Make My Move (Hannaford Prep #5) - J. Bree Page 0,46

to get us seats with a decent view. I sit in-between Avery and Blaise with the Mounty on Avery’s far side, muttering and mumbling in a mood.

“What are the trials for?” she says as she openly fucking drips over Harley in a speedo.

The ache in my chest gets worse.

“A spot on the state team. Harley wins it every year and then when they offer it to him he turns them down,” Avery murmurs, sipping her coffee before she hands it to me for a sip, a sign that I might just be back in her good graces.

“Why?”

Avery shrugs back to her. “He enjoys winning but doesn’t want to take it further. I told him he should do it for scholarships for college but, until you got here, he assumed he’d be dead by then.”

I don’t want to think about the fucking O’Cronins and their bullshit family politics. Liam and Domhnall need to die for what they’ve done but so do Joey and Senior, and I have no fucking clue how we’re going to make that happen.

Harley steps onto his starting block and gets into position.

All of the other swimmers keep glancing over at him, loathing and jealousy in their eyes because we’ve all seen this show before. None of them stand a chance, which in itself is bad enough for them, but Harley does it and then refuses the prize.

He just swims to remind them that his last name means nothing in the pool, they’re all fucking plebs compared to him.

Avery straightens, jabbing me in the ribs sharply and I look over to find fucking Harlow sitting next to the Mounty.

Just what we fucking need.

“How the fuck do you know Joey’s dealers?” she murmurs, quietly enough that I almost miss it.

When the fuck— the party. Fucking Harley keeping secrets.

“His dealers or yours?” Lips says back, her voice louder and Avery snorts, muttering, “Typical,” under her breath.

Fucking junkie bitch, here to try to threaten us on behalf of my junkie brother.

We should drown her.

Harlow flicks her hair over her shoulder and says, blithely, “Does it matter? They sell the best and they’re rough guys. Joey’s concerned at having his baby sister rooming with the wrong sort of girl.”

What an utter load of shit.

I throw my head back and laugh because it’s been years since I heard something that fucking hilarious. Blaise just glares at Harlow like she’s a ticking bomb, here to ruin everything. Fuck, he looks ready to pounce on her if she makes a move at the Mounty who’s stolen his senses.

“You better not be here at Joey’s request because I’ve already warned him twice about provoking me. If he does it again, I’m not going to play games with him, I’m going for his throat,” Lips says in a flat, no-bullshit tone.

It’s my favorite one she uses.

Avery tucks her arm into her bestie’s and holds her hand where Harlow can see it, a clear statement of cutthroat loyalty. “Run along, Roqueford. Go snort your lines somewhere else so I can enjoy watching my cousin wipe the floor with your brother. Oh, wait, you did know Andrew Wakes was your bastard brother, didn’t you? Everyone knows you come by your slutty nature from your father. I hope you use condoms a bit more than he does or you’ll have your own horde of bastards in no time.”

Harlow curses viciously under her breath as she leaves and we turn back to the race just in time to see Harley touch the wall first, a full body length in front of his competitors. The savage pride I’d usually feel is gone because there’s too many unanswered questions here.

“He really should join the state team,” the Mounty says, and Avery hums her agreement.

Blaise clears his throat, his jaw clenching. “Are either of you going to explain what the hell she was talking about?”

Lips looks over at him, startled. “Didn’t Harley tell you?”

Like she doesn’t know. I snap, “He doesn’t tell us anything that involves you.”

She sighs like the world is on her shoulders. “Joey brought some of his dealers to the school and thought he’d be able to out me as a gang member or dealer or whatever. As I am none of those things, he was pissed when they left at my request.”

My brain has trouble processing her words.

Left at her request?

I blink at her like a fucking idiot. “You asked his dealers to leave and they did?”

She shrugs. “I asked nicely.”

Avery giggles and changes the topic, an attempt to distract