Page 52 of The Hate We Breathe
“Yeah, well, we’re all done, so we’re dicks who actually give a shit about you,” Gio says. He steps close and plants a hard kiss to my lips right there in front of the entire school lot—or rather everyone still left gawking.
There’s no embarrassment. Only annoyance. “That doesn’t put you on my happy list again,” I warn him.
His only response is a shrug and another kiss. “Doesn’t matter,” he tells me. “You’re on mine. Always will be, Prep Girl.”
With that, he and Lex both release me and I wobble a little bit on the edge of the seat, nearly slipping off it and down to the ground. Gio catches me before I can and helps me out and around to the passenger side.
“I’ve got to go deal with some shit,” he says. “Lex is gonna take you to work, but I’ll try to pick you up later, okay?”
I glance up at him as he reaches into the car and buckles me up as Lex jumps into the driver’s side seat. Normally, I’d be smacking his hands away because I can certainly buckle my own damn self in, but instead, I find my attention caught on him.
“Are you okay?” The question escapes me before I can stop it and as soon as it’s out, I regret it. “Never mind.” I look away from him. “I’ll see you later.”
Gio is quiet for a long moment and I know he’s still there, because even though Lex has started the SUV, the passenger side door is still hanging open and I can feel the heat of him along my side.
With a sigh, Gio reaches out and captures my chin, turning me to face him again. Forced to look into his face, I scan his features, searching for any hint of what had happened last night to make him come to me the way he had. But I’m not a mind reader and even if I were, Gio’s face is a collage of too many emotions to perceive the truth.
Anger. Pain. Sorrow.
Finally, he lifts my chin up some more and bends down. This time, the kiss is less one-sided. I open my mouth, letting his tongue stroke softly over mine as I give in to the touch and kiss him back. A beat passes and then another and another. It actually takes Lex’s annoyed grunt for the two of us to break it off.
“I’ll see you later, Prep Girl,” Gio murmurs before flicking a glance up at his best friend. “Take care of our girl, Lex.”
“Always do.” Lex’s answer is followed by Gio closing the door and turning to head off to his own vehicle waiting a few spaces down.
“Where’s Nolan?” I ask, whipping my attention back to the man at my side.
“He’s helping Gio.”
“With what?”
No answer.
“Seriously?” I demand.
Lex shakes his head. “He needs to be the one to tell you,” he confesses. “But… baby?”
I look his way with an arched brow as I slump against the seat, crossing my arms over my chest. “What?” I ask.
“Gio’s going to be moving in with us.”
Dawning slams into me with all of the finesse of the guys on the football field. The pain in my hand recedes. “His mom…?” I can’t even finish the question. I don’t want to. I know a lot about Darrio Vargas both because of the guys and because of the factthat he’s such a big deal in the gutters of Silverwood. Gio’s mom, though, is an entirely different being, but I know that he loves her and she’s the only reason he hasn’t left that house. Now… he has.
Lex reaches for me, taking my hand and wrapping his much larger one around mine, warming my suddenly cold fingers. “Let him come to you,” he says quietly. “He’ll be there when he needs you.”
I squeeze his hand back. “I’m here,” I whisper into the interior of the vehicle. “Always.”
20
NOLAN
Kane is an ex-biker with more scars than clean skin. If anyone can understand the complications that come with working for a man like Darrio Vargas, it’s him. From what I know of him, he once had his own Darrio to contend with in his youth. It’s how he got some of those scars of his. So, even though I’m set to work this afternoon, when I show up at the shop and lay out the issue, he merely nods his head towards the open garage doors where Gio is waiting in his Firebird.
“Take care of your friend, kid. I’ll be here if you need anything.”
Relief is a lifted weight off my shoulders. There aren’t many men I respect as much as I do him and I hate having to ask him for this favor, but it’s necessary. I leave the garage with my steps stronger and a new plan forming in my head.
Gio’s fight with Darrio has sped things along, but the goal hasn’t changed. I get into the passenger side of the vehicle, glancing over as Gio cranks the engine and waits for a car to pass us by before turning onto the street. A pair of dark sunglasses covers his eyes but doesn’t hide the bruises on his forehead or coming down around the side of his face. Then, there’s the hole in his side. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything serious. The bandagejob Lex had done was enough and so long as he keeps it clean and taken care of, it’ll be no more than a slight scar later in life.
