Corrupt

It had been so long since I’d seen them all together. I wanted to leave.

For some reason, I thought they’d grow apart over the years, but here they were, together as if nothing had changed.

All of them were dressed in black suits, looking like they were heading out for the night, and I tucked my hair behind my ear, trying to find my voice.

“I’m just surprised, that’s all,” I told him, straightening against the railing. “It’s been a long time.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes, it’s been a very long time since that night.”

I blinked, trying to avert my eyes, but there was no point hiding my nervousness. He already knew I was uncomfortable.

“I just needed to speak to Michael,” I said quickly.

He leaned into me, placing both hands on the railing at my sides and called over my head, “Michael! You’ve got a visitor.”

His deep voice sent shivers over my skin. I didn’t have to look behind me to know that Michael had seen me. I heard the basketball dribble to the ground, bouncing against the floor faster and faster until it eventually came to rest, making no more noise.

Kai brought his eyes back to me, his face an inch from mine as he looked down at me.

“I wasn’t aware you all were in Meridian City,” I said, trying to lighten the tense mood.

“Well, as you can imagine,” he said, pushing off the railing and joining his friends on the couches, “We didn’t want a lot of attention or fanfare. We needed some privacy to ease back into things.”

Seemed reasonable. The whole town lamented their arrest and incarceration, and despite the proof of what they’d done, no one hated really them for it. It wasn’t long before their deeds were forgotten and they were sorely missed. By almost everyone.

“Come on. Sit down,” Will pressed. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

Damon tipped his head back, blowing smoke as he let out a dark, quiet laugh, probably remembering his threats to me in the classroom today.

“I’m fine,” I asserted, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Are you sure?” An amused look crossed Will’s face. “Because you’re backing away from us.”

My face fell, and I stopped, realizing I was, indeed, moving away from them. I’d been inching further down the railing toward the wall.

Shit.

Michael climbed the stairs from his basketball court, wiping off his face and chest with a towel. His hair glistened with sweat, and his stomach flexed with his movements. I tightened my arms across my chest.

“What do you want?” he bit out.

Guess his temper hadn’t cooled from the argument at Hunter-Bailey the other day.

I took a deep breath. “I haven’t heard from my mother, and I was wondering if you could give me the number to the satellite phone on board Pithom.”

Michael’s chest still heaved from his workout, and he tossed the towel on a chair as he walked to the kitchen.

“They’re in the middle of the ocean, Rika. Cut her a break.”

He grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and tipped it up, gulping down the whole thing.

“I wouldn’t have bothered you unless I was worried.” I shot a quick glare at Damon for planting the seed in my mind. “If I can’t reach her, that’s one thing. But she hasn’t called me, and that’s unusual.”

Michael finished drinking his water and set the bottle down on the island, planting his hands on the countertop before him. Raising his head, he stared at me, narrowing his eyes as if thinking about something.

“Come to a party with us,” he commanded.

I heard a breathy laugh behind me, and I pinched my eyebrows together in confusion.

Was he was playing with me?

“No,” I answered. “I’d like the number to the satellite phone.”

I heard shuffles behind me, and one by one, each of the guys came up to the island, positioning themselves around me and watching.

Michael stood across from me, while Kai and Will leaned their forearms down on the counter to my left and right. I shot a sideways glance, seeing Damon with his arms crossed and leaning his shoulder against the wall between the living room and kitchen, staring at me.

They’re just messing with you. That’s what they do. They push, they intimidate, but they’d learned their lessons. They wouldn’t cross the line.

“Come to the party,” Kai chimed in. “And you can have the number.”

I shook my head, letting out a bitter laugh. “‘Come to the party, and I can have the number?’” I repeated. “Yeah, this isn’t Thunder Bay, and I’m not as easy to push around as I was then, okay?” And then I turned my eyes on Michael. “Screw you. I’ll get the number from your father.”

I turned and stalked off, taking a left down the hallway toward the elevator. The doors opened as soon as I pushed the button, and I stepped inside, trying to calm my racing heart.

They still intimidated me.

And excited me. And challenged me. And knotted me up.

I’d kind of wanted to go to a party but not with them.

The doors started closing, but just then a hand shot into the elevator, and I jumped, seeing the doors re-open. I sucked in a breath, staring wide-eyed as Michael reached in, grabbed my shirt by the collar with one hand, and pulled me out.

“Michael!” I shouted.

I stumbled into him, and before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my wrists and locked them behind my back, walking into me and forcing me backward, back down the hall toward the kitchen.

“Let me go!” I demanded, my lips brushing the tip of his chin.