“There are no outgoing calls from Vaughn’s phone,” Oscar says, checking his iPad. He must’ve installed spyware on Scott’s phone while I was severing his fingertips. What a dreadful team we make. “So, likely not.”

“Kali?” I wonder, because I’ll admit, it seems a bit overdue for her to come at me with some level of retaliation for what I did to her face. The fire-bombing was a nice touch, but not personal enough for her liking. While some people play in tropes and clichés, she likes to steal personal experiences and twist them into dark, ugly things. Like … how she ruined my homecoming for example. Or how she asked the boys to convince horse-faced Kaydence Mane to kick my ass for no reason at all.

It’s been a month, and we still don’t know why she was with Neil on Halloween.

His motivations I understood perfectly: I’m watching you, Bernadette, and I’m coming for you.

But Kali’s? And what’s up with her dating Mitch, but hanging out with some guy at Oak Park Prep? Shit, she has as many possible fathers for this future baby as I might’ve had for mine, had I been pregnant, too.

Speaking of …

Hael comes out the front doors of Prescott High, his mouth turned down in a sharp frown. He’s still pretty, with that red hair of his, those honeyed eyes, his ass encased in tight denim. He’s got a goddamn bubble butt, too, and he knows it, the way he swaggers around town.

“Aw, come the fuck on,” he groans, gesturing at Neil’s car with a tattooed hand. “I’ve got to deal with Brittany tomorrow, and now this? When do we get a trip to Hawaii, huh Vic? We work hard here in South Prescott.” Victor steps out beside his best friend, his emotions locked away behind a stoic face, as always.

“There’s no rest for the wicked, Hael,” I tell him, quoting Oscar. The dickhead in question glances my way, but I return his stoic look with one of my own.

Aaron is the last to appear, pausing with his arm brushed up against mine. It’s meant to seem like coincidence, but I can feel the sharp intention in the move. So can Vic. He looks at his friend for a long moment before turning back to the idling cop car.

“What the fuck is that about?” Vic asks, cigarette hanging limply from his lips. “Is he stupid or something?”

A shiver crawls down my spine as I shake my head.

“No. He’s watching us,” I explain as the car starts to roll slowly down the road, turning the corner and disappearing from sight. “He’s waiting.”

“Let him,” Hael says, cracking his knuckles and glancing over at Vic. “Because we have something planned for him.” He flashes teeth at me. “And soon, something soon.”

“I sure as shit hope so,” I murmur. “Because if he’s here, then he’s looking to start something soon, too.”

And I don’t like that. I don’t like it at all.

Hael is under the hood of the Eldorado when I walk into his garage on Tuesday, pausing near the open door to lean my shoulder up against the jamb. He doesn’t notice me at first, music trickling from his phone, the sound of metal on metal ringing pleasantly around the small space as he tinkers around with the Caddy.

Fortunately, his mom isn’t home or else I wouldn’t have stopped by without asking. She seems to be a pretty sore subject for him, and I don’t want to stir the pot—especially since today is the day we get the results of Brittany’s DNA test. My teeth clench as I think of her weepy face and all the bullshit that spews from her lips. Maybe dousing her in her own pumpkin spiced latte wasn’t the best idea, but I don’t give a crap.

Hael is mine now. Period. Baby or no baby.

I’ve made up my mind for good.

I lick my lips and shift nervously as Hael slides out from under the hood, shirtless and covered in grease. My heart stutters when I see him sit up, raking dirty fingers through his red hair. When he spots me, he smiles in the most infuriating way possible. Cocksure asshole, I think as he stands up, the muscles in his abs and chest rippling with the movement.

The baby can’t be his; it just can’t be.

“Hey, Blackbird,” he says, his voice this melodic purr that’s so at odds with his filthy appearance. I pretend like I don’t give a fuck that he’s shirtless and covered in grease, that I don’t want those dirty hands leaving dark handprints on my jeans. It’s a lie. “Didn’t expect to see you here today. What’s up?”

“Well,” I reply, studying the metal shit heap that’s supposed to be my future car. “We figured you might want company when you get the news.” I shrug my shoulders, like it’s no big thing. In reality, my stomach is in knots.

“Ah,” he murmurs, grabbing a rag and coming over to stand beside me. The smell of coconut oil is unmistakable, and my nostrils flare as I take it in. Mix that with a bit of motor oil and some fresh sweat, and I’m sold. A single drop slides down his stomach, falling into the valley between his abs. Jesus. This boy was born to make me wet. That, or maybe I’m just a thirsty bitch. Who knows? “Right. That. I was about to head inside and get dressed.” Hael glances over my shoulder toward the street, where Aaron is waiting with the Bronco, Vic with the Harley.

I flick my eyes up to Hael’s face, realizing that I haven’t heard a single word he’s just said.

“Miss Blackbird,” he murmurs, stepping close and putting his palm on the wall beside my head. “Were you just checking me out?” He’s smiling, but there’s something more to his expression, something darker and far less pleasant.

It’s because of the Brittany thing; of course it is.

Not a soul on this earth could smile knowing what’s at stake, not sincerely.

“I might’ve been,” I say, putting my fingers on his bare lower belly and savoring the hot sweaty slickness of his muscles. “But that’s only because I’m so damn confident that it isn’t going to be your kid.”

Hael shoots me a grin, but the expression doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“That confident, huh? You want to make another bet? If the baby’s mine, you owe me another blow job at a time and place of my choosing. If it isn’t, I’ll owe you some, uh …” He makes a ‘V’ shape with his fingers and flicks his tongue between them to indicate cunnilingus and then laughs.

“Sounds a bit like a win-win for you,” I quip, even though my stomach hurts, and I’m afraid. I’m so afraid. I don’t want Hael to be connected to Brittany through a child. If he is, then I can never truly just have him to myself. He’ll be a dad; he’ll have responsibilities.

And that’s the allure of Hael Harbin, isn’t it? How free and wild and wicked he is?

“The oral sex part is,” he agrees, but the playfulness is already draining out of him as he checks the time on his phone and sighs. “Not so much the rest of it. Wait here for me?” I nod as Hael slips into the house to change. When he comes back, he’s still wearing the dirty grease-stained jeans, but he’s got on a fresh red tee.

And damn if he doesn’t melt the panties right off me.

“Let’s go, Blackbird,” he says, breezing past and tossing his keys in the air as he walks. “You can ride with me.”

Hael leads our caravan of vehicles to a coffee shop—not the one where we got in a fight with the Fuller football team—and parks crookedly across two spaces. After he turns the engine off, he just sits there with his hands on the wheel, staring down at it like he’s trying to get up the courage to go inside.

Brittany is already in there, waiting at a table near the window. As soon as she turns and sees me in the Camaro with Hael, her face flushes with angry heat and she slams her coffee mug down, splashing liquid everywhere.

“Hey,” I whisper, reaching out to lay my fingers atop Hael’s. He lifts his face finally to look my direction, all of his false bravado and cocky bullshit stripped bare. To be fair, I like all of that cocky bullshit, but this … this is intense. I want to see more of Hael without his mask and his flair and his sex appeal hiding what he’s truly feeling. “We can do this. No matter what happens, we’ll figure it out.”

“Looking at her now, can you tell?” he asks me, and I glance back to find Brittany staring at me like she’s got murder on the mind. “Like, does she look upset or …?”

“She looks furious, to be quite honest,” I reply, and he grins.

“Good.”

Finally, he takes his hands off the wheel and we get out together, meeting the other boys just inside the front doors of the coffee shop.

“Why are they all here?” Brittany demands, looking past Hael to glare at the other boys—but mostly me. “This is a private matter between us, Hael.”

“Eh,” he says, giving a loose shrug of his shoulders. “You sort of called Havoc in order to get me to play along, so it’s really more of an all of us issue.” He pauses for a moment and then cocks his head to one side. “So, you gonna tell me or not? I’m guessing since you haven’t thrown yourself at me with tears of joy running down your face, that it’s not my kid?”

Brittany pauses for a moment, swallowing hard, eyes flicking to Oscar as he fires up his iPad like one might discharge a weapon.

“If you lie to me, I will know,” he says, without even looking up from the screen. I have no doubt that the boys will find a way to verify the results of the test from a means other than Brittany herself.

“Hael, please …” she whines, and his attention snaps over to her in a way I’ve rarely seen before. The predator in him is coming out, and he is pissed.

“You made a deal, Brittany. We’ve done everything you asked on our end. I’ve taken you to the movies, to the mall, out to dinner. Our boys beat Rich up; I got beat up by your shitty dad. Tell me the fucking results now.”

She stares at him, eyes watering in a way that makes me realize that she really and truly loved him. Still does. The baby isn’t even important to her. That’s not what this was about, not ever.