She shot me a look before a grin that was mostly grimace lifted her cheeks. “Word got out.” Her voice was soft and I sensed some sympathy in there. “About you and the guys being in the crash together. Uh, there are a lot of rumors.”

Shaking my head, I stared out at the scenery flying by. “Let me guess, I’m now the company whore, and each of the guys fucked me before passing me to the next one?”

I turned to find her staring at me, her expression stunned. “How did you know? Did Dante tell you?”

Sitting straighter, I narrowed my eyes on her. “Dante knows? I texted him this morning, and he never said anything.”

Eddy shrugged. “He was ultra pissed when he found out. He’s really protective of you, girl.”

Needing a subject change, I shot her a slow smile. “Care to tell me what’s going on with you two? I mean, I’m not blind. I see all the touches and lingering looks. And you came to my house together…”

Eddy’s hands flexed on the wheel like she was uncomfortable, and I wondered where my confident friend had gone. Dante had her all tied up in knots.

“We’ve messed around a bit,” she said in a rush. “And he is … amazing. Sexiest fucking guy I’ve ever had my hands on…”

“But…” I said, pushing her.

“But…” She sighed. “He reminds me of my brother.”

I coughed and she burst out laughing. “No … no, not like that. I mean, he has that same dangerous and dark vibe. I’m not sure I want to fall for someone whose world is dark. I’ve been trying my entire life to get away from it. I’ve seen what it has cost Jasper. What it will continue to cost him for the rest of his life.”

We were in the school parking lot now, and when she pulled into a spot near the front, she turned the car off and faced me fully. “Do you know what Dante actually does for the gang?”

I shook my head. “He never really talks about that part of his life. He says he doesn’t want me involved, and the less I know, the safer for me.”

Eddy didn’t looked surprised by this. “Yeah, he brushed me off when I tried to ask, but Riles, I’ll be honest, I think Dante is a pretty important part of it. I know authority. I know a leader when I see one, and he has head honcho written all over him.”

This gave me a moment’s pause as I considered what she was saying. Dante was so young, only a few years older than me, that I never expected he could be anything more than one of the outer members of whichever gang he was part of. He’d never told me their name either, but I knew there were only two major players in our area. The Grims and the Slayers. I’d seen his tatts, and he was definitely a Grim—the reaper kind of gave it away.

Eddy opened her door, and the sounds of nearby chattering students filled the car. “So yeah, I’m not sure I can risk my heart on someone like Dante, but if we can keep the casual cool thing going, then I’m not going to complain.”

I nodded, opening my own door and hopping out. Before I could get more than a step away, some bitch I’d never seen before knocked into the frame of my door, pushing me back into the car. My ribs screamed in protest, and as I straightened, I leveled her with the darkest fucking glare I could manage.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going,” I snarled, adjusting my bag.

She flashed me a falsely sweet smile, her face heavy with makeup, her blond hair so peroxide it was as white as her shirt. “I figured you’d spent most of the weekend on your back. I was just helping you get back there.”

And so it began.

Returning her smile with a false one of my own, I tilted my head. “Well, actually, I spent most of the time on my hands and knees, because it’s hard to fuck four dudes when you’re on your back.”

Her smile faltered for a beat, because she’d clearly been hoping I would run crying from the school. Riley Jameson was made of tougher shit than that.

Eddy joined me then, her eyes narrowed on the bitch. “Fuck off, Kate. No one gives two shits what you say.”

A deep voice joined us then, and I realized we were drawing a bit of a crowd. “Last time I saw you, Kate,” Evan said, slipping in next to me and putting an arm over my shoulders to draw me closer. “You had Jimmy’s dick in your mouth. He said you suck like a fucking fish, gulping all over his dick, but the rest of us were grateful that it at least shut you the fuck up.”

She opened and closed her mouth, like she was demonstrating Evan’s words for him. Some girls nearby were laughing, and when Kate looked around and saw no allies in the vicinity, she took off across the parking lot and into the school.

Tilting my head up to him, I was surprised by how happy I was to see Evan. His smirk was almost comforting as he winked. “Always getting into trouble, Spare. Looks like we’re not going to be able to leave you alone.”

Over his shoulder I could see Beck and Dylan talking, and the conversation was tense. I couldn’t help but let my gaze linger on Beck’s broad shoulders and trim hips. I recalled every naked detail of his perfection. Those tatts which I’d traced with my hands … and mouth.

His eyes snapped to me, and I gulped at being caught checking him out. The air practically sizzled between us, despite the distance. I’d just made up my mind to walk toward him, when he turned away and started talking to someone I couldn’t quite see.

Or rather, I couldn’t see her until Evan, his arm still around my shoulders like he was staking his claim on me, started to maneuver me toward the school.

Her shiny chestnut hair was the first thing I saw, draped across Beck’s arm as she hung from his side. My teeth slammed together as rage clouded my mind for a beat. Fuck. Brittley. That fucking skank was hanging off Beck like he was the last dude in school.

He didn’t push her away either, if anything, this was the most animated I’d ever seen him as he stared down, talking to her. Dylan stood by, watching his friend with an odd expression on his face.

With a low growl, I forced myself to stop staring at that spectacle, and instead focused on Eddy.

“We have calc or history today?” I asked her, desperate to think about anything other than the raging jealousy coursing through me. Those were the two classes we shared, and having Eddy with me, made them almost bearable.

Beck was not mine. We’d fucked, end of story, and he’d shown me exactly how he felt about that this morning.

Fucked and forgotten.

Eddy pulled up her schedule, and I remembered that mine was on my old phone. I hadn’t memorized it yet, and apparently neither had Eddy.

I was just wondering if I was going to have to head back to that snobby bitch in the office for a new schedule, when a reminder popped up on my phone to tell me I had English in ten minutes. Must have synced across somehow.

“Calculus and history are both after lunch today,” Eddy said, scanning her phone. “Damn. Guess I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Ugh, okay, girl. See you then.”

I set off to homeroom alone. Or at least I thought I was alone until Evan slipped in after me. He stopped at the table next to where I’d just dropped my bag, and stared at the guy sitting there. He wasted no time scrambling out of his chair and leaving the seat free for Evan.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, my eyes darting around the room as I realized how much attention we were drawing.

He grinned before stretching back in his chair. He didn’t have a book, or computer, or fucking pencil in sight. “I’m on Riley duty today.”

I must have looked like a stunned idiot as I blinked at him, but I couldn’t quite figure out what he meant. “Riley duty? Why?”

Reaching out, he ruffled my hair, that smirk he did so well firmly in place. “Because you belong to us now.”

The teacher walked in before I could refute that claim.

Facing the front of the room, there was this odd feeling in my chest. It was warmth, and for the first time since my parents died, a little piece of me felt … okay. When Evan said us I knew he wasn’t referring to Delta in that situation. He meant them. I was one of them now, and … I fucked Beck.

Damn. I had no idea how that was going to go, but hopefully we would both just pretend it didn’t happen.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out before checking on the teacher. She wasn’t paying us any attention, so I quickly read the text.

Dante: I’m out front. I need to head back to Jersey for a few days, but I wanted to say goodbye first. It’s been too long since I got a Riley hug.

The bell rang then, and even though I knew I’d be late for my first class, I rushed out the door and headed toward the parking lot. Despite the light hearted nature of that text, I was worried. When Dante took off abruptly, it usually meant something was going down with his gang. Since Eddy’s words about him being a leader, I was now even more stressed about what his absence meant. The dangers he would face.

Evan caught me just before I made it down the stairs, sliding in front of me and blocking my path. “You need to get back in school, it’s not safe out here for you.” For the first time he was serious, the smile gone, and his eyes much darker than usual.