49. The Principles of War
The Principles of War
Caden
Eli shuts the door behind them as he takes Harper into the bathroom. Jack picks up Harper and Eli’s clothes from the floor and takes them over to the door. When he knocks, Eli opens it to take the clothes.
Selfish bastard doesn’t want to share right now. If she hadn’t shrieked, making me lose to Luke, that could have been me. Balls deep in our girl. I shake my head. Lucky fucker.
We didn’t talk to each other outside. Too many fucking ears.
But in Jason’s parents’ bedroom, it’s just us.
No devices. Our parents can’t listen in, and no one is spying for the other side.
That can’t be said about my house or anywhere else.
Even though I found one camera, it might not have been the only one.
“Why can’t we just go break Zach into pieces so he doesn’t even think about coming for her tomorrow?
” I rub my hands together. The fights tonight helped shed some of the anxious energy flowing through me, but they didn’t stop that tightness in my chest. The tightness that needs to protect Harper no matter what the cost.
This is the second time he almost got to her before I reached her. And both times I wasn’t able to hand him his ass like I needed to. I don’t like the idea of having to save her a third time. Somehow I don’t think my luck will hold out. He needs to be put down before he hurts her.
Nico crosses the room on his crutches. I stop my pacing to help Nico down onto the couch.
“It’s not just him.” Jack rubs the back of his neck. “He’s not working alone. Do we think he’s the mastermind behind everything or just the asshole taking advantage of the situation?”
Everyone takes a moment to digest that. Zach is ambitious enough, but is he smart enough to launch a coup? Jack sits on the edge of the bed. A slip of something red is in his hand. He rubs it between his fingers almost absentmindedly.
When I realize they’re Harper’s panties, I arch an eyebrow at him. When he notices what I’m looking at, he chuckles and pushes them in his pocket. I shake my head because I should have thought of grabbing them first.
“Even if he isn’t the head, he needs to be taken down.
We don’t know how many people are working with Zach or for him.
” Luke runs a hand through his hair. His gaze falls on the door, blocking us from the girl that has all of us so fucking bound to her.
“It’s too fucking complicated with Tanner and Zach working together.
My father probably has a stake in this too.
Even if it’s from the executive office. It’s likely his drug business. ”
I give a disgruntled noise because I know all this, but I want it to be simple. I want to go make the asshole stop coming after my girl. If it were just him, I could put an end to this. But even if I stop him, it won’t stop everything else that’s trying to tear us apart.
Our fathers. Sidney. The plan to take us down. We have no clue how many might be in this thing.
“Maybe they aren’t being good little soldiers.” Nico rubs the bridge of his nose and slouches on the couch, shutting his eyes. “What if your dad doesn’t know what they’re doing and it’s getting in the way of his plans for Harper or Luke? If he knew, he might put an end to it for us.”
It’s a thought. William Foster would shut that shit down so fucking fast if he didn’t get his way. Can we push that button and come away unscathed? Or will William just sink his claws further into Luke?
Even though Luke’s staying at my house, he isn’t out. Not by a long shot. No, for some reason William is okay with this distance right now. He hasn’t put up any fight. That worries me.
Because that means he’s regrouping, strategizing, and figuring out his next move. Luke is his key to the future. There’s no way he’ll let him go. Not now. Not unless we have something that will make him let Luke go or destroy William.
I drop onto the edge of the bed next to Jack and glance at the door. I’ve been in this spot before. At Jason’s. Waiting on Harper in the bathroom. I hope to be the one here for her for the rest of our lives. Not just at Jason’s. But everywhere.
We need to do whatever we can to stop these fuckers before they hurt her. Jack clears his throat, getting our attention.
“Those guys on the basketball team tonight needed something. It’s why they challenged Eli.
It was the only way to talk to one of us without it looking suspicious or potentially getting back to Zach.
Someone might have overheard them if they tried to talk to me about it.
We know someone on the football team is in Zach’s ear.
Potentially multiple someones.” Jack leans back on his hands.
“Eli will tell us what he found out. Hopefully they’ll provide more useful information. Because we’re still relatively blind.”
“If it’s not a trap.” Leaning against the wall, Luke shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair.
“How the fuck are we supposed to trust anyone? If it weren’t for Harper’s mom and your parents, I’d say let’s run.
Fuck high school. Fuck everyone who thinks the order needs to change.
Let them rip each other to shreds for the power. At least we’d still have her.”
Luke’s never had someone to lose before. Never had a vulnerability. His mother had never been part of his life. His father’s always been an abusive ass. We gave him brotherhood and friendship, but Harper is what he’s always needed. The softness none of us could give him.
His fear of losing her is real. The things they could do to her could take her away mentally. She still has nightmares sometimes about being trapped and not able to escape.
Running is a thought I’ve toyed with more than a few times.
With my trust fund, I have money of my own.
We could find someplace far away from here, get our high school degrees online and still go to college together.
It’s not the worst idea in the world, except it means cutting ties with everyone here.
Leave football. Leave our other friends.
Leave our families. I don’t think Jack or Harper would be up for that. Probably not Eli either.
What would happen to Ava without me here to look after her? Would my parents come back to stay if it’s only her? Will they do that next year when I go off to college, or will they leave Ava on her own with only the staff to look after her like they did with me? Fuck.
Maybe I’m just as trapped as Harper and Jack. Maybe we’re all trapped by this town and our responsibilities. The bathroom door opens and Eli steps out. His hair is wet from the shower. Harper looks at all of us, spread out.
She takes in each of us like she can see into our souls. See who needs her the most at this moment. Maybe she can. Maybe that’s why she’s buried so deep in mine.
She’s still dressed in Luke’s jersey and jeans. I didn’t even think to ask if she wanted to change before the party, but I don’t think she minds. She likes walking around clearly claimed by us.
Next game, she’s wearing my jersey on the sidelines because she looks good with our names on her. She drags in a breath and comes over to sit between me and Jack. I give her a little smile to show my appreciation for her choice to sit with us.
She slips her delicate hand in mine, threading our fingers. After releasing her breath, she leans her head against Jack’s shoulder.
Eli grabs the chair and sits in it facing all of us. He looks at Luke. “You fucked the girl Zach is obsessed with.”
Luke’s brow furrows. “Olivia Miller?”
“Apparently he’s been hard core stalking this girl for years, and you came in and stole her virginity out from under him.” Eli runs a hand through his hair.
“I never claimed her. She pursued me.” Luke glances at Harper, looking like he wants to apologize and isn’t sure if this is crossing a line.
She shrugs. “It seems relevant to talk about someone you used to have sex with.”
Luke drags in a relieved breath. “So why did Nick fight you and not me?”
“Zach’s got half the team working for him or on drugs. Including Eric’s twin, Adam. They want me to ask my dad to help him since Zach will let the other guys take the fall for tonight.” Eli rubs his hands together. “In return, they’ll help us if they can.”
“So it’s mutiny?” I chuckle. “They want to take down their king?”
“They want to take down the guy who’s ruining their team.” Jack shakes his head. “If someone on our team was getting everyone else addicted to drugs or running drugs, we wouldn’t look the other way. We’d take them down.”
“We have. Tanner,” I say.
It wasn’t all for that reason, but it was convenient and effective to get him off the team.
“Yeah, but this shit is going to have ramifications. We need to take Zach out entirely and then get the rest of them sent to rehab.” Luke stands and paces the floor. “That and take out Tanner before he figures out another way to get to Harper.”
“At least not everyone is on that bastard’s side.” I rub my thumb over Harper’s knuckle. “This can’t all be about a girl.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Eli says.
He leans his elbows on his knees. “The girl is probably the catalyst for Zach to come after ours and use her as a means of revenge. But the power is the real draw. Think about it. He’s popular, and in any other high school he’d be top dog.
But with us here he flies mostly under the radar, which might work for the drug business so far, but not if he wants to rule the school and impress his boss. ”
“Who we don’t know anything about, except she’s a woman.” Jack rests his hand on Harper’s back. He glances at Luke. “At least, the boss he knows. We all know every road leads back to William Foster. And I doubt the woman is someone in high school.”
“Not if she’s telling those punks to get a job. Though it could be a teacher.” Eli looks at the floor. His brows furrow, and he curses softly. “If William thinks my mom would get in trouble for whatever he has on her...”
He lets that hang out there. It’s not unreasonable. After all, almost everyone in this town is in William’s pocket one way or another. And the things they could go to jail for would be the human trafficking or the drugs.
“Fuck, man.” Nico lets out a breath. “You think your mom is the boss lady?”
Eli shrugs. “I don’t know. It would make sense, but so would Sidney’s mom. I mean, how many of our moms are tangled up with William Foster and the hospital?”
Even my mom has shit involved with the hospital. I grunt and say, “Maybe that’s how William kept our fathers in line. Involve their wives in whatever fucked up shit he had going on, especially when all the guys pulled out of their business dealings.”
“My mom’s not.” Nico raises his hand. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if she got roped into it. Fuck, my dad even talked about getting me an internship with him after we moved here. Something he’s never mentioned before. Fortunately, that’s been sidelined with my injury.”
That’s the one thing my dad hasn’t offered me. He wants me to go into business so I can work for him and eventually take over, but he’s never pushed very hard. Maybe that’s my mom’s influence.
I remember how stricken she was that I had Harper at the house. It wasn’t because she worried about who I was hanging out with, but she worried my dad would find her there. Maybe they’re as entangled in this as everyone else’s parents seem to be. I glance down at Harper.
Did my dad have a hand in Harper’s father’s disappearance? Potentially his death? My dad was still thick as thieves with William Foster at that time. They didn’t fall out until much later.
We haven’t stopped long enough to deal with that. To talk about it. At some point, we’ll need to. Because I promised her, we talk about anything. Even if it hurts.