Page 50 of Double Dare
I’m a mess. Nina is strong and stoic. Genevieve is a nervous wreck.
“I’m driving you home,” Corbin says. “There’s four parked vehicles at the intersection to our place. They were waiting for you.”
“Fuck,” I groan, hating this all over again. Almost. I almost became a victim again, and I almost dragged Nina and Gen into it with me.
“What about your car? I can drive it,” Nina offers.
“Randy is with me. He’ll follow us home.” Randy is his brother.
The three of us climb into the backseat while Corbin takes us home.
Gen holds my hand and Nina leans into me as I battle embarrassment, shame, and self-doubt. Worry fills me, hoping the guys are alright.
Do I deserve what Mills said about me? I do have a strong sex drive, and I never thought that was something to be ashamed of. And now my relationship is changing to include a whole other person, and it’s starting to feel like I am asking for trouble. I’m a slut. A tease. A fucking sex junkie. I came from being damaged and sexually frustrated, only to find Jed and learn what pleasure really felt like, and now I feel right back where I was. Not only that, but I’m setting Jed and Kade up for a life of ridicule, scornful looks, and negative attention.
Hate. That’s all I’m full of right now.
We make it to the Dare house, where Rayne is waiting with booze and coffee. Corbin and Randy immediately head back out to check on the boys, and I sink into a negative spiral that’s starting to feel impossible to climb out of.
“Laken?” Genevieve touches my hand. “You once told me there was no shame here, so you should stop feeling it. Just because something isn’t normal doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful. Trust yourself. We aren’t ashamed of you.”
“Not even a little,” Rayne agrees. “We’re proud of you.”
“So fucking proud,” Nina agrees, pouring more booze into my coffee.
They know? Or they at least guess?
I break the fuck down, crying for a different reason now. “Thank you.”
Chapter 20
Thirty-five of us are face down on the grass, hands cuffed behind our backs, bloody and still seething. When the cops showed up to break up the fight, the crowd scattered, but Mills and his guys weren’t ready to let the aggression go, and apparently, neither were we. Some of us have bruises, cuts, and gouges because Fordy’s old crew doesn’t fight fair, and we didn’t bring weapons, not that we would have anyway, but fuck. If the cops hadn’t shown up when they did, some of us might be much worse off right now. Or dead.
All this because Fordy drugged and tried to sexually assault Laken, and these pricks can’t let it go. I’ve never known fury like this. Not in the cage or the ring, and not even that day I found Laken on that boat. This is different. This is the aftermath of a fucked up way of thinking, and I hate that guys like this still exist. How can they even rationalize blaming Laken for what Fordy did to her? Seriously? Blaming it on her clothes, which aren’t even provocative, but what the fuck difference would it make if they were? Blaming it on her sex drive that they shouldn’t even know about. Victim blaming at its finest, and I’m pissed the fuck off about it. Even with my face in the mud and my hands behind my back, my body is agitated and eager to knock Mills out just to shut him up.
Cops pace between us, gathering IDs and trying to decide what to do with us. I doubt they’ll charge any of us, but who fucking knows? I just want my phone so I can call Laken to make sure they got home alright.
“Officer! Can you call my mom to make sure my girl got home?” I try.
“Quiet,” he says, like this is no big deal.
“Just call our parents to make sure they made it and didn’t get attacked on the road,” Kade tries his hand, pleading. “Please.”
I look at him beside me, cuffed in the same position. There’s blood dripping out the side of his mouth. More than before, and he looks a bit pale. “Why you bleeding so much?”
“I’m fine,” he snaps at me. “Please, call our mom.”
He’s not fine. Something is wrong. “Kade, what the fuck happened? Where’s the blood coming from?”
“I said I was fine,” he spits the words at me, his voice not near as strong as it usually is.
Jesus. “Hardin!” I shout at him on the other side of Kade. “Where’s the blood coming from?”
Hardin shifts his body so he can scan the full length of Kade’s body. “Shit, there’s a pool under him. Officer! He needs help!”
No. Fuck no. “Kade!”
The officer comes over, yanking on Kade’s cuffs to flip him over. Kade winces, trying to hide it, but the front of his shirt is soaking wet with bright red blood. “We have a stab wound over here,” the officer says into his radio. “We need an ambulance in the north valley, ASAP.”