The Third Strike - Wendi Wilson

1

This sucked major ass.

After sneaking around all summer, growing closer to Mason and feeling happier than I ever had, we’d unfortunately returned to reality. We were back at Everly Prep, and everything was, once again, royally fucked up.

Josh and I sat alone at our usual lunch table, watching as Charlotte, Isla, and Amelia draped themselves all over Mason, Theo, and Seth. Simone shot us sad eyes from her spot beside Cooper, and Stella looked like she might spew chunks at any moment.

I knew it was all for show. I knew Mason loved me, and Theo loved Josh. Seth fucking hated Amelia and had secretly been in love with Stella for years.

But knowing the truth didn’t make watching those bitches put their slimy hands all over the guys any easier. And this was not what I had in mind when I decided to play ball with the fucking Bellamys and bring them down.

It was senior year, the greatest year of high school. The year lifelong memories were made, goals were achieved, and students prepared to make the giant leap into adulthood.

And if day one was any indication, this year was going to suck. Major. Ass.

I took a deep breath and trained my eyes on Josh. He was staring at Theo, of course. I cleared my throat to get his attention, giving him a sassy smirk to lighten the mood.

“These people are so fucking stupid,” I said, waving a hand around to encompass the student body as a whole. Then I leaned in closer and lowered my voice. “Theo made a spectacle of himself in a stunning show of jealousy. He knocked out Henderson, kissed you in what can only be described as epic love-story fashion, and then disappeared for the rest of the school year. Now, he’s sitting with Isla, and no one has even batted an eyelash. It’s like they don’t want to know the truth, so they ignore it and pretend all is right in their small little worlds.”

“Welcome to lifestyles of the rich and famous,” Josh replied in a semi-decent British accent.

But his joke fell flat, and my chest tightened.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? You swore that if you got back with him, you wouldn’t let him keep you a secret.”

“That was before I found out why my being a secret was necessary.”

I nodded, and silence fell between us once more.

Stella was the reason all this was necessary. If the boys didn’t fall in line and follow their parents’ edicts, not only would they be cut off from the family fortunes, but Stella would be shipped off to Europe to marry some old rich dude. She’d be forced into a miserable life as arm candy and a baby-maker.

A shiver zipped down my spine at the thought. None of us were going to let that happen.

We only had about nine more months until the twins turned eighteen, and Stella would be free of her parents’ threats. As a minor, she was completely at their mercy. While I’d had my doubts as to the validity of their threats—we’re not living in the eighteen hundreds and there are laws to protect children from parental abuse and exploitation—the Rogues assured me that with their money and connections, nothing was impossible.

After all, they’d somehow strong-armed the Davenports, the Coopers, and even Atticus into bending to their collective will. And that was twenty years ago when they were all kids, themselves.

Now? Now, they were downright scary.

At least, they were to most people. I wasn’t scared. I was ready to come at them with a baseball bat and show them how people on my side of the proverbial tracks dealt with their problems.

But that wouldn’t work with this situation. We had to be smart and patient.

“I know you want to be free to live your life how you see fit,” Josh said, “but right now…we have to play their game, Chaz.”

“Oh, I’m playing,” I shot back. “And I have every intention of winning.”

“There’s my queen,” he said, giving me a real smile for the first time that day. “Marry me?”

“I’m too young to get married,” I sassed back, lifting my nose into the air. “And I’m not sure you could keep me in the lifestyle to which I’ve become accustomed.”

He cocked his head, smirking. “You think I don’t have enough money to give you everything your heart desires?”

“Ha! It’s not the money I’m referring to,” I say, dropping my voice an octave as I let my eyes travel suggestively down his body. “It’s the