Page 17 of Reckless Rebel

“I told you not to call me that,” I snap. “And I didn’t think you would be so willing to talk about that wrong foot considering the company.” Is he seriously not bothered about his girlfriend sitting right there?

He frowns like he is confused, but decides not to press me. “Well, don’t sit alone, come join us.” He offers, and Elle smiles in encouragement. Eurgh why do they both have to be so freaking polite.

“I’m waiting for someone actually.” I smile in return and hope that’s the end of it.

Jace gets a gleam in his eyes. “Oh, is little Dicky on his way?” He smirks, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes at his childish humor.

“You want to get in my good graces and you think this is the way to go,” I spit out, and I catch Elle’s smile again, but I don’t look away from Jace.

He isn’t deterred, just smiles wider himself, “Somehow I think it will be more fun being on your bad side.” The innuendo is not lost in his flirty tone, and my eyes dart to Elle, who looks like she is enjoying the show. I’m confused, but I don’t back down.

“I already warned you that your playboy bullshit won’t work on me, so quit it.” My eyes slip to Elle again, wondering why she isn’t saying anything and this time she is hiding her smirk behind her coffee. What the hell is happening here?

“But Dicky’s does?” Jace asks, “We are cut from the same cloth,” he adds, and I scoff.

“Please, Rick Dillington is a straight-A student, captain of the football team, and actually knows how to say my name properly. What could you possibly have in common?” My breath almost runs out as I race through my words in anger.

Jace stands, grabbing his keys off the table, just as the bell chimes again, but this time I don’t look to see who entered. My gaze solely locked on his. He takes the few steps to my table, until he can lean down and get into my space.

“Guys like him only want to be in your bed, not your heart, Riles.” He doesn’t give me another chance to speak, just straightens up. “See you soon, Little Red.” Then he’s gone, with his perfect girlfriend, or who the hell knows following behind him.

“What the hell was Jace Conrad doing at your table?” Sienna shrieks from beside me, and I flinch. I didn’t even notice her.

I blow out a breath. “Sit, I have so much to tell you.” I quickly fill her in on everything that happened at the party, and how Jace turned out to be Sofia’s brother and all the other stuff in between. I want her insight on how to stop this from getting any worse.

“That’s not his girlfriend you idiot, that’s Elle King.” Seriously? Everything I just told her and that’s where she wants to start.

“Okayyyy.” I drawl out.

She huffs, “Seriously, Riley, just a few parties this summer, even just for the sake of your people knowledge. Okay so Elle King was like the elite princess of Black Hallows right. Super rich, super popular, the works. Then when she was fourteen she just disappeared.” Her voice is overly dramatic, but it needn’t be, I’m already intrigued.

“What do you mean disappeared?” I’m frowning, and watch as she looks around, like she is checking no-one is listening to us. I find myself doing the same and then leaning in closer.

“Okay, so the official story is she went off to boarding school.”

“What’s the unofficial?” I hold my breath waiting for her answer.

“She ran away, the Donovan family did something bad to her and then she disappeared. Nobody heard from her, or spoke to her for three years. Then last year she showed back up in Black Hallows, but on the wrong side of the tracks. She was emancipated and started school at South Side High.”

I remember the story she told me the other night about the South Side Rebels. “And that’s how she got caught up with the Rebels?” I confirm, but she shakes her head.

“No, before she left, Marcus Riviera was her best friend, along with Asher Donovan. Both super hot and super rich, until Marcus’ dad was killed and he moved to the South Side where he met Jace and Lincoln. Hence the South Side Rebels. When she came back Marcus was gunning for her hard and well, the Rebels do everything together.” She shrugs like the explanation is simple, but I have never been more confused. “Anyway after a few months, they were together, Elle and Marcus I mean, there were a lot of rumors about them being involved in some shady shit, but nobody was talking. Then all of a sudden all these high profile people started to be exposed for crimes that had been hidden for years.”

That sparks a memory in my head from stuff I saw on the news. The Chief of Police was killed, a high profile lawyer murdered, and the Mayor went missing. But what would that possibly have to do with Elle and Jace. When I ask her that, she lowers her voice even more.

“Well, it’s just gossip, but apparently they were involved somehow. At the beginning of the year, all of them were missing from school and then the Donovan mansion was blown up or some shit, and a couple of weeks later they were back at school. Apparently they were all pretty beaten up, Jace wasn’t with them, and a friend of theirs had died. Nobody spoke about what had happened, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

I can feel my mouth hanging open in disbelief, surely this can’t be true. It’s like she is reciting the plot of a movie to me, or one of those dark romance books some people like to read. “Who died?”

“Her name was Taylor Kennedy, beautiful and rich, just like them,” she sighs, like the being rich part is the worst part of that sentence.

“Their parents are rich.” I affirm, taking a piece of my muffin, just so I have something to do with my hands.

She shakes her head. “Elle’s parents were killed during everything that happened, as were Asher’s dad and brother, Marcus’ were already dead.” She shrugs, “Anyway now they all live on their own with bucket loads of money.”

I open my mouth to say something, but then close it again, because I really don't know what to say. They don’t seem rich, Jace definitely doesn’t, but I know his parents are dead, so maybe he landed himself in a super rich foster home with the others. I shouldn't even care, but I do.

Sienna spends the rest of our coffee date catching me up on all the gossip of the weekend about literally every person we know, but all I can think about is Jace and the skeletons hiding in his closet.

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