Page 29 of Dark Things (Payback Duet #1)

Rebelle

I thought I’d appreciate the college experience. I’ve wanted it for so long, but now I’m dreading going to campus. It’s like my own personal hell. My demons walking through the halls, not knowing the true torture that their existence brings.

“We should have a game plan for when they approach us, because you know it’s not the last of hearing from them,” I say, leaning back in the passenger seat of Haunt’s SUV.

“They’re getting bolder, showing up to your practice yesterday like that. When we were watching you jump, it was like the air was charged. I could have sworn you put them under a spell.”

He grips my thigh and gives it a squeeze.

This was exactly what I was afraid of. While I look different because of my surgeries, contacts, and hair color, it’s harder to fake who I am inside.

I’m used to people only knowing Pitch and not Rebelle.

You can change the outside of a person, but inside we’ll always be similar.

“They were always so invested in everything I did. My protectors for a while. They kept me safe, until they didn’t. Until I needed them the most, and then they vanished when it got tough. I don’t know how to do this, Haunt. I’m so fucking angry.”

We sit in silence for a bit before we get to a stop light.

He turns to me, sorrow on his face. “You never have to worry about being alone again, Reb. What they did was shitty, inexcusable really, but you have me now. You know I’ll never leave.

We’ve been through so much…things they can’t imagine. You are my life.”

I rub my forehead, feeling the start of a headache coming on.

His words are true, and I believe them with everything I am, but the anger and sorrow for what I had makes it so hard to move on.

I was fine before coming here. I thought I was better.

It was my shitty past, my terrible story, but I was healing.

Now the wound is ripped wide open, and I’m bleeding out.

“How much are we telling them? I can’t let them know who I am. I can’t go back there,” I confess.

“We feel out their loyalty to Mario. If we can get them on our side to complete the mission, we use them. Besides that? Whatever you want, gioia mia . We walk away, or we take them with us. I’m not opposed to either, because I know you’re angry, but you're not done.”

I grit my teeth. “It’s not possible to just pick up where we left off. They destroyed me, Haunt. Two years in that hell for something I didn’t do. How can I trust them again?”

He hums but doesn’t say anything else. It’s a losing argument when I’m so mad. I usually listen to reason, but I can’t let this go.

Morning classes drag, and by the time we get to lunch I’m a ball of restlessness. I need to hurt someone, but there’s no target for me to take my anger out on.

“Get us a table; I’ll grab the food,” Haunt says, leaning down to bite my neck before kissing away the sting.

I find a quiet place in the back of the cafeteria. Normally, we’d eat somewhere off campus, but Haunt has practice. My ass hits the chair just as the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I close my eyes for a moment before spinning in my seat.

“What?” I snap. I can’t be bothered with niceties, especially with this cocktail of emotions swirling through me.

“Is now a good time for our chat?” Brooks says, taking a seat without waiting for my response.

I clench my hands into fists under the table and bite my tongue. “There are ears everywhere.”

“We’ll be discreet. This can’t wait, and you know it,” Colter says. He sits next to me as Staff sits across the table, leaving the remaining seat on my other side open .

I look up, trying to find Haunt, because I can’t carry this conversation myself. I’ll end up punching one of them, and then all the progress I’ve made will be for nothing.

“Be quick about it then. You’re disturbing my lunch.”

Colter scowls, his anger written all over his face. All these little quirks bring me back to places I never wanted to visit again. Anxiety swims through my gut and my nails dig into my palms leaving indents in the skin.

“You’ve both been places you shouldn’t have and we need to know why. There’s some delicate things going on, and we can’t have people getting in the way of what needs to be done,” he says.

I examine them for a moment, trying to see how deep they’re in this mess. Staff has his stoic face on, but Brooks looks off into the distance, the tick of his jaw prominent.

“Places we shouldn’t have been,” I hum, releasing my fists and bringing my hands to the table, tapping my fingertips lightly on the wood surface. “Seems like someone is getting a little territorial about their town or is it that you’re just good at following orders like lost little puppies?”

Colter does not care for my question. In fact if I was someone else, I’m pretty sure he’d have taken a swing. I adjust my seat, trying to look like I can’t read his tells, but it’s hard .

“Did I miss much?” Haunt asks, slamming the tray with our sandwiches down and taking his seat. I can feel the waves of aggression rolling off of him.

I squeeze his forearm and smile up at his beautiful face. “Colter was just explaining that we were not welcome at a few places in the area. Guess we didn’t get the memo from the welcoming committee.”

“Is that so? Well I have to say, so far I’m having a fantastic time. There’s so much to see and do in this town. And the people here are extra special, especially that guy we met the other day. What was his name?” Haunt says, turning to face me before unwrapping my sandwich and handing it to me.

“Michael. He was a real piece of work, but I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be a problem anymore,” I reply, giving him a quick kiss before taking a bite of my turkey and cheese.

“And how would you know that?” Brooks asks, his eyes pinging back and forth between the two of us.

“Gino doesn’t keep track of his toys as well as he should,” Haunt says, taking a sip of his water before handing me the bottle. I gulp some done watching their reactions.

“Let’s cut the shit. You know who we work for and we have a pretty good idea that you’re working for the other side. What we want to know is how deep your love goes for a sex trafficker and what your plans are,” Staff says.

His demeanor changes in an instant when I straighten in my seat and lean over the table. “You should watch your words,” I growl. “As much as you think you know everything about how the game is played, you really know nothing. All of this is bigger than a small town pissing contest.”

“Enlighten us then. Because from where I’m sitting it looks like the two of you are in this as deep as we are, but your assumptions about us are wrong. Whatever you’re thinking I promise it’s not it,” Colt says.

I mull over his words for a moment, swallowing another bite before I take a stab at what the real issue here is. If it’s one thing I know, it’s how these boys think, and I know it’s not the money or the power they’re after.

“You want something from Mario, probably something only he can give you. That’s why you’re working with him. Am I getting warm?”

Brooks scoffs, but he isn’t fooling anyone.

While I have no idea what they would need Mario for, there’s no doubt they wouldn’t turn to him unless they were desperate.

Their parents have more money than most people in this country so it’s not that.

And power has never been interesting to them.

If anything, all four of us tried to blend into the background as much as possible, leaving the limelight to our parents.

“Know what I think, gioia mia ? I think the boys have gotten into some shit searching for something that they can’t find, and now they need an out. You and I are looking like a ticket out of this mess,” Haunt says, rolling up his sandwich wrapper before pushing the tray away.

“What do you know about her?” Colt slams his fist on the table, making my water bottle almost tip over. A few curious glances swing our way.

My lips press in a firm line. “Her? You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Belle Vanderbilt. You know something, I can feel it. Too many things have been happening around you two. There’s a reason why you're here, why certain incidents are popping up all over.”

A rush of anger sweeps through me. I’m vibrating with fury, and it takes everything in me to not stab his hand with the blade in my pocket.

Haunt places his hand on the back of my neck and begins to rub soothing circles. It doesn’t relax my tense muscles like it normally would. I also don’t miss the look Brooks gives Haunt.

Staff sighs, adjusting his shirt. “She’s the reason. It’s been five years and once we figured out Mario was a part of what happened to her, there was no choice. We have to find her, and we’d do so by any means necessary. She’s the part of our souls that’s been missing.”

I can’t listen to this anymore. My flight instinct is riding me hard. But Haunt keeps me in my chair with slight pressure on my neck.

“Never heard of her. Why would Mario know where she is?” Haunt asks.

“Something bad happened, something we couldn’t prevent, and now she’s gone.

Mario was in the city when it went down.

He’s been dangling her whereabouts in front of us for close to two years.

Why do you think we chose to go to this small college instead of somewhere more prestigious?

It’s not like we were hurting for options,” Colter says.

Haunt chuckles, but I can’t bring myself to find the humor in Colter’s snobbishness. This has to be a bad dream, searching for me when they’re the ones who left. Abandoned me.

“Mario won’t be a problem for long. My suggestion, stay out of the way and maybe you get to graduate from this ‘small’ college. We can’t help you,” I say, standing.

Haunt gets up and grabs our garbage. “I’d listen to Reb. You boys wouldn’t like what happens when people get in our way. We aren’t just some college students. If you think your two years have been hard, it’s nothing compared to what we’ve had to endure.”

Colter grabs my wrist before I can walk away, and I’m momentarily distracted by the touch. It sends electricity coursing through me. Then my brain comes back online, and my blade is poised over his crotch.

“Remove your hand before I slice your dick off, and you bleed out before you can even get out of the chair,” I sneer.

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, my food threatens to come back up. I thought I’d want to end them, but being this close and smelling his cologne of bourbon and smoke, slams into me like a sucker punch. I want to scream.

Instead of letting go he pulls me closer, our noses almost touching.

His amber eyes glow in the light looking like the inside of a flame.

“Help us, and we’ll give you whatever you want.

If it’s Mario, I’ll set the bastard up, but we need that information.

We have to find her, and we can’t let him die before we get it. ”

“If she was so important, you wouldn’t have lost her in the first place. She’s better off without you.”

I nick his wrist, and he lets go. I straighten up and walk out. Haunt at my back. Once I’m in the sunshine, he grabs me around the waist and pulls me in between two buildings, shielding us from the rest of the crowd.

“Breathe. You can’t flip out here. It’s not safe,” Haunt says, holding my face between his large hands.

The first tear slips free, and I growl in frustration. “I don’t believe them. They aren’t looking for me. It’s not…they’re not,” I say.

“You need a distraction. Let’s go to the slaughterhouse and see if there’s something we can help with, yeah? Or maybe a rookie you can take out some of this aggression on.”

“Don’t you have practice?”

I’m clutching his hands so hard, I’m pretty sure he’s going to have imprints of my fingertips.

“Not today. I can’t be in the same space as them right now. You’re more important than football or this school. Let’s go take care of this before you explode. ”

I close my eyes for a moment. He gives me a quick kiss before taking a step back, releasing my face.

“Okay. I need to hit something,” I say, shaking my shoulders out.

He grabs my hand and we walk out toward the parking lot. I can see the car in the distance, but before we make it too far a loud voice catches my attention.

“She’s a disgusting slut.”

I stop in my tracks and spin toward the voice. A smile spreads across my face. Perfect.

Before Haunt can stop me, I’m letting him go and march right in front of her. There’s not going to be a third warning.

“Say it louder for those of us who didn’t hear you clearly,” I say, venom dripping from my voice.

She snarls and gets closer to me. “I said you’re a disgusting slut. Spreading your legs for everyone. That’s the only reason why a guy like Brooks would go for a girl like you.”

She swings at my face, and I let her. I need the witnesses to see that she made the first move.

But when she catches my cheek and I feel the sting of a cut from her nails, I don’t think, I just react.

My fist flies, and makes contact before she can spit anymore words out. A crack echoes through the courtyard.

She only stumbles, because I didn’t put my full weight behind it. Her face turns tomato red and she lunges for me, but I shift to the side and use the momentum to pull her away from me .

She trips in her ridiculous heels and goes flying to the ground. Screeching, she scrambles upright, but before she can come at me again Brooks’ large body is between us.

“Back the fuck off, Mary.”

I give his shoulder a shove. “Let her through. She needs to be taught to keep her fucking mouth shut. I’m not going to keep doing this with her.”

He shakes his head and spins toward me. “Walk away, Reb.”

We’ve gathered a larger crowd than I thought as I look around. Haunt is standing to my right with his arms folded over his chest. He raises his eyebrow before tapping his arm. Our signal that we need to get out.

I reach around Brooks and point my finger. “If you keep this shit up, I will send you back to Daddy in a fucking body bag. I don’t care if you think you’re some kind of queen bitch, there are a lot of scary ways to die, Mary. Trust I’ll make it happen.”

With one last look at Brooks, I shove his shoulder, making my way toward the car. There better be someone for me to punch when we get to the slaughterhouse.