“What fucking warehouse?” Marcus snaps.
“You were busy being a dickhead,” I respond, with a smug smile and he huffs.
Elle ignores his outburst and points to another red cross on the board, “This guy, I sliced his throat,” she says, like I just asked what she wanted for breakfast and then gestures to the other four red crosses next to the first adding, “Lincoln dealt with the rest,” she pauses before also saying, “In what Ash tells me were some very colorful ways.”
She smiles at him clearly amused by it and he rolls his eyes in response and I look between the two of them like I am seeing them for the first time. It’s only now I see a whole new side to both of them, that's a given with Elle, considering I don’t know her that well yet, but I thought I knew Lincoln. Yet, here I am seeing a whole new side to him, a side that is darker than I ever imagined but also filled with more smiles and jokes. He is comfortable with her, he trusts her. They don’t just have a friendship between them but something else, a bond made in blood. I mean I’m not naive, we aren’t the good guys, we beat on people, do drugs, drink far too fucking much but I have never gone this far. But after what they did to her, can I blame them?
Am I ready to do the same? Before Elle revealed her secrets, I don’t think I would have ever been able to kill someone. But now, here I sit thinking about what they did to her, the scars on her body, and the protection of her daughter.
Would I kill for them? Without a shadow of a doubt.
“So, what happens now?” Marcus asks.
“Now?” She repeats sitting down in the chair opposite us. She looks us all in the eye before she adds, “Now we go to war.”
Well fuck me, three lost Rebels have finally found our way. Death, chaos, and vengeance, a path drenched in blood and all for two amazing girls. Let’s go to fucking war.
Chapter 24
ELLE
The only words to describe my weekend with the Rebels is cathartic. No more secrets, no more lies, just everything out in the open. I feel like I can breathe again for the first time since I laid eyes on Marcus that first day of school. The rollercoaster we have been on the last few months isn’t something I enjoyed, yet somehow, we ended up here. Together again, by each other’s side, and ready to slay the fucking world.
The guys left late last night after we spent a couple of hours going over all the information I have and mixing it with everything we know. I didn’t think I could ever shock Marcus again after he found out about Cassie, but the more he learned about Elliot, the angrier he got. He knew he was bad he just didn’t know how close to the devil he actually is. Not forgetting about his fucking spawn of Satan son either.
I wanted to ask Marcus to stay but I know he needs time to process everything that he has learned. So, I sent him home with his brothers and then spent the night wishing I hadn’t. I ended up sneaking into Cassie’s bed at 2am, where I eventually managed some sleep before my alarm woke me.
Now I’m getting ready for another week at Hallows High and for the first time I’m nervous. Which is dumb, right? I finally have all three Rebels by my side, so what the hell am I so worried about? It’s just I haven’t done this before, been someone's girlfriend. Am I Marcus’ girlfriend? Girlfriend just sounds so insignificant. Like just a regular couple of teenagers. What we have is so much more than that. He is so much more than that, our hearts are intertwined in a way that can’t be undone.
My phone pings signaling that the guys are here, so I grab my bag and head outside. I find Linc’s blacked out SUV parked in the drive with the front windows down. Lincoln is driving and Jace is sitting in the passenger seat. Marcus is standing with one of the back doors open, clearly waiting for me.
He looks a lot more rested than he did this weekend, he has his usual dusting of facial hair shadowing his chin and dark sunglasses pushed up onto his head. He is smoking a cigarette and has the collar of his leather jacket popped up. He looks like temptation. Not just for me but any woman who has a pair of eyes in their head. When he sees me, he smiles sinfully, one that says I am his, I don’t think I have been this happy since before I left here, over three years ago. Cassie makes me happy, ever since I heard her little heartbeat, she has been my lifeline daily but not having Marcus around always left a hole in my heart. A hole that is now filled with all things Marcus Riviera.
“Will you two stop eye fucking each other and get in the car before we are late, I wanna stop at Starbucks on the way,” Jace whines, leaning out of the window like a puppy.
I break out of my appraisal and feel myself blushing as I move towards the car until I’m next to Marcus. He grabs my bag off my shoulder and throws it in the back of the car before turning back to me.
He curls a hair behind my ear that has blown into my face as he speaks in a low soft tone, “How’d you sleep?” he asks gently, it sounds super fucking weird to hear him speak in anything other than his stern gravelly tone.
“Erm, okay I guess,” I say with a small smile trying to work out what is going on with him, something is different.
He smiles and it is nothing like the cheeky flirty smirk he has given me before, no, this smile is full of love. It freaks me out a little to see such a change in him.
“My little King,” he says softly, “I thought we said no more lying,” he cups my face and places a chaste kiss on my forehead before pulling away and gesturing for me to get inside.
I stand frozen for a second, considering I was expecting a kiss a bit more, shall we say steamy? I mean I am not experienced really, not past Marcus, but I have gotten used to the way he kisses me without restraint. How it consumes me, and I can feel it in my entire body. I shake my head to myself and climb into the back of the car and slide across the seat so Marcus can slide in next to me.
“Seatbelt,” Marcus says, and I frown and Jace chokes a laugh out trying to hide it into a cough. I look up to find Lincoln's gaze in the mirror and see a smirk on his face too.
What the fuck is going on?
I pull my seatbelt on and off we go to school. Jace got his wish and we stopped for coffee on the way. I asked for an Americano and he got me a Iced Chai Tea Latte. I would have dick punched him, but the fucking tea drink was too good. I cursed him out in my head while he watched me drink it.
I am looking out the window watching as we approach the school when a hand hits mine. I look down to see Marcus curl his hand around mine. He gives it a gentle squeeze and I look up until our eyes lock. We just stare at each other; I’ve no idea what he’s thinking but he looks like he has so much to say. I guess neither of us know what is going on with us now. Weird right? How can you confess your love to someone but have no clue how to what? Date them? Fuck knows. I’m not exactly an expert on this kind of thing.
“Erm, I hate to break up the backseat party, but your other girlfriend is waiting, brother,” Jace cuts into our stare off with a chuckle.
Marcus and I break each other's gaze and look out of the front of the car to find Cherry waiting. Well, this should be interesting. I look to Marcus as he looks back at me.