21. The Patrol
The Patrol
Caden
Sidney barges out of Luke’s room and almost runs into me. She snarls. “Fuck off.”
Guess she didn’t get what she wanted. Good. When I step into his room, Luke shakes his head.
“Not over?” I ask.
“With her, yes. But I’m not done making sure she crumbles.” Luke releases a breath. “We need to make sure the other girls are on our side.”
“We can do that.” Though we may have burned the bridge with Hannah, I’m sure the other two would be willing to help us. And Hannah goes where the others go. I jerk my head toward the door. “Come on. You aren’t staying here.”
He nods and steps toward me before stopping. He clenches his fists. “I’m eighteen. I can leave, but Penny’s seventeen. He’ll use her to punish me.”
“She’s fine for tonight.” I rub the back of my neck. As long as the police don’t come and find her drugged. Then we’re all fucked. “We’ll figure it out, but not here. Not tonight.”
Luke grabs a few things and throws them in his backpack. He pauses next to me and glances around his room. His tone is resigned. “I can’t come back here anymore, Caden.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “I know.”
The way his father cornered him again. The only reason I held back is because I had to protect Harper from charging to the rescue and getting herself hurt. Eli was here to have Luke’s back if he needed it. But I’m done finding my friend hurting because of his asshole dad.
I follow Luke down the hallway toward the back stairs. A noise sounds behind me. When I turn, I see Sidney coming out of the guest bedroom. Her bag isn’t with her. She catches me watching her and smirks before heading down the hallway, away from Luke’s room.
Whatever she’s planning, she’s not going to find any ammunition against us in this house. Luke’s always had one foot out the door. His father snoops too frequently for Luke to leave anything important behind.
“She’s going to be a bitch now, isn’t she?” I mumble.
“She’s always been a bitch.” Luke leads the way out of his house.
Yeah, but she was a bitch we could control. Or rather, Luke could control. Who knows what she’ll be like at school now.
When I head to my ride, he follows me instead of going to the garage.
I meet his gaze over the roof of my Mustang with a questioning look.
“I don’t want anything he’s given me.” Luke glances at where his car is. He’s taken care of that car since his father gave it to him when Luke got his license. It has to be hard to leave it behind, but I get it.
“If you need a car, I’ll make sure you have one.” I unlock the doors, and we both get in.
“I can make it on my own.” Luke rests his head back and closes his eyes.
“Fuck you, man.” I shake my head and laugh. Like he’s ever been alone. “You wouldn’t last a day without us. So if you need to borrow a ride, you hit me up.”
He grumbles as I pull out and drive toward my house. Luke takes out his phone and starts texting.
“What’s up?” I glance both ways before crossing the street.
“Need to fill Nico in on what’s happening.” Luke’s tone is distracted. “If I’m ever down because of an injury, I’d hope you guys keep me in the loop.”
I nod, but we’d be the ones taking care of him. Nico has a mother who loves him and a father who has hopes for him. That’s more than most of us have. Except for Jack. Though Jack’s dad used to be part of the horsemen of that generation.
“We need to figure out when Sean went missing so we can check Jack’s dad’s bank statements.” It feels wrong to say that, but we don’t know who we can trust. “He’s the one who told Sean about the meeting. It could have been a setup.”
A stone falls in my gut. Jack’s dad hasn’t just been there for Jack. He’s been there for me, taking me in when my parents were away. Telling me he’s proud of me whenever he can. Showing up at games and making sure I know he’s there for me too. Something my own father can’t seem to do.
Setting his phone on his lap, Luke sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “I can’t picture Jack’s dad betraying Sean, but our fathers aren’t the same as us. They did what it took to make money and power. They didn’t have each other’s backs. What if that was his only way out?”
The words aren’t anything I haven’t thought before but hearing them out loud makes a tremor roll through me. The adults we can trust are slowly winding down to one woman. Who’s currently being hunted.
“Do we have an idea of who Jennifer might trust to keep her and Harper safe?” I ask. Not going to lie but keeping Harper at my house has been nice. Even if I was nervous about my parents finding her, I know she’s safe in my arms.
But Jennifer has a good head and won’t put Harper at risk.
Luke rolls his head to me. “No clue. This town is even worse than I thought it was.”
“We’ll get out.” I keep my eyes on the road. For once, I’m not sure we will.