Page 112 of The Hate We Breathe
“Then do what you want,” Gio says, jumping his thighs beneath me and making me gasp in surprise. “Life’s too short to give a fuck what anybody else thinks anyway.”
A sharp knocking sound echoes up from the back of the SUV and both Gio and I glance over our shoulders. Gio is the one who punches his elbow into the seat, and snaps, “Shut up!” at the man tied up back there.
I glance over my shoulder as Lex pulls off the highway and onto a darkened country road. There’s another thumping sound from the trunk and something slams against the back of the bench seat. Gio releases a low sound of irritation and slides me off his thighs.
“Want me to handle him?” I ask.
He pauses and lifts a brow. “Be my guest, Prep Girl.”
I grin and then reach down to the duffle sitting at our feet. It takes a moment to find what I’m looking for, but when I do, I hold it up with a triumphant smile. “Got it!”
Gio snickers and leans to the side, peering back as I flip around on my knees and lean over the back of the seat. The crackling buzz of the Taser bursts to life a moment before I shove the pronged ends against Darrio Vargas’ naked and bruised side.
A scream rises from behind the dirty sock we’d shoved in his mouth as a gag. His eyes roll back into his head as his body shakes uncontrollably, wiggling back and forth like a fish ripped from the ocean. I feel no guilt when I hold it against his side a bit longer than necessary, though he’s clearly already in agony.
Even if my parents are just neglectful assholes who’d rather run than protect me, Darrio physically tormented Gio for most of his life. I feel no remorse for my actions or for what we’re about to do. He’s getting what’s coming to him.
“Damn, girl, don’t kill him before we get there.” Gio chuckles, shaking his head. There’s no actual concern in his voice as I turn back around and toss the Taser into the duffle.
“We’re there,” Lex says in the next minute, and I lean forward between the front two seats, peering out through the windshield.
The shack of a hunting cabin is so dilapidated that I can’t imagine anyone actually staying the night inside unless they’re really into ghost stories or high out of their minds. Not that anyone else would really be this far out from civilization. My attention moves away from the shack and over to the line of trees that circles the entire place. There’s hardly a yard at all for the structure, the trees have practically taken over the land.
“We’re not staying the night here, are we?” I ask, my upper lip curling back. If they say yes, I’m gonna be camping out in the fucking SUV because there’s no way I’m lying down in a placelike that. A shudder works through me as I imagine all sorts of creepy-crawly little bugs.
Gio snorts and grips my hips to bring me back into my seat. “No, Prep Girl,” he says. “Don’t you worry your pretty head about that. We’re not staying the night out here.”
Headlights dance across the dirt road, over the slanted shack and then around it as Lex directs the vehicle farther up the path. “Where are you going?” I glance at him.
Before he can answer, however, I see a light in the distance and sit forward once more. There’s a big-ass fire flickering from a large metal barrel sitting in the center of a clearing several yards up from the house. The SUV bumps over rocks and the dual beams shine over a motorcycle.
“Nolan!” I say excitedly before turning and smacking the shit out of Gio.
“Ow! What the hell did I do!” Despite his complaint and cupping his completely uninjured shoulder, his lips are spread into a wide smile.
“You told me he couldn’t come because he was with his mom!”
Bouncing on my ass, I scoot closer to the door. “Don’t you dare jump out while I’m still driving,” Lex barks, voice deep and serious.
I roll my eyes, but grip the door handle anyway, anticipating the inevitable slowdown. Gio has one hand on my arm and Lex is glaring at me in the rearview mirror. So, I dutifully wait until the car has come to a full-fledged stop before I throw open the back door and leap out onto the ground.
Nolan is a grinning maniac, standing in front of a much newer building with rows upon rows of trees at his back. I sprint towards him and when he opens his arms, throw myself into his chest.
His mouth slams against mine and I fight back a smile as I kiss him back, our tongues sliding against each other’s as he grips my ass and drags me closer into his body. When we separate, I swear my lung capacity has deteriorated for how oxygen-deprived and woozy I feel. Still, I’m grinning like a damn idiot as I take in his handsome face.
“I didn’t think you’d make it,” I confess, cupping his jaw.
Nolan’s happy expression is newer on him, but I love it all the more for the realness of it. "Wanted to surprise you,” he says, nuzzling against my palm.
“It worked,” I tell him.
“Hey, can you guys stop mooning over each other and come help us get this fucker out of the trunk?” Gio calls from the back of the SUV.
Nolan presses another kiss to my temple and then releases me. “Do me a favor?” he asks, and I nod. “Head inside and grab the shovels and the black bag that are near the left-hand counter.”
“On it.”
When I return with the bag and the shovels in my arms, Nolan, Gio, and Lex are yanking a struggling Darrio from the back of the SUV. Nolan and Lex hold on to him as Gio hurriedly closes the back and races around the side to withdraw the duffle bag and sling it over his shoulder, across his chest.
