avett was just fucking talk.

Behind them, moonlight sparkled on the mirrored lake. Town Lake was a beautiful place. It was right near downtown Austin, and a popular place for everyone in the city to hang out. Us kids particularly liked it at night, when it was much less crowded and the cops seemed to leave us alone for the most part.

I was going to miss nights like this, I thought to myself, as I continued to watch the two of them get stoned. Everleigh giggled, lightly coughing.

Staying in the darkness, I kept quiet and watched from afar, still confident Everleigh could handle herself. Even so, I stayed. I didn’t trust Avett for a second.

As Everleigh looked out at the water, he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She jumped like she’d been shot, turning quickly and ducking under his right arm to get away. She giggled and shook her head. “Don’t do that, please,” she said, flashing him a smile.

I could hear the low growl of Avett’s voice, but I couldn’t make out his words. He closed the distance between them again, and this time he bent his head to brush his lips against hers.

I cringed at the sight of his lips where mine should be. My fists clenched at my sides as I wrestled with my spinning head. If Ev didn’t stop him soon, I would.

Everleigh put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. “I said, no, Avett!”

He grabbed her hips and pulled her close, but she pushed him away again. He kept laughing, seeming to enjoy her resistance. He grabbed her arm hard and pulled her to him one last time.

“Fuck off!” Everleigh cried. Her knee landed squarely between Avett’s legs.

Avett recovered quickly and grabbed a handful of her hair before she could get away. She landed in a heap on her back, and he straddled her, pinning her to the ground.

My feet began moving before my mind registered what was happening.

“Get off me!” Everleigh cried out.

“Hey!” I shouted, willing my legs to propel me forward faster down the trail. Why the fuck had I stayed so far away?

“You fucker! Let me go! I’m going to fuck you up, you fucking prick! Stop fucking touching me!”

Avett pushed her bra down, exposing her breasts. The sound of Avett’s evil laughter rose up through the trees, mingling with the darkness of the night, and I knew I’d never forget that sound as long as I lived.

More so, I knew the sound of Everleigh’s cries, rising above that evil laughter, would be engraved on my heart until I died. All I could think of was that I wanted it to stop and never hear anything like that ever again.

When my feet hit the long boardwalk, I picked up speed finally.

Just a few hundred feet more and I’d be there.

Rage filled my veins.

“Stop, motherfucker!” I roared, knowing he’d hear me now that I was closer.

He turned to me as my boots slammed against the wooden slats of the boardwalk. His eyes shone with a sick glimmer of pride that turned my stomach.

“Theo! My man! I stopped dead in my tracks, stunned by his lack of fear upon seeing me.

He didn’t give a shit that I was witnessing him committing one of the most heinous things a human being can do to another. In fact, he was proud of it.

He didn’t have an ounce of remorse for hurting Everleigh. Was he even fucking human?

“You want in on this, bro?” His words confirmed to me that maybe he actually wasn’t. This monster didn’t have a heart.

His words sliced through my gut like a flame, igniting something deep in my soul.

A clarity.

A profound knowing that took up residence within the depths of my soul.

I heard a voice in my head — quiet and clear and decisive. Impossible to ignore.

He’s done this before. He’ll do it again.

The world seemed to stop spinning. The moon stopped shimmering. Town Lake stopped sparkling under the moonlight.

Everleigh stopped struggling as she watched me approach, frozen in place by Avett’s sick words.

I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating.

Time stood still.

And then — slowly, deliberately, with the utmost intention, I took one, two, three steps, and kicked Avett square in the face.

The tip of my boot sank right between his eyes.

He slumped to the side. Everleigh scrambled out from underneath him and stood next to me. The two of us stared down at Avett’s body.

His unmoving, lifeless body.

Everleigh squeezed my hand, whispering in such a faint voice that I wasn’t quite sure I heard her. “Thank you.”

She let go, took a step forward, and leaned down next to Avett. I watched in awe as she used both hands to push his body into the lake.

He disappeared without a trace, the gentle splash almost imperceptible.

Like nothing had ever happened.

She turned towards me and nodded, her eyes peering deeply into mine, tears streaming down her beautiful face.

“This never happened, Theo, do you understand?”

I nodded.

“Let’s get out of here,” I growled. I gripped her hand tightly, turned and led us away, our footsteps fast and light as we disappeared into the woods together, leaving our secret behind us forever, with nobody but ourselves and the bright light of the moon knowing the truth.