Dare Series Collection - Shantel Tessier Page 0,144

start to walk back into the cafeteria.

“He’s gonna kill her.”

I come to a stop and spin back around to face him. “Bennett …”

“We both know what he is capable of. And how much he hates you.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Everyone in this city knows that you love Austin.”

I swallow at that. I no longer deny it, but we still haven’t said it. We’ve only got less than a month of school left, and then she is moving with me to Texas. Her agreeing to that was better than hearing the words I love you. After all, they’re just words. Her actions say more than they could ever mean.

“What are you getting at, Bennett?” I snap.

“I’m trying to tell you that even he knows you’re not faking it anymore. He already tried to kill you once and failed. This time, he won’t go for you. He’ll go for her. And he’ll succeed.”

“What do you suggest I do?” I growl.

“Let her go.”

I shake my head. “That risks putting her in danger.”

“She’s already a target, Cole.”

“I said no, Bennett.”

He sighs as if disappointed in me.

“But we can do the final dare,” I say, taking in a deep breath. “We’ll just change it up.”

“And Kellan?”

“What about him?” I snap at the sound of his name.

“Do we bring him back in, or do we leave him out?”

The final dare was decided before Austin ever entered my life, but even now, having her doesn’t change the plan. Bruce must die. Especially since he tried to kill me. He can’t get away with that, and I can’t let him touch Austin. I’d die protecting her.

This dare was the one dare that was the exception. Just like I told her Jeff was. We didn’t need to draw this one. We knew what we were going to do before senior year even started.

“I don’t trust him,” I decide to say.

He nods. “It’s your call.”

I walk back into the cafeteria and sit down next to Austin. She looks over at me. “Everything okay?” she asks.

I nod and lie. “Yeah.”

AUSTIN

“Your dress is gorgeous,” I say, looking over at Becky as we stand in my bedroom. She chose a strapless champagne mermaid dress. It shows off her thin frame and flares out at the bottom. She loves to watch it flare out when she twirls.

“Thank you.” She smiles. “When are you gonna get dressed?” she asks, looking at Cole’s zip-up hoodie that I still wear and yoga pants.

“As soon as I finish my makeup.” I lean over and line my lips with the deep red liner and then fill them in to match.

A hard knock sounds on my door, and I look over at it frowning. Cole never knocks, and Celeste stays clear of me. “Come in,” I say.

My father enters, and I straighten to my full height. His dark brown eyes have their usual look of impatience in them. “Becky, I need to speak to Austin,” he tells her.

“Sure, sir.” She nods once and then shuffles out of the room.

I turn to face him, giving him my full attention. We don’t speak much, and I prefer it that way. I still haven’t told Celeste that the thing I had been told was that Lilly was my half-sister. And after the secret she told me, I decided to keep my mouth shout about it. My father already tried to hurt Cole once. But no one knows the exact reason. We could guess all day long, but that’s not enough. There was a time I wouldn’t have cared what happened to Cole, but things change. People change. He and Lilly have become the most important people to me, and I refuse to give him any more power than the bastard already has over people in my life.

“I wanna talk to you about your future,” he states.

“Can’t it wait until another time?” I ask, turning my back to him and toward the mirror.

“No,” he growls. “I leave tomorrow for New York and will be gone for a few weeks. I would like to get this out of the way before I leave. It will almost be graduation when I return.”

I refrain from smiling, knowing how close we are to graduation. How close I am to getting the hell out of here.

He doesn’t wait for me to give him the green light. “What are your plans after graduation?”

“I’m not sure,” I lie.

He sighs. “College?”

“Most likely.” Honestly, I have no clue what I want to do with my life besides be with