Page 95 of Risking it All

Fuck this. Fuck everything. Fuck me and my entire life. Not sure what to do, hating hearing Macie sob, I went out the door and stalked down the driveway. Anger. Confusion. Rage. All of it balled up fists pounding into me again and again and again.

“Relic,” Abby called out behind me. I kept walking, but she ran, rounding to stand in front of me, and I stopped if only because I respected the hell out of her for helping Macie. I crossed my arms, closing myself off, expecting her to give me shit, to ask me two million questions, to hound me, but insteadshe met my eyes, and I saw something there I didn’t expect—sympathy.

I hated sympathy, and it hurt more that it came from her.

“How much danger is she in?” Abby asked.

I should lie. Tell her I’m exhausted. Tell her that I’m only rattled by seeing Macie turning herself inside out. Tell her that I’d been playing Solve the Word Problem on my own and got lucky, but she wouldn’t believe me. I wouldn’t believe me. Plus, this was Macie. I loved her and she’d need this woman and the armies of the archangels in heaven to keep her safe. “A lot.”

“It’s Eric’s crew, isn’t it?” Abby pushed.

My eyes slammed shut, and all I wanted to do in that moment was die, but then rage rushed through like a tornado and I reopened them. I glared at the women in front of me as I realized I had been played out. “You all having me here had nothing to do with me supporting Macie. You’ve suspected from the start that it was Eric’s crew who did this, and you had me here because of my connections with them. You needed me as your snitch.”

“I didn’t have real proof,” she answered, not batting a single eyelash. “I only had a hunch, a theory, but nothing concrete.”

“Did Noah and Isaiah know about this?” Was everyone taking advantage of me?

“They didn’t believe me, at first.”

Fuck all of them. “Do you know the danger you’re putting me in?” I leaned into her not caring she worked with the FBI. “My sisters?”

“We can protect you.”

“The fuck you can. The perverted part of this whole thing, you could have told me up front. Maybe then I could have found a way to protect Macie and my family because even with what I’m up against, I still would have helped her. That’s how much I care about Macie.”

“Did you hear what I said? This family will protect you.”

I stared at her for a beat and saw her defiance, her belief in her own words, and while those words might be true for her and for Macie, they weren’t true for me. “You need to leave me and my family alone.”

“I mean it,” she pushed. “This family can handle anything that comes our way. We will protect you.”

Here was the thing; neither she nor the rest of the people in that house were my family. Lyra was. Camila was. And whether I wanted it or not, Dad belonged to my family. Just being his son meant I had been born to fail.

Abby’s phone rang. She ignored the first two rings, but then glanced at the caller ID for the third. She cursed, answered it with a, “Hold on,” then said to me, “Go back into the house and we’ll figure this out.”

“Unless you pull a gun and put it to my head, I’m not going anywhere you tell me.”

“Then stand right here, but do not go anywhere. Do you hear me? I need to take this, and then you and I will figure this out. I will keep you and your family safe.”

Abby took a step back and said, “Give me a sec as I have ears.” It was clear in her tone she was pissed at having to take that call and walk from me because she knew full well that I wouldn’t be here when she returned. She was devastatingly correct. Abby turned the corner for the backyard, and as I left, I sent a text to Lyra:Ineed a ride. Now.

Chapter forty-six

Macie

Ivomited—repeatedly—and when I finished, Mom insisted I take a shower. I did and now I was alone in my room, sitting on my bed, hurt, confused, and devastated. Mom, Dad, Abby, Logan, Beth, and Ryan were all whispering amongst themselves in the kitchen. No doubt all the rest of their friends were on their way here, too. Feeling like I was flailing after jumping off the cliff, I sent off the text to Relic:Where are you?

A few beats and my heart ached in ways I didn’t know possible with his silence.

I then sent off a text to my solid foundation, Ariel:Relic left.I then filled her in on everything that happened.

Ariel:I’m assuming he left because he knows who has that tattoo.

Me:He’s choosing them over me?

Ariel:He told you he loves you. He has spent the entire summer with you. He’s probably going after whoever did this to you on his own.

My brain being a mess, I hadn’t thought of that, and I placed a hand on my stomach as the idea of Relic handling this on his own brought on another wave of cramps.

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