Page 17

KEENE

T he girl I’d just hooked up with in the dark said nothing.

For a beat, she didn’t even move. Then, with a gasp, she darted away from me, moving so fucking fast she reached the edge of the gazebo where the steps began before I realized she was even getting away.

“Hey!” I shouted, diving after her.

I caught her on the first step and yanked her back against me. She screamed and tried to break loose.

“Let me go.”

Yeah, I don’t think so.

“Who the fuck are you?” I growled, completely outraged.

I mean, how dare she? I thought I’d been with Makayla this whole time—Makayla whose last name I suddenly realized I didn’t even know.

I’d been starting to feel things for her, though. Things I didn’t just go feeling for girls I fooled around with.

And she wasn’t even Makayla ?

I mean, what kind of bullshit was that?

I felt betrayed and tricked and—and stupid.

Because how the hell had I not fucking realized she wasn’t Makayla?

“Let me go !” she cried, fighting and wriggling against me. I lost my hold once, but as soon as she broke free, I captured her again, just as determined to discover her identity as she was to conceal it.

When she elbowed me in the gut, I grunted. “Careful, dammit. Are you trying to kill me?”

“No. I’m trying to get loose. Now let me go.”

“Sure. Just as soon as you tell me who you are.”

She growled, literally growled, like a wild, trapped animal. It made my dick twitch because—fuck, I don’t know why. And that pissed me off more than anything. The lying, treacherous she-devil should not be able to turn me on so easily.

I definitely wasn’t fucking letting go until I had the truth.

“What the hell is going on?” I heard Makayla—the real Makayla—demanding in confusion as she made her way up the opposite steps into the gazebo.

“Makayla,” I panted, still struggling with my captive, who felt like nothing but sharp, pointy elbows, knees, and hipbones against me. “Turn on a damn light, would you?”

“No!” the fake Makayla cried in despair. “Please. Let me go.”

“Keene, are you attacking some poor girl?” Makayla muttered before a phone light pierced the night.

“No. I’m just trying to figure out who she?—”

I spun the imposter around to see her, and in the process, she was able to free one of her arms, which she used to shove her hand in my face, nearly ramming my nose into my brain with her palm as she obstructed my view.

Cursing in pain, I caught sight of a small, simple tattoo of a feather on the side of her wrist as I blinked away stars and tears and batted her hands back down.

“Will you stop ?” I muttered, trying to capture her wrists.

She evaded me, though, and attacked. With her knee. Right into my crotch.

“Fuck!” White light exploded behind my eyes as pain flooded my system, streaking from between my legs and out every pore of my body.

I dropped like a stone to my knees and clutched my nuts.

The sound of retreating steps clattering down the wooden stairs told me my mystery girl was successfully escaping while I curled in around myself and tried not to vomit.

“Keene? What—?” the real Makayla asked, touching my shoulder in concern.

“She nutted me,” I rasped, expelling a breath and blinking as the sparse amount of light from her phone lit up the area around us. “Oh fuck, she caught me right in the family jewels.”

Makayla frowned as if I were insane. “Who was she?”

“I don’t—” I started to mutter, only to send her an incredulous blink. “You didn’t see her face?”

“No. Why?”

“Dammit.” I struggled my way to my feet on wobbly knees. This meant war. She couldn’t just hijack my hookup, rock my world, and then kick me in the balls to keep her identity from me.

I was finding out who this girl was.

I straightened to my full height, or at least tried to, and my first few steps were a stumbling mess that caused me to curse and groan; doubling over, I cupped my bruised boys tenderly but kept going anyway, determined to catch the fraud.

“Keene?”

“Gotta go,” I panted, waving over my shoulder at the real Makayla and leaving her there in the dark. “Talk later.”

I had no idea which way Mystery Girl had gone.

If she’d rushed back into the party, I’d lose her for sure; she’d just blend back in with everyone else since I had no idea what I was actually looking for.

But she liked the shadows, and I had a feeling she’d go off by herself and try to meld in with the night instead. So I took the path that looked darkest.

It led into a gravel alleyway, where I bumped into an empty trash bin. Pain streaked up my hip, but I kept going. After looking both ways, I swore I saw a figure with long hair dart onto a sidewalk at Beecher Street.

Evil grin sprouting, I said, “Gotcha,” and I rushed after her in hot pursuit.

She’d gone left once she’d reached the street; I veered that way as soon as I hit the sidewalk, and when I saw multiple people ahead, I shouted, “Hey!”

Two figures lifted their heads in my direction. I ran toward them, wiping sweat from my eyes. As soon as I reached a streetlamp that sprayed light over me, one of the two called out, “Keene?” in surprise.

The pair—a man and a woman—looked at each other in confusion before turning back to me.

As soon as I got close enough to realize it was Parker and Hope, I groaned my relief and clutched my buddy’s arm, bending at the waist and breathing through my mouth to keep from puking because my balls still fucking ached.

“Oh, thank God. It’s you,” I wheezed, only to wince and cradle my boys with my hand. “Jesus. Fuck.” She’d really gotten me good.

Blinking past it, I straightened enough to seek Parker for help. “Did you just—did y’all see someone come through here? Just now. A girl, like…maybe this tall.”

Hope and Parker glanced at each other as if they didn’t even understand which language I was speaking.

“Uh…” Parker stalled, turning back to me with the strangest expression of what-the-fuck I’d ever seen.

But Hope jabbed out a sudden arm, pointing. “She went that way.”

“Seriously?” Oh thank God. They’d actually seen my mystery girl.

I think I praised them for the help—not too sure; I couldn’t seem to concentrate past my one goal of discovering who had hoodwinked me.

But as soon as I started to race that way, I paused, realizing, “Hey. So you actually saw her face? You know what she looks like? Do you know who she is?”

Parker shook his head, his brows furrowing in question. “Why were you chasing her if you don’t know who she is?”

Dammit. I didn’t have time to answer anything right now. Gritting my teeth through a new wave of pain that passed through my nads, I bent again, hating how this was only slowing me down more.

“And what the hell is wrong with you?” Parker added, stepping close as if he might haul me over his shoulder and tote me to a hospital. “You were limping and now you’re doubling over.”

“I—” Usually, I loved to spill everything. I was a very open, honest guy who didn’t know what a secret was. But she was getting away. Blowing out a boosting breath, I forced my spine straight and lied, “I bumped my knee. Did you know her or not?”

He’d waylay me longer if he knew the truth. Getting racked after you were trying to restrain a girl who wanted to escape you would require more explanation than I had time for.

“Never saw her before in my life,” Hope told me.

Parker patted my shoulder sympathetically. “Sorry, man.”

Dammit!

I wanted to howl, but Parker and Hope were watching me too strangely already, so I waved a hand. “No, it’s okay. I got this. I’ll figure out who she is.”

“Why are you looking for her, anyway?” Parker wondered.

“Tell you later,” I promised before jogging off after Mystery Girl.

But when I reached the end of the block, she was long gone.