Page 96 of Surrender (Angels Halo MC Next Gen)

What I did know was that I’d seen his feelings for her clearly written on his face. How he’d touched her like he needed physical contact with her to be able to breathe. I understood it all too well. It was how I felt about Elias.

That didn’t mean I had to like it, though. Abi was the closest thing I had to a best friend. And I knew almost nothing about my new brother. Protecting Abi was more important to me than keeping Vaughn happy.

“Do you have your phone?” Abi asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“I haven’t seen it since the accident.” Elias hadn’t mentioned it, and my head had hurt too much for me to think about it.

She groaned. “Ugh. Mine is back in my dorm. I completely forgot it when Vaughn picked me up. If I don’t check in with Hayat, she’s going to alert our parents. Aunt Lucy will call Lyric to come check on me, and when he finds me gone, I’m going to be in so much trouble.”

“Well, I’m right there with you. I bet Elias is freaking out right now.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait. He doesn’t know you’re with us?”

“I have no idea what he knows at this point,” I told her honestly. “Vaughn was impulsive in snatching me from the hospital. My mom and brother Ryan were on their way to see me. That’s the last thing I was told before I fell asleep.”

“He hasn’t mentioned your mom.”

Vaughn said something to the two pilots and turned to walk toward us. “We both have a complicated relationship with her,” I hedged. Not a lie. But definitely not the full truth that she deserved to hear, especially where Vaughn and Mom were concerned.

Fuck, I wasn’t sure how to explain it to myself.

Opening the driver’s door, Vaughn slid behind the wheel. “Are you two comfortable? It’s a bit of a drive from here.”

“I need to check in with Hayat. And Sammy should text Elias to let him know how she’s feeling.” She held out her hand. “Can we borrow your phone?”

“Give me Hayat’s number, and I’ll text her for you,” he offered. My vision had cleared up somewhat, so I saw the way his pupils changed.

Ah, shit. He was jealous. Of her best friend. For me, it was understandable. I wanted all of Elias’s attention. But Vaughn was going to have to learn to share Abi’s time and attention if he wanted to be in her lifeandkeep her happy.

“She needs to hear my voice, or she gets worried. It’s a rule we have. If we don’t speak every day, we have to alert our parents. And I really don’t want to tell my mom I left school right before finals.” When he didn’t hand over his phone, her eyes narrowed. I tried to warn him with a look, but he was too focused on her. “Come on, I’m not going to snoop through your phone or anything. I just need to call my friend.”

He continued to hesitate. I made a light noise, trying to alert him that he was fucking up, but still, he only had eyes for her.

“If you want me to be here with you, the least you can do is lend me your phone for two minutes. Otherwise, you can let me out, and I’ll grab the first flight back to California.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” he growled, a flash of what might have been panic in his brown eyes.

“What, do you not want me to see your conversation with your girlfriend?” she taunted, but I still heard the jealousy in her voice. “I promised not to snoop through your cell.”

Groaning, he pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocked the screen, and handed it to her. “Look at whatever you want, wildfire.”

Abi stared down at the device like it might contain a transmittable disease.

“Awkward,” I mumbled to myself.

“Here. You can text Elias first,” she offered.

I held up both my hands. If I texted or heard Elias’s voice, it would all be over. I’d want to go straight home to him and say fuck it to Vaughn and his problem with Polina and Daria. And since I couldn’t do that because I wouldn’t risk Papa or Abi, I had to wait to speak to Elias. “Nah, I’m good. You go ahead.”

Nose scrunching, she plugged in the number and hit connect. She listened for a while and sighed. “Damn it, Hayat.” A moment passed, and the voice mail must have switched over. “Hey, babe! It’s Abi. I’m calling from a friend’s phone. Mine is…broken. I dropped it on my run this morning. But I didn’t want you to worry or send Lyric over to make sure I was still breathing. I’ll call you as soon as I pick up the new phone. But I’m so busy studying for finals that it might be a day or so. Love you!”

Hanging up, she practically threw the phone back at Vaughn with a groused, “Thanks.”

“You don’t lie well,” I told her. “First time telling a fib?” I asked, attempting to distract her as Vaughn started driving.

“With Hayat, yes. We don’t keep secrets.” She settled back against the seat, turning her gaze out the side window. “I don’t know why I lied to her just now. I already regret it.”

CHAPTERFORTY-NINE

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