Page 135 of Explosive Prejudice

Finally, Dion seemed to be pulled back to his senses as he rose to his feet and laughed. “There’s no reason for you to be afraid, mon péché,” he said, placing his hand on my abs and pulling me back against him. “As he should be the one watching out for me.”

Oh, I’m counting on it.

Diesel

“How did it go?” I asked before Shay-Lee’s ass had even met the car’s seat.

Closing the door behind him, he looked up and smiled. “Just as planned.”

A week had passed since Iván’s death, a week in which we’d planned everything in detail.

Cupping the back of his head, I pulled him close and sealed our mouths together. Kissing him unleashed the bundle of nerves that had knotted in the pit of my stomach since he’d left the car nearly forty-five minutes ago.

“You smell like him,” I hissed, my jaw tensed.

“Still?” Pulling back, Shay-Lee grabbed the hem of his shirt and sniffed himself. “Shit. I swear to God I’ve already sprayed myself with my cologne, but this asshole bathed in it. How annoying.” Shrugging, he turned to look at me. “We better get going. I know we parked the Benz two blocks away, but still.”

Nodding, I moved the car into gear, reversed out of the parking lot, and pulled onto the road as Shay-Lee told me how his meeting with Dion went. If we followed his plan to bring Dion and Christian down, we’d have to stay away from each other.

“So, how long do we have to keep up the act?”

“We have exactly one week. That’s how patient this guy is, but it works in our favor.”

My face pulled into a frown. “How so?”

“The less I need to stay away from you, the better. And besides, graduation is a week from now. We’ve been waiting for this day to come for weeks now.”

That day at the shopping center’s parking lot, about a month and a half ago, Shay-Lee and I made a promise. We said we’d wait for graduation and then decide what to do. Well, the time had come, and in a week, if everything went to plan, we’d be free.

Despite the short amount of time that had passed since we made that promise, so much had changed. To think I had plans for Iván and Shay-Lee to meet… If only I’d been more careful. My anger and impetuousness had cost me Iván’s life. Now, I’d carry this burden for the rest of my life. My brother was dead because of my idiotic mistakes, and nothing would ever change that. I had failed him in the worst possible way, and although my guilt could never bring him back, my fury would avenge him.

Bitterness twisted with anger filled my guts, and while I wasn’t anywhere near overcoming Iván’s death, I was excited about the idea of our freedom. One week from now, Shay-Lee and I would be free. But what did freedom mean?

“Hey, where you going?” Shay-Lee asked once I took a left and got on the highway.

“To the beach.”

“Why? It’s about to get dark.”

“I want to see the ocean.”

His brows pulled together. “That’s so random. Can’t we just go back to the apartment and fuck?”

“No.” I gave his shoulder a slight nudge. “We’re going to be apart for a week, so I want us to look at the ocean together.”

Slumping back in his chair, he put some music on. “Sometimes you’re too much of a romantic.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

He huffed. “Duh. Who needs romance?”

I groaned. “Are you seriously picking a fight with me for trying to be nice?”

“Who asked you to be nice?” he snorted, and I rolled my fucking eyes. “I like it when you’re all grumpy and pissed. It’s hot.”

This guy never seemed to shut up. In fact, he continued to rant the entire ride, even more so when he found out I was taking us outside the city. It wasn’t even that far, only an hour’s drive.

His bitching didn’t stop even after I parked the car, and he continued as we went down the trail leading to the shore.

---