Page 13 of Wicked Deceit
Mom is not a pushover by any means, but this fight? I think she knew she wouldn’t win. Not only from my arguments. She’d have four boys to argue with, too. By the desperate look in their eyes, they won’t let me out of their sight for an exceptionally long time. I can already envision the leash around my throat or a tracker in my ass or something. I know they’ll decide on something drastic. I shudder at the thought of them slamming me into a cage and hiding me under the bed. No, that’s way too drastic for even them. Or is it? Shit! They better not lock me away or I’ll bite them, because we have a shit ton of investigating to do. And I can’t be locked away for any of it. I’ll need them more now than ever. Especially with the Apocalypse dicks not fighting fair anymore. I mean, who uses drugs and big vehicles to mow down their victims, but not kill them? Whatever. I’m glad to be alive, but I can’t get these thoughts out of my chaotic brain.
Time flies in my tiny hospital bed. The sun moves in the sky, almost sinking into the winter horizon. After hours of being awake, getting checked out by Dr. Spencer—who gives me the all-clear for now, but insists I still need to stay until Wednesday—my mom orders pizza for all of us. I watch in horror/fascination as the boys devour three pizzas on their own. They don’t utter a word as they stuff their faces, only grunting when someone tries to steal a piece from their box. And as for me? Lead sits in the pits of my stomach, knotting around the bland-tasting food. I know I need to eat each bite to get my strength back, but it’s hard when someone has set out to endanger my life. Or hell, trying to kill me.
The next few months will challenge my mental, emotional, and physical strength, testing everything I have left in me. I have a fractured face and a broken arm from what they’ve done to me. But the one thing I don’t have is a broken spirit. I’m Kaycee fucking Cole, and nothing will stop me in my quest for justice for those who can’t speak out for themselves.
“Gohome,”Mrs.Colesays for the millionth time with a smile tugging at her lips. “You boys have been here all day. You’re starting to stink up the room. Go home, shower, rest, and then come back tomorrow morning. But not before ten a.m. Do you boys understand?” She places her hands on her hips, hardening her eyes on us as we all nod in agreement.
We’ve barely left Kaycee’s side since we were discharged on early Sunday morning. Monday came and went when she had woken up, and we spent every moment with her until Mercy kicked us out. And now here we are again on a Tuesday night, getting kicked out. Hell, we’ve barely been to class throughout this whole ordeal. It’s not like we’d be able to concentrate, anway. So, why go? All four of us have settled into the routine of getting out of bed in a hurry and heading up here by nine in the morning.
I shiver from her stern voice and give her a sharp nod. “Yes, we understand. Thank you for letting us stay for so long.”
Her face falls, softening when she comes forward. I stand rigid when she wraps her motherly arms around me, swiping up and down my bruised back. I don’t complain when the pain throbs against my insides, and instead, I gently hug her back. It’s been years since I’ve had a mother to embrace, and this feels too good to pass up. It warms me from the inside out that she’s taken such diligent care of us and barely knows us.
“You boys are more than welcome back. I want you four to take care of yourselves, too. Kaycee is…”
“Stubborn?” Chase snorts, earning a small laugh from Mercy.
“One hundred percent her father,” she says, raising a brow. “You know, after this hospital stay is all said and done, we need to have a very long discussion. I support whatever you all have going on because I can see how much you care for her. Tomorrow, I’m leaving my baby in your hands,” she says softly, wringing her hands together after she pulls back from our embrace. “For a few days, you’ll have to care for her because I know there’s no way I can drag her home now. Understood?”
We all nod our stiff acknowledgments at the tiny threat she threw in there, and she smiles. “Now, go home before I have them call security,” she barks in a demanding voice, shooing us away with a hand gesture. We say our goodbyes, kissing Kaycee’s forehead as she sleeps, and make our way out of the room.
“I think she likes us,” Chase beams when we enter the elevator.
The elevator doors close, leaving the four of us in stiff silence. We’ve been cooped up in Kaycee’s hospital room all day, and now we can finally talk about how we’re going to keep Kace safe after she comes home. As the elevator descends to the lobby floor, my mind works overtime on the list of things we need to do before she comes home in the next few days. And then, an idea hits me. One I’ve never thought of before, but it would work for us.
“Yeah, she may like us, but what about her dad?” Seger gripes, running a hand down his face. He leans back against the elevator wall, resting his head. “He’ll probably kill us or something.”
“Imagine being related to her brother, Body Slammer, though!” Chase says through an excited grin.
Seger barks out a laugh. “We could ask him to body slam us into the dirt.”
Raising a brow at his comment, I can’t help but shake my aching head. Getting body-slammed by the man nicknamed Body Slammer is not on my list of things to do. Besides, he sent some guy to the hospital because he slams so hard. Ugh. I need more ibuprofen and a shit ton of rest. I’ve loved every second of being by Kaycee’s side while she’s slowly recovered, but it has taken its toll on my body since the crash.
“You guys are fucking idiots,” Carter grumbles through a tired sigh, shutting his eyes. “He’d probably break our fucking necks the moment he met us.”
A smile tugs at my lips at the mere mention of meeting her family. If they’re anything like her sister Callie or her mom, I can’t wait to shake their hands. Seger and I have only had each other and Chase these last few years. It’s nice to think Kaycee’s family might be our family one day.
The elevator beeps, bringing us to the ground floor, and we exit as a group. Exhaustion pulls at my limbs. My eyes threaten to close until we walk out into the cool night air, heading towards Chase’s car. Anxiety hits me square in the chest when Seger and I squish into the backseat, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Getting into a car will never feel the same after our car crash. How we are always roped into the back, I’ll never know. Possibly because Carter is bigger than the three of us combined and wouldn’t fit back here, or he won shotgun. I smirk when he grunts in the front seat, shifting around uncomfortably, trying to work the seatbelt over his shoulder. Soon enough, we’re taking off back to school.
“I have an idea,” I say, leaning my head against the window of the backseat, fighting through the anxiety bubbling in my gut. No one tells you once you’re in a car accident, the moment you step back into another metal death trap, you panic.
“Dude, go on,” Chase says, slowly pulling into the packed parking lot at school.
“Kaycee’s going to hate it,” I grumble, reaching for the door handle and getting out. “Even more than our vow to never let her out of our sight.”
The others follow as we make our way back to the Maze House. We weave through the clearing surrounded by the tall hedges and finally step inside the darkened house. Contentment settles over me when I sink into the depths of my couch, cradling my aching head. Dear Lord, I need that ibuprofen and a long nap with Kaycee in my arms.
Seger makes a beeline toward the kitchen, fetching four beer bottles, and hands them out. Even though I’m positive we aren’t allowed to have these, I open it anyway—anything to take away the dull ache throbbing through my entire body and mind.
“So, what exactly is Kaycee going to fucking hate? You know, I’d really like to go home to my place and sleep,” Carter says without heat sitting behind his words.
I sigh, gulping down a few mouthfuls, and nod. “We agreed Kace won’t be allowed to walk around without one of us present.”
“Yeah, we discussed that,” Seger says, slumping into the couch and kicking his feet up. “So, what are you trying to get at? You’re the worst when it comes to this,” he grumbles, cursing me out.
I roll my eyes when Chase sniggers, agreeing with Seger’s statement. I reach into my pocket, pulling out a set of keys I stole from a certain backpack before its owner took it back. Thankfully, the Apocalypse hadn’t messed with Carter’s computer and left the backpack in my car untouched. Even when they had towed it to the junkyard, we could go through it and find our things.
The keys dangle from my fingers. “We have a B and E to do, and our girlfriend will not be happy when she realizes what we’ve done.”
