Page 60 of The Fractured

John nodded vigorously against my hand.

Just to mess with him, I flashed him a grin and thumped him on the shoulder. He flinched and released a scared whimper as he looked at his mangled finger.

“And remember,” Seb added, pointing at the teacher’s face, “Don’t run off to the cops after this because we’ll know. And we have your address.” He pulled up the guy's license as proof. “Snitches get stitches, buddy.”

I subtly glanced at Seb, raising a brow. When we left Mr. Wilson to drop to his knees in a terrified heap, I muttered under my breath as we approached Seb’s bike. “Snitches get stitches?”

“Shut up,” Seb mumbled with humor in his voice. He lifted his visor. “I panicked.”

I chuckled as I pulled my keys from my back pocket. The Cadillac was right by where Seb had stopped to block the teacher’s exit with his bike. Parking it closer to the stairwell was to aid in a getaway where he couldn’t memorize my plate since he had passed my car, thinking nothing of it. Meanwhile, Seb had tucked his plate up using a locking hinge under his seat. Not that hiding either plate was necessary. John Wilson had barely given us a second glance before he sprinted to his car and drove off in the other direction.

Chapter 22

Dean

It was almost midnight by the time Seb and I got to the apartment. Surprisingly, we were both in good spirits despite the cuts and bruises that littered our faces and bodies from the fights earlier. Somehow, getting revenge for a six-year-old girl outweighed the dull ache in my hip or the bite on my tongue.

With some luck, we managed to get through the foyer doors without having to call Lily or Kira to let us in — someone had left a rock to prop the front door open again.

I kicked the rock aside to let the door close and lock once Seb and I were inside.

What was the point of having a security system if you didn’t use it?

The thought didn’t linger as we went upstairs, unable to hide the grins on our faces after what we did. So what if we were assholes for finding joy in tormenting a teacher? The prick deserved it.

But we also knew that the girls might not find that as amusing as we did.

Knocking lightly on the apartment door, I tried to mask my smile. And failed miserably.

Lily answered the door, and her expression immediately changed from content to sceptical when Seb turned away to muffle his laugh.

“What did you two do?”

Seb shrugged, still not looking at her, while I stepped forward to greet her with a kiss.

“PTA meeting,” I said onto her lips.

She folded her arms and watched me closely. The smallest of smiles was tucked away in the corner of her mouth.

“Had to voice some issues on a teaching method,” Seb said as he squeezed by us, heading into the living room.

I nodded in agreement with him, but kept my eyes on her, smiling softly as I brushed a strand of her hair aside. “I’ll tell you later.”

She lifted a brow and then conceded before nodding to my mouth. “You have a bit of blood on your lip.”

“Yup.” Instinctively, I wiped my thumb across my bottom lip. “I bit my tongue. But you should’ve seen the other guy.”

Her eyes traveled to my body. She was dressing me down, albeit adorably, as she lifted an eyebrow and dropped a hip. Her arms remained crossed, and her hair was fixed into two buns, which brought my attention to the way her slender neck was on display.

“And the rest of you?” she asked.

I stepped closer, tucking my hands into the pockets of my shorts as I tilted my head to the side and lowered my voice so only she would hear. “Wanna strip search me?”

She lifted the hem of my shirt, her fingers lightly brushing the skin beneath as I continued to look at the details of her face; her freckles, the rosiness of her cheeks, her pretty cupid's bow… When her blue doe eyes found the bruising on my left hip, thelittle smile she had quickly dropped, and her brow pinched with concern.

“Dean.” She ran a whisper-light touch along the bluish-yellow mark peeking out from under my shorts.

I cupped her face, bringing her eyes to mine. “Not as bad as it looks.”