Page 72 of Wicked Scorn
“Shame I couldn’t use fire. It would have been like senior year all over again.” I don’t even bother responding.
“Once we’re down, we need to check out my bike.” I can’t keep the anger from seeping into my voice, thinking about the vandalized mess waiting below. Someone’s sending a message, and it’s written all over my ride.
“Whoever did this has a death wish. You just don’t mess with a man’s bike,” Penn states, echoing my thoughts. His jaw clenches, a muscle ticking in his cheek. “We’ll find them, and I’ll light their asses up.”
I grab Oakley up in my arms and carry her down the stairs and away from the roof, trusting my brother to watch our backs for whoever is fucking lurking.
We pause at my bike and look at the damage. It’s going to need cosmetic work for sure, but it’s salvageable. The gouges I saw from up above are clearer now. Bunny.
Someone is definitely fucking paying too much attention to us.
“Can you call Weston and have my bike picked up?” I ask my brother.
“Already did. It’ll give me an excuse to go over there and let him suck my dick, also. He’s got a mouth like a vacuum sealer.” And there it is. I could do without knowing the merits of everyone’s blowjob skills.
I see he’s brought the Escalade and left it idling at the turnabout in front of the school. I open the back door and setOakley inside before having her scoot over and climbing in to sit next to her.
Penn slides into the driver’s seat with a casual ease that belies the tension radiating through the vehicle. He glances back at us through the rearview mirror, his smirk returning. “You two look cozy back there. So happy to be driving Miss Daisy.”
“Shut up and drive, Penn,” I snap, my patience wearing thin. Every second we waste is another second whoever did this could be getting away.
“Alright, alright,” he mutters, putting the car into gear. “No need to get your undies in a twist.”
“Uh, what’s this?” I glance over and see Oakley holding up a screaming ghost mask, and I literally want to reach forward and smack the shit out of my brother.
“Ayy lil Ashford, that’s mine. Don’t you worry about it, but you tell me if you ever want a break from that one next to you and to take a ride on it mkay.” he cackles, swear to fucking God an evil cackle escapes his mouth.
Jesus, fuck, he’s psychotic.
Chapter 27
Oakley
Jeremiah’s called a meeting with two of his brothers to try to figure out who is stalking us. His hands are steady as he presents a stack of papers to Graham and Penn.
“Are there snacks? Do we have hats? Like, what can I expect from this team meeting? Where’s the round table? I have fucking questions Jerry and the least you could do is provide libations especially after I just played captain save-a-hoe for you and my bestie like less than an hour ago?” I’m more convinced now than ever that Penn was switched at birth.
“What’s this?” Graham asks, leaning forward with his brow furrowing and stopping whatever argument was about to happen between the other two Blackwoods, sucking up all the air in the room. He takes the stack from Jeremiah, his broad shoulders tense with a restless energy.
“More evidence,” Jeremiah replies, his voice tight. “Whoever this is, followed us up to Bridgehead and trashed my bike,”
“Jesus Christ,” Graham mutters, his eye twitching already.
“I want to know who this fucker is,” Jeremiah continues, his voice steady. “Watching her every move, sending threats…It has to be whoever attacked her back when…” I hear the waver in his voice, like he feels like I was only attacked that night because he wasn’t there to protect me.
I cut in because I don’t want him to carry that burden any longer, “when I was at St. James, someone attacked me. I don’t remember much of it, but Jeremiah thinks this is the same person.”
“How the hell does this just happen, and no one knows shit?” Graham’s voice is taut with anger, his piercing brown eyes locking onto mine.
I swallow hard, my mind racing. The memories of the past flood back, each moment of fear and paranoia amplified by the dark, oppressive thoughts swirling around me.
“Bunny, it’s going to be okay. You have me. You have my brothers too,” Jeremiah says softly, his gaze shifting to me before shooting back to Graham and Penn. Graham nods in affirmation.
“I’m down to fuck some shit up,” Penn says, grinning, leaning back on the recliner and crossing his arms over his chest. “Any idea who it is? If not, no worries. I have no problem just picking off random dudes till we get the right one.” He shrugs and I want to laugh, but I don’t because I know he’s not kidding. Penn Blackwood is psychotic.
I shake my head slowly, my fingers intertwining and twisting together in my lap. “He got spooked when he heard someone coming and he knocked me out. When I woke up, he was gone. I don’t remember what he looked like.”
“Was it on campus?” Penn asks, his eyes still fixed on the disturbing photos before his gaze moves up to me. I nod and he asks, “At a party?”
