I’ll still go to school today. I have a calculus test, after all, but that doesn’t mean I can’t plot murder at the same time, now does it?

Bernadette Blackbird

Wednesday at Prescott High is interesting in that it's so unremarkable that it becomes remarkable. Mitch is as annoying as always; Kali continues to gossip and spread lies, even with her lips swollen and disfigured. Stacy Langford is hilarious and has taken to wearing a t-shirt that says Wreak Havoc while making out with her boyfriend in the hallway.

The police do not come on Wednesday; I do not hear from Sara Young.

“Do you think I surprised her with that video?” I ask Callum, sitting at the peninsula in Aaron's kitchen after school. He, on the other hand, is outside hanging Christmas lights. We're a bit late to the game, and we most definitely did not get the tree the day after Thanksgiving like I wanted.

Instead, it's lying on the living room floor now waiting to be put into a stand, just one week before Christmas.

“I think you made it very difficult for her to want to continue her quest to bring someone to justice over Neil’s disappearance.” Callum adds some chopped-up fruit and veggies to the blender he’s using and turns it on. Once it’s finished, he takes a spoon and tastes it, grinning a bit before pouring the chocolate-colored mixture into two cups. “Here. Chocolate-blueberry smoothie. Ridiculously healthy. It even has kale hidden in it.”

I give him a look and a wrinkled nose.

“Kale, Callum? Really?”

He pushes the drink toward me and then jabs a metal straw into it.

“I was trying to be a professional dancer, remember? Trust me: I know how to make a health food smoothie that tastes alright.” He winks at me and starts sipping his, flipping his hood off at the same time. As Victor’s smoking and chin rubbing are tells, so is Callum’s hood. He puts it on when he needs time to think or when he feels the situation might get uncomfortable. He only takes it off in good company.

I smile down at my cup and then drag it close. Tentatively, I wrap my lips around the end and Cal leans forward to smirk at me.

“Don’t suck on that so slow and sensual. Might give me ideas on what we could be doing together next.”

I almost choke on the smoothie as I try not to laugh. Shockingly enough, it really is good. Tastes a bit like brownie batter actually.

“Ideas, huh?” I retort as Hael moves into the room and starts laying guns out on the counter. Thank fuck the girls are, once again, at Jennifer’s house. She’s a decent babysitter, and she lives in a stupid gated community with a dad who works for the sheriff’s office. As many issues as we have with the police currently, it’s still a safer place than here.

Especially tonight.

“Look, silencers,” Hael says, lifting up a piece of metal and then screwing it onto the end of one of the rifles. He holds the damn thing against his hip, like he’s in a fucking action flick or something and grins. “This should be fun.”

I take another sip of my smoothie and do my best to keep my nerves at bay.

Victor wants us to go out tonight and clean up the Charter Crew. Not all of them, obviously, because like he said: you can’t kill several dozen kids at the same school without a media circus. But if you pick off the leaders …

Mitch Charter. Logan Charter. Kyler Ensbrook. Timmy Ensbrook.

Kali is pregnant, so for now, she’s getting a pass. Nobody’s mentioned Billie.

There’s a race being held tonight, at the track that Aaron and I used to escape from Sara Young. Since Mitch’s crew essentially runs the races now, they’ll be there, no doubt.

Knowing we have to kill four people tonight though, that’s a tough one.

“What time are we leaving?” Callum asks, noticing that I’ve drained half my smoothie already and winking at me conspiratorially over it. “Because I owe Bernie another dance lesson.”

“You mean another fuck?” Hael quips, pretending to fuck the counter. He lifts the rifle up and aims it at the sliding glass doors before dropping it down again. “Just be honest man. Everybody here knows you’re jonesing for some of that sweet, sweet Bernie pussy.” Hael grins at me, and I flip his ass off with both hands. “Speaking of …” He sets the gun down beside the others and leans down to put his elbows on the counter. “After we get back tonight, and we’re both soaked in blood and violence and sin, let’s fuck on the roof. Nice and flat, stars above our heads, an entire neighborhood of suburban prudes to freak out with our moans.”

“You’re assuming we’re making it back alive, mission accomplished, no cops?” I ask, and Hael shrugs.

“Why would I assume any different? This isn’t our first time at the rodeo, Blackbird.” He pats the top of my head, and I slap his hand away. Can’t deny that his offer is appealing as fuck.

“Tell Vic I’ve already reserved you tonight, so he can fuck off.”

“Why don’t you tell Vic yourself?” Victor asks, appearing behind me and making me jump. Hael doesn’t seem to give a shit, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugging his shoulders.

Callum watches the two of them with interest, straw tucked into his mouth. I imagine if Hael and Vic started fighting, he’s probably strong enough to get them apart, at least long enough for them to cool their heads enough to walk away.

“Don’t start on me with that cocky shit tonight,” Vic growls, grabbing the rifle with the silencer and examining it carefully. He barely looks at me. Actually, he hasn’t looked at me much since yesterday. “We made a mistake in letting you marry Bernadette.” Victor agreed with Oscar’s statement. Shit, maybe they were both right. But also … Victor is mine. No fucking way would I have let some other girl marry him. Besides, even if I would’ve, he’d still have had to stay married to her for a year; we would’ve had to fight to protect her life instead of mine.

I’d rather fight for my own crew, baby.

I pick up a rifle and screw a silencer onto the end.

“Victor,” I start, and he pauses to glance over at me. Our eyes meet and power shoots through me. He is fucking fierce, my new husband is. “You know I was never going to let you have another girl, right?”

He smiles at me, but there’s a wariness to it; he knows he fucked up a little bit.

That’s what counts.

“You’d be surprised at the things you’d do for love,” he says, eyes flicking to Hael and Cal before returning to me. He puts the rifle into a strap and swings it over his shoulder before bending down to press a kiss to my mouth. “But even if marrying you was a mistake, I don’t care. I told you: I’m selfish as fuck. I’d do it all over again. And I’d happily kill to protect you, Bernie.” Vic lifts his head up and gestures in a circle with his finger. “Suit up, boys, and let’s do this thing.”

He takes off down the hall, and I stand up to change.

The Charters wanted a war?

Well, it looks like they’re gonna get one.

And the easiest way to win a war … is to shoot the general.

Aaron drives Hael’s Camaro to the race. He’s going to enter it while the rest of do what needs to be done.

“Do not die on me,” I warn him, the same way I warned Hael and Vic the night we had to take Aaron to Nurse Yes-Scott’s. I run my palms up Aaron’s chest to rest them on his shoulders. He smiles at me, smoking a joint for luck. His chestnut hair is slicked up with gel, a pair of tight blue jeans on his ass that make me feel stabby. If any girl at that track goes for my man tonight … trouble. Big motherfucking trouble.

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” he asks me, offering up the joint. I take it from him and pull in a drag before handing it to Callum. Aaron leans down and kisses my lips, and I blow sweet, thick smoke into his mouth. He chuckles. “You think I’d die before getting another taste of you?” He squeezes my ass with his hand and kisses the side of my neck, gently sucking on the flesh until I shudder and melt into him. “I’ll win this race while you slit some throats. Deal?”

“Got it,” I say as Aaron gives me one, last searing kiss and slides into the Camaro. The rest of us are riding over in another stolen vehicle. This time, it’s a white Mercedes, a G-Class. Ugly as hell, but it works.

“Don’t you fuck that car up,” Hael calls out, snorting as Aaron flips him off before shutting the door and pulling out of the driveway to wait for us. Hael flicks his attention over to me. “They’ll let him race before they try to kill him, Blackbird. No worries.”

“Oh, well, that makes me feel so much better,” I murmur, climbing into the backseat while Callum and Oscar slide in on either side of me. Victor takes the passenger seat while Hael drives.

My thigh is pressed up alongside Oscar’s, too close for comfort really. He looks over at me, gaze scanning my body before he turns away. I scoot a little closer, just to see what his reaction is.

“Do not try me tonight, Bernadette,” he says, and I snort as Hael starts the engine and we pull out of the driveway. You’d think Hael would be the one racing, but he has a skillset that Aaron does not, one that we need for this plan to work.

We’re gonna blow up some cars, baby.

“Try you?” I ask, sliding my hand up Oscar’s thigh. He’s wearing jeans tonight, not a suit. They’re nice and tight, too, so it’s quite the treat to feel him up. He clamps his hand down over mine and weaves his inked fingers through my fingers. It’s not meant to be a nice gesture though; he digs his nails into my palm, making me wince. “I haven’t even started, Oscar.”

“Hands off,” he says, flicking my hand away from him. “I don’t like being touched.”

“Really? Because you sure seemed to enjoy the touch of me on your dick.” I stare right at him as Callum chuckles inside his hood and Vic glances mildly over his shoulder, studying us. “And you have a hell of a lot of tattoos for someone that doesn’t like being touched.”