Victory at Prescott High (The Havoc Boys #5) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,94

to touch the healing gash in the front of his throat. It doesn’t look nearly as gruesome as it did the first day. Eventually, it’ll disappear into the sea of white slash marks that already decorate his pale skin. I appreciate each one for what it is, a piece of Callum’s past, a shred of his trauma. Then, at night, I can kiss it all away, flick it aside with the hot brush of my tongue.

“What happened?” she asks as Cal stands up, blue eyes sliding over to mine.

“Just an accident,” he says, rubbing his throat as he looks at me. I have to actually tear my gaze away because I know what he’s thinking about. Mason Miller. The funeral for James Barrasso is in just four days. If something goes wrong there, it could go really wrong … But if it goes right? We’re just one step closer to the end of this shit.

“Starting Monday,” Aaron is telling Kara, pointing behind us and in the direction of the high school dorms. “We’ll be right there.” He kneels down and presses a new cell phone case into his sister’s hand, one with sparkles and glitter and little kitty charms. “If you need us, you know what to do.”

“Text or call and say ‘mare’s nest’,” Kara declares proudly, and Aaron nods, pressing a kiss against her forehead.

“Good girl,” he says, rising up to his full height. The way he studies the kids, it’s like he’s memorizing their faces—just in case. Fuck. I swipe a hand over my own face as he glances my way, meeting my eyes with a strange mixture of despair and hope. If this all works out, we’ll be set for life. If it doesn’t … well, we may not have any lives at all.

The sound of church bells tolling signals the end of the lunch period and Heather starts to bounce on her toes. She’s always been a stickler for rules. So, like, pretty much the exact opposite of me.

“The bells mean we have to go,” she starts, glancing over her shoulder before looking back at me. “But … I really like it here, Bernie.” I smile and bend down for another hug, letting her squeeze me as tightly as she wants. Like I said, you never know how precious a hug is until you can’t hold the person you love anymore. “Thank you for sending me here.” Heather releases me and starts to move away, pausing at the last second before glancing back at me. “Can we go see Penelope’s grave soon? I want to tell her I love her.”

My throat closes up, but I force myself to rise to my feet, nodding when I find that it’s become almost impossible to speak.

“We’ll go,” Aaron answers for me, reaching down to take my hand and curling his fingers through mine. “I promise.”

With another wave, Heather takes off, catching up to Kara and Ashley as they disappear inside of another ivy-covered brick building. Sending them here was the right choice, one that we made just in time. Who knows what the GMP might’ve done if we hadn’t removed the girls from their reach?

“Are you okay?” Aaron asks me, but I just turn and let him fold me into his arms.

“I’m okay,” I reply, nuzzling into that special place between his neck and shoulder, feeling his warmth blaze through me. “But I’ll be much better after we kick Mason Miller’s ass.”

He threads his fingers through my hair, presses a kiss against my forehead, and then leads me across the campus of what’s soon to be our new school.

From Prescott Senior High to Oak Valley Preparatory Academy.

Night and day.

At the very least, it’ll be an interesting social experiment. At best, it’s the start of a whole new motherfucking life.

For all of us.

For our fucked-up little Havoc family.

Tom Muller is the same sleazy-ass salesman who leered at me during that very first breakfast meeting with Ophelia. That was also the same day that Victor practically gave me an orgasm under the table and then chased me into the upstairs bathroom to finish the job.

Tom Muller is also the fucker who stabbed a shotgun into Aaron’s crotch and threatened to sell him to perverts—oh, and all of that right after he aimed a gun at his son’s head, a son that he either abused himself or allowed his fucked-up friends to abuse. Maybe even collected money for the privilege.

I’m scowling already, but Aaron is shaking with fury. The first thing he