Delinquents Turned Fugitives - Ann Denton Page 0,71

down my face before I tossed my hair up in a ponytail. I’d chosen to wear some sweats and one of Z’s wifebeaters. There was no way I was going outside again. Not after what had happened this morning. I was going to stay in and plan away my day.

When I walked down the steps, I was surprised to see Gray waiting at the base.

“So… you seemed a little more pissed than usual about that prank.”

“I almost broke my nose,” I retorted, but without any heat. After cooling down, even I could admit that his prank had been pretty damn funny.

“You almost broke my dick,” he retorted.

“I actually use my nose.”

“Oh, just wait.” Gray climbed up a step so that we were nose to nose and suddenly the competitive tension between us shifted into a sexually-charged standoff. His eyes scanned me up and down and he bit his thick bottom lip before he said, “One day, you’re gonna be so sorry about how you’ve treated my dick.”

My chest thrummed like an engine ready to race. All it would take was one little touch of the gas and we’d be off, racing toward a finish line where we both won.

I bit my lip as I stared back at him. “Is that so?”

“That’s so. One day, my dick is going to make you feel so good that you’re gonna kiss him and apologize.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Oh, I’ll keep them, nemesis.” His fingers came up and he gently traced the side of my neck until I was panting. “I fucking love this war we’re in.”

“Yeah?”

“Yup. Because when I finally have you under me, it’s gonna be nuclear.”

23

Gray left me panting on the stairs, probably hoping that I’d forget about revenge. That just made me laugh, because if he believed that, it was awfully naive of him.

But my laughter was interrupted by a phone call. I pulled out the burner I’d been assigned but didn’t see one of my guy’s stupid nicknames. I saw Tia’s name. Surprise rolled through me. Gray hadn’t told me that he’d given her my number.

But just seeing her name made dread pool in my stomach and burn my throat. I didn’t want to answer her call. I’d rather have to run eight more miles under Lundy’s watchful eyes. I’d rather have faced off against Callum again. But I really didn’t have a choice. She was doing me a favor.

I swiped to answer.

“Hey.” It was hard to talk around the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat as Mom’s face, cold and pale blue under the sheet at the coroner’s office, flashed through my mind. I had to remind myself to breathe.

“Hey Hales, how are you?” Tia gave a normal greeting but then rushed to add, “That’s stupid. I shouldn’t have asked that. Forget I said it.”

I forced a smile and then words to go with it. “Don’t go get all awkward on me,” I retorted, my heart picking up just a bit at the sound of her voice. “I can’t handle that.”

“Sorry. No. Not sorry. Whatever, bitch. You stomp those feelings and sweep them under the rug or I will shave your head. Is that better?”

I chuckled at her attempt to play Queen Bee, the knot in my throat loosening. “You’re the worst at this.”

“Well, you’re the worst at staying in school, abandoning your friends to chase after hot guys … so we’ve all got our flaws.”

“Yours are worse,” I quipped. “Your no hugging rule is the worst flaw—”

“People do not wash their hands,” she snapped. “What about your little obsessive scribbling in your notebooks? I could hardly ever get you to gossip with me in class because you were always so busy writing shit—probably about Grayson, but still.”

If only she knew what I’d been writing about. All kinds of Pinnacle plans. Those days felt a million years away even though it had only been a few months. I rubbed at my forehead, trying to prevent an onslaught of nostalgia and stay focused on the present moment—on teasing Tia. “Yeah? What about your weird inability to drink regular coffee? You have to add ice cubes? Or your refusal to part your hair on the left side even though it looks so cute that way? Huge flaw.”

“Quirks. I prefer quirks.”

“I miss you,” I told her, my heart swelling.

“Well, you’ll see me soon. Three days,” she responded. “That’s when I have everything set up.”

Suddenly, the lump was back in my throat. The crack in the beige wall across