Page 56 of The Pact

Wes scoffs and answers for him. “Thea’s given the green light. He’s ready to get his dick wet.”

“C’mon, Wes,” Sutton groans at his words.

I shake my head. “A little respect for her, please.”

“Listen, I was expecting her to flat out say no. The fact she said yes to four heathens like us earns her all of my respect,” Damian boasts proudly.

“Speak for yourself,” I refute. “You two might be heathens. We aren’t,” I pause, pointing between Sutton and me, “We’re interested in more than just fucking her.”

Damian shrugs. “Brother, you don’t know her as well as you think you do. She’s got some darkness in her. I can’t wait to unleash it.” Wesley smirks, as if he agrees.

Jesus, what have I gotten her into?

Thea’s sweet and while she was eager for me last night, I don’t see her wanting what my older brothers have to give. I don’t know what darkness Damian thinks he sees, but he’s wrong.

A sick feeling churns in my stomach. They’re going to ruin this. I’m not sure what I’ll do when that happens.

THEA

“It’s your starter relay,” Cole announces as he enters the studio. I have my feet kicked up while I eat lunch and watch a movie.

“Is that expensive to fix?” I know nothing about cars, aside from being able to change a tire.

Cole sits down on the couch next to me. “No, it’ll be about sixty. But I have some bad news and some worse news…”

My eyes narrow. “Give me the bad news first.”

“The replacement part is on backorder. My guy doesn’t know when he’ll get it in.”

“And the worse news?”

“At first he thought it went bad. Then he checked the relay box and uh…it’s missing all together.” He says this as if I’m supposed to know what it means.

“So it fell out? Why is that worse?”

Cole shifts uncomfortably. He looks worried. “It wouldn’t have fallen out. Someone took it out so that your truck wouldn’t start.”

This makes me sit up straight. “What?” I heard him, yet my mind doesn’t want to accept what he’s said.

“I hate to even ask. Is there a chance that Gavin could have done this? He’s the only person who comes to mind.” I stare at him for a long time, searching for another explanation. However, nothing comes to me.

I shake my head. “No, he doesn’t know anything about trucks or parts. He can barely check his oil. I know he’s been persistent, but this isn’t his style. It can’t be him…” I’m not convinced by my own words.

“I don’t want to scare you, but Danny, my mechanic, said it’s pretty easy to look up a video on how to get to the relay box. He could do it in a few minutes.”

“How? How could he?” My mind is spinning. Gavin wouldn’t stoop this low. Would he?

Cole runs a hand through his curls. “He probably used a Slim Jim to open your truck and pop the hood.”

A chill runs over my body. Fuck.

“Or… I sometimes forget to lock it.” My heart pounds as I think about Gavin tampering with my truck in the middle of the night, just like he had when he left that note for me.

I thought him grabbing me was scary, however, this is horrifying. Still, I don’t understand what he stands to gain from me not having my truck. It doesn’t make sense. Then again, Gavin was never particularly good at seeing the big picture—he’d wing things hoping something would work.

“I-I um…don’t know what to do.” I’m numb. I want to be angry with him and my mother for sending him here—I can’t muster it.

“We can file a police report,” he offers.

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