Tiny Dark Deeds: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Court Legacy Book 3)
Tiny Dark Deeds: Chapter 16

Dorian

Wolf’s texts had been cryptic as shit besides the little information he did give.

And he didn’t answer anymore after that.

He left us to wonder. He left me to wonder, and I didn’t like that shit. He found her? How? Were they together or…

I didn’t like not knowing whatever my buddy was doing here, and I drove faster than I probably should have all the way back to Windsor House. Thatcher said some shit about it, grabbing onto the dashboard and being dramatic. He did not have a say in what the fuck I did right now, and the only reason I hadn’t killed him was because he was my brother, and I might have regretted that shit later.

What the fuck’s going on, Wolf?

I texted him as much as I called, but he answered nothing. His final text simply told us to meet in the rooms I’d told him Bru and Sloane had been staying in, and when Thatcher and I got there, Wells was already there. Bruno was with him, of course, and the dude had been pacing the fucking floor. He also stared at me the moment I arrived.

He hadn’t stopped, going between that and messing with his phone. He basically would only check the front before pocketing it in a huff, so I assumed he was either checking the time or seeing no one was trying to contact him right now.

Not even his sister was answering him.

I wanted to kill that fucker too with my hands, and Wells made sure he and I were on opposite corners of the room. There were couches in the big suite Bru had been crashing in and Wells sat with me while Thatcher took the easy chair near Bruno. We all basically surrounded the door, and I had a feeling Wells’s decision to babysit me on the other side of the room was because of fucking Thatcher. They hadn’t really talked to each other since we all got together, and clearly, there was still some tension there. I wasn’t happy with Thatcher either, but that last shit he’d said had gotten to me. The shit about knowing what Sloane running again would do to me.

I hated he was right, but I wouldn’t admit he was right. Not about this. This wasn’t about me.

It’s not.

I pushed my emotions away, staring at the door. My gaze clashed with Bru’s on the way back, and when he shook his head, I sat up. “Got something to say, man?”

I literally was taking back all the good shit I’d said about him in the past. He’d been a decent dude up until now, and I got he was trying to have his sister’s back, but what he’d done was really fucking shitty. He knew she had a family here and was one of us.

He fucking knew that.

He knew she had a twin brother, and he chose to go all silent and shit knowing this entire town was going crazy looking for her. They had a TV in here, so they knew what the fuck was going on. Bru crossed his legs. “I don’t have anything to say.”

“Seems like you do.” I pocketed my phone. Wolf wasn’t answering it anyway. “So say it.”

“I wouldn’t.” The advisement came from Thatcher. He gazed up from his phone. This was probably solid advice my friend was giving Sloane’s brother, but that didn’t stop the dude from cocking his head at me.

“I just hope he’ll relax is all. When she gets here?” Bru swung his head in my direction. “Dude looks like he’s going to punch something, and things are already tense with my sister.”

“I said I wouldn’t, bro.” Pocketing his own phone, Thatcher grew two sizes next to Bru, and that said something. My friend already wasn’t fitting in the chair he sat in. “Make no mistake. I helped your ass out, but I will always be with my boy here. He wants to kick your ass, I’ll let him, so I’d watch what you say to him.”

I didn’t need Thatcher coming to my defense. I could handle my shit, but it was nice to know where he was right now.

And I did know he’d always have my back.

Like Wolf recently, it seemed a few of us were keeping secrets in regard to Sloane, and if I had a secret to keep, one she entrusted me with, I didn’t know what I’d do.

Yeah, you do.

He had been trying to protect her and have her back, and no one got that more than me. The need to protect her. The need to keep her safe…

“Let’s just all relax.” Wells lifted his hands. He was always the more laid-back one out of all of us. He looked at me. “You okay?”

That was him asking if I was going to punch something. I shrugged, and with a sigh, Wells glanced at Thatcher. “You okay over there too? If shit starts hitting the fan, and I get a shiner, I’m not going to be happy about it.”

I smirked, and Thatcher did too. If Thatcher and I got up to shit, Wells knew he’d be in there too. Fucker had our backs, and even if he was mad at Thatcher, or any of us, he would stand up for that person. We were all just that close, and I noticed my friends nod at each other before they both went back to their phones. Their beef wouldn’t last long, never did.

“Guys?”

We all swung our gazes to the door, Wolf easing inside.

He wasn’t alone.

We all got to our feet when a girl in a jacket behind him surfaced. She was in Wolf’s jacket, the hem hitting her toned legs, thighs bare and exposed. The jacket sleeves touched her at the fingertips, and she tugged the hood of a hoodie she wore beneath down. Dark and wavy curls fell out of it, a thick wave of brown-black, and I swallowed.

Cookies.

A wash of them hit me, like Christmas morning and birthday parties. Like happiness, sadness, and everything in between. I’d clearly forgotten what she smelled like, what she tasted like, because all that came back the minute she was in the room with me. I was reminded about each flick and taste of my tongue, and the hints of soft scent that came off her skin while I did it. I was reminded how I hadn’t had it.

And how I hadn’t had her.

Her face was different, not thinner or anything, but tired, weary. Subtle shadows underlined her eyes, and she had a bruise on her fucking face. It was yellow and faint, but it was there, and before I had time to react to that, her goddamn brother crossed in front of me.

“You okay?” Bru asked her, and I stopped myself from reacting and doing the first thing I wanted to do. That thing included taking her away from here, away from everyone and even Wolf. It included keeping her with me and not only making sure she was okay, but keeping her, claiming her.

A subtle squeeze to my forearm let me know I wasn’t fighting off those urges by myself. Wells and Thatcher surrounded me, and while Wells had my arm, Thatcher had my shoulder. They were keeping me here.

They were helping me fight.

I had a tendency to go blind and do shit I probably shouldn’t do. Things like punch Bruno Sloane in his fucking face just to get to her.

“I’m fine,” Sloane said to Bru, and that was when Wolf stepped in. He hadn’t left her but had snapped the door shut quickly behind her. With him being there, I really got to look at them both beside each other, and how the fuck I hadn’t seen their twin connection until now, I didn’t know. Maybe I hadn’t wanted to see it or was just too blind to, but they definitely shared some distinct features.

She looks so much like Brielle.

I hadn’t seen that either. She was like the younger, taller version of her from her hair to her golden skin. The height thing obviously came from Ramses.

How is this possible?

I knew the facts, but still this was fucking crazy.

And I couldn’t move.

My buddies weren’t even holding me now, but I was stiff as a rod in Sloane’s presence. I hadn’t seen her in so long, and with me not moving, I noticed Thatcher approach her. He had his hands in his ripped jeans, his shoulders shrugging.

“You good?” he asked her, taking her by surprise when she jumped. She’d been talking to Bru, and Thatch obviously surprised her. He rubbed his neck. “I mean, are you okay? Are you all right?”

She noticed she had an audience in that second.

She noticed me.

Her dark eyes fell on me, sweeping over me. She did that a lot when we were together, and I used to fuck with her for it.

Not today.

Today, we were looking at each other just as much. That jacket did nothing for her, but it couldn’t hide the shape and curve of her legs. Nor how it caught on the shelf of her large tits and gave me sight of those fucking legs. She may have been stressed. She may have been tired…

But she was still fucking beautiful.

The girl took my goddamn breath away as cliche as it sounded, and I physically wavered when she stopped looking at me to pay attention to Thatcher. It was like I’d been caught in the force field of her, trapped and suddenly let go.

“I’m okay,” she said to him, her attention shifting between me and him again. She was giving herself away and obviously finding it hard to focus too. She scrubbed into her hair. “I’m sorry I ran off. Really sorry. I shouldn’t have done that to you. We had a deal, and I messed it up.” She sighed. “It was fucked before that. I took advantage and probably shouldn’t have had you keep the secret in the first place. It was wrong, and I’m sorry for that too.”

I was surprised she was saying this. I think we all were, and especially Thatcher. He’d gotten in some real hot water for that shit, and that was just with us.

The parents didn’t even know yet.

Ramses and Brielle didn’t know, and once Thatcher’s own parents found out he’d been keeping secrets… from all of us, I was sure he’d hear it just as much as I had from mine when I’d kept things to myself. My god dad Knight was fucking scary and none of us were trying to do shit to piss him off.

This was obviously a consequence Thatcher had been willing to make for her. He gripped his arms. “Nah, you shouldn’t have, but I’m glad you’re okay.”

The two stood there, then out of nowhere, Thatcher leaned forward and swallowed Sloane’s little body up in a hug. More awkward than shit, the hug was stiff, my buddy not the best at fucking hugs, and Sloane hadn’t been expecting it. She had her arms out, and I think we all held our breath that Thatcher had, well, just grabbed her. I mean, she’d been running from the world, running from us.

But then, she laughed.

Her arms came around him slow, her laughter soft, vibrant. I’d forgotten about that too, her laughter. She didn’t do it a lot, and I had a habit of pissing her the hell off half the fucking time. Her expressing her joy was extremely rare, so when I did get it, I made note of it.

I relished in it.

Her hugging Thatcher ended up being just as awkward as him hugging her, and my buddy kept that shit quick. My buddy was as allergic to his emotions as I was. He crossed his arms after. “Just happy she’s here, and I don’t have to keep that shit quiet anymore,” he said to the room, apparently feeling he needed to make a vocal announcement. He edged out of the circle when Wells approached, and Wells shook his head at him.

“Forgive him,” Wells said, his eyes lifting. “What he means is he’s glad you’re here, and that’s it.”

Behind him, Thatcher’s expression fell. “I said that.”

“Yeah, in your own douchey way.” Wells lifted his hands before tucking them under his arms. He faced Sloane. “I’m glad you’re back too, and that you’re safe.” He smiled a little, glancing between her and Wolf. “I just can’t believe it. Can’t believe you two. This is crazy.”

He didn’t have to elaborate. Seeing them here, together, was crazy. Wolf had just been looking for her for so long.

Wolf was present for all these exchanges, but I noticed he remained quiet during it all. He’d just been watching Sloane like he himself couldn’t believe it.

“Still trying to wrap my head around it,” he said before glancing over the group. His sight fell on me, and when Wells noticed, he tapped Thatcher’s shoulder.

“Maybe we should give them all the room,” he announced, but if they were, they didn’t need to give me any allowances. If Wolf and his sister needed a moment, they should have that, and the way Bru was keeping a watchful eye over the situation, he’d probably be a part of it too. He should get time.

That was his sister too.

Regardless, none of this had anything to do with me, and I tried to make myself believe that as I approached. I noticed Sloane hug herself when I did. She got all locked up.

She got tense.

I tried not to let myself feel anything about that when I stared down at her. I nodded. “Yeah. We probably should. The guys and I can wait outside. Give you three time. You, Bru, and Wolf.” Each word tore at me, fucking aching inside me. I swallowed. “I’m glad you’re back too.”

I was glad, and to the point where I thought I’d physically crumble if one more moment went by where she was in one place and I was another. I’d been drowning before she walked through that door and on the verge of killing Bru for what he’d done by going off with her. I’d been about to kill Thatcher for keeping the secret, and he was my goddamn friend. I’d felt like I was dying before Wolf sent his text that he’d found her.

I still felt that way.

I almost felt worse, and seeing her lock up tighter after what I said didn’t help.

“Thanks.” The word tight on her lips, she dismissed me to speak to Wolf. “I need to talk to Bru about what we talked about anyway.”

I didn’t know what they spoke about, but I’d definitely been dismissed.

You did it first.

I hadn’t wanted to, but I didn’t want to stand in the way either. The three should have time, and it was too late to take it all back when she walked away.

She took Bru with her, the two going off in the direction of her room, and right away, the four of us shifted. Wolf started to go that way, but I waved Thatcher and Wells in that direction.

“Keep watch,” I told them. There was no way out of Sloane’s room, but I think an eye on her would give us all peace of mind.

The two nodded, leaving, and though they followed, Wolf continued to stare that way. I didn’t blame him. I was fighting the urge myself.

“Where did you find her?” I asked, trying not to fidget, but madness was brewing inside me.

Why did you say that shit to her?

I thought I’d bleed out my heart to her when I saw her but ended up saying all that stupid shit.

“Remember how I told you I took her to that graffiti wall?” Wolf said, his focus still in the direction of the hall. They’d all disappeared down it, but that didn’t seem to matter. “How I took her there to tag that one time.”

He’d mentioned it to our parents and with good reason. It, along with her home, had been one of the places searched the most after she’d gone missing. There were lots of pipes there that someone could lay low in and searching places Sloane was familiar with made sense.

“Well, that’s where I found her.” Wolf grabbed his legs, releasing a breath. I wondered if my buddy had been holding it the whole time. He stood up. “I thought about where I’d go if I needed a place to disappear quick. She ended up being there.”

I guess he’d been right about the twin link thing. Damn. “What did you guys talk about?”

“A lot.” He swallowed. “I told her everything and how I found out who she was. Told her why I kept things from her too. That didn’t really go over well, and I think she might have run because of that. Because of us?” His eyes lifted. “Sounds like your grandpa actually told her the truth about everything. He didn’t lie to her about, well, anything.”

The dread hit me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, she knows what he’s done and the Mallicks’ place in it.” He glanced back toward the hall. “He told her the truth, D. She knows who he is.”

“And that he’s my grandfather.”

My buddy swung his eyes in my direction, his nod firm. “Yes, but I explained why you kept that from her. I explained your relationship with him is fucked, and you couldn’t trust him, and because of that, we weren’t sure if we could trust her. Until I could, I had to keep all that under wraps too. Who she was and all that.”

I had a feeling that was why he hadn’t told anyone about her.

So, this was my fault, all this. It started with my fuck-ups even if he had his own.

“And she ran because of that.” I couldn’t breathe, stomach tight, locked. “She ran because you and I lied to her.”

“She didn’t say specifically, and I told her you didn’t know who she was.” His head tilted. “I really messed all this up. If I’d been honest with her and everyone else… fuck.” He pulled his hat off, bending it. “I fucked all this shit up. It’s by the grace of God she let me bring her back here. I thought we’d be out there all night, but out of nowhere she said she wanted to come back here.” He righted, expelling a breath. “She said she wants to meet my folks.”

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