Savage Gods (Reign & Ruin Book 2) Read online

  “Gooch,” Gavin repeated back to himself. “What the fuck?”

  I switched my focus from them to the beautiful boy staring down at me with a look on his face that was a mix between indifferent and studious. Feeling self-conscious, I reached up and ran a hand over my hair.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  He grabbed my wrist and gently pushed it down. “Because you’re beautiful.”

  I scoffed and crossed my arms, taking a step back. His brows slightly dipped and he immediately stepped forward to erase the small amount of space I’d just created. I noticed he did that a lot, stopped me from putting any kind of distance between us.

  The intimately familiar scent of his cologne found its way to my nose—wrapping my next breath in jasmine and spice. Refusing to get sucked into his ruinous orbit right now, I put a hand on his solid chest and gave a little shove.

  “Can you respect my boundaries for a minute?”

  “I clearly remember explaining that when it comes to you, there are no boundaries. Not where I’m concerned.”

  Of course, I remembered this too. I also thought he was full of shit when he’d said that.

  “What do you want, Judas?”

  “Yes, do tell why you two decided to behave like a pair of creepy stalkers,” Audrey chimed in.

  She rounded around the front of her Macan to stand beside me. An audible pop followed by a loud woosh of air had me looking to the right. My lips parted in shock as my brain registered what had just happened.

  “Why did you do that?” Audrey nearly screeched.

  “Calm down. I had to set the scene,” Gavin replied flippantly. “We can’t have people driving by wondering why we’re on the side of the road if they happen to come this way.” He pulled a long skinny blade out of her tire and folded it down, slipping it into the pocket of dress pants identical to Judas’.

  “What is wrong with you two?”

  “Same thing that’s wrong with you,” he retorted gleefully.

  “I--.” There wasn’t an appropriate rebuttal for that. Not with Audrey standing a mere few inches away from us. I glanced back at Judas with a frown. “You didn’t come chasing after me because I’m beautiful so what is it you want?”

  As those words left my mouth, I was reminded of how much they applied to this whole ordeal. Judas didn’t pursue me because of my looks. He’d anchored me to him for minacious reasons. I was dying to know what they were. He was so intentionally cryptic that there weren’t many clues to go off.

  All I knew so far was that it had to do with his missing sister and a long winding feud between our families but mostly I was completely in the dark. There had to be a clue or something I was missing.

  “I needed to talk to you,” he replied with an impassive shrug.

  “Now, Judas--.”

  “Then you can call or text her like all the other guys do,” Audrey snapped at him, effectively cutting me off.

  “Other guys? Rhiannon isn’t allowed to talk to other guys, neither are you,” Gavin stated.

  We both looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language.

  “See! I told you, Rhia. This is exactly what I was talking about.”

  Before Judas or Gavin could question what she meant, I jumped in and ran interference. “Let me make sure I have this right. You follow us from the school, have your buddy here go Ghostface on my best friend's tire, and then demand we all stand on the side of the road in this hot ass heat because you needed to talk to me?”

  “I thought it was a good way to kill two birds with one stone.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Come with me.”

  Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed hold of my hand and held it tight, leading me towards Gavin’s SUV.

  “Where’s your car?” I asked.

  “Still at Pesadilla. I wanted you with me when we’re done here.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “What does that mean?” I slowed and pulled against his grip, merely causing him to tighten it.

  “Does it matter?” he pulled open the rear passenger side door.

  “When it comes to anything that has to do with you, yes.”

  He pulled me closer and brought a hand up to cup my chin. “Are you scared?”

  There was a glint in his eyes as if the idea of that excited him. Fear wasn’t always a bad thing, but that isn’t what made me falter. I didn’t know how much I could trust him anymore, if at all. I would be a naïve idiot to dare to do so wholeheartedly.

  Judas was as dangerous as the scorpion tattooed on his arm. When he decided he was ready to strike the blow would be just as quick and lethal if I didn’t stay on my toes.

  “I’m not scared,” I replied evenly.

  “Then get in the truck.”

  He lowered his hand back down to his side and moved out of the way.

  “Why?”

  “How else are you going to get home? Your mouthy ass friend doesn’t have a spare.”

  “Why wouldn’t she? That’s a new car.”

  “She did. Once upon a time…”

  “Really? Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

  Without replying or admitting he’d done something highly ridiculous, he gestured for me to get in the backseat. I looked over and checked on Audrey. She and Gavin appeared to be having a heated debate, speaking low enough that I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  There was something up between those two, but I had no energy to involve myself in whatever it was. I couldn’t handle my own relationship woes.

  “She’s coming too,” Judas reassured.

  “What about my stuff?”

  “I’ve got it.”

  “And we’re going to the school?”

  He tilted his head to the side. “You sure you’re not scared, little girl?”

  I got into the car and slammed the door on his laughter.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Living away from the city had its perks until you were in the backseat of a car that had two killers riding shotgun. Those long picturesque roads seemed desolate and infinite then. The worst part was not knowing what they intended to do with you.

  It looked like we were heading back to the school, but I didn’t trust Gavin any more than I did Judas, and he was the one driving. I’d asked where we were going five minutes ago just to be sure and never got a reply. Gavin simply turned the radio up so loud conversation was null.

  I glanced at Audrey, unable to catch her eye. She had barely spared me a glance since getting in, none too happy when she found out her spare tire had magically gone missing. Since Gavin had taken possession of her cell, she couldn’t call anyone for help.

  I leaned my head back and relaxed into the leather seat, staring up at the expansive moonroof. I tuned everything out and focused on the music, letting my eyes drift closed. A hand gently shook my shoulder what felt like only seconds later.

  I sat forward and rubbed at my face. I was so damn tired every action felt as if it was taking years off my lifespan. Audrey was now studying me with unveiled concern in her eyes, yet to let go of the shoulder she’d just been shaking.

  She wasn’t the only one watching. It took me a second to realize the car wasn’t moving and the music had been turned down.

  Both Gavin and Judas were staring into the backseat. I’d dozed for longer than I thought. I wasn’t comfortable with the fact these two had witnessed me napping. There were only two times we were most vulnerable in life, our true selves without any shields or masks. One was when we were sleeping and the other was in death.

  I tossed a glance out the windows and saw we were pulled over on the side of the road. Pesadilla was only a few minutes’ drive from here. Looking between Gavin and Judas I dared to ask the most important question that needed to be answered.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We need to talk about insurance,” Gavin answered. He was a little too animated with his response, immediately causing my guard to go up.

  Slid
ing what I hoped was a convincing mask into place, I waited for one of them to explain.

  “You two know what that is, right?”

  “Obviously,” Audrey replied dryly. “It’s not going to take care of the tire you stabbed if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  “That isn’t important. I already told you I’d make sure you got to wherever you needed to go.”

  “I don’t need you to do that. I have a perfectly good running car.”

  “Oh, yeah? You can get in it right now and drive off into the sunset?” Gavin questioned mockingly.

  “I need a tire dickhead, not an engine.”

  “For now,” he retorted with a grin.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means keep talking to me like that and your cars going to be the least of your worries, Dollface.”

  She pinched her lips and painted her face with an icy glare. “Will one of you please tell us what is going on?”

  I didn’t say anything. I knew as soon as he mentioned insurance that he wasn’t referencing the kind of protection that would cover a car in the event of a collision or any type of roadside assistance. These two could buy hundreds of tires and pay for thousands of tows.

  I doubted they used regular means in those kinds of situations. They had someone that removed dead bodies at their bidding. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume another person handled something simple as a broken-down vehicle.

  Judas remained silent, watching me closely as his friend antagonized mine. I struggled to hold onto an air of impassivity. My mind continued to race with the foresight of what they were hinting at. I suddenly felt more awake than I had all day.

  Audrey hadn’t caught on--yet. She was dangerously close to understanding. I met Judas’ stare, brows slightly dipping when a smirk teased his lips. It felt like a silent taunt, him daring me to tell her everything there was to tell. When he began to speak, I diverted my attention to something unseen on the other side of the road.

  “Insurance is a means of providing protection against a possible eventuality. In this case that insurance is you, Audrey.”

  “You’re speaking Spanish to me right now. Whose ass am I covering and why?” I felt her look at me. “Rhiannon’s?”

  “Bingo! Excellent job, baby,” Gavin praised with a dramatic amount of enthusiasm.

  “Cut the shit,” she snapped, “What did she do? What did you do, Rhia?” her tone softened substantially when addressing me.

  My stomach was in a such knot that I could no longer pretend not to be in the car.

  I redirected my attention to the two assholes who’d orchestrated all this.

  “I…what am I supposed to tell her?”

  “Since when do you need permission to speak? What the hell are you doing to my friend, Judas?”

  “Nothing she doesn’t want me to do.” He kept his eyes on mine, his sensual mouth morphing into a cold smile.

  Be chill.

  Don’t yell.

  Be chill.

  He wanted me to react rashly. I wouldn’t be giving him the satisfaction. It was fucking hard, a mental battle I had no energy to partake in but didn’t have the luxury of losing.

  “Rhia,” Audrey pleaded.

  I gathered my wits and finally looked at my closest friend. She didn’t seem to be as angry or confused as I was expecting and that made me feel even worse.

  I tried to tell her with my eyes that I couldn’t say anything, not in front of these two.

  “She can’t give away all our secrets until she upgrades to the premium policy. I’d say she’s only got liability right now,” Gavin explained.

  Audrey took in the three of us with a frown. “But she hasn’t told me anything at all?”

  “And now you know why,” Judas stated as Gavin turned his blinker on and pulled back onto the road.

  He drove around the security booths that were in place to prevent people from doing exactly that.

  Judas’ Mercedes was one of four cars still in the school’s parking lot. I considered asking where Brianna and Owen were, quickly deciding I didn’t care to know.

  As soon as Gavin put his SUV in park, I reached for the door handle and tried to get out just to discover he’d put the child locks on. I met his smug stare in the rearview mirror with an annoyed glare.

  “Why?”

  “Safety first.”

  He climbed out after Judas without bothering to disengage the safety locks.

  When neither moved to open the rear doors for me and Audrey I considered climbing over the front seats. Now that she and I were alone for however long, though, it was a prime opportunity to talk.

  “I’m sorry, Auds. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to be dragged into this.”

  “You didn’t tell them to behave like sociopaths. But what is this? Why are you under some kind of gag order?”

  “I honestly don’t know how to explain this in a way for you to understand.”

  “I bet I would get it more than you would like me to. I’m on your side no matter what.”

  “Even if I helped bury a body?”

  “What kind of best friend would I be if I turned on you over something like that? Girl, I’m your alibi.”

  I was trying to make light of this situation. Maybe it was a mistake to tell a joke that wasn’t a joke because her reply wasn’t as sarcastic as it should’ve been if I succeeded.

  “Rhia…did you kill someone?”

  “What? No!”

  She angled her body so that she was fully facing me. “I won’t tell, I swear.”

  “Audrey,” I stated firmly. It wasn’t a huge misconception but at least with this, I could tell her the truth.

  “I have never killed anyone.” I just helped bury a body and didn’t stop my ex from being tortured.

  “If it’s not then what is it?”

  Before I could reply, Judas began approaching to let me out. Audrey gave my hand a reassuring squeeze as Gavin did the same on the opposite side of the car.

  “I’ll text you, okay?” she murmured.

  “Yeah.”

  “Promise you’ll reply.”

  “I swear.”

  Judas opened my door and as I slid from the backseat, I saw he had the satchel I’d completely forgotten about wedged beneath one of his arms. I went to take it from him, and he turned so it was out of my reach.

  “Can I have my bag?”

  “Get in the car first, it’s unlocked.”

  I shouldered past him and walked over to the Mercedes. Since it had been sitting in the sun all day the inside was like a mini sauna. I kept the door open and climbed in, careful not to press my skin against the heated black leather.

  Judas and Gavin went to stand in front of the SUV, continuing their conversation out of earshot. He didn’t give me his car key and my cell was in my bag, leaving me with nothing to do but wait for him to finish. I reached up and pulled the visor down to further torture myself.

  What I saw made me cringe. This morning I’d made myself passably cute. By the time lunch rolled around I had still managed to look presentable. Now? I could’ve been an extra on Z Nation.

  Spotting Judas approaching in my peripheral, I shoved the visor up and pulled the car door shut.

  He got in and wordlessly dropped my satchel onto my lap. We didn’t speak to one another. Our stalemate continued long after I watched Gavin’s SUV go one way as we went another. I knew then that he was taking me home, which dredged up a whole new set of emotions. What would be waiting for me there?

  “Are you planning to play the silent game the whole drive?”

  “I don’t particularly want to talk to you right now.”

  “Sulking isn’t going to undo what just happened.”

  His nonchalant delivery was an amplifier to my irritation. I shifted in my seat so that I could fully see his face. “This isn’t sulking. This is me trying to figure out what you’re hoping to achieve by dragging Audrey into this.”

  “I tho
ught Gavin explained the situation pretty well. I don’t feel like repeating the same conversation in kindergarten terms.”

  Did he always have to be such an asshole? This seemed to be a natural habit of his considering he did it with almost every breath he took.

  “You’re making Audrey some kind of collateral? Why? Is this a ploy to take my only friend away? Drive us apart so you don’t have to worry about her getting in the way of your master plan?”

  He barked out a laugh. “Your delusional if you think that I would be concerned over someone like Audrey fucking up anything I have in store for you. It’s kinda cute. You’re way off base, though. If I wanted to get her out of the way I would’ve done so already.”

  “You wouldn’t do that to Gavin,” I protested.

  “Gavin finds her entertaining and fun to fuck. Don’t confuse that with how I feel about you.”

  I didn’t hate the way his last sentence evoked a tingling in my chest, but I hated that it did. I couldn’t shut off the part of me that wanted Judas to feel remotely how I felt for him when I knew I shouldn’t. Unwilling to get caught in another whirlwind of emotion, I disputed his words.

  “How you feel, huh? Do you mean you wanting to fuck and kill me?

  “Yes--No.”

  “Yes, or no? Which one is it?”

  “Sometimes I want to make you bleed just so that I can run my fingers through your blood. I’d use it to paint my name on every inch of your skin,” he switched lanes more aggressive than necessary, “Fucking you is the next best thing. I love making you beg and scream my name. It’s become an addiction I’m not looking to be cured of.”

  Before I could get a word in, his mask of indifference slipped back into place, and he delivered his next conundrum in his usual tone. “Do you understand now? I’m maddeningly fucking obsessed with you.”

  I swallowed and sank further into my seat. The car wasn’t big enough for him to make that kind of declaration. I couldn’t turn away or retreat to think.

  This wasn’t fair of him but when had he ever reasonably done anything? Judas was reckless in a way that always seemed calculating and intentional while I was simply reckless. He followed logic and I fought not to be ruled by emotion.