Chapter 33
Harbor
Parked behind a truck I don’t recognize, I get out of my car and head to the passenger side to wait for Lark.
It’s dark, but I can make out the silhouette of a woman sitting inside the rumbling old truck.
The exhaust, which can’t pass any state inspection, is about to kill me, so I walk up the slick path and call Lark to check on her.
As soon as she picks up, I say, “I’m here. ”
The sounds of crashing causes me to duck until I realize it’s inside the house. I run forward just as the main door flies open, and a man slips on the wet path.
I yell, “What the fuck?” moving out of his way.
“Motherfucker,” he shouts, catching his balance. When he looks up, his rage is set on me. Unlike the truck, I know exactly who he is. Dane. “I told you to stay away from her.”
Screaming pulls me toward the sound. I know Lark’s voice and hear the terror.
I run to get her, to protect her, to—A locomotive slams into me from the side, taking me down.
My eyes close on impact as I hit the ground.
The mind plays tricks when the body feels pain.
My adrenaline kicks in before the pieces of what caused the impact come together.
When the image is clear, I only see one thing—Dane.
My instincts have me shoving the weight of his body off me, rolling over, and throwing punches before my vision clears. When it does, my eyes lock on the target and my arms keep swinging. “Fucking asshole.”
I’m grabbed from behind, my girl’s voice filling my ears. “Please. Harbor. Harbor. Stop!” Pulling me, she doesn’t make much headway. I punch the fucker in the face once more, busting something since he’s now bleeding. “Harbor!”
I make the mistake of reacting to her calling my name and find myself on the receiving end of a hard-hitting uppercut.
The world slows as I fall backward, but when the darkness arrives to pummel me, images of Lucas come back. The fights we would get into for fun, the laughs we had though our faces hurt from being punched, and the fall . . . I land on my back, which forces my breath to halt in my chest.
The pain blunts in the cold air when I’m kicked in the side. Refusing to take another hit, I jump to my knees and then to my feet right after. If I’ve learned only one thing from my cousin, it was to never let them take you down with them.
Seeing Dane standing next to my heart as if he’ll use her to shield himself, I’m sent into a rage and charge at him. I shove him so fucking hard that he flies before landing on his ass and skids across the soaking grass.
Lark flanks my side, grabbing hold of my arm. “Are you okay?” she asks, shifting in front of me. “Harbor?”
Still staring at Dane, I can’t seem to figure out what started the fight.
She grabs my jaw, trying to force me to look at her. “Harbor?” Finally giving in to the demand, I briefly glance down but then look over her head as the girl from the truck runs to him.
Amanda stands in the middle, and asks, “What happened?”
Dane is on his feet, wiping his bloody mouth on his shirt.
“Mother fuck.” He stares at me and then stabs the air with his finger.
“I told you to stay away from her. You just couldn’t fucking listen, could you?
You Pointe kids think you own everything, like you come slum it downtown and take a piss all over us, use our girls, and then toss them aside when you’re bored. ”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Dane? I’m not using anyone, especially not Lark.” My adrenaline continues to course through me. I shake my right fist, hoping to release some of it before it eats me alive.
Lark spins around, pressing her hands to my legs behind her. “What do you mean you told him I’m off-limits? There’s so much wrong with that, Dane, that I almost don’t know where to begin.” She crosses her arms over her chest, shaking her head.
He’s sniffling, still licking his wounds, like a cat dragging its paw across his sleeve. The girl with him shouts something about me being the asshole and my girlfriend a whore, but Lark’s not fazed by her. She makes no move to give her the time of day.
Since Dane doesn’t give her the courtesy of a response, Lark says, “You don’t get to decide who I date. I know you act like my brother and have been there for me over the years, but I am a grown woman, so you need to back off.”
His eyes pivot from mine to hers. “You’re making a big fucking mistake.” Patting his chest, he stares her down. “He’s just like his cousin, Lark. I don’t want you to find out the hard way. He’s going to break your heart . . . Save yourself the trouble.”
“It’s my heart. That’s the part you’re forgetting. I appreciate the words of warning, but I know Harbor so much better than you do.”
Dane says, “He’ll prove me right one day. You’ll see.”
“Harbor has nothing to prove to you,” she snaps. “He’s already proven everything he needs to me.”
“Talk to Terry,” Dane says. “Talk to Amanda. She was there. She’s your best friend. Would she lie to you? No. The rich pricks aren’t strangers to our parties—”
“The parties that you told me I couldn’t go to.” Lark huffs.
“Yeah, those fucking parties because guys like him were cruising through to look for their next victims. Smoking our weed, stealing our booze.”
Okay, that’s it, fucker. “That’s e-fucking-nough,” I say.
“I never used anyone, and there are no victims.” I move forward, not scared to fight him until he tells the truth.
Lark presses her body to me, fisting my coat as if I’ll lunge at him if she doesn’t try to stop me.
“And don’t talk about my cousin.” Anger builds inside me, tensing me, so I get closer, ready to burn through my emotions with each punch to his face.
I hadn’t noticed Lark moving with me as if she’s attached. “He’s not worth it,” she says. “None of this is. Why are we even fighting?”
He says, “Their motives will always outwit your good intentions.”
Sighing even louder, my girl’s lost her patience. “All you are is one good quote. This isn’t about the parties or your drugs. This is about you hating him for no other reason than his family is rich.”
The girl with Dane smacks her gum, and then asks, “How rich?”
Losing it, Lark pushes off me and stomps to the path that divides us. “Mia, why are you with Dane?”
“He’s supposed to be taking me to dinner.” She rubs her stomach. “The baby and I are hungry.”
Amanda throws her arms in the air. “Hold up. You’re pregnant?”
Mia nods eagerly. “Two months.”
Dane comes behind her and wraps his arms around her middle. “Surprise.”
The five of us stand in complete silence. I’m not sure what Lark and Amanda are thinking or what I should be doing. My ribs hurt from the kick, probably bruised by his low fucking blow. No man with integrity kicks someone when they’re down. But that kick is why his ass ended up on the ground.
Amanda asks, “Is it Dane’s?”
“Amanda,” Lark cautions.
But Mia grunts and stamps her feet. Whipping around, she grabs the front of Dane’s shirt and shakes him. “I told you they wouldn’t be supportive. I told you,” she screams.
Nothing about this situation is good, but an even worse feeling settles in my stomach. I have nothing to protect Lark except myself. I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to keep her safe, but getting her out of here is best.
I take hold of Lark’s hand and pull her back a few inches at first and then a couple of feet. I’ve seen a lot of fights over the years, but something in that girl’s eyes is unhinged. No way do I want Lark anywhere near her line of fire.
Mia’s still yelling about some guy named Steve she could have dated when I make intentional eye contact with Amanda, silently warning her to get back. She doesn’t hesitate and moves closer to the front door.
Screamer turns back, facing Amanda, and says, “It’s his baby.
Why would he give me this if it weren’t his?
” Tugging back the front of her coat, she reveals a hard-to-miss low-cut orange shirt that fits like a second skin.
But it’s not the coat we’re all staring at.
It’s the pin she’s wearing. “It’s real diamonds,” she hisses, “and more than you bitches will ever get.”
I know what that is. I saw it once in the photo in Lark’s bedroom. It’s distinctive in shape, and though she glossed over it, she said it was stolen from her home. If I recognize it, Lark definitely does.
Fuck.
I catch hold of Lark’s arms just as she pounces. “Where did you get that?” she shouts, swinging her arms like a wildcat.
Mia’s startled and scuttles behind Dane like she needs protection. “He gave it to me.”
Lark pivots, gaining ground by leveraging her boots against the same ground that has me sliding against my slick soles. “Give it back. Dane, give it back to me!”
My hold tightens as her anger grows. Amanda moves in, closer to Dane, and points at Lark. “That was her mother’s.”
Dane swings his arms behind him but glares at me as if I had something to do with it. Fuck him. “Shit, that sucks, doesn’t it, Westcott?”
“Fuck you. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I know you’d hurt your friend without a second thought.”
Amanda’s shaking her head. “Where’s your loyalty, Dane? We’ve been there for you—”
“To the mother of my baby.”
The words themselves appear to temper Lark, her body losing the fight and weakening in my grip. When her arms fall to her side, I wrap my arms around her. She turns to me suddenly, tears breaking the dam of her lower lids, and her eyes desperate with pleading. “Please, Harbor. Help me get it back.”
“You can’t have it,” Mia shouts, intent on dragging Lark back into this fight. “It’s mine. Tell them, Dane.”