Damaged Love - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,16

SUV.

He sat on the hood of it, looking pissed off.

Looking meaner than I could ever remember him being before.

He looked at me, then looked forward.

I felt caught. Guilty. Screwed.

Xavier pointed to the driver’s side front tire.

Flat.

A knife sticking out of it.

I noticed the handle on the knife was the same as the other.

“Shit,” I whispered.

“Shit is right,” Easton said. “We need to fix this now.”

Easton jumped off the hood and I jumped back.

Xavier touched my back. “It’s okay, Winter. He’s just pissed off. That’s all. He’ll figure it out.”

Easton looked ready to explode.

As long as it wasn’t at me…

“Did you show her Noah’s car?” Easton asked.

“That’s next,” Xavier said. “Let’s go.”

“Noah’s car too?” I asked.

Both Xavier and Easton ignored me.

We walked across the parking to Noah’s car. His back driver’s side tire had a knife sticking out of it.

“What the hell is going on here?” I whispered.

I was asking out loud but to myself.

Talon? Up here at BFH? That’s risky to do. In the middle of the day…

“Oh, I know what’s going on here,” Easton said.

“Relax, man,” Noah said.

I hadn’t seen him join the other two.

“I’m not going to fucking relax,” Easton said. “We’re under attack over here. And we know why.”

“Shut up, Easton,” Xavier said.

“You going to make me?” Easton asked.

Xavier and Easton faced each other.

My eyes started to widen.

Noah stepped between the two. “Not here. Not now.” He looked at me for a split second. “We do this right.”

“Do what right?” I asked. “Why are you showing me this? Is there something wrong with mine too?”

“No,” Noah said. “You’re good. We checked. This is directed right at us.”

“We just wanted you to understand something,” Xavier said. He moved by Noah and Easton and came right for me. I backed up and bumped into the car next to Noah’s. Xavier closed right in on me. “We get a bad rap for being bad, right? You don’t remember it, Winter, but we’re the ones everyone is afraid of. Now, we’ve done a lot to earn the reputation we have, but sometimes shit just comes our way. Like this. What choice do we have now?”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning we fucking attack,” Easton said. “Right now. We end this right now.”

“Easton,” Noah snapped. “We’ll get there.”

“You two are fucking pussies,” Easton said. “That’s why…” Easton looked at me the same way Noah did. A quick glance. “Nothing.”

“That’s why what?” I asked.

“He said nothing,” Noah said.

“What is this?” I asked.

Xavier leaned down. “A warning, Winter. You need to watch your back around here. Especially without your memory. You never know who is a friend or an enemy.”

“Then maybe I shouldn’t be near you guys,” I said.

“I think we all know that’s impossible,” Xavier whispered. “We haven’t had enough yet…”

Xavier touched the bottom of my shirt. His fingertips touched bare skin, flirting with me.

My body ached to be touched.

Yes, even by him.

I had them convinced… right where I wanted them…

I put my right hand to Xavier’s chest and pushed him away.

“We know where to go now,” Easton said. “Xavier, get some rides over here. We end this.”

“Easton, I said to shut the fuck up,” Noah yelled.

Now those two were facing off.

Easton made the first move, reaching for Noah.

Noah grabbed Easton by the shirt and threw him down to the hood of the car.

Easton swiped the palm of his hand across Noah’s face.

The two rolled away from Noah’s car, tangled up.

“I better break that up,” Xavier said. “Or maybe just let them kill each other. Then it could just be us, Winter.”

“Yeah? That’s what you want?”

“Actually, it’s what I’ve always wanted,” he said. “The thought of you going away forever kills me.”

Xavier put his finger to his lips.

Like, what you just said is some secret?

My heart fluttered as he smirked at me.

This cannot happen. I can’t allow it.

“Xavier, wait,” I said. “What is Easton talking about? He wants to end it? End what?”

Xavier kept the smirk on his face. “We know who’s doing this.”

I kept my speed normal so I didn’t give away that I was making a daring escape.

But the second I knew nobody could see, I hit the gas pedal.

My mind forgot all about the accident and my worries about driving fast.

I had to get the hell away from Noah, Easton, and Xavier.

They know who it is?

I was screwed for real then.

I drove fast and grabbed for my phone.

The dumbest thing I could have done, considering I almost died in an accident, I sent Talon a text.

Need to talk! What did you do? They know!

I