Damaged Love - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,15

my waist and pulled me next to him.

“Want me to beat them up for you?” he asked me with a grin. “I will. For you.”

I looked up at him. “Why? Why am I so interesting to you?”

“You just are,” Xavier said.

“Hey, if we’re being fair here, I’ve been through a lot of shit too,” Easton said. “I think she and I connect more than anyone else.”

“Because we fucked in the backseat of your car?” I asked Easton.

He just grinned.

Noah’s face twisted with anger. “You know that’s not true, right, Winter?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know what’s true anymore. To answer your question… the brain is made up of several parts. Okay? There’s a part that controls speech, memory, uh, walking, talking, whatever else. And there’s different kinds of ways to lose your memory. If you don’t believe me, look it up. Put yourself in my shoes. You wake up in a hospital bed and can’t remember anyone. You know what? I would give up knowing how to drive and write and all that to remember everyone. Okay?”

“It was just a question,” Easton asked.

“Maybe I had a fucked up night too,” I said.

Easton showed his hands.

“What the hell happened to your hands?” Xavier asked Easton.

“Don’t ask,” Easton said.

“He was playing in some pink paint,” Noah said.

Xavier let out a laugh.

I broke away from the guys and hurried toward the building.

I felt them all staring at me.

It wasn’t the same feeling as when I was standing on the beach though.

Even still, it made me shiver with fear.

I was the cliché girl in the bathroom, crying.

Trying to stay silent so nobody else heard me.

There were parts of this revenge plan I hadn’t thought all the way through. All I wanted was those guys to feel fear. To not sleep at night. To look over their shoulder.

And then I could step in and confess it all.

It seemed so easy in my mind…

I shut my eyes.

I came from my mother, meaning I had an inheritance of being a bitch. But I also had a heart. There was a piece of me that wanted to know what led them to decide to do what they did. And the more I learned…

That’s why I asked Gia if she thought they were happy.

There was no way they were happy.

They were hurt. Miserable.

Rich and powerful?

Yes.

But what did that mean?

I groaned and shoved all the emotions down to the pit of my stomach and exited the bathroom stall.

Evie and Darcy each stood at a mirror.

They both looked at me through the reflection.

“Were you crying in there?” Evie asked.

“No. I had some bad tacos last night.”

“That’s gross,” Darcy said. “I liked you better before the accident.”

Evie snorted and laughed.

“This is who you two are?” I asked.

Evie looked back at me. “Don’t get all worked up, Winter. You were the same.”

“Maybe she should hit her head again,” Darcy said.

They both started to laugh.

I walked to the bathroom door and got out of there.

If I didn’t, I was going to start throwing punches.

I took care of everything I needed at BFH, then got out of there.

It was nice having the freedom to come and go as I pleased.

As I hurried outside, all I could think about was getting to Tank Two and getting back to the beach house. I didn’t want to spend my life hiding away from the world, but I needed another breather for a second.

To think.

To really…

I froze in place when I saw Xavier leaning against the front of Tank Two.

Arms folded.

Looking deadly… and good. Really good. Hot. Really hot.

“Xavier?” I asked.

He looked at me. “We have a problem, Winter.”

Chapter 6

knives and smiles

“Follow me,” he said.

We walked by Tank Two and I felt defeat hitting me with each step I took away from it.

“Xavier… what’s going on?”

“I’ll show you,” he said.

We walked only for a few seconds before he stepped next to his car.

It was another custom car. Probably one he built himself. Or fixed up. Or whatever you wanted to call it.

I didn’t care about cars. They didn’t impress me at all.

Not that Xavier was trying to impress me either.

He pointed to the back passenger tire of his car.

A knife stuck out of it.

I gasped and covered my mouth.

“Xavier… holy shit…”

My heart raced.

I didn’t plan this.

I had nothing to do with this.

Unless…

Fucking Talon.

“You see that, right?” he asked.

“Of course I do,” I said. “I’m not blind.”

“Okay,” he said. “Come with me again, Winter.”

I follow Xavier once again.

This time we went to Easton’s ride.

He had an all-black, windows tinted