Devil's Pass (The Harlequin Crew #.5) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,35

Fox said loudly as he strode towards us. He was all clean cut again today, blonde hair pushed back carefully and a white wife beater showing off his golden tan and bulging biceps, but his green eyes were full of concern.

Maverick was at his side, the two of them standing shoulder to shoulder, not an inch of difference in their height or the breadth of their shoulders, a dark god and a golden king. Luther wanted them to take on his legacy one day, the next generation of Harlequins, ready to rule the world. And in moments like this I could see it. They were destined to become powerful men, it was in the blood that flowed through their veins and the fibres of their souls.

"Luther knows about Axel," Rick explained. "His body washed up in the cove this morning."

"What?" I gasped, ice sliding through my veins as I tried to figure out how the fuck that could have happened.

"I guess he got caught in a current and rode the tide in when it turned," Fox said darkly. "But it gets worse. Some kid from the group home saw what happened - my dad knows you were the one who killed him, hummingbird."

I was on my feet in seconds, ready to bolt, run, scream, fight, I didn't even know what. But I did know that there was just one punishment for killing a Harlequin and that was death. It didn't matter that I had a valid reason, didn't matter that that motherfucker had been trying to rape me. All that mattered was that he was sworn in to the most ruthless gang in the entire state and I'd taken him out.

"He's going to kill me," I choked out, fear paralysing me as I looked towards the exits and prepared myself to run.

Not that I had anywhere to go or any way of knowing what I'd do once I escaped, but staying here was a death sentence and I did know that I didn't want to die. My life might have been seven shades of shitty, but it was mine. I had the sun and the surf and my boys. It wasn't much but it was everything and I wasn't giving it up.

"We're going to run," Maverick said firmly, striding towards me and gripping my cheeks between his big hands as he peered into my eyes and forced me to listen. "All of us."

"We have everything we need stashed at the crypt," Fox added calmly, like this wasn't freaking him out - or maybe like he just knew he had to keep his head if I didn't wanna lose mine. "We just need to go get our keys."

"I've got mine," I replied instantly, gripping the metal key which hung on a leather thong around my neck and relaxing slightly at the feeling of the imprint it was creating in my palm. "I can't leave anything valuable at the home, so I always have it on me."

"I hid mine at home," Chase muttered.

"Me too," JJ agreed.

The five of us had a key each and we needed all of them if we wanted to open up that stone door and get to the stuff we'd stashed inside. There were valuables in there, watches, jewellery, all kinds of shit that we'd stolen over the years and pooled together because it was too hot to try and sell on. There were secrets too and weapons of a kind that couldn't be replicated. Every weakness all of us held and more.

"We need to keep my dad off the scent," Fox said roughly. "Then we need to wait for cover of darkness, meet at the crypt, take everything and run. I've got a few ideas about where we can go. We can take my truck and Rick's bike and-"

"Wait," Chase said. "You can't seriously expect the five of us to just up and disappear? We might as well just admit to being guilty publicly. We were all set to join the Harlequins soon anyway so why don't we just come clean, sign up and prove our loyalty by-"

"I don't wanna join the fucking gang," Fox snarled. "That's the life that was picked for me, not the one I chose for myself. All I want is Rogue. And all of us together. That's it."

My heart fluttered at that declaration and I felt a blush rising in my cheeks as I locked eyes with Fox and felt exactly how much he’d meant that.

"You know Luther won't just accept us