Ruthless Heart Read online

  I was the last one at the car, and when we were in, with Gray checking the area to make sure there were no observers, I started the engine and we pulled away.

  When we had enough distance between us and the house, Gray started to laugh. “A banana?”

  “A fucking cat?” Ash started to laugh too.

  “Always knew pussy was likely to be the end of us,” I joked before we all dissolved into laughter.

  “What’s on the paper?” Gray asked me when he sobered.

  Ash looked out the window, his lips pursed, and with a sigh, I pulled it from my hoodie and handed it to Gray.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Gray exploded in the back seat as he read it. “Take us back, take me back right now.”

  “You need to calm down,” I told him as Ash turned in his seat to look at Gray.

  “Calm down?” Gray was still staring at the paper as he practically vibrated with rage on his seat. “This will destroy her.” His eyes snapped to mine, and I nodded.

  “I know.” I held his stare in the rearview mirror. “Gray, we’re going to fix it.”

  “Fucking asshole,” Gray growled. “We need to end him.”

  “Gray,” I cautioned him as I drove, my eyes flicking once to Ash in warning.

  “We’ll get him,” Ash assured my brother. “We can’t tell her about this.”

  “Of course we don’t tell her,” Gray fumed in the back seat. “Why would this be in that guy’s house?”

  “We have a memory stick. Hopefully, it tells us more.” Ash rubbed his hand over his face.

  Thirty minutes later, we were making our way tiredly up the stairs to our rooms. I heard low moaning on the second floor coming from Jamie’s room and smirked back at Ash as I carried on past.

  “Not working it hard enough,” Ash called out as he passed the door, thumping it loudly. “Work it hard, get your freak on. Girl, you even alive in there? Make him work for it, baby!”

  With a grin at Ash, I hesitated on the stairs. “Jesus, Elise told me you were shit, but I never believed it. No wonder she only moans for the Devils.”

  Gray snorted as he climbed the stairs. The moans got louder, and my brother’s laughter echoed down from the top floor as Ash and I jogged up the stairs after him.

  In Ash’s room, we kicked off our sneakers, and Gray held his hand out impatiently for the memory stick.

  “Wasn’t keeping it off you,” I murmured as I placed it in his hands.

  Ash swiped it out of Gray’s grasp with a wink. “I’m quicker.”

  “Heard that about you,” Gray quipped as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started scrolling. “Remember to wipe the image from your phone,” he said to Ash as he sank down onto the couch.

  I’d taken the edge of the bed, but Ash had hit an encryption, and as he worked on it, I lay back, my eyes closing. When I heard his grunt of satisfaction, I sat up as the film began to play.

  At the end, I turned to look at Gray whose face was white with fury. “At least this girl walked away.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed as Ash remained quiet. “What is it?”

  “The file says it has three more minutes.”

  We waited as the camera remained pointed at the bed. Ten seconds before the end, a face came into view and turned the camera off. It was a sloppy mistake but one we needed.

  “Harry, what have you got yourself involved in?” I said quietly to the silence of the room.

  “We go back to Harry’s?” Gray asked as he stood.

  “Yeah, and we beat the shit out of him,” Ash growled as he turned in his seat. “He wasn’t in the first one, but is it because he’s the cameraman?”

  “We need more.” I stared at the floor, knowing my brother was never going to agree to what I was going to say next. “We need to show her.”

  “No.”

  “Gray—”

  “I said no, Jett.”

  “I agree.”

  I turned to look at Ash. I hadn’t been expecting him to agree with Gray after seeing the film. “You do?”

  “She sees this, she’ll freak out.” Ash met Gray’s look. “She doesn’t need this shit in her head.” He leaned back in his chair. “It’s bad enough it’s in ours, she doesn’t need it.”

  “It’s already in her head,” I reminded them both.

  “We said no.” Gray’s look was pointed, his tone brooked no room for argument.

  “Fine.”

  “Let’s get some sleep,” Ash, ever the peacekeeper, suggested. “We still have tomorrow to prepare for.”

  I walked to the bedroom door. “We hit the bar first. We need to know about this Wade guy.”

  “Class, practice, bar, fuck shit up,” Ash said as he ticked the items off his fingers. “Got it.”

  Gray smiled suddenly. “Time to remind this place who we are.”

  “It is indeed,” I agreed.

  “You ready?” Gray asked me as he bounced on his feet in anticipation.

  A slow smile spread across my face. “When am I not ready, little brother?” I gave a low laugh as I left them. Tomorrow night, this campus would remember what it meant to have the Devils at this school.

  It was time to cause mayhem.

  “Ava!” My eyes flew open, and I sat up as Mia called again.

  “What?” I mumbled, swinging my legs off the side of the bed and opening my bedroom door. “Did I sleep too long?”

  Mia popped her head out of the bathroom, her hair curled and down, her eyes smoky and her nude lipstick in her hand. “Yeah, you have twenty minutes.”

  “Who you trying to impress?” I asked her as I took in her skinny, dark grey jeans and a blood red off-the-shoulder top.

  “No one,” she scoffed as she went back into the bathroom.

  “Lead singer of Atticus Dawn perchance?”

  “Perchance?” Mia’s light laugh from the bathroom had me grinning. “No one says perchance.”

  “Elizabeth Bennet does,” I corrected her as I stared at the contents of the fridge. When I saw her thinking about it, I rolled my eyes. “Pride and Prejudice, Mia. Did we drink all the soda?”

  “No, I made up mixers,” Mia told me as she came into the kitchen.

  “You look good,” I complimented her as she took out a jug and poured us a healthy glass each. “How long have I got?”

  “Fifteen?” She grinned at me as we clinked glasses. “You’ll only need ten.”

  “So I get dressed quickly.” I took a hearty gulp. “Ooh yummy. I’ll be back in five.”

  My clothes for tonight were already laid out, and I tossed my sleep shorts and tank off, pulling on the black mid-thigh flippy skirt and simple black box top with a small shoulder-capped sleeve. Black and white Converse slipped on over my sneaker socks, and I went to the bathroom to brush my hair.

  “Mia, come do a messy bun!” I called to her, and within minutes, she had my hair in two high ponytails before she was pulling them through the hairbands and then looping them through each other. With a few bobby pins, she secured my messy bun, pulling a few strands of my blonde hair free to “soften” my face, as she called it.

  “You need mascara and lippy,” Mia told me as she pulled my makeup bag from the cupboard under the sink. “Use the extra volume one I got you,” she said as she handed me the tube.

  “You’re so bossy,” I muttered as I obligingly stroked the wand over my lashes.

  “Red or rosy pink?” Mia held the lip gloss in her hands.

  “Pink.” I decided. With a final look in the mirror, I was ready. “Did I make it?”

  Mia rolled her eyes. “With time to spare. Let’s finish our drinks; I called a cab.”

  “You did?” I asked her in surprise, and I picked up my flyers for tonight’s show.

  “These pants are new, so I’m not sitting in Wade’s van on those seats where he puts his drive-thru food.”

  I opened my mouth to ask how did she know what had been on the cab driver’s seats, but one look from Mia made me simply drink from
my glass instead. “This is all I’m having tonight, if we go to the party after the gig,” I told her as I pointed at the glass. “I’ve had enough party time already this semester.”

  “I thought you would, that’s why I only made enough for two glasses and used extra soda.”

  Briefly hugging her, I laughed when she squeezed me back. “This is why I love you.” I headed back to my room to grab my purse.

  “Cab’s here!” Mia called as I entered the living room. “Got everything?”

  “Yes, ma’am, let’s rock and roll.”

  Wade’s band was playing in Cardinal tonight, so it was a ten-minute drive in the cab, and Mia talked to the driver the whole time while I checked my flyers, admiring the new design.

  When we got to the bar, I told the bouncer our names, and he tagged us as underage with pink wristbands. We were early, and Wade and the guys were still setting up. “Hey, I have them. Where do you want them?” I asked as I held up the flyers and assessed the tables.

  “One on every table, then they said we can put them on the shelf over there,” Wade said as he pointed to the shelf that ran the entire length of the bar. We’d been in this bar before. It was bigger than some of the ones at campus, and the floor was always sticky from years of people spilling their drinks when they were dancing. Sheryl, the lady who owned the place, was nice, and she always gave Mia and me free soda when we were here.

  “Holy shit, you both look hot,” Wade blurted as he finally looked at us. “You are staying here, aren’t you?” he asked me worriedly.

  “Yeah, but there’s a party at the basketball team’s house later,” I told him as I looked over at Mia, who was talking to Alex, the new singer. “Mia wants to party.”

  “Cool, got that invite too. I’ll tag along with you,” Wade told me. “Posters are the shit, Ava. Love them.”

  “Aww, thank you.” I batted my lashes at him, and he laughed. “Looking very JC tonight, Mr Gordon,” I complimented him.

  “Did you just tell Wade he looked like Jesus?” Shane asked me in confusion as he looked at the faux-mohawked, tattooed bass player.

  “JC. Johnny Cash.”

  “Oh,” Shane laughed self-consciously. “’Cause he’s all in black?”

  Wade grinned as he called Alex over. “First song tonight, as inspired by our poster girl, ‘Man in Black,’” Wade told him, and Alex nodded.

  “Sure, it’ll take us right into the new song too.”

  “Agreed,” Wade said as he squeezed my arm before they went back to the stage area.

  “You look good,” Shane said as he looked me over appreciatively. “For someone? Or do you have plans later?”

  “Party at the Orchard later.”

  “Basketball guys?” He grinned at me slyly. “They told me football was your game of choice.”

  “So? I can’t party?” I teased him, and he smiled at me in good humour.

  “Okay if I join you later?” Shane asked as he looked over to the stage where Sticks was calling for him.

  “Yeah, Wade’s coming too.”

  His smile lost some of the shine, but he turned before I could clarify that I was aware of what he was asking me. I started putting the flyers on the tables and strategically placing them along the shelf on the wall.

  “Why does the hot guitarist look like you threw up in his shoes?” Mia asked me curiously as she handed me a soda.

  “He asked if he could come to the party later, and I said yes and that Wade was already going.”

  “Oh.” Mia took a sip of her soda. “Maybe it could have gone smoother,” she said with a small smile my way. “You can make it up to him later.”

  “How?” I pulled out one of the stools at the wall, sat and crossed my legs, and leaned on one of the flyers as I stared at her.

  “Tell him he played well and he’s a great addition to the band.” Mia shrugged as she swayed her hips to the music coming from the jukebox, oblivious to the fact she had Alex’s full attention from the stage.

  “You okay here or do you want to move closer?” I asked her as I looked around the bar. “They won’t mind if we get closer. They’d probably prefer us to be further from the bar,” I added ruefully.

  “We can move nearer the time.”

  Nodding at her plan, we spoke quietly as we watched Wade and the guys make the finishing touches to the setup, and then Wade was scribbling in a notebook, and I knew they were making up the set list. I shook my head at his casualness to the set, but he had explained to me before that he didn’t like selecting the music too far in advance. He needed to feel his vibe on the night.

  More people started arriving, and as they did, Mia and I left the comfort of our wall and started mingling and handing out flyers. Pretty soon, the band started, and that made my job harder as everyone seemed to unconsciously move forward as one. Wade had a good college following, and they were loyal supporters, mostly always showing up when they had an off-campus gig.

  An hour into the music, I was glad I had worn sneakers and a skirt, it was so hot in here. The music was great, the crowd was enjoying it, and all my flyers were safely in people’s purses or back pockets. Good result.

  I was back at the side of the room, leaning against the shelf as I watched Mia dancing beside the stage. She was with a girl from one of her classes, and they were having fun. Wade started to play the intro to one of their best songs, and I pushed off the shelf to stand straight. I loved this one, it was called “Stars and Dusk,” and he said he wrote it one night after watching a film about six demons and a witch. I loved this song.

  As I sang along to the chorus, I felt a body press up against me, and I stepped forward. The presence behind me stepped forward with me, and as I turned to glare at whoever it was to back off, my words died on my tongue as Jett stared down at me.

  He would never hear my protestations over the music, so I stepped forward again and startled when an arm slipped around my waist, pulling me back into his hard body. Again, I looked over my shoulder at him, and he raised an eyebrow at me in question before turning his attention to the stage.

  So that was it? I was to just accept his manhandling of me? Staying as rigid as I could, I jumped when his breath caressed my ear.

  “Loosen up, Uptight, anyone would think you hated me touching you.” I felt the nip at my ear, and I was glad he didn’t hear my reaction. “We both know you have no problem with my hands on you.” As he spoke, his hand slipped under my loose top, and his fingers stroked over my skin.

  I felt him straighten, but his hand never moved, his thumb rubbing light circles over my skin, and along with it, my heart thumped in rhythm. Should I move? Would he let me? Will he let me leave? Seriously? I grumbled inwardly.

  He doesn’t own you.

  He doesn’t even like you!

  Then why is he touching me? To throw you off-balance, Ava. And newsflash, it’s working!

  As the song ended, my hand covered Jett’s, and I tugged. The guy had strong hands. I mean, he’d been flinging balls through the air since he was three, but seriously, were they glue?

  Alex started to sing the cover version of a Michael Ray song, and as his gravelly voice wrapped over us, I felt Jett at my ear again.

  “You trying to get free of me, Uptight?”

  “Yes,” I ground out. “You don’t need to be holding onto me.”

  “I can’t hear you.”

  Leaning back, I turned my head as far as I could so he could hear me. I saw the amusement in his eyes when my ass pressed into him, and when I tried to jerk free, he took a step back and turned us both before I was spun in his arms looking up at him. The move was so sudden I didn’t know how I was facing him. Two shadows moved and stood in front of Jett, shielding us, and I realised Ash and Gray were here too. Why? This wasn’t something they would normally be at.

  I went to ask, but the hardness in Jett’s stare made me bite my tongue. “Every time I try to find an answer about Friday, you’re there.”

  “I don’t understand.
”

  He said nothing, but swiftly he stepped away from me. I realised the music had stopped and Alex was telling the crowd they were having a ten-minute break.

  “Ava, there you are!” Mia looked at me and then Jett, her eyes widening when she realised all three Santo guys were there. “You okay?” she asked me as she looked over Gray and Ash, who had just turned to face us.

  “I’m fine,” I answered her as I maintained eye contact with Jett.

  “Jett,” Gray said quietly in the loud bar, and Jett flicked his eyes away from mine to look at his brother. Wade was heading to the bar, and Jett coolly stepped away from me without a backwards glance, Gray on his heels. Ash lingered, but his eyes were all for Mia.

  “Don’t you need to run after him too?” I snapped at him. Mia’s eyes widened in surprise at my obvious animosity, but she said nothing as she looked at Ash.

  Ash smiled, it was slow, and goddamn it was sexy. I was thankful that I wasn’t on the receiving end of it, or else I was sure I would have felt my knees weaken. But Mia? She looked completely unimpressed.

  “Ash,” he told her.

  “And?”

  His smile was now a grin, and with a dip of his head to her, he walked past. I noticed his hand skimmed her arm as he passed her, and I don’t know if he would have felt the goose bumps that ran over her arm at his touch, but there was no denying he had affected her.

  “Holy shit, what was that?” I whisper-hissed at her when he was far enough away.

  “I was hoping you would tell me,” Mia said, giving me her whole attention. “What did Jett want?”

  I stared at her, dumbfounded for a moment. “Huh?”

  Mia blinked as she gave her head a quick shake as she looked at me, as if my reaction was confusing her. “Dude, you were just in a huddle with the Saints number eight.”

  She was either ignoring my obvious question, or she was so used to guys hitting on her she was now oblivious. I would probe later, I decided. I looked around and saw Jett and Gray talking to Wade and pointed them out to Mia. “He wanted to meet Wade.”

  Lame lame lame...lame!

  “But you didn’t introduce him,” Mia said to me in confusion.