And Xavier looks exactly the same as he did before he went into the room, sporting black jeans, a black shirt, and the black leather jacket that he wears almost all the time.
When he steps out of the room, his gaze locks with mine. Like always, he scowls. He hasn’t been a fan of me from day one—that much he’s made clear. I only wish I knew why.
Benton discreetly jabs Xavier in the side and the scowl on Xavier’s face fades into a neutral expression.
With a sigh, Benton crosses the room toward me. “Did you get enough to eat?”
I glance down at the bowl on my lap, half full of cereal and milk. “Yeah, I did. Thanks for letting me eat some of your cereal.”
Xavier’s lip twitches for some reason.
Benton tracks my gaze then frowns. “Is that your first bowl?”
I nod. “I don’t feel very hungry. I think it’s my nerves or something.”
Benton crouches down in front of me, carrying my gaze. “What’re you nervous about? What’s going on with your sister?”
I shrug, watching the cereal go round and round as I stir the spoon through the milk. “That and I’m wondering what my mom was doing with a man like Axel. I know you said you think my family might’ve worked for an organization, but that doesn’t explain why she took me in the car with a guy who works for a drug lord.”
“I know. But like I said, I’m going to look into it.” A crease forms between Benton’s brows as he thrums his fingers on the cushion beside me. “I think I need to find a way to look into your parent’s files and see if they worked a case on Axel. That might help explain why your mom knew him and why he knew her.”
“Can you do that?” I wonder, perking up a bit.
I may not be thrilled about my parents lying to me, but it’d be great if they were simply working a case with Axel and not working for Axel, which yes, the thought has crossed my mind ever since Axel speculated that my mom liked devil’s poison. I feel awful for thinking she would do something like that, but can’t shake the thought.
Benton wavers. “I might be able to. I mean, those kinds of files are hard to access. At least most are. But if Ridge could…” He trails off with hesitancy written all over his face. “You know what, I’ll look into it. But I’m not going to tell you how I’m going to do it.”
I stop stirring the cereal, my lip jutting out. “Why not?”
He chuckles, pushing my lip back into place with his fingertip. “Stop pouting. This isn’t a big deal. I just think that the less you know, the less you can be held accountable for if we get caught.”
My pout morphs into a frown. “Are you doing something illegal?”
“Not necessarily illegal by ordinary laws,” he insists. “But with the organization’s laws, it’s kind of in the grey area.”
“Which means it’s not completely illegal but we could get into trouble if the wrong person catches us,” Xavier explains, sitting down on the sofa next to me and startling the living bejesus out of me.
I think it might be the first time he’s spoken directly to me. Well, except for when we first met and he challenged my reasons for joining the team.
“So maybe you shouldn’t do it then,” I say. “I don’t want you guys getting into trouble.”
Benton glances at Xavier and raises his brows; a trace of a smile playing on his lips. Xavier shakes his head in annoyance. But I can’t tell if his annoyance is aimed at Benton or me.
“We won’t get into trouble,” Xavier attempts to reassure me, although he doesn’t sound too thrilled about it.
“Are you sure?” I ask him. “Because you don’t sound too sure.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Xavier stretches his arm across the back of the sofa. “We’ve done a lot of stuff that would be considered in the grey area of the laws and we haven’t gotten caught yet.”
I set the bowl of cereal down on the end table. “But technically everyone can say that until they do something that gets them caught.”
“Today’s not the day we’re going to get caught. Not over something as easy as this. We’re too good,” Xavier says. Then he reaches around me, collects the bowl of cereal, and sets it down on my lap. “Now eat up. It’s going to be an exhausting day. Besides, you didn’t eat most of the marshmallows, which is basically the only reason I buy the cereal.”
Crap. I ate his cereal?
While most of the guys probably wouldn’t mind, Xavier seems like the sort of guy who would care.
“Oh, I didn’t know this was your cereal. Benton just said to help myself and this is my favorite kind,” I apologize then take a bite. “I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to eat every last drop.”
Xavier trades a look with Benton, whose eyes glitter with amusement. Then Xavier sighs and redirects his attention back to me.
“It’s fine,” he mutters, standing to his feet. “You can always eat my cereal if you really want to.”
I have no clue why, but his remark seems like a peace offering. If only I knew why he needed to offer peace with me to begin with. I guess it doesn’t really matter, though. At least he’s acting nicer to me.
“Thanks,” I tell him then stuff another spoonful into my mouth.
He nods then heads for the door. “I’m going to go do a quick check of the area,” he calls over his shoulder to Benton. “Text me when you guys are ready to go.”
Benton nods and Xavier leaves the apartment.
“He’s going to the training pit with us?” I ask.
Benton nods, fixing his gaze on me as he sits down on the edge of the coffee table in front of me. His knees touch mine as he rests back on his hands. “I promise he’ll be nice, though.”
“He’s not being mean,” I say. When Benton lifts his brows in speculation, I sigh. “Well, he wasn’t just barely. But it’s okay that he was before. If he doesn’t want to like me, he doesn’t have to. This is his world, not mine.”
“That’s not what his pissy attitude is about. Honestly, it doesn’t really have anything to do with you.”
“Then what does it have to do with?”
“That’s not really my story to tell.”
“Oh, okay.” The guys have said that a lot to me, but Jett and Ridge did tell me a tiny piece of their sad pasts. In a strange way, it makes me feel connected to them. But I highly doubt Xavier will ever tell me his story.
Benton gives my leg a gentle pat. “Now, eat up and if you’re a good girl, we might just stop by your place and let you change.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Only good girls get to change their clothes, huh?”
“Well, usually bad girls just take off their clothes.” He winks at me and my cheeks erupt with heat. “If you’re up for that, though, I’m totally cool with it.”
I roll my eyes, trying to play off the embarrassment. “Fine, I’ll play good girl for a few minutes so I can go change into some clean clothes.”
“Your call.” He shrugs, amusement dancing in his eyes. “But I think I should remind you that you did say you wanted to be a bad girl.”
“I never used the words ‘bad girl.’ I just didn’t want to be Miss Goody Goody Two Good For Her Own Shoes.”
“And you still want that?” he questions, studying me closely.
I deliberate for a beat or two before nodding. “I think so.” I stuff another bite of cereal into my mouth. “Besides, after everything that’s happened, I’m not sure I can go back to being plain, boring, naïve Zhara.”
It’s true, too. Whether I want it to be or not, my life was forever changed the moment I agreed to enter this world.
Questionable Next Door Neighbors
Zhara
So, here’s the thing about my Bad Boy Rebels… I mentally roll my eyes at myself. My Bad Boy Rebels? Seriously, what is wrong with me? They’re not mine and I don’t want them to be.
Well, sort of…
Okay, maybe I don’t know what I want.
But anyway, back to my point. Here’s the thing about the Bad Boy Rebels. They’re all gorg
eous in their own unique way. Take Benton for example. Everything about him screams sexy bad boy, from his dark hair that’s styled messily on top and shaved on the sides, to his facial piercings and smoldering looks. And I’m definitely not the only girl who notices how attractive he is—although it took me until recently to admit I find him attractive. Taylor’s noticed too. Most of the cheerleading squad have as well. Even the girl who lives in the apartment across from Benton notices is hotness.
“Hey, Benton,” she greets him with a flirty smile as Benton and I exit his apartment at the same time she’s walking out of her place.
She looks a few years older than me, with long, blonde hair and a curvy body that’s on full display, since she’s only wearing a bikini.
He gives her a subtle chin nod, focused on locking up his place.
She eyes him over, her gaze lingering on his butt as she bites her lip. “So, I heard you’re going to have a party again Friday night?” She drapes the towel she’s holding over her shoulder, not once giving a glance in my direction. “I know I’ve only lived here for a couple of weeks, but it seems like you’re the only guy in Honeyton who has parties.”
Wait? Benton’s having a party on Friday? Since when?
Wait? Why am I surprised? This is Benton, who’s known for his parties. The concept just seems sort of strange now that I know he’s working for an undercover program. I don’t know why. It’s not like undercover guys can’t have parties.
“There’s other parties going on all the time,” Benton tells Neighbor Girl as he stuffs the keys into the pocket of his jeans. “You just need to know the right people to talk to. People are pretty discreet about parties around here.”
She coils a strand of her hair around her finger while biting on her bottom lip. “Really? I wonder why.”
“Because everyone knows everyone and if the wrong person finds out, then the cops get called and your party place is no more.” His gaze flicks to me, a smile playing on his lips. “I don’t blame them, though. Sometimes the people who look like narcs aren’t and vice versa. So, it’s better just to keep things on the low down and only invite people you trust.”
I can’t help but smile at the memory of when I stood on this very porch less than a week ago and Benton accused me of being a narc. Clearly, he doesn’t think of me this way anymore. At least, I don’t think he does since he’s told me so many secrets about his and his friend’s lives.
“Oh, I totally get that.” The girl’s gaze strays in my direction for the first time. “Although, I think sometimes you can look at a person and tell that they’re a good little girl who doesn’t ever get into trouble. Those are the girls you need to look out for, you know.” Her eyes glitter with maliciousness, but when she fixes her focus back on Benton, her demeanor is sugary sweet. “But anyway, what time’s your party at? I thought I heard someone else in the building say it was around eight. But I want to make sure I don’t show up too early.”
I may be clueless in the guy department, but I’ve spent enough time with Taylor to understand when a girl is hitting on a guy. And when a girl is annoyed with another girl who’s hanging around a guy she’s trying to flirt with. Normally, Taylor tries to squash those girls like bugs, especially when they fight back. I don’t want to be squashed by Neighbor Girl, but I also don’t want to stand here and allow her to give me dirty looks simply for breathing next to a guy she thinks is hot. The problem is I’ve never been that good at sticking up for myself. Well, except for that one time Benton wouldn’t let me into his party. I’m not a fan of drama either and I have a feeling Neighbor Girl will cause drama if I open my mouth.
I rack my brain for a way to handle the situation while Benton remains quiet, his gaze wandering to me again. He studies me for a drum beat of a moment and for the life of me, I can’t read his expression.
“Actually, I was thinking I might cancel my party.” He returns his gaze back to Neighbor Girl.
If looks could kill, I’d be a dead girl standing. I don’t know why she’s blaming me for what Benton said. It’ s not like I’m some sort of great puppet master, forcing him to tell her things she doesn’t want to hear. I probably couldn’t force a guy to say anything if I tried.
The girl hastily erases the off-with-Zhara’s-head look on her face and smiles sweetly at Benton. “Really? Why?” She pouts out her lip. “I was so looking forward to it. I heard you throw awesome parties.”
“Sorry, but too many people know about it,” he says with a nonchalant shrug. “Too many people I don’t know. And like I said, having a bunch of strangers knowing your party location isn’t good when you live in a small, gossipy town.”
“Are you just going to move the location?” She steps forward, batting her eyelashes at him. “You can totally tell me if you are. I’m completely trustworthy, I swear. And if you’ll let me, I can prove it to you.” She shifts her arms closer to her sides, while leaning forward. The move practically causes her cleavage to pop out of her tiny bikini top.
I may not be a bad girl, but my mind conjures up all sorts of ideas of how she wants to prove her trustworthiness to Benton. And none of the ideas sit very well with me. But I won’t allow myself to get upset. Benton isn’t my boyfriend. Just my fake boyfriend. He doesn’t belong to me and I don’t belong to him. In fact, no one besides a drug lord and his workers think we’re together.
“Hmm….” Benton rubs his jawline.
My stomach churns. Is he considering her offer?
“What’s your name again?” he asks Neighbor Girl.
Her flirty smile briefly falters. “Brook. Remember? We met while I was headed out to the pool last week. You told me about the party you were having that night, and I said I couldn’t come because I was headed out of town later.”
“Oh yeah. I completely forgot about that. Although, I don’t remember actually inviting you to the party. I think you just saw me and my friend hauling a keg into my house and invited yourself.” He reaches over and laces his fingers through mine, something Brook more than notices. “And, from what I can remember, I planned on not letting you in if you showed up.”
Her eyes narrow at him. “Well, that’s just fucking rude.”
“Well, I’m sort of a fucking rude guy, Brook. And all the people I trust know that about me,” he tells her unapologetically then lightly tugs on my arm as he turns for the stairs.
He doesn’t say goodbye. Just starts down the stairs.
“You know that girl you’re with is a little tattle tell, right?” she shouts out after us. “You should hear the stuff people say about her. So, you should probably ditch her if you don’t want untrustworthy people around you.”
Benton pauses, his body going ridged. “How do you even know who she is?”
“I heard your friends mention her name a few times while they were going in and out of your place.” Brook shrugs, her lips curling into a malicious smirk. “If I were you, I’d start being careful about what you say around here. The walls are really thin and people can hear almost everything. Even secrets you don’t want other people to hear.” Her gaze lands on me before she pushes past us, purposefully shoving my shoulder hard. I stumble to the side as she stomps down the stairs, but manage to regain my balance before I crash into the wall.
As I watch her go, I question if she was directing her last statement at me. Could that be possible? Are Benton and the guys keeping stuff from me?
Benton makes no move to unglue his feet from the step, remaining still while eyeballing Brook as she storms further down the stairway. When she nears the second floor, about to disappear out of our sight, her towel falls off her shoulder. Cursing, she bends over to pick it up. Her swimsuit bottom slips down a little, so she’s sporting a nice little plumber’s crack, and the tattoo on her upper butt cheek is on full display. A tattoo that looks like my creepy new neighbor’s.
What the heck?
My gaze is yanked back to Benton as a gradual breath eases from his lips.
“I think we might
have another problem on our hands,” he mumbles, shaking his head.
“Another one?” I ask, unsure whether to be shocked at this point or used to it.
He nods slowly, his gaze skating to me. Worry fills his eyes as his fingers thread through mine.
I open my mouth to ask him what’s wrong and to tell him about the tattoo, but he gives a firm shake of his head.
Not here, he mouths. Just act natural.
I don’t know what’s going on, but I trust him enough to keep my lips zipped and pretend like nothing happened. I hope trusting him is the right thing to do. That he isn’t keeping secrets from me like everyone else seems to be.
Acting Natural is Complicated
Zhara
Benton stays quiet as we start down the stairwell, holding hands, and heading toward the apartment parking lot where his car is parked.
So many questions ping pong around in my brain, nearly driving me insane. I want to ask him who Brook is, why she seemed to be threatening Benton when she said the walls were thin, why he suddenly seems so uneasy, and why on earth Brook has the same tattoo as my new neighbor, Creepy Charles. Benton has told me to stay away from him, which makes me wonder if Charles isn’t a normal guy.
I can’t ask any questions now though, so I decide to busy myself with a normal conversation topic that will hopefully distract me from all the weirdness that just occurred.
“Have you heard anything about Alexis?” I ask, hoping he doesn’t notice that my palm is starting to sweat in his hand.
The sun is up in the crystal blue sky and blaring heat down on Honeyton, making me wish I had my sunglasses and a tank top on.
Benton blinks, as if coming out of a daze, then checks his phone and shakes his head. “Not yet. But it’s only been a few hours since everything went down. She’s probably still trying to process everything.”
I tuck a few strands of my tangled, wavy brown hair behind my ears. “But we’re still going to see her after we go to the training pit, right?”