Page 9 of Wayward (Wrecked #4)

Standing By

Easton

“ S hit,” I say under my breath.

“He’s going to be okay. He has to be.” Haley wraps herself around me.

My stomach tenses. The world around me darkens.

I shake my head, clearing away the doom.

I have to believe that my dad hadn’t gotten involved with guys like Z.

That’s not the man I thought he was ― is.

No fucking way I’m letting this take me down.

There’s enough other shit to worry about. What the hell is one more thing?

“I’m good,” I say before she can ask.

“No, you’re not, and it’s okay. None of us are. And you’ve got it doubly so. The thoughts of your father.” She’s right, but what my dad did or didn’t know . . . I can’t let it matter. Though with Calvin’s odd little plan, or at least I think his plan . . .

I glance up and Sam’s the first person I see. With his arms crossed over his chest, he looks just like himself. There's a crease in his forehead.

“Nope, I’m fucking not fine either. None of us are. Haley’s right.” Sam cocks his head at me, and for a second I wonder if this is part of Calvin’s big ruse. But he stares at me and it’s not. I sink to the side of the bed.

“I just want Zane back here.” Haley sits next to me, her thigh against mine. She lays her head on my shoulder and stretches her arms around my body.

And then the waiting begins. And continues. My head’s spinning with the idea of how we get off the Rosewood alive. How to make them believe we’ll do anything. That we’re not going to fight. Which we haven’t been doing, anyway. We’ve been good little hostages.

Haley’s stomach rumbles loudly.

“You hungry, Sassy?” Dante crosses the room and sits on the floor in front of her.

It’s close enough to dinner that I wonder if they’re going to give us anything.

Another hour passes. Even Penny’s not moving.

Pepper hasn’t come out from under the bed since we got back.

Calvin has checked on her a couple of times.

Shadows move across the floor after another hour.

A fast knock vibrates the door. It opens, and a guard drops a paper bag on the floor, then slams the door shut.

Dante opens it. “It’s sandwiches, if you could call them that.” He pulls out two slices of sandwich bread with some cheese in it. He flaps them from side to side.

“Guess the chef heard about the canned sauce comment.” Sam reaches into the bag and takes one out. “Haley?” He holds it out to her.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You should eat, Haley.” Sam holds the sandwich in front of her.

“Okay.” She takes it and perches it on her lap, while Sam passes the rest out. “Is there one in there for Zane?”

“Yes.” Dante hands one to me and sits on the other side of Haley. “This is delicious,” Dante says to the mike in the wall. “So good.” He eats it in three bites and dusts his hands off.

“Eat.” Calvin looms over both Haley and me, and I’m not sure who he’s talking to, but it doesn’t matter.

We both follow orders. And shit, this might be the last straw for me because normally when Calvin tells me to do something, I want to do the exact opposite.

It’s bland, and the bread is stale, and for a half second, I wonder if Z would poison us.

We wait as the sun goes down. No one starts foaming at the mouth. Someone turns on the bedside light.

Haley stands and stretches. “I could shower.” My dick jumps.

Even now, I want her. The idea of some thug watching her shower on a grainy surveillance screen has me wanting to punch the wall.

She settles back down on the bed between me and Dante.

“But I’ll wait until Zane’s back. He’ll be back soon. ”

“Sassy.” Dante pulls her feet onto his lap.

“That feels nice.” She moans, and her head slides down my chest.

I’m holding Haley tightly to me when the door opens and Zane staggers in.

“Holy shit, Zane. What happened?” Sam grabs him by the shoulder and tilts his head up to face him.

“I’m good, mate. I’m good,” Zane says, his voice low and strained.

“I’m just really, really tired. Z is trying to get me to duplicate the whole code in hours when it took me, what, six months before?

” His eyes dart around the room, avoiding ours.

“And cherry-picking the data to make it take as long as possible . . .” Zane lets out a bitter laugh. “It’s draining on the soul.”

There are so many things I want to ask him.

So many things he hasn’t said. Like why he didn’t tell me about my dad knowing about the money laundering.

Was he involved in it? Why didn’t he report it?

And why didn’t Zane speak up at all? Did he really think I’m that weak? That I would just fall apart?

Haley moves to Zane’s side, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“Hey there, Little Bird.” Zane pulls her into a big hug. “I’m okay. I’m okay.” His words are meant for himself as much as for her, but it seems to comfort both of them.

Her blue eyes lift to meet his. “Do you think he’s really going to let us go?”

Zane shakes his head, a pained expression crossing his face. “I don’t know, Little Bird. I don’t know.” He exhales slowly, straightening his posture as though gathering strength. “But maybe . . . maybe. I’m confident about one thing.”

“What’s that?” Haley asks softly.

“He won’t be able to crack the code with a computer, even with what I’m giving him.

That much is true,” Zane says, his voice rising slightly as he glances toward the ever-present cameras and microphones, the surveillance equipment that has infested every corner of our lives.

“I’m giving him the absolute truth ― data that’s accurate ― but not in any order that would make me disposable.

That would make any of us disposable. The second he lays a hand on any of you, I’m done.

I won’t tell him another thing. I’ve given him enough to prove I can read the book and enough to keep him guessing.

But the couple of big things he really wants ― the things that would actually be useful?

He’s not getting them. Not until we’re safe.

Out of his hands, out of his grasp, and far, far away from his world. ”

Dante’s eyes go wide. And I can read what he’s thinking, that there are a lot of ways to get what you want out of a man. And men like Z, they live in a different world, by a different code. Zane’s gaze shifts to me, his expression hardening. Z’s world. My family’s world, too, now, I suppose.

“You could have told me, man,” I say, my voice sharper than I intended.

Zane shakes his head, a faint smirk tugging at his lips, though it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Why? What good would it have done? You would’ve been mourning ― grieving your dad and your sister, not knowing what really happened to them ― and angry at your dad at the same time.

What good would that have done? We’ve had enough spirals.

Enough sadness. It was enough that I kept it for us. ”

I tighten my abs, pushing the frustration down, but the questions still hang heavy in the air between us. I’m not that fragile.

“You fucking worship your dad, mate. I made a call. I did the best I thought I could for you. I would never intentionally hurt you. Any of you.” Zane’s half yelling.

“I know it, man. I didn’t mean . . . Thank you. Thank you. You and that bulging brain of yours saved our lives. Saved Haley’s life.” I pull him in for a quick hug.

Zane steps back, his normal smile on his weary face. “Bulging brain, huh? I am rather brilliant.”

“You fuckhead.” Dante lightly smacks at Zane’s back.

“We all need to relax a little. Tomorrow’s going to be another long day.” Zane grips the back of his neck.

“Here, let me do that,” Haley says, rubbing her fingers on the side of his neck.

“Are you hungry?” Dante holds up the bag with the sandwich.

“No, they brought me dinner.” He peeks into the bag. “This is what you got?”

“Yup.”

“What did you get?” Dante leans in.

“I had the same thing as Z. Steak, mash, cheesecake, but I didn’t eat it. The cheesecake, that is. My stomach has been a bit dodgy.”

“Cheesecake,” Haley says, a far off look in her eyes.

“I’m with you. Cheese barely has a place in savory, let alone dessert.” Dante sits down on the bed.

“Right, that’s what one of the . . .” He shakes his head. “Come here, Little Bird.” Zane takes Haley’s hand. “You, too, Rockwell.”

Haley takes me by the hand, and Zane leads us into the bathroom. It’s dark until he flicks the lights on. He puts his finger on Haley’s lips and shuts the door. Zane points to himself.

“You,” I say.

Haley and Zane’s eyes go wide. And Haley cocks her head at me. Ah, right, we’re playing charades. A hand cupped around his ear, he nods and continues on. I wait until he’s finished. He might be bloody brilliant, as he says, but he’s trash at charades.

I mouth, “There’s no camera in here?”

Zane nods and wiggles his eyebrows.

I flick on the water for the shower and then the sink too, while Haley’s jaw drops.

When I turn around, Haley’s top is off and Zane’s naked.

Her arms are linked around his neck and they’re kissing.

The skin on the nape of her neck is velvet under my fingertips.

A wave of goosebumps follows my fingers down her arm.

I nibble on her ear. It’s not loud, not loud enough to be heard over the water.

And damn, I’m not sure I would care if they can hear us.

I’m rock hard. Just having her here, in one piece.

I need to touch her, feel her. And fuck it, have her yell in my ear as she comes over my cock.

Hell, I’m not even picky at this point. It could be Zane’s cock.

I suck her earlobe into my mouth, loving her softness. She shivers in Zane’s arms. The need to make her vibrate and let all the tension from the past days vanish rushes through me. I explore her skin, tracing the curve of her hip.

Zane’s hands glide down her other side. He crouches, pulling her pants and underwear down with one jerk. She leans back into my arms, and I savor the taste of her skin and neck.

Her back presses against my chest. I pull her closer, my hands gently caressing her waist. Zane pushes his head between her legs.

My hands find their way around to the front of her chest. One rolls and pinches a nipple while the other settles underneath her sternum.

Her heart’s rhythm pounds against her skin.

My lips trail down her neck, then her chin.

She turns enough that our lips crash. Tasting her.

It’s like nothing I’ve ever known. Haley. I’ll never get enough of her.

Zane lifts one of her legs, and I’m holding her up. She’s moaning into my mouth now.