The
line moves slowly because no one is ever in a hurry. It drives me nuts. People
materialized after we walked in and beat us to the counter. Millie continues to
chatter as I glance around, looking for Sam. There's no sign of him. I glance
around out of the corners of my eyes, looking for Dean. I feel his eyes on the
back of my neck, but I can't see him—not without turning around. I don't want
to do that.
It's
finally our turn. Millie puts her things on the counter, and Mustache Dude
rings us up. Millie pays, and we head out to the car. I glance over my shoulder
and see Dean watching me as we walk out the door. He's got his hands in his pockets
and is standing outside the store in a shadow. He waves at me.
"See
you soon, Sid! I can't wait!" Dean calls out as I get into the car.
Millie
finally acts like something is wrong. "Start the car. Let's get out of here.
He's watching you."
I
shove my keys in the ignition and twist. The car doesn't even try to start. My
jaw is locked. Millie seems to realize it at the same time as I do. "He did
something to the car."
I
try to crank it again, but there's no power. My throat is too tight, and there
are still goose bumps on my skin even though it's hotter than hell outside
today. I feel safer inside the car. I don't want to get out, but I need to look
under the hood. It feels like I'm in a trance. The world isn't spinning
anymore. Time stops. I don't want to feel like this, and the only way to make
it stop is to get away from Dean.
I
kick open the door and get out. Millie does the same. I yank open the hood and
look at my battery. One of the cables came loose. The cord is detached and
lying there on top of the plastic battery case. I feel his breath on my neck at
the same time as his voice. "Car problems, Sid?"
"Leave
me alone," I growl at Dean before turning on my heel. I walk to the trunk and
grab the tools I need to reconnect the cable. Who does stuff like this?
Dean's
grinning ear to ear. "I can fix it for you and buy you pretty gals lunch, if
you like."
"No.
Go away." I plan on ignoring him, but Dean won't leave me alone. He keeps
brushing into me, touching me like it's an accident. He follows me back to the
hood and shoves in between me and Millie.
"We're
fine," Millie tells him. "You should be on your way."
"Aw,
how sweet. Your little friend thinks she can protect you. What happened to the
teacher?"
"Fuck
off, Dean." I'm mad now. I hate him. I hate everything about him, everything
he's done to me. My life would have been so different if Dean never came along.
I'd run him over with the car if it would reset everything, but it won't.
Dean
feigns offense. "Who taught you to talk like that? Such a dirty mouth on such a
pretty girl. Just the way I like it." He grins at me. Millie makes an annoyed
sound. Dean ignores her. While I'm under the hood, Dean slips his hand over my
back. His fingers tease at the edge of my shirt and brush against my skin. The
touch makes me jump.
I
don't think anymore, I just act. I swing my fist at his face and scream, "Leave
me alone!"
Dean
is smiling, acting like this is a game, until I land a punch on his cheek.
Anger flashes in his eyes. He backhands me. The wrench goes flying out of my
other hand. Millie screams, and I can hear the old clerk yelling, but there are
no words.
Dean
grabs my wrist and starts pulling me across the parking lot. "Walk or I'll make
you wish you had."
I
try to peel his fingers off, but I can't. I drop to the ground with the
intention of making him drag me. My jeans save my skin from being torn up by
the rocks and scattered debris. No one helps me, well, no one but Millie. She
does something. Dean yells, and then he drops me. My wrist is burning where he
was holding me, and my hand has cracked open.
I
jump to my feet and look up in time to see him grab something from Millie and
smash it on the ground. Millie tries to take it back, but he shoves her so hard
that she falls. Millie is screaming. The old man is yelling. And Dean is
standing in front of me looking really pissed off. "Get in the fucking truck.
Now."
Someone
yells that they called the cops. It's the woman with the bread. She's been
inching closer and closer, but she's too old and small to do anything. "You
better get out of here, kid."
Dean
spits at her. The woman steps back. Dean hisses, "Go inside and let us finish
this alone. This is a family matter." He sounds totally reasonable, but his
actions don't match his words. The woman doesn't move.
My
body is so tense that it feels like the muscles are going to snap. This is a
new level of crazy, even for Dean.
"Sidney,
I swear to God that I'll make you regret this. Your mother asked us to get you
and you act like a goddamn bitch—" He reaches for me when a voice booms behind
us.
"Get
off of her." Every head turns. I half expect to see a police officer, but it's
not. They aren't here yet. It's Peter, and he looks insanely pissed off.
Millie's eyes widen, and her head twitches back and forth between Peter and
Dean. Part of me is relieved that Peter showed up, but the other half doesn't
know how to accept his help. Lucky for me that I don't have to decide.
Dean
thinks that Peter is the timid professor from the other night. He doesn't
realize the man standing in front of him is a Ferro. If Dean knew, he'd run the
other way. The Ferros are fierce, and Peter has been in more fights than his
other brothers combined. There's no way to be that rich and not attract media
attention when you punch your way from Manhattan to Fire Island. Peter's
reckless behavior left behind a trail of people who would love to see the
Ferros fall.
Dean
steps in front of me. It's a possessive move. "Better go home and get your
crush in check, Professor, or—"
Peter
doesn't stop. He walks across the dusty parking lot, straight up to Dean, pulls
his arm back, and swings. It's not a sucker shot, but Dean doesn't expect it.
His neck twists to the side on impact. Peter doesn't stop. He's not the same
man he was last night. Something changed. Just as he takes another swing, Dean
moves. The lunatic runs straight at Peter, and Dean rams his shoulder into
Peter's stomach. There's an
oof
sound, and the two keep at it. Peter
twists around quickly and manages to grab Dean by the throat. He pulls Dean close,
so Peter's lips are nearly touching Dean's ear. Peter's eyes lock with mine as
he says words that I can't hear. Dean's eyes narrow into slits as Peter chokes
him, whispering threats—probably the same threats that made my brother turn
pale.
The
hot wind whips my hair away from my face. I brush it back, watching the two of
them. I can't believe what I'm seeing. Peter's muscles are corded tight. His
shirt is stuck to his body as beads of sweat roll down his temples. The look
Peter gives me says so much, but this version of him scares me. Last night
Peter didn't fight back. I want to know why. I thought that he wasn't a
fighter, but not now. Peter Ferro can protect himself and anyone he cares
about. Our gazes are locked. Only a second passes, but it feels like a
lifetime.
That's
when I hear the gun cock. I turn to look in the direction of the sound. The old
guy with the crazy mustache is standing with a shotgun in his hands. He lifts
it so that Dean and Peter are in his sights. The old guy spits on the ground,
then wheezes, "Take this foolishness somewhere else. Now."
Peter
looks pissed, but he releases Dean. The two of them step apart, but when their
gazes meet it looks like they want to kill each other.
Dean
backs away with his hands in the air. "I don't need this shit." He walks across
the parking lot and slips into the truck. The engine starts, and he pulls away. I
watch him leave, wondering where my brother was during all of this.
Peter
and Millie are flanking me. They glance at each other before the old man drops
his gun to his side and walks toward us. "Don't bring trouble around here
again. You're not welcome. Get going."
Millie's
mouth is hanging open. "We didn't—"
Peter
shakes his head at her, trying to get her to shut up. He's polite to the guy
with the gun. "I apologize." Then Peter glances at Millie and says, "Stop at
the next rest area. I'll follow you."
I
don't argue. I just grab Millie's arm and push her into the car. The old guy is
watching me like the entire incident was my fault. Guilt climbs up my throat,
because deep down it feels like he's right.
CHAPTER
5
Millie
stares at me with her jaw hanging open so wide that I can see her tonsils. "Did
you see that? Did you see Dr. Peter Granz—a friggin' English teacher—kick ass
back there?" Millie tucks a curl behind her ear. She glances back at the black
car following us and waves at Peter. He doesn't wave back. There's a scowl on
his handsome face. "I heard he got his butt kicked last night. Did he? I mean,
what the hell was that? He came in all vigilante style. I thought he was going
to snap Dean in half."
"Peter
didn't fight back last night. He's not—" I make an aggravated sound in the back
of my throat. The rest area sign says it's a few miles away. I don't want to
stop. I don't want to talk to Peter.
"He's
not what? 'Cause, holy shit, that was so awesome I can't stop fanning myself. A
guy rescued you!" She darts upright in her seat and corrects herself. "No,
wait! He saved you twice. Sidney—"
"Millie,
Peter isn't what he seems—"
She
glances back. Appreciation is strewn across her face, like I landed the man
that makes all other men look like monkeys. "I know…"
"You
don't know! He's not. Damn it, Millie, pay attention." Millie turns around and
looks at me, I mean really gives me a once-over. I'm so upset that I could rip
the steering wheel off in my hands. "Peter is Peter Ferro. Do you know what
that means?"
Her
eyes slowly grow as big as dinner plates. She turns her head and looks back at
the man following us. "Holy shit."
"You
see it?" It's obvious once you know to look—the dark Ferro hair, the strong
jaw, the stunning blue eyes, and that temper. All of the Ferro men have it, and
the daytime talk shows love to point it out.
Millie
nods. "He looks like the pictures I've seen. Everyone's seen him. Pete Ferro is
hot. Why is he pretending to be a teacher?"
"I
don't know what he's doing. Listen, no matter what he says at this rest stop,
do not leave me alone with him. Do you understand? Nod and say yes."
She
nods and gives me a crooked smile. "Fine, but—"
"No
buts. Say yes. I don't care what he says or what he wants me to do. If Peter
tries to get me alone with him, say no. Don't leave." Desperation floods my
mind. Peter had offered to come with me. He wanted me to call the cops. He
wanted to make sure I was safe, and this is how he finds me, in a parking lot
in the middle of nowhere with Dean dragging me across the asphalt.
"Okay,
okay. I won't leave, jeez." A wicked smile spreads across her face. "You know
what they say about Pete Ferro; so is it true?"
I
pull off the interstate and slow the car. There's a rest stop with picnic
tables and a little brick building with restrooms. "Is what true?"
She
giggles and leans in closer to me. Her hand keeps flying to her mouth, like
she's embarrassed. "His dick—is it as big as they say?"
"Millie!"
I stop in a parking spot and throw the car into park.
"It's
not like you haven't heard it before. Pete Ferro, super lover to the
supermodels, and their moms, and their friends, and their kitchen staff, and—"
"Yeah,
I get it. He's a male slut."
"He's
a strapping male slut who's done every woman from coast to coast." Millie's
grinning like a love-struck teenager. She glances back at Peter.
"Shut
up," I say and kick open the car door.
Millie
jumps out after me. She places her hands on the roof. "Oooh! Testy! Are you
protecting his virtue?"
I
open my mouth, but Peter cuts me off.
"I
have no virtue." Peter's window is down. He hears Millie as he pulls in the
parking space next to us. He cuts the engine and gets out. Millie's face turns
beet red. "She told you who I am?" Millie nods but doesn't look at him.
Peter
walks around the car and comes straight at me. He stops short, like he just
remembered what happened when I left. "Are you hurt?"
I
shake my head. My heart is pounding. I lose all my bluster, which drives me
nuts. In my head I'm roaring like a lion, but I sound like a mouse when I
actually speak. "What are you doing here? Did you follow me?"
Peter
smashes his lips together and then smiles at me, like he's really mad. "Yes, I
did. I didn't think you'd leave without me. I didn't think you'd walk away in
the middle of a fight."
"The
fight was over. You said if I left not to come back, so I didn't."
Peter
lets out a rush of air. His anger fades and he looks at me with so much remorse
in his eyes that I want to melt into his arms. Peter considers me for a moment
and then says to Millie, "You can't skip out on finals. Get back to the
university before someone fails you."
"But
there was an emergency and—"
"This
doesn't count. You can't be nice to get out of finals. Every single professor
will fail you." Peter tosses his car keys at her. Millie catches them. "Drive
my car back. I'll stay with Sidney."
"No,
you're not. Millie is coming with me, not you." I fold my arms over my chest.
My head sways from side to side when I say the last two words. I may have lived
in Texas for a few years, but I'm still a Jersey girl through and through.