Page 15 of Vengeful Rotten Casualties

“Apparently.” Another beat. “Where the hell have you been?” he finally asks.

“It’s a long story,” I reply. “But I know you got my message.”

He frowns. “Your message?”

I arch a brow. “It wasn’t meant for you,” I say, “but for Thomas.”

“What does that me—the house?” He’s halfway through his question when it hits him. His eyes widen and he takes a step back from me. I can breathe again. “You’rethe one who burned down my fucking house?”

“There’s a lot of things that have happened in the last five years,” I say. “A lot of things you don’t know.”

“Then tell me.” It’s not a question, it’s not an offer or even an ask. It’s a demand. That’s another thing that’s changed about him. He’s far more commanding and confident than he used to be. The teenage bravado I remember was all a facade, something that crumpled when he was around me. It’s been five years, though, and our relationship has changed. I don’t have the same trust with him that I once did, and if I want to get my revenge, I need to have it back.

“I’ll tell you,” I say. “I’ll tell you everything, but we should probably get out of here.” My eyes cut to the area of the parking lot. No doubt there’s CCTV all over this campus. It was a risk to show up like this, but I have to trust in the fact that the Carters will have kept their security top notch in their territory. It’s already a shock to find him here—a student of Eastpoint—when it was always expected that he would be rivals with the Eastpoint heirs for his entire life.

So much has changed and there are things he needs to tell me too. Things I don’t know, and I find that … even if time isn’t on my side, I still want to know. I can’t deny it—I’vemissedhim.

Luc picks up on my anxiety—quickly, just like he always had—and scans the area as well. “Are you here with anyone?” he demands.

I shake my head. “No, I’m on my own.”

He nods and steps back, reaching down to retrieve the duffle bag he dropped earlier. He slings it over his shoulder and then pulls out his keys. The Porsche’s headlights flash twice as he presses a button on the key fob.

“Good,” he replies, "then get in.”

I don’t resist. I round the passenger side of the car and pop the door open as he heads for the trunk, tossing his duffle in before returning to the driver’s side door and getting in. A wash of cold air hits me the second he cranks the engine and goosebumps dance down my bare legs. I shift, catching sight of his head as he glances my way out of the corner of his eyes. I press my thighs together. Later. Maybe. If he can bear it. If I can.

“So,” Luc starts, his voice tight with tension as he pulls out of the lot, “are you going to tell me now where you’ve been? What happened? I looked for you, but—”

“You wouldn’t have found me,” I tell him. My chest squeezes tight. He’d looked. He’d searched for me. No doubt he knew that something had happened and he knew that he’d be going up against his father, but that hadn’t stopped him. He still cared.

Luc’s gaze snaps my way and he grits his teeth before talking through them. “Are you going to answer my questions?”

I suck in a breath. “I am,” I say. “But I think perhaps sitting in the car isn’t the best place to do it. I assume you’re staying in one of the extra properties? Let’s go there and I can explain everything.

“Including why you’re back now?” he prompts.

I nod. “Yes, including why I’m back.”

He goes quiet and then he shakes his head. “I can’t do that, Micki,” he replies, “maybe another night, but I had—haveplans.”

My head turns his way and my mouth parts in shock. Five years away. His reactions to my return and he has … plans. “This is important,” I say.

“Yeah, I figured,” he replies. “But trust me when I say that so are my plans. Shit, I might as well take you with me.”

“I can’t go out, Luc,” I tell him. “I just got back in town. I need to keep a low profile for now.” Until I figure out my next steps at the very least.

He shakes his head. “We’re not going out,” he says, and that’s when it hits me, we’re not heading towards the far side of Eastpoint. Instead, we’re going further into Eastpoint territory.

“Did you buy something new on this side?” I ask. There’s no way Thomas would’ve allowed that, but Luc’s well over twenty now. He’s got access to his trust fund. Maybe he … before I can finish my thought, he interrupts to answer.

“No.” That’s it. Just no. No further explanation. My heart rate starts to pick up.

“Luc.” I force calm into my tone. There’s no need to panic just yet. This is Luc after all. “Where are you taking me?”

He cuts a look my way, but his expression doesn’t soften. “I’m taking you with me,” he says, “to the Carter Estate.”

“The Carter Estate?” My anxiety finally chills the fuck out and my shoulders drop from where they’d been inching up towards my ears. “Why there?” I ask curiously.

---