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PARADOX

By Kelly Carrero
Copyright 2014 by Kelly Carrero

Smashwords Edition

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons either living or deceased is purely coincidental. Names, places, characters and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author holds the rights to this work. It is illegal to reproduce this novel without written expressed consent from the author herself.

Cover Design by: Regina Wamba of MaeIDesign.com

Formatting by: Polgarus Studio

### Chapter 1

With my heart in my throat, I climbed over the railing. I wondered how on earth I had gotten myself into such a situation. A few days ago, I would've thought there would be no way in hell I would be standing on a bridge about to let go. But there I was, and there was no backing out.

"Stop being chicken shit and jump, Zara," Emily taunted.

My legs were shaking, and my heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

"If you don't jump now, I'm going to come over there and push you off myself!" she yelled.

The water looked to be fifty metres below rather than the ten metres I knew it to be. I turned to my left and saw the three girls I'd only met the day before. They had claimed to want to be my friends, but I had serious doubts after seeing the wicked grins on their faces. They looked as if they would be more than happy to rip my fingers off the rail and throw me off the bridge.

"I'll do it," I said, trying to save what little face I could. I was probably already going to be the joke of my new school, and I didn't want to be known as the girl who was too scared to do what the rest of the kids did for fun. "Bridge jumping. What the fuck," I muttered.

When Emily and Phoebe stepped toward me, I took a deep breath and jumped. I screamed all the way down until I plummeted into the warm, murky water, praying I wasn't going to land on a shark. Thanking God that I was still alive, I swam to the surface and inhaled deeply. The girls cheered.

Amy pointed to my right, where the boys were still in the shallow water after their jumps. "Now swim over there and get your ass back up here so we can jump together," she yelled, brushing her blond curls away from her face.

I started swimming the thirty metres back to shore. I hoped I wasn't going to get attacked by a bull shark, since they were known to swim the Gold Coast canals. Why on earth the other kids thought it was fun to jump off a bridge was beyond me. The kids at my old school in Sydney would never have dreamed of doing such a thing. Their idea of fun was doing coffee, going shopping, and hanging at each other's houses—not jumping into shark-infested waters. Okay, so maybe there really weren't sharks swimming everywhere, but the thought that there had been a couple of sightings a few miles away scared the crap out of me.

"For a minute there, I didn't think you would jump," Tyler said when I got close to the boys. He drifted toward me, making my heartbeat go crazy again.

What the Gold Coast had that Sydney lacked was seriously hot guys with their shirts off all the time. I couldn't believe what everyone wore, or I should say, _didn't_ wear. Teenagers didn't care about being seen in their underwear, and the shops were always filled with girls wearing bikinis and guys in nothing but boardshorts.

Tyler stood, revealing his washboard stomach that was probably thanks to countless hours out in the surf. "So how was it?" he asked, brushing a lock of brown hair away from his eyes.

"How was what?" I mentally slapped myself for the way my mind went to jelly around him.

He gave me an easy smile that sent my stomach into a quivering mess. "The jump. How was the jump?"

"Um, yeah. It was good."

He chuckled. "Good, huh?"

"Yeah." I stood, the water coming halfway up my stomach. When I saw Tyler's eyes drop, I looked down at my chest and realised I could see my bra through my white sports uniform shirt. "Crap." I sank back into the water.

Tyler laughed. "Maybe next time remember to wear your swimmers if you're going to get embarrassed."

The four other boys drifted over and flanked Tyler. "There's no need to be shy around us," Alex said, sparking a sense of danger I'd never felt before.

All eyes were fixed on me, and it wasn't in a good way. I crossed my arms over my chest, stood, and quickly waded toward the shore.

Alex grabbed my arm as I tried to pass him. "Not so fast."

"Let go of me," I said, trying to rip my arm away.

"We only want to talk," he said, not letting go.

Adrenaline pumped through my body. I looked up, hoping to see the girls' faces hanging over the bridge. They had to be wondering where I was and what was taking me so long. But I realized we were a little under the bridge, and no one would be able to see us from up there. _Crap!_ I had to think quickly. "The girls are waiting for me. How about you guys come up for another jump with us?"

An evil smirk crept across Tyler's face. "I don't think so. They're not up there anymore. They've gone back to school."

I didn't understand why they would leave without me, and I didn't want to stick around tying to find out why. I tried to jerk my arm away again. "Let go of me."

Alex dug his fingers into my arm as the boys began to form a circle around me. I started to panic.

"What are you doing?" I asked nervously.

Tyler's smile turned my blood cold. "I think you've already worked that one out."

I felt as if my breath had been punched out of me. "No," I murmured, shaking my head in disbelief.

Alex tripped me and pushed me under the surface. My mouth filled with water as I desperately tried to get a breath of air in before I was fully submerged. A moment later he brought me back up. My lungs felt as if they were on fire as I coughed up the water I'd taken in. As soon as I resurfaced, I felt hands grab at my wrists and ankles, pulling my legs to the surface.

"Please don't do this," I cried between spitting out mouthfuls of water.

Tyler moved to stand between my legs, running his hand up the inside of my calf.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled. I bucked futilely as he slipped his hand up my thigh and fingered the hem of my panties.

"Now we can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way."

I looked at each of the five boys, hoping to find a compassionate face, someone who would say, "That's enough," or that they were just messing around with me. But all I saw were cold, lustful eyes staring at my crotch.

"Please don't do this." I started to cry.

I thrashed hopelessly as Tyler ran his hands up my hips and grabbed the elastic of my panties. I was completely at his mercy, unable to get away. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I realised that my life was about to be changed forever. There was only one thing I could think of to do. I knew I would probably pay for it, but I had to try.

"Rape!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Alex slapped a hand over my mouth and shoved my face under the water.

I tried to kick my legs free and break the hold they had on me, but my efforts were futile. The guys weren't letting go, and I was running out of air. I pushed my face up as high as I could, but it still wasn't enough. My vision started to blur as darkness crept over me, a sense of peace settling my panicked state, until I could see no more. Then boom. Bright lights suddenly illuminated all my senses, and that was all I knew.

### Chapter 2

I came to, treading water and gasping for air. The boys were racing for the shore. Somehow I was out in the middle of the canal, but I had no idea what had happened or why they'd let me go. I put my hand under my skirt, praying my panties were still there—they were.

"You're a fucking crazy bitch!" Tyler yelled as he and his mates scrambled up to the bridge with fear in their eyes.

He had tried to rape me, but _I_ was the crazy one? I stayed in the water a little longer, afraid to swim to shore in case they came back to finish what they started. Finally, I decided I had to risk it. I couldn't stay in the canal forever.

As I walked out of the water, I looked back and just about peed myself when I saw a guy about fifty metres out, looking directly at me. His eyes never wavered from mine as he slowly sank under the water. What had freaked me was not that someone was watching me—it was his eyes. They were solid black.

I rubbed at my eyes, thinking there was no way I could've seen right. I stood there waiting for him to resurface, but he never did. The way he had looked at me was unnerving. And his eyes... no matter how freakish they were, there was something familiar about them.

Shaking off my obvious oxygen-deprived hallucination, I walked up the bank to the path and then over the bridge, grabbing my bag along the way. There was no way I was going back to school, so I headed home.

By the time I arrived, I was completely dry. I dumped my bag next to the hall table and went upstairs to my bedroom. I locked the door behind me.

I expected to fall to pieces the minute I was alone, but I didn't. The whole thing felt as if it had happened to someone else. I remembered my fear and that feeling of helplessness from when they had held me down, but the emotional connection I should have felt didn't exist.

I could've put it down to denial, but something had happened after I blacked out, and I knew whatever it was would explain why I didn't have the emotional connection to the incident. _Incident?_ What the hell was wrong with me? _Rape!_ I was almost raped, and yet I was referring to it as an "incident."

After grabbing a pair of shorts and a tank top from my closet, I went into the adjoining bathroom. We had only been in our new home for a week, and nothing seemed to be going how it should've for me. I thought I had made some new friends, but those girls had set me up.

All I wanted to do was go home, back to Sydney, where I had been happy and where all my friends were. But my father had gotten a CEO position earning a lot more money than we would ever need. The fact that he was screwing up my life in the process didn't bother him. I had been days away from finishing school and still had numerous exams, but nothing stood in the way of his career.

I threw my clothes onto the ottoman then turned to the sink. When I saw my reflection in the mirror, I almost peed my pants. My normally brown eyes were solid black, not just the irises, but the whites, too. I rubbed my eyes with my fists then looked again. My regular brown eyes stared back at me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I muttered.

Turning my back to the mirror, I walked over to the shower and twisted the taps. I grabbed my towel and slung it over the frameless glass panel then undressed and hopped under the steaming water.

I tilted my head back, letting the water run down my face. The moment I closed my eyes, images of hands groping me flashed through my mind. I was going under, but I wasn't afraid. I felt at peace.

The next thing I knew, I was going down. Literally. I smacked my head against the tiles and passed out.

***

Cold water jolted me awake. I looked around and realised I was still in the shower. I groaned as I tried to sit up. My head felt as if there were a jackhammer pounding against my brain, and my body ached from lying in that contorted position.

I pressed the palm of my hand against my forehead, hoping the pressure would alleviate the pain, but it did nothing to stop the constant hammering against my skull. I clambered to my feet, turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing the towel off the rail, I wrapped it around me then picked up another for my hair. I changed into my clothes and looked in the mirror. My brown eyes stared back at me. I thought maybe what had happened in the canal would have had some kind of effect. _Of course it did, you idiot_. _You don't just get over something like that. It stays with you for life._

I wished there was someone I could talk to about it. But I had no friends on the Coast, and I couldn't bring myself to tell any of my friends back in Sydney. What could I say when I didn't really know what had happened? One second, I was about to be raped, and the next, they were calling me a crazy bitch as they ran away. I didn't get why they would say that or how I could've stood a chance against five guys. Maybe it had something to do with the guy I saw disappear under the water.

I laughed. The "guy" had probably just been a bull-nose shark, and I was lucky not to have been bitten by it.

I went down the stairs to the kitchen. The sun had almost set, but of course, my father wasn't home. He hardly ever came home before nine p.m.—if he came home at all. He wasn't a practical parent. Hell, I could barely call him a parent at all. He was more like a housemate that I never saw. Where he sucked in parenting skills, he made up with other things. He thought money could buy happiness, so he'd given me a credit card, and he never questioned the bill. He'd even bought me a new car for my eighteenth birthday. But I was too embarrassed to drive to my new school in a Mercedes when so many other kids didn't even have wheels. What he never understood was that I would've given up all of those things for a father who actually gave a damn about me.

I got some painkillers from the pantry and a bottle of water from the fridge. I threw the capsules into my mouth then washed them down with the water as I went back upstairs to my room.

I lay on my bed and tried to relax. Sleep eluded me as I kept thinking about what happened in the canal and if it really was a guy that I had seen disappear into the water. I didn't know why I was so fixated on him when there were bigger things I should've been worried about, but I couldn't seem to help it.

Eventually, I drifted off, only to dream about the shark guy. His black eyes pierced through to my soul as he watched me intently.

### Chapter 3

The next morning, I woke up on the couch. I didn't remember going back downstairs, but I often sleepwalked. The kitchen lights were still on, which meant that my dad hadn't come home last night.

I rolled over, grabbed the TV remote, and turned on the morning news. They were showing the weather report. We were going to have another hot, sunny day. Well, I certainly didn't plan on seeing it. There was no way I was going back to school after what had happened, even if it meant failing.

I picked up the ducted air con remote from the coffee table and turned down the temperature then grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and snuggled underneath it. I stayed that way for the rest of that day and the next, only venturing out to get something to eat and use the bathroom.

When my father finally came home, he stood in front of me, hands on his hips, blocking the TV. He was still dressed in his business suit, and his short, dark-brown hair was styled to perfection. He liked to be intimidating, but I never saw him that way. I felt sorry for him. How could anyone be truly happy when he ignored the people who he was supposed to love?

He couldn't even be bothered to sit down to talk to me. "Why would your school be calling me about your absence the last few days?"

I picked up my mobile phone and checked the screen—four missed calls from Dad. "I don't want to go back."

He glared at me. "You're going back." He turned around and walked toward the garage door. "I'll be in China for the next week, and if I hear you haven't been at school, then I'm going to hire a babysitter to make sure you get your ass there every day. I mean it, Zara." He stomped out and closed the garage door behind him without so much as a goodbye.

"Yeah, Dad, there is something wrong," I muttered.

" _Oh really? What is it, my dear darling daughter?"_

" _I was almost raped, Daddy."_

I choked on a laugh. As if that conversation would ever happen. He'd probably accuse me of being stupid for getting into a situation like that in the first place—if he even believed me.

Too pissed at my dad to sit there any longer, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a tub of ice cream from the freezer. I took it out to the back deck and sat on one of the sun lounges.

The salty sea breeze and rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the shore stripped away all my pent-up anger. Of course, the chocolate-fudge ice cream that I was shovelling down didn't hurt, but that sounded too clichéd. And I didn't do clichéd.

The sun had started to set behind me, leaving a pink glow across the sky. People were jogging down on the beach, going about their day as if everything was normal. But I guess nothing did happen to _them_. It was me. And tomorrow, I would have to face the jerks and bitches again at school.

I threw the half-empty ice cream tub on the patio table and stood up to go back inside. As I turned, I saw the black-eyed boy leaning against the wooden fence of the pedestrian path leading down to the beach. But when I did a double take, he was gone. I looked down at the beach but didn't spot him. He'd probably never been there at all.

God! What the hell was wrong with me? I was seeing that guy everywhere. I couldn't even escape him in my sleep.

I shook off my thoughts and went inside, locking the door behind me.

***

The next day came all too quickly. I stood in my bedroom, staring in the mirror and trying to convince myself that I was okay. I would be okay at school. I wouldn't run into the jerks that I had thought were my friends. And I wouldn't have a crap day at school. _Yeah, right._

I waited until eight thirty before I hopped in my Merc and drove to school. I had sworn never to drive the car to my new school, but back then, I hadn't needed a quick method of escape.

With the top up, I drove the five minutes to school and still managed to get a decent parking space thanks to my being one of the few students with a car. Before getting out, I quickly looked around, making sure that no one I didn't want to see was nearby. Apart from the few stragglers, the coast was clear, so I grabbed my bag off the passenger seat and got out of my car. I made a quick dash through the school gates.

I didn't know my classes by heart, so I fetched the timetable out of my bag. My first subject was art, and fortunately, none of the people I was trying to avoid were in my class. Just as the second bell rang, I ducked into the classroom and found an empty seat in the back corner.

The teacher was late. I heard hushed whispers about the crazy new girl and how she'd attacked Tyler when he turned her down. _What the fuck?_ _I_ attacked _him_? _He_ attacked _me!_ _With four of his friends for backup!_ I wanted to scream it to the world, but I knew no one would believe the new girl. And of course, I had no proof—unless I counted the black-eyed guy.

Finally, the teacher walked in through the door and shushed everyone, but it didn't stop the occasional glance from curious students. We spent the next hour drawing various pieces of fruit with charcoal. I was just thankful that we didn't need to pair up with someone to complete the task.

My next class was English, and I wasn't so lucky. One of the bitches was in my class, and the only seat left was in the one in front of her. I briefly considered turning around and leaving, but the thought of my dad hiring a babysitter quickly killed that idea.

I took a deep breath, held my head high, and walked as confidently as I could over to the seat. Amy glared at me. I held her gaze the entire way and only looked away when I turned around to take my seat.

"Slut," she said under her breath.

I thought I would take the higher ground and not give into her taunting games. But about twenty minutes into the class when she leaned forward and whispered, "Do you have a dick down there? Is that why they wouldn't fuck you like the whore you are?"

Anger boiled inside me, and all I wanted to do was slam my fist into her face. But I wasn't going to lower myself to her standard. I slowly turned around and opened my mouth to say something, but her fearful expression rendered me speechless. She looked at me as if I were a demon or something. The colour drained from her face, and an odour that I couldn't quite place wafted from her direction.

"Zara, please turn around and read page forty-five, section three," Ms. Whatever-her-name-was said.

I turned back around and saw the teacher standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. She narrowed her eyes at me as if I had a big booger on my forehead. I quickly dropped my eyes to my book and started to read the paragraph. When I was almost halfway through, Amy rushed toward the door with her bag over her shoulder. Strangely, her jumper was tied around her waist. She couldn't have peed herself, could she? She had looked scared enough and maybe that was what the strange smell was. But why would looking at me cause her to pee? My mind went straight to the black-eyed girl I had seen staring back at me from the mirror the other night and how I'd almost peed myself.

"And where do you think you're going?" the teacher called after Amy.

Amy didn't stop. She rushed out the door and disappeared from view. The class erupted in hushed whispers, and it wasn't about me for a change.

"Okay, quiet, everyone," the teacher said. I could tell she tried to sound authoritative. She seemed to think we still lived in the sixties when everything was peace and love, so her tone came off as a little pathetic, and no one listened.

Something I saw from the corner of my eye caught my attention. I quickly turned to look out the window but only saw a blur of rippling air. What the hell was wrong with me? I rubbed at my eyes, wondering if I should go to see a doctor about my hallucinations.

The rest of the double period went by without any further interruption, but as soon as the bell rang, my stomach turned to mush. It was lunchtime, and there was a huge possibility that I would run into someone from the canal.

Begrudgingly, I packed up my things and followed the last person toward the door. Just before I stepped outside, five girls I didn't know shoved me back as they pushed their way into the room.

"Why were you trying to fuck my boyfriend?" a tall brunette asked, taking a step toward me. She stood at least a foot taller than me, and her friends were just as tall.

I knew what they were trying to do, but I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of showing my fear. Actually... I scrunched up my face in confusion. I wasn't scared at all, which was really nuts considering I was pretty sure they wanted to beat me to a pulp.

"Don't you fucking understand English, you whore?" Brunette spat.

I took a step forward, closing the distance between us to less than two inches. "I don't know what planet you come from, but here on earth, we call what your boyfriend tried to do to me _rape_." I took another step forward, forcing her to take a step back. "And I think you've gotta ask yourself: Why would your boyfriend want to fuck someone else? Huh?" I didn't know why I said that, but damn, it felt good—even if I was going to pay for it later.

Without warning, she punched me in the face. I expected it to hurt, but there was no pain.

I raised an eyebrow and smiled a little. "Is that all you've got?"

The hatred in her eyes suddenly changed to fear. I quickly turned to look behind me, wondering if there was someone else there, like a teacher. But I only saw her friends, and the moment they looked at me, their faces paled.

I turned back to Brunette. "What?" My voice sounded strange. It exuded power, more than just being authoritative, but something I had never heard. By the looks on the faces of the five girls, they hadn't heard such a tone before, either.

Slowly, they backed away, and I took another step forward. Their faces lit up with fear and they ran from the classroom, never once looking back.

A ripple of air that looked like the steam coming off a road on a hot day passed by the door. I quickly ran over and stuck my head outside. The girls had come to a standstill, staring at someone or something I couldn't see. A second later, the rippling vapour blurred to the left and disappeared around the corner.

I had expected the girls to run again, but they started laughing and acting as if nothing had happened. I watched them for a couple of seconds longer then headed in the opposite direction toward my car. There was no way I was staying for lunch with so many crazy people around.

The car park was deserted, which didn't surprise me. Being alone out there didn't make me nervous, either. For some reason, I had a newfound confidence. Actually, it wasn't so much confidence as _presence_. I felt whole, which was pretty unusual for an eighteen-year-old girl. I was pretty sure I should've been freaking out, worried what everyone thought of me, and crying that my life was over. But instead, I just felt good.

I pressed the unlock button, opened the car door, and threw my bag onto the passenger side as I sat in the driver's seat. When I leaned forward to start my car, I caught a glimpse of my face in the rear-view mirror. My black eyes were back.

_Shit._ I started the car and threw the gearshift into reverse. I slammed on my brakes when I saw my black-eyed boy in the reverse camera screen. He was standing behind the school fence, staring at me through his tousled dark-brown hair, his black eyes piercing through to my soul.

I put the car into park, opened the door, and stepped out. He had disappeared again.

Shaking my head, I got back in the car, reversed out of my parking spot, then pulled onto the road. No more school for me that day. I was going home and calling a doctor. The entire drive I couldn't get the black-eyed boy out of my head. He looked at me as if he knew me or knew something about me that I didn't. Shit.

I pulled into the garage, went inside, and threw my bag next to the lounge. Then I walked over to the huge hall mirror and looked at my reflection. My hair was still brown, my skin was still tanned, and most importantly, my eyes were still brown.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I headed to the kitchen, picked up the phone, and went out onto the patio. I sat at the table and called the local doctor's office.

"Doctor Chan's office. How may I help you?"

"Hi, I need an appointment with a doctor for today. Do you have anything available?"

"Yes, we have a three o'clock," the receptionist said. "Would you like me to book you in?"

"Yes, thanks. My name is—"

The connection was dropped. I pressed Off then Talk, but, the line remained dead. I went back inside and fetched my mobile. I swiped the screen and saw the "no service" symbol.

"Shit." My father was going to have my ass if I didn't get a doctor's note to say I was too sick to go to school. My only choice was to go to the doctor's office or go back to school.

I grabbed my bag and headed to the garage. As I pulled out, I half expected to see my black-eyed boy watching me, but he didn't appear. In the week I'd been at the Coast, I'd driven past the doctor's office a few times, so I knew where to go. It also helped that the Gold Coast was pretty easy to get around in, considering they'd practically designed it that way for the tourists.

Once I arrived, I hopped out and walked to the doors. I grabbed the handle, but the door didn't budge. I took off my sunglasses and put my face closer to the glass. The place was empty. I checked the office hours posted on the door—they should've been open. I had just called, so I wondered where the receptionist was.

"Shit." I turned around and got back in my car. I had no idea where any other doctors were, and I knew without a doubt that my father would be checking to make sure I had gone to school that day.

I drove back to school, the whole way trying to think of a way to get out of the rest of my classes. By the time I arrived, I'd come up empty.

No students were outside, which meant the bell had already rung. I pulled out my schedule—P.E. _Great._ And I wasn't even dressed for it.

When I got to the gym, there was no one there. I turned to leave and came face to face with the most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen. He was at least one and a half feet taller than me with dark-brown hair, a golden tan, and a body to die for. He was wearing board shorts and a T-shirt, both of which left very little to the imagination.

Actually, my imagination was going crazy, but that wasn't what sucked the air from my lungs. He was my black-eyed boy—only his eyes were brown. He said something, but I was too transfixed with his eyes to hear anything that came out of his mouth.

His lips curled up at the edges. "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"

I shook my thoughts away, trying desperately to concentrate on what he was saying. "Um... you scared the shit out of me." It came out as more of a question than an accusation.

He looked at me as if I'd been smoking something. "You're new here, right?"

I nodded, attempting to pull myself together. "Um, yeah. I just started here this week."

He leaned against the brick wall next to the door. "Well, if you're looking for your class, they're already down at the beach." When I frowned, he added, "They do beach sports on Thursdays."

"Great." I looked at my watch. I was already ten minutes late. "What beach?"

"Broadbeach." He pushed off the wall. "I'll take you there if you'd like."

I stepped back. "No."

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I was sure they turned black for a moment. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Without thinking it through, I took a couple of steps closer to get a better look at his eyes. "You were there, weren't you?"

Stepping back, he said, "I'll see you around," then turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, looking like the crazy person I was sure I was becoming.

### Chapter 4

When I found the beach where my class was, I laughed at what they were doing—or rather, not doing. I'd never heard of a school that had beach strolling as a sport, but the Gold Coast Grammar sure as hell did. Then I realized only some students were walking the beach. The others were out on their boards, riding the waves. I had to admire them, but I didn't think I'd ever join them.

The teacher smiled when he saw me and came over. "As you can see, I'm pretty relaxed about what you can do out here. Do you surf?"

I laughed. "No. I'm definitely not a surfer."

"Right." He looked away, probably trying to keep an eye on the students. "Well, then go for a walk or something. Just be back here in an hour." He trudged back to the shoreline, where he yelled at some boys on their boards to keep out of the flagged area.

I turned to my right and saw one of the girls who'd tried to steamroll me in the classroom, so I headed the other way. When I reached the rocks, I sat down and stared out at the sea. My house wasn't that far away, and I wished I could run home, leaving behind all the psychotic people I'd met since arriving at the Coast. I'd never heard of such a huge group of people being so mean, especially when I hadn't given anyone a reason to hate me.

"Hi." The soft voice came from behind me.

I turned around to find a pretty, blond-haired, small-framed girl standing on the rock above me. "Hi."

"Mind if I join you?" she asked timidly.

Thinking of how horrible every person I'd met since moving to the Coast had been, I thought about telling her to fuck off, but something about her made me think twice. She looked broken. And I didn't mean in the sense of some batshit crazy chick that needed to be in a mental institute. The look in her eyes almost mirrored my own feelings. "Sure," I finally said.

She stepped down on the rock next to me then jumped onto the sand and sat. "I'm Lilly."

"Zara."

"Zara," she said under her breath.

I expected her to say something else, but she remained silent. Wasn't it her job to ask the new girl questions, not the other way around? I was about to ask her how long she'd been at the school when two of the girls who had set me up to be raped climbed down the rocks about twenty metres away from us. They didn't look in our direction, but I wasn't as relieved by that as I thought I should be. Something had changed inside me. I wasn't afraid of them, but I didn't know why. I looked at Lilly. Her face had gone white as... well, a lily. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at my stupid analogy. Her eyes were fixed on the girls, and I realised that was how I should've been as well. But I wasn't. And for some reason, she was.

"How long have you been at this school?" I asked.

She looked back at me, her face still pale. "Um... six months, I think."

I cocked my head toward Emily and Amy. "Who are they?"

She looked down at her bare feet digging their way into the sand. "Someone you don't want to know."

I wanted to ask her what made her so afraid of the girls, but if what I thought was the reason was indeed the reason, I didn't think it was something she would divulge to a complete stranger. I opted for another approach. "So they're the bitches, eh?"

"Something like that." Lilly tried to put on a smile, but it wouldn't have fooled anyone, especially not me. She put her hands on her knees, probably trying to stop them from shaking. "So when did you start here?"

"This is my first week. And I'm from Sydney, in case you were wondering."

She nodded then looked back down the beach at the two girls that she so clearly feared.

The teacher blew his whistle. "Okay, everyone, time to head back to school."

Lilly stood. "Time to go."

When we got up to the road, I expected a bus or something, but no, everyone had to walk back. I thought about leaving Lilly to walk with the others so I didn't have to worry about an uncomfortable silent trip back to school, but the fear in her eyes made me pause. God, what was wrong with me? When did I become such a bitch? I knew the answer to that question, but I refused to let the incident— _incident?_ —change the person I was.

I grabbed her arm, and she flinched ever so slightly. "Want to ride with me?"

"You've got your own car?" she asked in surprise.

"Ahh, yeah." I led her away from the group. I couldn't be bothered with telling the teacher, and he clearly wouldn't notice us missing anyway. "Why are you so surprised?"

"It's just... not many people around here drive cars yet."

"Yeah, I did notice that."

When we got to my car, I stopped but Lilly continued on.

"We're here," I said.

She turned around, and the second she saw my car, her eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. "This is yours?"

"Yep. And your reaction is the reason why I didn't want to drive it to school." I used the remote to unlock the doors.

"I can't believe this is your car," she said with a gleam in her eye.

She jumped into the passenger seat. I guessed she was a car lover.

I got in. "It's my father's pity money. Actually, that's a lie. My father doesn't pity anyone. He just wants to make sure I keep up appearances."

She raised an eyebrow. "Like that, is it?"

I let out a strained laugh. "You have no idea."

As I started to reverse out of the parking space, I glanced out the passenger-side window. Someone stood about fifty metres away. My heart raced. My black-eyed boy was leaning against a motorbike, watching me. I slammed on the brakes.

"Hey," Lilly said, lurching forward against her seatbelt. She followed my gaze. "Ahh, you're one of _those_ girls."

"You know him?"

She laughed, finally starting to loosen up. "Everyone knows Jett. Or at least, everyone knows _of_ him, and countless girls wish they knew him."

I looked back at him. His gaze was still steady on me, just like the day at the canal. "He goes to our school, right?"

She shook her head. "Not anymore. I think he graduated last year... or maybe it was the year before."

"But I just saw him at school," I murmured.

She pulled her eyebrows together in confusion. "I don't know why he would be there. Maybe it was someone else you saw."

"Maybe. "As if I could confuse those eyes for someone else's. I didn't want to sit there gawking like a crazy bitch anymore, so I put the car into drive and pulled out onto the street. Looking in my review mirror, I saw him hop on his bike and speed away.

As we passed the class walking back, Lilly turned to me. "So how are you liking the Coast?"

I laughed, garnering a curious look from her. "Let's just say I've never met so many..."

"Horrible, mean, bitchy people?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Exactly."

"Well, just so you know, we're not all like that."

She looked as if she should be one of the popular kids with her blond hair, blue eyes, tiny frame and killer smile—when she did.

"They did something to you, didn't they?" I asked.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Direct, aren't we?"

"Sorry," I said, turning into the school's parking lot. "Bad habit."

I thought she was going to ignore my question, but she paused after opening the car door. "A word of advice: don't ever trust those girls. And never think they're your friends."

I wasn't sure if I was able to hide the knowing look that tried to cross my face, but she didn't ask me anything about it, so I was probably safe. We got out of the car and walked toward the classroom.

"So where are you from?" I asked. "I mean, before you moved here?"

Her nerves returned the minute we were back at school. "I moved here from Melbourne. My parents split. Mum got custody, and she wanted to move as far away from my dad as she could just to piss him off."

"Only you suffer in the process?"

She nodded, and I had to wonder what it would be like to actually want to be around my father.

### Chapter 5

The house was empty when I got home, but the silence didn't bother me. I liked to be alone because that meant I didn't need to put up with my father and his incessant need to talk about himself or about how I wasn't living up to his expectations. _Screw his expectations._ I didn't want to become some heartless prick that had no real friends and got off on having his minions chasing after him.

I dumped my bag on the dining table and went into the kitchen to grab an Up&Go and a chocolate bar then jogged up the stairs to my bedroom. After I changed out of my school uniform into a pair of shorts and singlet, I opened the doors to my balcony and stepped outside. I didn't have any furniture there yet, but that was something I definitely would have to buy.

I looked down at the beach and felt guilty as I watched a couple jog along the shore toward Surfers Paradise. I hadn't done any exercise since the move, and I was afraid I would start getting a bit frumpy if I left it much longer. But that would have to wait for another day. I really couldn't be bothered going for a run, but I did want to get my feet in the sand.

I went downstairs and stepped outside. The warmth of the afternoon sun was behind me as I walked down the back patio steps and onto the sand dunes. I stuck my straw in my drink as I sat down in the sand. Staring out at the water, I sucked down the coffee-flavoured breakfast drink.

A few kids from my school were surfing the breaks. I'd seen them around but hadn't spoken to them. That was one sport I wasn't going to get into any time soon.

My breath caught in my throat as I spotted my black-eyed boy coming out of the water. He carried a board under his arm. Okay, so I might just have to take up surfing, or at least become _very_ interested in watching.

From where I was sitting, nothing about him looked unusual. But I was probably the one who looked like a freak with my mouth wide open. I was practically drooling as he walked up the beach. His shorts hung off his hips, revealing that sexy V that only came with countless hours of working out and watching what he ate.

I looked down at the chocolate bar in my hand. I definitely needed to ditch the cellulite-in-a-wrapper things and get my ass out there to work it off. Tomorrow. I shoved the rest of the chocolate into my mouth and tucked the wrapper in my pocket.

Jett dropped his surfboard and picked up his towel. Considering I was only twenty metres away, he had to have known that I was staring at him, but he never once looked in my direction. Typical guy. Couldn't keep his eyes off a girl, and then the moment she showed a little bit of interest... I choked on a laugh. A little bit of interest? God, I had to wipe the drool from my chin.

My phone went off in my pocket. I checked the screen. It was my reminder to study. I didn't even know why I bothered. Thanks to my dad making me move at the start of exams, I had pretty much no chance in hell of passing with grades good enough to get into university. If I didn't pass, he would make sure I got in anyway. As he liked to say, "Money talks." But I didn't want him to pay. I wanted to be able to do things on my own, live my own life.

I wondered what life would've been like if my mum hadn't died when I was born. Had my father always been an asshole, or was the greed just a way of coping with her death? He couldn't control her passing away, so maybe he needed to do something where he was in control. He made the decisions at work, and nothing went down without his permission.

Getting up, I took a last wistful look at Jett's gorgeous body then headed back up to the house to study.

I pulled my tablet out of my school bag and ran up the stairs to my room. I sat down at my desk and checked my email. My math teacher had sent a practise exam, and my art teacher had posted some homework for next class. _Art?_ No other art teacher I'd ever known had asked us to do a sketch to bring to our next class after everyone had already handed in their final project.

"May as well get it over with," I muttered then opened the math exam.

I picked up my stylus and began answering the questions with an ease that baffled me. I had always received decent marks in math, but that was because I studied my ass off to get them. And since I moved to the Coast, I had barely opened the textbook. All the countless study hours must've finally paid off.

Once I'd finished the practice exam, I emailed it back to the teacher then opened the email from my art teacher. She wanted us to draw whatever inspired us and bring it with us to our next class.

"Righty-O." I put my tablet to the side and grabbed my sketchbook off the shelf. I sucked at drawing, but art was a mandatory subject at my new school. Picking up a pencil, I looked around the room for some inspiration. Nothing. Not one single thing spoke to me.

"Hmm." I went out onto the balcony. Leaning my book against the balustrade, I began drawing the basic lines of the beach, the water, and the dusky sky. I then tried to fill in the details: waves, uneven sand, half moon shining down, and the boats floating in the distance. By the time I'd finished, I had one hell of a crappy masterpiece. A five-year-old would've done a better job.

"Ugh!" I threw the sketchbook down and hung my head over the balustrade. The air rippled down near the ground just as it had done at school that day. But I thought it was even stranger considering it was almost nighttime, and I'd always thought it had something to do with the heat and the sun. I almost considered jumping off my balcony so I could stick my hand in it, but then I'd have to get back up, and I _so_ wasn't going to scale the side of my house.

A few seconds later, the air stilled, leaving me wondering if I'd really seen the movement. What I needed was a doctor's appointment and some sleep.

I picked up my book and went inside, closing and locking the door behind me. I put my art supplies away, turned off the light, then climbed into bed and pulled the sheet up to my chin. Grabbing the remote off the bedside table, I switched on my TV. With all the nights I'd spent alone, I had become accustomed to sleeping with it on. I also liked having background noise when the rest of the house was so quiet.

After turning it to a rerun of _Friends_ , I settled down on my pillow and quickly drifted off to sleep.

"Restless" didn't even begin to explain what I experienced. I felt as if I were half awake all night, and whenever I did slip into dreamland, all I dreamt about was my black eyes staring back at me. It was as if there was another piece to my soul that I had never known existed, and it was choosing to come to me while I was in a state of semiconsciousness.

The next morning, I wiped the sleep from my eyes and stumbled into the bathroom. I quickly had a shower, brushed my teeth, and changed into my school uniform, thrilled that I would only be wearing that stupid uniform five more days before I was free. One more week of putting up with exams, bitches, and rapists, then I would finally get to see my friends again when they came up for Schoolies Week. I couldn't wait.

I gathered all my stuff and checked the clock—eight thirty. "Shit." The school bell was going to go off in ten minutes. I ran to the car, praying there wasn't any unexpected traffic.

Fortunately, the roads were relatively clear, and I parked the car just as the bell rang. I quickly looked at my schedule. My first class was... a free period. "Argh." If only I'd checked my schedule earlier, I could've stayed home longer.

Someone knocked on my window, making me jump and almost hit my head on the roof. I turned and found Lilly standing there with a nervous expression that she desperately tried to hide with a smile. The sooner that girl finished school, the better off she would be. Scratch that. The sooner those girls and boys got what they deserved, the safer she would feel.

I lowered my window. "Hey there."

"Um..." She stepped back and looked down at her hands. "Are you leaving?"

"Just getting out of here for my free period."

"Oh."

She looked as if I'd punched her in the guts. Was I really the only friend she had? _Friend?_ God, we'd only spoken to each other on the beach for a few minutes. We were hardly friends. But by the look on her face, I was all she had, and I so didn't want to be the heartless bitch I could feel myself turning into.

"You want to come?" I asked her.

Her eyes lit up, and her smile turned into a real one. "Yeah."

"Get in," I said, throwing my bag into the backseat.

Lilly quickly ran around the car, opened the door, and jumped in as if afraid I'd change my mind. "Where are we going?"

I shrugged. "You've lived here longer. You tell me."

She bit her bottom lip. "Coffee shop?"

"Do we have time?"

She checked her watch. "Probably not."

A motorbike pulled into the parking spot beside me. Even though I couldn't see the rider's face, I knew it was Jett. My heart began to flutter, and I wanted to stomp on the thing to get it back to a normal beat. Sure, I thought he was absolutely delicious, but that didn't mean I wanted my heart doing crazy shit like that. I wasn't that kind of girl.

He took off his helmet, revealing his god-like features. He brushed his hand through his dark-brown hair that barely looked as if he'd been wearing a helmet at all. When he turned his head and saw me gawking at him, a grin spread across his face, showing his perfect teeth.

He hopped off his bike and moved to stand in front of my window. "Zara." He then turned around and walked through the school gates.

My eyebrows shot up. How the hell did he know my name?

"I thought you said you didn't know him?" Lilly asked.

Still shocked, I turned to her. "I don't."

She grinned. "Well, he seems to know you."

I would've loved to think my looks had captured his attention, but I knew it was something else. I decided to change the subject. "I thought you said he doesn't go to our school anymore." I pulled out onto the road.

"He doesn't," she replied. "Take a left at the next traffic light."

I did as she said. "Then why is this the second time I've seen him there in two days?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"So if he doesn't go to our school, then what does he do?"

"Nothing really. He doesn't need to do anything. His father owns the Gold Coast."

"What?"

Lilly shook her head. "You know, the mob."

I started laughing, but Lilly looked dead serious, and not the type of serious in which they were about to break out into an "I had you there for a minute, didn't I?" kind of way. I dropped my smile. "You're serious, aren't you?"

She bit her lower lip and nodded. "About the mob part, yeah. I think Jett might look after one of his dad's clubs, but he must not spend too much time there 'cause he's usually seen out socialising." Lilly pointed at a driveway on the other side of the street.

I slammed on my brakes, thankful that there was no one behind us because I almost had to do a U-turn to get into the lot. "What's this place?"

"We're not there yet," she said as I parked in an available slot. "Come on." She opened her door and got out.

We walked down a deserted lane that opened onto Broadbeach Mall. After ordering two lattes from a little Italian coffee shop, we sat at a vacant table.

"So what are you planning on doing after school finishes?" Lilly asked as she played nervously with the strap of her bag.

I sighed. "I'm hoping my grades will be good enough to get into business. What about you?"

"I haven't decided yet, but that's not what I meant." She took a deep breath and blurted, "I was talking about Schoolies. Do you have any plans? Are you staying anywhere? With anyone?"

It took a moment, but it finally dawned on me that she wanted someone to celebrate Schoolies with. "Um, yeah, sorry. I haven't been here for long, so I haven't got anything planned for the Queensland one. I was going to celebrate it with the New South Wales Schoolies." When she slumped in her chair, I added, "Or I could do both? That's if you don't mind me hanging around."

Her face lit up. "Are you serious? Of course I don't mind. I've got no one to celebrate it with until it's my friends from Melbourne's turn."

Wow, she really was a loner. I would've thought she should have made some friends in the six months she'd been on the Coast, but I guess she could've been like me and didn't really want to give anyone a chance after being friends with those three girls.

"Coffee's ready," the old Italian guy called to us.

We picked up our cups and made our way back to my car.

"Three Schoolies. This is going to be awesome," she said then took a sip of her coffee.

I turned my head, trying to hide my eyes that were bugging out. I hadn't realised I'd invited her to Schoolies with my friends. What the hell was wrong with me? I wanted to slap myself for being such a bitch. I was usually a nice person, caring about the happiness of others. But I was acting like a bitch, and no matter how much I wanted to deny it, my behaviour kind of reminded me of my father. And there was no way in hell I wanted to be like him.

Forcing a smile, I turned to her. "Have you organised anywhere to stay yet?"

She shuffled nervously. "Not since we just planned it."

Of course she hadn't. "Don't worry about it. I'll find something nice for us."

Lilly looked at me sceptically. "Yeah, right. We'll probably end up in some backpackers' hell hole, leaving it this late."

"Oh, ye of little faith." I realised she didn't know me at all. Lilly had no idea how persuasive I was—especially when I had my black credit card. Things had a way of falling into my lap—exactly the way my father liked and expected. "Don't worry. I'll get us something good."

### Chapter 6

Jett's bike was no longer parked where it had been. No matter how much I denied it, I had been hoping he would be there.

"I'll see you for lunch?" Lilly asked when we got inside the gate.

"Yeah, sure," I answered automatically. Then I realised I didn't want to go anywhere near the cafeteria. "I'll give you my number. Maybe we can go out for lunch?"

Lilly smiled as she took her phone out of her bag. I gave her my number, then she called it so that I had hers on my phone.

"See you," she said, walking off in the opposite direction.

I headed to maths class, hoping I didn't know anyone there and, more importantly, that no one knew me. I didn't want to have to deal with any more bitches thinking I was trying to crack onto their boyfriends.

My wish came true, and surprisingly, no one seemed to be talking about me. I slid into a chair in the back row as a message came through on my phone. It was from Lilly.

Sorry but I forgot I have to go see the principal about something during lunch. See you after school?

I replied, _No worries. I'll see you then._

I pulled out my tablet and checked my email while I waited for the teacher.

I had four emails: one from my math teacher, Mr. Harvey; two from a couple of close friends, Maddie and Cassidy; one from my best friend, Jessica, who was also my cousin.

Hey, Zara. I hope the reason you haven't called or replied to my FB messages the last four days is because you're busy lining up some hot guys for us for when I get up there in two weeks.

I can't believe you're not here anymore :( It sucks big time!!!!!

Josh has been asking about you. Don't worry, I haven't told him anything. He can go fuck himself after what he did to you.

Gotta go, Maddie just turned up.

Jess xxx

My eyes glazed over with threatened tears. I missed her so much, but at least she was coming up to the Coast in two weeks, and then we were going to work out which uni we wanted to go to together.

I was about to open my email from Maddie when Mr. Harvey entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late, class. We've got a lot of things to go over today, so I need everyone to take their seats so we can get started." He dumped his bag on the desk at the front of the room. "Now, I've just sent everyone their marks from the practice exam. Some of you are going to be surprised, and some of you are going to be disappointed." He stared pointedly at the blond-haired guy in the second row who was wearing earphones. "So, I want everyone to open your exam." He sat down on the edge of his desk. "And if anyone has any questions or needs help with anything, come and see me. Otherwise, I want everyone to use this period to study for your exam next week."

Great. I opened the email from Mr. Harvey, holding my breath as I looked for my result. One hundred percent. What the hell? There was no way I could've gotten such a high score. Something was definitely not right.

Mr. Harvey looked over at me, smiling as he gave me a quick nod.

Wow. I had no idea how the hell I'd managed to get that, but I sure hoped I'd be able to do it again on the actual test. I apparently didn't need to study, so I opened my email and replied to Jess.

Hey, Jess.

Somehow this move has been good for my grades. I just got 100% on the prac maths test!!

It looks like I'm going to be having two Schoolies this year. A friend... I guess I can call her that... anyway, a friend has asked me to do Schoolies with her, too.

As for hot guys, there are plenty of them up here, but so far they're all assholes!!

Seeya xxx

Oh, and thanks for telling Josh where to go. :)

Putting down my tablet, I leaned back in my chair and stared absently at the pen I was twirling around my fingers. I was happy to hear from Jess, but the mention of Josh made me feel sick. The memory of finding my boyfriend of almost a year with his hands on my slurry of a friend's boobs still gnawed at my insides. And that he tried playing the "it's not what you think" card was even more unbelievable. Not what I thought! How the hell could he say that when he had her naked ass straddling his naked body?

The snap of my pen brought me out of my tunnel-visioned anger. Feeling eyes on me, I looked over to see a freckly-nosed, red-headed girl with her mouth wide open, staring at the broken pen in my hand.

I shrugged and turned my attention back to my tablet. I Googled "superhuman strength" and "black eyes." What I came up with was anything but useful. Demons? I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud.

The rest of the day was uneventful, just how I wanted it. Walking out to my car, I was met by Lilly.

"Sorry about lunch again," she said. "Mrs Elliott had to give me my recommendation for my uni application."

I waved her off. "Did she give you a good one?"

She nodded. "It should help me get into accounting as long as I don't screw up my exams next week."

"So you've decided what you're going to apply for?"

"I think so," she said, although the way she said it made me think it wasn't set in stone.

"So, what are you doing this afternoon?" she asked as we walked through the school gate.

I wasn't going to be studying, but I didn't want to lie. I had no idea where the little bitch in my head had come from, but I had to shut her up before she had a chance to take up permanent residency in my mind.

Lilly started fidgeting with her fingers. The poor girl probably thought I was trying to come up with a reason to ditch her when she so clearly wanted to hang out.

Unlocking the car, I opened the passenger door and stepped to the side. "Want to come over for a while? I can drop you home later."

A smile spread across her face. "Yeah, that would be great." She hopped into the car.

As we left the parking lot, I saw the guys from the canal standing next to the driveway. Lilly's smile dropped as Tyler blew her a kiss. Something swept over me—not fear but a predatory feeling. All I wanted to do was jump out and show him what he was, and even more, who _I_ was. He needed to learn that he was at the bottom of the food chain and that I could crush him where he stood.

As I glared at him, Tyler's face grew pale then he dropped his gaze. Submission. He may not have known that was what he was showing, but I did.

A beep from the car behind me broke my concentration. _Holy shit!_ What the hell was wrong with me? I looked up into the review mirror as I waved my apology to the beeper. I caught a glimpse of my reflection—my irises were black. I did a double take, and sure enough, they were still the same.

On the odd chance it wasn't an illusion, I quickly grabbed my sunglasses out of the holder and put them on before Lilly looked in my direction.

"I can't wait 'til next week is over and I never have to see their faces again," Lilly said as I pulled out onto the road.

"Are they that bad, then?"

"You should know." She gave me a pointed look.

I didn't want to go there just yet—even if she did. It was one thing to talk about what had happened to her, but it was quite another to discuss my situation and that some mysterious black-eyed, possibly demon guy had saved me. "I don't know what you mean."

I turned back to face the front. I could feel her eyes boring into the side of my head, but I refused to look in her direction.

She sighed. "If you say so. But just so you know, I'm here to talk whenever you're ready."

"Okay, thanks, I guess," I said, pretending to have no idea what she was on about.

### Chapter 7

When we pulled into my driveway, Lilly's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "You live on Hedges Avenue?"

"Yeah. Why?" I pressed the garage remote.

"Only because it's one of the most sought-after real estate on the Coast." She grinned.

"What?" I asked, with a smile on my face.

"Nothing much, only that Jett lives two houses down from you."

I almost drove my car through the back wall of the garage. No wonder I'd seen him hanging around on the beach. And I had actually entertained the idea that was because of me. Boy, did I have tickets on myself.

"Breathe, Zara."

I put the car in park, pressed the garage remote, and got out. "Come on."

Lilly followed me inside. "What time will your dad be coming home?"

I dumped my bag on the couch. "He's in China for a week or so."

Lilly dropped her bag beside mine and looked around the room. "You're staying here by yourself?"

"Yep. As usual." I headed into the kitchen, where I found a note on the counter that said that my father would be going on to Tokyo for a week after he was finished in China. I didn't recognise the writing and wondered who had left the note—probably one of my dad's minions. "Time to get the locks changed," I muttered.

Lilly came into the kitchen. "What?"

I shook my head. "Nothing." I slipped the note into the top drawer then opened the fridge. It was full of food that hadn't been there before I left for school. Maybe I shouldn't change the locks after all. "Want something?" I stood to the side so she could see.

Lilly hesitantly picked up a packet of Tim Tams. "Do you have coffee?"

I cocked my head toward the machine. "What do you want?"

"A coffee?" she said with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes as I closed the fridge door. "Flat white, cappuccino, latte, or macchiato?"

"Latte, thanks."

I turned on the machine and made two lattes. Once they were ready, we took our coffees out on the back deck. The sun was still up, and the beach was filled with the after-school crowd. I scanned the beach, looking for Jett.

Lilly sat down and put her Tim Tams on the table. "His house is two up to the right."

Was I that obvious? Well, I didn't want to be that girl. "Whose house?"

She threw her head back and laughed. "Don't pretend you weren't just looking for Jett."

My face heated as blood rushed to my cheeks. "I wasn't looking for him." When I felt my skin return to normal, I turned around and sat on the chair next to her, which just so happened to be facing toward Jett's house.

"Sure you weren't." She opened the Tim Tams and picked out a biscuit.

I put my elbows on the table and rested my chin on my hands. "Is he really in the mob?"

"I don't know about Jett, but his father definitely is. Or I should say he's the mob boss—only they don't call it 'the mob.'" She bit off one end of the Tim Tam, turned it over, and bit off the other end.

I looked over at his house. It didn't look like a mob boss's house, but then again, I didn't know exactly what a mob boss's house would look like. But I did expect the three-story house to be secured by big burly blokes dressed in suits and packing guns. All I saw was a house similar to mine. No guards—not even a dog. "How do you know all this?"

"Everyone knows." She put one end of the Tim Tam into the coffee and sucked the coffee through the biscuit.

"That is so disgusting."

Lilly stopped sucking and lifted her head. She looked as if she thought I was the one who was nuts. "Have you tried it?"

I chuckled. "No."

She shrugged. "Then don't knock it 'til you've tried it." She put the Tim Tam back in her drink and continued to suck the coffee through the biscuit.

I waited for her biscuit to melt into the coffee before I asked my next lot of questions. "So when you say the mob, do you mean like the ones on TV? Guns, drugs... killing people?"

Lilly nodded. "They did this report about his family on TV a couple of months ago where they said that all the police have on them is circumstantial evidence. Apparently, they've never been convicted of anything."

"How is that possible if everyone knows it was them?"

"I don't know. Evidence goes missing. Witnesses disappear."

My eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Of course, there's no proof, but somehow the witnesses always disappear before the trial. And that's if it even gets that far. I think most of the stuff they do just gets swept under the carpet." Lilly nodded toward Jett's house. "Speak of the devil."

I turned to see what she meant. Jett walked through the back gate of his yard, carrying a board under his arm. He had a white tattoo that ran from his neck, over his shoulder and down the side of his chest, disappearing into his board shorts, which were hanging off his hips. All I wanted to do was tug them down farther so I could see the rest of the tattoo. _Oh, God._ It seemed that my taste in bad guys hadn't changed. I tried to look away, but something about him wouldn't let me. I felt like a cliché. I was a compass, and he was my north. I wanted to bitch slap myself for just thinking that.

He looked over at us, and I stopped breathing. I could've sworn something flickered in his eyes before they glazed over as an easy smile appeared on his face. He waved at us then jogged down the sand and into the water.

Lilly hit my arm. "Breathe, girl."

I needed to suck in some air, but I didn't want to prove Lilly right. What kind of girl stopped breathing when a guy smiled at her? Not me, that was for sure, especially not for someone whose father was probably responsible for multiple murders. Trying to appear casual, I leaned back and put my feet up on the chair beside mine. I picked up my mug and looked out at the beach.

"He's over there." She pointed at Jett, who was paddling out to sea.

God, that girl was good. I had never suspected that shy, reserved Lilly could be so outgoing. It pissed me off to think that those boys and girls had destroyed that part of her, but at least there was still hope. We only had one week of school left, and I hoped that after that she would never have to see them again.

I sighed. "Is it bad that I think the mobs boss's son is hot?"

Lilly laughed. "No. It just means you're human."

Maybe not, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

### Chapter 8

The sea breeze died as the sun disappeared behind my house.

Lilly kicked back her chair and stood. "I guess I better get going."

"Unless you want to stay the night?" I asked, surprising myself.

"I would love to, but my mum would kick my ass if I don't come home and study for exams." She pushed her chair in. "I'll call you if she lets me out for good behaviour."

I smiled, thinking how nice it must be to have a parent that actually cared. I got up and followed Lilly inside. She picked up her bag and headed for the front door. "I'll see you later."

"As if I'm going to let you catch a bus home." I grabbed my keys and purse.

"You sure?" she asked. "I mean I don't mind catching a bus."

I raised an eyebrow. "Nobody likes taking the bus." I went into the garage with Lilly following.

"Thanks," she said.

When we got in the car, I asked, "Where to?"

"I live over in Broadbeach Waters. Off Monaco Street."

"Sorry, I don't know where that is. You're going to have to give me directions."

Lilly lowered her sunglasses from the top of her head to cover her eyes. "You know this car has GPS, right?"

I took a left at the end of the street. "Yeah, I plan on figuring out how to use it one of these days."

She reached out, brought up the satellite navigation system, then began pressing buttons on the screen. "There you go. Now you'll be able to find your way home."

I slowed at the traffic light. "Which way?"

"Right."

"So do you have any preferences to where you want to stay for Schoolies?"

"You'll need to turn left at the next light. And I don't really care where, as long as it's in Surfers. I don't want to have to find transport back to the hotel." As I turned left onto Monaco Street, she added, "Two streets up on the left then first right."

I followed her instructions and pulled up in front of a single-story Balinese-inspired house that I presumed was on the water by the canals that we passed on the way over.

"Thanks for dropping me home." Lilly pressed a button on the screen. "The car will tell you how to get back." She grinned and hopped out of the car.

I leaned over and said, "Thanks."

"I'll call you if I can come over."

The way she said it, I was pretty sure I would be spending the weekend alone. "Have fun studying."

She rolled her eyes. "Seeya." She closed the door and headed up the path to her house.

By the time I got home, I wanted to rip the damned Sat Nav out of the dashboard. The voice telling me where to go seriously grated my nerves. I didn't like being told what to do—even by a computer.

When I pulled into my garage, the voice kept repeating, "You have arrived at your destination."

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to turn the damned thing off. I was sure it had malfunctioned. I couldn't be that technologically impaired. "Stupid friggin' idiot!" I yelled as the voice continued.

"You always talk to your car?" a sexy voice asked.

I whipped my head around. Blood instantly flooded my cheeks when I saw Jett leaning against the garage wall. "I wasn't—" I shook my head and waited for the colour of my cheeks to return to normal before I got out of the car. "There's something wrong with the car's computer chip. I can't get the Sat Nav to turn off."

He started toward me. "Let me take a look."

I sucked in a sharp breath as he brushed past me and sat in the driver's seat. Within seconds, the annoying voice was silenced. "There you go."

I leaned into the car. "How the hell did you do that?"

He turned his head to look up at me, and I just about stopped breathing. Our faces were only inches apart.

"Um... never mind." I straightened, refusing to be so easily infatuated. "I won't be using that thing ever again." I stepped back, put my hand on the car door, and waited for him to get out.

An easy smile spread across his face. He turned the engine off, got out, and casually leaned against my car as if he belonged there. The self-confidence he exuded was like nothing I'd ever seen. I guessed that kind of thing only came with someone who had as much power as his family did. Thinking about his family's business should've sent me running, but Jett made me feel anything but scared. Maybe it had something to do with him possibly saving me from being raped. Victims were known to form attachments to their rescuers. But the problem with that theory was that I wasn't sure he had been my hero.

I noticed Jett was staring at me. "What?" I was happy for him to look at me for the next ten hours, but I didn't want him knowing that.

He smirked. "Nice way of saying thanks."

I dipped my head as my face flushed again. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He pushed off the car and walked out of the garage. "See you around." He strolled down the driveway and onto the footpath without looking back.

I slammed the car door, closed the garage, and went into the house. I was so angry with myself for practically turning to putty whenever he was around. God, I didn't even need to be around him—I just needed to think about him. Maybe I had posttraumatic stress disorder and needed counselling after all because I definitely wasn't turning into _that_ girl.

### Chapter 9

My father would've been proud. I spent most of the night studying my ass off in my bedroom—not that I cared about his approval. When I couldn't take another second of reading about Australian history, I turned off my music and the light then climbed into bed.

The sound of drunken chatter filtered in through the half-closed balcony door. Someone was obviously having a party on the beach. I didn't dare get up to look, but I knew Jett would be down there. Or maybe I just hoped.

I covered my head with the pillow and tried to drown out the noise, but it was useless. I could hear every drunken slur. I needed to drown out the noise. I got out of bed and stumbled in the dark through my clothes scattered on the floor to grab my iPod from my desk.

I tried not to look down to the beach as I walked past the balcony, but I failed miserably. The next thing I knew, my face was smushed up against the security mesh as I tried to get a better view.

There had to be at least twenty people on the beach, all sitting around a crackling fire that spat flaming embers into the air when someone tipped his beer into the flames.

I zeroed in on Jett. He was sitting on a deck chair with a bottle of beer in his hand. He wasn't acting loud and obnoxious like his friends. There was something different about the way he was behaving—or wasn't behaving. His beer didn't look to have been touched, as if it were just for show. His brown eyes were glazed over as he sat in deep serenity.

_Hang on. How the hell could I see so much detail when they had to be at least fifty metres away?_ I quickly glanced at the mirror to my right. I almost screamed when I saw black eyes staring back at me.

My heart thumping in my chest, I quickly turned away from my reflection. I looked out the door again, searching for Jett. I sucked in a sharp breath. His black eyes were staring back at me.

I jumped back, away from the door. I wanted to believe there was no way he could've seen me standing there in the dark, but the way our eyes had locked on one another, I knew something had passed between us. What exactly that was, I didn't know.

I snatched my iPod off the desk and made my way back to the bed. I flicked to my favourite playlist for going to sleep then laid my head on the pillow, listening to the music coming from the speakers in the ceiling.

No longer able to hear the noise down on the beach, I drifted off to sleep with my black-eyed boy never leaving the forefront of my mind.

***

Boom! The sound of a gunshot blasted through my room.

I leapt out of the bed, trying to look everywhere at once. My chest was on fire, and when I placed my hand on it, I felt a warm liquid. Blood. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out but a gurgling noise.

I looked up into the cold hard stare of a man standing at the foot of my bed. He held a gun, which was aimed at my head.

My head started to spin, and whiteness crept into the edges of my vision. I saw an air ripple pass through the security screen and slam into the man. I tried to stay awake to see what was happening, but the more I fought it, the faster I went under. My knees buckled, and I fell to the floor as the white light overcame me.

### Chapter 10

I awoke to whispers. I tried to open my eyes, but my lids were not co-operating. They felt sealed shut. I tried to say something, but I couldn't seem to move my mouth.

My head was foggy and my chest numb. _My chest!_ I tried to lift my hand, but it didn't move. My brain seemed to be the only part of my body that still worked.

Panic rippled through me as I imagined my life without a working body, always having to rely on someone to feed, bathe, and take care of me. I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, but I couldn't even do that.

The voices moved away until I was surrounded by silence. Then a hand closed over mine and squeezed tightly. Someone whispered words I couldn't understand. The warmth of their breath against my cheek soothed me more with every word they said. I felt as if I were putty melting into the mattress as I quickly drifted off to sleep.

***

Sunlight shining through my lids woke me. I slowly opened my sleep-encrusted eyes and rubbed them until I could see properly. I was lying in my bed. The door to my balcony was half open, and a warm sea breeze blew into my room.

I sighed with relief. The whole thing had been a dream, a bad one, but nothing more than a nightmare. I checked the clock on the bedside table—2:15. _Holy crap!_ I'd never slept so late in my entire life.

I tried to sit up, but a tightness in my chest made me collapse back onto my pillow. "Shit," I said through gritted teeth.

"I wouldn't recommend getting up for at least another day," Jett said, walking into my room.

"What the hell?" Pain ripped through my chest as I jerked up in surprise.

"Relax." He held up his hand. "I'm not going to hurt you."

He came over and sat on the edge of my bed as if he'd done it a hundred times before. He was completely relaxed, unlike me. I didn't understand why he was there or how he had gotten into my house.

"How's your chest?" he asked.

I blinked hard. "Excuse me?"

His eyes dropped down to my chest, and he smiled. "How's the pain in your chest?"

"Pain?" I looked down and saw gauze covering the top of my left boob.

He leaned over and pointed at the bandage. "You're lucky. The bullet only nicked your ribs. It didn't pass through, but it has been removed."

I gaped at him. I had been shot. Those four words replayed in my mind over and over again.

"Calm down. You're going to be okay."

Anger shot through me. What right did he have to tell me to calm down when I'd just found out that I'd been shot? Actually, what right did he have being in my house? In my room? God, I barely even knew him, and yet he was sitting on my bed as if it were his own. Countless questions ran through my mind, but one stood out. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why aren't I in hospital? I mean, if I've been shot, then shouldn't I be in hospital?"

"Take a look under the bandage if you don't believe me."

I was about to call him out for dodging my question when I decided to humour him and take a look. I looked down to peel off the gauze and gasped in horror. Without a doubt, I knew I had gone to bed in a white tank, but I was now wearing a blue one. I lifted the sheet. I also no longer had on my grey shorts. I wasn't wearing shorts at all—just panties.

I dropped the sheet. "Please tell me a nurse changed my clothes."

He grinned. "Yep. Nurse Lomazzo took care of it."

Relief washed over me. "So what are you doing here?"

"Someone has to take care of you while your dad's away."

I shook my head, thinking a home nurse would've been a more obvious choice for a gunshot victim. Actually, a hospital room would be more fitting. I thought back to the night it had happened, imagining the man holding a gun trained on my chest. "Why me?"

Jett looked at me as if I were stupid. "Ahh, because you're the one who got shot."

I scrunched up my face then realised why he thought I was asking him why he was looking after me. "No, I meant, why was I _shot_?" I remembered the cold, hard look on the man's face. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Then why are you here? I mean, how did you find out that I'd been shot and needed looking after?"

Jett stood, walked over to the half-open balcony door, and stared outside. "I heard the ambulance and came over."

I waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't, I prodded him with "That's it?" For the first time since I'd known him—which wasn't very long—he looked unsure of himself. "Jett?"

He clenched his jaw then turned to me. I thought he was going to get all crazy drug lord on me, but his voice was calm. "That's it." He walked toward the door to the hallway. "You should get some rest. I'll be downstairs if you need me. My number's in your phone, and your phone's beside your bed." He left the room without looking back.

I looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. I had definitely locked the security mesh screen, and those things were apparently indestructible. The monitored security system my father had installed was supposed to be top of the line as well, yet my attacker had still gotten in without triggering the alarm.

Nothing seemed to make sense. And I had a feeling Jett knew more than what he was letting on, but for some reason, he wanted to keep me in the dark.

### Chapter 11

Just as I picked up my phone to call the police to find out what was going on, Jett entered my room, followed by two police officers, a male and a female. "The police want to speak with you about what happened last night."

"Um, sure, I guess."

"Hi, Zara," the woman said. "My name is Sergeant Campbell, and this is Sergeant Brown."

"Hi," I said nervously.

"Your friend here said that you would be up to speak with us about what happened last night."

"Yeah, that's fine." I glared at Jett, wishing I had telepathic abilities so I could let him know he should have given me some warning.

"Good. Well, we won't take up much of your time," she said. "The security company have informed us that your system was inactive at the time of the incident, and they couldn't find any evidence to suggest tampering. Do you remember setting the alarm before you went to bed?"

I was supposed to set the alarm? Dad hadn't mentioned that. "No, sorry. I don't remember."

"That's okay. Do you remember anything about the burglar you encountered last night?"

"I'm sorry. What?" I asked.

Campbell furrowed her eyebrows. "You interrupted an intruder last night in your lounge room."

I shook my head. "No. Someone came into my bedroom and shot me."

Sergeant Brown glanced at Jett. "You were found downstairs. You—"

"Ah, no. It happened in here, right where you're standing."

They looked at the floor as if expecting to see bloodstains or some other evidence.

Campbell knelt to study the carpet. "I'm sorry, but I don't see any blood here."

It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't seen any bloodstains on the carpet when I'd gotten up to go to the bathroom, and it would've been impossible for someone to clean up the mess overnight. As much as I knew it was going to hurt, I had to see for myself. Gritting my teeth, I rolled over and checked the floor. The carpet was clean. "But..." I looked up at them, hoping they'd come up with a reason why there were no stains on the carpet.

Campbell gave me a pitying look. "Maybe we should come back later when you've had some time to remember what happened."

"No!" I shouted as they turned to leave. "I remember what happened."

"We were first on the scene, and we found you downstairs," Sergeant Campbell said. "We've already searched your house, and there was no evidence to say you were shot in your room, or anywhere else in the house, for that matter."

"But..." I shook my head, trying to work out how my memory could be so wrong.

"That's okay, miss. Sometimes this happens with trauma victims." Sergeant Brown pulled a card out of his pocket and put it on my nightstand. "You can call us when your memory comes back."

"But I remember what he looked like."

Sergeant Campbell shook her head with a sorrowful expression. "We can't use any description you have of the assailant if your memory of the event is conflicting with the evidence."

I sat there, too shocked to say anything more. I remembered the attack as clear as day, but they were right. There was no blood on the carpet, walls, or bed sheets. I did have a tendency to sleepwalk, so maybe my whole memory was nothing more than a dream. And for all I knew, I could've let the intruder in myself.

"I'm sorry. I know this must be hard to hear," Sergeant Campbell said. "Maybe you should try seeing a counsellor to help you." She looked over to Jett, who gave her a slight nod. "We'll let you know if we have any further information for you."

"Wait!" I yelled as they neared the door. "Please don't contact my father about this."

The look on their faces was exactly what I expected. I was sure they didn't get that type of request often. But they didn't know my father. He would have sounded sincerely distraught when they told him, but then I'd have to deal with his anger over how stupid I was to confront a burglar. But that wouldn't have been the worst of it. Seeing him not give a damn wasn't something I ever wanted to go through again. I didn't need that reminder that he didn't love me. One time, I was so sick that every movement made me throw up. My father knowingly left me lying in my own vomit for days without medical attention just so he could attend one of his precious business conferences. If it wasn't for my cousin Jessica coming around to see where I was and why I wasn't returning her calls, I would probably have died.

"You're not a minor, so we have no authority to inform him against your wishes," Sergeant Campbell said.

I nodded. "I don't want him to know."

"Right." Sergeant Campbell glanced at her partner, probably wondering why a teenager wouldn't want her parent knowing she'd been shot. "I hope you get better soon."

"Thank you," I said.

When Jett started to walk them out, Sergeant Brown said, "We can see ourselves out if you want to stay with Zara."

"Thanks," Jett replied. He waited until they had left before sitting on my bed beside me. "Maybe they were right, and you should see a—"

"If you're going to say I need a shrink, then you can save it. I'm not crazy."

He glanced at the floor. "I didn't say you were."

"Good."

He shook his head. "You really don't want to tell your father?"

"Nope."

He drew his eyebrows together as he studied my face. "Okay. If he calls the house, I won't say anything."

"If he calls the house you probably shouldn't pick up. Actually, just don't answer the home phone at all."

He shrugged. "Whatever you say."

I huffed. "What are you doing here, Jett?"

"Talking to you."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Look, if you really don't want me around, I can organise a home nurse, but then there'd be a strange transaction on your bill that your father might want you to explain."

My dad had never questioned my bill, but then, I'd never had to pay for a nurse, either. And as stupid as it sounded, it wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

Later that afternoon, I heard hushed whispers coming from downstairs, but I couldn't work out who the other person was or what he was saying. I so badly wanted to go see, but I couldn't even manage to get up to go to the toilet. And boy, did I need to pee!

The voices went away after about twenty minutes. I expected Jett to come check on me, offer me some water or something—but no. Some home help he turned out to be. The pain in my bladder became unbearable, but there was no way I was going to call Jett and ask for help with that.

I peeled off the sheets and managed to sit up without too much pain. The next part was going to be the hardest. I eased my legs to the side and onto the floor, then leaned forward and slowly pushed myself off the bed. For a second, I thought I was going to crash to the floor, but I managed to steady myself in time.

I edged toward the bathroom, taking teeny-tiny steps as I winced in pain. I must have looked like a complete idiot, and I hoped Jett didn't come back before I was back in bed.

Finally managing to get to the toilet, I ran into my next problem—getting my panties off. No matter how tempting it would've been to have Jett undress me, having him help me go to the loo was not what I had in mind.

Gradually, I slid my knickers down and tilted my body backward until my ass was on the toilet seat. I sighed with relief as I let my bladder go. After what felt like ten minutes of peeing, I realised that I had to get to the sink to wash my hands before I could go back to bed.

I leaned forward and pulled up my panties. "Fuck," I said through gritted teeth. The last thing I wanted was for Jett to hear me cursing and rush into save me and come face to face with my hoo-ha in a not-so-desirable way.

Carefully, I shuffled over to the sink. Reaching out to turn on the tap almost made me scream. I washed my hands as quickly as possible. Not bothering to dry them, I turned, still bent over, and headed for the door. As I exited the bathroom, I came face to face with a stomach—an oh-so-sexy shirtless stomach with a six-pack. Cringing, I looked up and saw Jett grinning at me.

"Need some help?" he asked with a laugh.

I wanted to die. How much had he seen? And why the hell hadn't he let me know he was there? "No."

He stood to the side to let me pass, but I wasn't going anywhere. My shuffling was much more shameful than asking for help.

"Okay."

A quizzical look came over his face. "Okay what?"

I knew he was only mocking me, and I _so_ wasn't in the mood for his playfulness. My chest was aching, and all I wanted to do was get back to bed and sleep for the next three days. I looked up into his deep brown eyes, pleading with him to not make me have to say it.

"Okay, okay. I'll help you back to bed." He gently swept me up into his arms.

I winced and let out a little gasp.

"Sorry."

Yeah, I wasn't. The pain was completely worth it. My tank top had crept up, and all I could think about was the fact that my bare stomach and hips were touching his rock-hard naked chest. He carried me through my bedroom then carefully laid me on my bed. He looked down at my body for a second too long before covering me with the sheet. I thought I saw lust in his eyes, but he looked away before I could be sure.

Again I wanted to slap myself for being so pathetic. How could I be thinking about him like that when I had just been shot?

"How's your chest?" Jett asked, reaching for the gauze on my chest.

I slapped my hand over my bandage then sucked in a sharp breath at the pain even that slight movement had just induced. It was silly really because I didn't give two hoots that he was about to put his hands all over me. Actually, I would've loved to know what his hands running over my body would feel like, but I didn't want him to think I was that kind of girl. I had morals—at least that was what I kept telling myself—but I was seriously starting to doubt it when it came to the boy standing over me.

Jett laughed. "Relax. I just need to make sure it's not infected."

I gave him a warning glare to let him know that feeling me up was not okay.

He carefully removed half the gauze and took a look. "All good."

"I want to see," I said.

He paused as if trying to decide if it was okay if I saw my own wound. I shoved his hand out of the way and peeled the gauze the rest of the way back. I expected to see a fresh ugly hole, a whole lot of bruising, and maybe some dried blood, but the area was clean, and the mark looked as though the shooting had happened more like a week ago instead of less than twenty-four hours.

"Are you sure I haven't been unconscious for a week?"

He smiled. "You were expecting more?"

I glanced up at him. "Um... yeah."

"Well, have you ever been shot before?"

"No."

"Then how do you know what it's meant to look like?"

I knew he was dodging my question, but he was also right. All I had to go on was what I had seen on TV and in movies, and they didn't usually show the detail of the recovery. But I still thought there should've been more gore.

"Exactly," he said when I didn't reply. Jett walked over to the door. "I'm going to order some takeaway. Is pizza okay with you?"

"Whatever." I turned my head to face the wall to let him know that two could play it that way. If he wanted to ignore me, then I was going to do the same to him. I heard soft footsteps on the carpet as he walked down the hall.

The next hour, I tried my hardest to fall asleep, but it was useless. I tried to remember if there were any more details of the shooting, but all I could recall was the cold hard stare of the man. Once I'd been shot, everything went hazy. But even that memory might not be true.

Jett returned, carrying three pizza boxes and a DVD on top. "We've got barbeque meat lover's, seafood sensation, and super supreme."

He put the boxes down on the end of the bed and walked over to my TV.

I read the title as he pulled out the disk: _Fast and Furious_. "What are you doing?"

Ignoring my question, he put the DVD into the player. "Now, I know you're probably one of those chicks who always want to watch romantic comedies, but I'm sure you don't want me falling asleep with you."

I wasn't so sure. That could be the highlight of my evening. But then again, did I really want to spend the night with the son of a drug lord in bed with me? "You're watching a movie with me? Don't you have anything better to do on a Saturday night?" _Like selling drugs for Daddy._

"Nope." He climbed onto the bed beside me as if it were his bed, not mine. "I'm all yours."

Oh, God. If only that were true. Looking at him sitting there beside me made me forget all about who his father was. The confidence that radiated from him was enough to make me desire to fulfil his every want and need.

"You all right?" he asked.

I shook my thoughts away, pretending I hadn't just been staring at his fine form. "Make yourself comfortable, why don't you."

Ignoring my sarcastic comment, he leaned forward and pulled the pizza boxes onto his lap. He opened each and placed them between us in a line down the bed. "Which one do you want first?"

"I think I can get my own pizza."

"Fine. Don't say I didn't offer." He picked up a slice with one hand and the remote with the other then pressed Play.

God, I felt like an idiot. The pain caused by reaching out to pick up a slice was ridiculous.

After I finished the slice, Jett picked up the box and held it out to me.

I sucked up my pride and mumbled, "Thanks," before taking another slice. I devoured that one then took him up on his offer of a third.

We sat back and watched the movie. Well, Jett saw far more of it than I did. I was too focused on his body beside mine to concentrate on anything else. I didn't understand why he was there looking after me and why he felt so at ease in my house, not to mention his almost cocky demeanour.

As I studied him, I thought back to that day under the bridge. Had it really been Jett I had seen? The boy next to me certainly didn't have black eyes, and he most definitely didn't have gills on his neck.

"Are you one of those people who can free dive?" I blurted.

"What?" His eyes remained focused on the TV, and I would've thought nothing of it except he tensed ever so slightly.

I thought about telling him to forget I'd said anything, but because I had already started, I may as well have continued. "You know, those people who can stay underwater for twenty minutes or so?"

"No. Why? Can you?"

"Ah, no." Okay, so he probably thought I was an idiot. Maybe I should've just shut up.

A phone buzzed. Jett reached inside his pocket and retrieved his phone. He looked at the screen, typed something, then hopped out of bed. "I'll be back in a sec."

I wanted to get out of bed and follow him downstairs, but I would probably fall flat on my face and need rescuing again. Actually, that didn't sound like a bad idea—if I were desperate, which I kept telling myself I wasn't.

I heard muffled voices downstairs. I picked up the remote and tried to mute the TV but accidentally changed the channel instead. The screen showed Jett standing with his back to the camera. I'd had no idea that the surveillance system was connected to my TV.

Jett's body blocked most of whoever else was down in our lounge room. I turned up the volume, but the system apparently didn't include microphones, so I had to settle for just watching.

Jett pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to the other person. The guy gave Jett something that looked an awful lot like a wad of cash, which Jett quickly pocketed.

"The fucker's selling drugs in _my_ house!"

Slender fingers wrapped around Jett's arm, then a girl came into view as she stood on her tip-toes and kissed him. The camera angle kept me from seeing whether the kiss landed on his cheek or his lips. But that didn't matter. I felt as if I'd been sucker punched, and I didn't know why. Jett wasn't mine, and from the way he backed up after the quick peck, he didn't seem that into her.

Jett turned, keeping his hand on her waist, and ushered her toward the door. Even that small gesture made my blood boil so much so that I almost forgot about the illegal exchange that had gone down in my living room.

After she left, Jett disappeared from the camera's view, and I heard him trotting up the stairs. I quickly changed the channel back to the movie so he wouldn't know I had been spying on him.

"Sorry about that." He took up his previous spot on the bed as if he had done nothing more than go to the loo. "Did I miss anything?"

"Who were you talking to downstairs?" Asking a drug lord about his dealings probably wasn't one of my better ideas, but I couldn't help it. The jealous bitch that seemed to have taken up residence inside me couldn't let it lie.

"It was my cousin. I had something of hers she needed tonight."

Well, he didn't lie about the fact that the visitor had been a girl, so maybe she was his cousin. Cousins kissed each other on the cheek. But if she had just come over to get something of hers, then why had she handed him money? I thought about changing the channel on the TV so he would know that I'd seen everything that went down, but I decided it probably wasn't a good idea to let a drug dealer know that someone had footage of their dealings. Besides, if he was going to receive any other visitors, as horrible and unethical as it was, I wanted to snoop. I needed to know more about Jett, and for someone who seemed so relaxed, he was keeping a hell of a secret that I wanted in on.

"No, you didn't miss much," I finally said. "You know, just some shooting and car chases—the usual." I really had no idea what he had missed, but I was pretty sure those things were a given.

I pretended to be engrossed in the movie so I didn't have to worry about idle chitchat and the possibility I might shoot off my mouth about what I'd seen.

Biting down on my lip, I wriggled down so I was lying flat on my back, and before long, I drifted off to sleep.

### Chapter 12

The sound of gunfire ricocheted through my ears. I opened my eyes, desperately searching the moonlit room, hoping that the man who had put the bullet in my chest hadn't come back to finish the job.

No one was there. I tried focusing on the air to see if any rippling appeared, but everything seemed normal. It was only a dream. I looked at the clock—three in the morning. Without thinking, I rolled onto my side then realised that only a few hours ago, that simple movement wouldn't have been possible. My chest still hurt, but at least I could move. I took a deep breath and held onto it until the pain had subsided then released it slowly.

I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but it wasn't until the sun began to rise that my eyes got heavy enough to drag me back under.

***

The vibrating of my phone on the bedside table woke me. With my eyes still closed, I reached out and grabbed it. "Hello?"

There was no answer. I opened my eyes and looked at the screen.

"Shit." I had ten missed calls from my dad and one from Lilly.

My phone began vibrating again with a message from my father.

Why aren't you answering your phone? Do I need to call for that babysitter?

I clenched my fist, trying to keep from throwing the phone. Once I was calm enough, I replied.

I just woke up. Have been up all night studying.

I hoped that would appease him.

A minute later another text appeared.

You better not sleep in tomorrow! You've got an exam, and I'm going to be checking with the school to make sure you're there.

_Yes, Dad. I wouldn't miss school for the world._ I threw the phone on the bed. I couldn't wait for the school year to be over so I could finally get him off my back. I just wished he would stop pretending he gave a damn about what I did. The only person he gave a damn about was himself and what everyone thought about him and his precious daughter that he had raised from birth on his own. That was the lie of the century. My father did everything he could not to be in my life. Nannies had raised me. I had one from the moment I was brought home from hospital, and thanks to my father crossing the line of professionalism with each and every nanny, I had another fifteen thereafter. I was _so_ determined to not make it sixteen.

I sat up, and a dull pain throbbed in my chest. I had completely forgotten about my wound. I carefully peeled back the gauze. I stared down at my skin. The wound had improved. "What the...?"

A knock sounded on my bedroom door, then Jett entered without waiting for me to give him the okay.

"Yes, you may come in," I said sarcastically.

He smirked. "Shy, are we?"

"Ahh, I don't call me not wanting a guy I've just met to see me in my underwear as being shy."

"Swimmers, panties, same dif."

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure if it was just Jett who felt that way or if it was part of the Gold Coast way of life. Somehow, I thought it was the latter.

"I'm guessing you're needing to go to the bathroom?"

I scrunched up my face. How did he know?

He laughed as if he'd read my mind. "Most people have the urge to go when they wake up."

I cringed. "And you're planning on helping me get there, aren't you?"

He clapped his hands. "That's what I'm here for."

I raised my eyebrows. "To take me to the loo?"

A devilish grin spread across his face. "Amongst other things."

I just about choked, making his smile grow even wider.

Fortunately, he didn't leave me sitting there with my mouth open for long. He put his arm around my back and helped me to my feet. "Are you right to walk?"

I nodded, unable to say a word because of what he may or may not have insinuated. Then I realised I was only wearing my panties, and I didn't have the ability to quickly grab something to cover me. But if I said anything, I was pretty sure I would only embarrass myself more. So I sucked it up and went with it.

He guided me into the bathroom and right over to the toilet. He stood with his body inches from mine and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, making my stomach do all sorts of stupid things. "How does it feel?"

"Huh?"

He chuckled, obviously knowing the reaction he had on girls. "How's your wound?"

"Oh, that." I looked down at the gauze. "Surprisingly, much better."

"Good." He stepped back. "I'll be just outside. Call me when you're done."

I nodded and waited for him to close the door behind him. Again, I inched my panties down and leaned back until my ass hit the toilet seat. I let my bladder go then cringed when I realised Jett was on the other side of the door and most definitely able to hear me. So attractive. In the few days I'd known him, he had seen more of me than most of my boyfriends—with the exception of Josh, who I dated for way too long and was glad to finally be rid of.

When I finished, I tilted myself forward at the same time as I pulled up my panties. I crept over to the sink and washed my hands. Once I had dried them, I shuffled over to the door, sucked in a deep breath, and opened it.

Jett was standing on the other side with a grin that I hoped was more to do with me standing there in my panties and tank top than the noise of me going to the loo. "Better?" he asked.

I bit my lip, trying to supress a smile. "Much."

He wrapped his arm around me again and helped me back to the bed, where he proceeded to tuck me in as if I were five. "I need to take another look." He sat down beside me.

I nodded, and Jett peeled back the gauze. The side of his hand rested against my breast as he inspected the bullet wound. I knew I should ask him something, but for the life of me, I couldn't concentrate on anything but his hand touching my boob and wishing it was under different circumstances.

"It still looks clean." He pressed the gauze back in place.

My brain started to function again. "Look, I know you said before that I didn't know what a bullet wound should look like, but I'm pretty sure that it shouldn't heal practically overnight. I mean, yesterday it looked like it had been a week since I was shot, and today it's as if another week has passed. And I'm pretty sure that it was only last night that you were in bed with me..." I trailed off when I realised what I'd said, or rather, what it sounded like we'd been doing.

Jett laughed.

I closed my eyes and cringed for what was probably the hundredth time since I'd met him. "You know what I mean."

"What? About us being in bed together?"

I covered my eyes with my hand and wished I could melt into the bed. "Just go."

Jett chuckled, and I felt his weight leave the mattress. When I heard the door click shut, I removed my hand from my eyes. I couldn't believe the effect that guy had on me. Something about him just shut down the part of my brain that usually kept me from saying dumb-assed stuff. I seemed to only feel one thing when he was around—lust. Pathetic girly lust. The type I'd want to smack out of a girl when I saw her making a fool out of herself over a guy. But I was becoming that kind of girl.

Remembering my missed call from Lilly, I picked up my phone and read her message.

The warden is letting me out on parole for good behaviour. Mind if I come over?

As much as I would've loved the distraction, I had no idea how I could explain the bullet wound in my chest, let alone why Jett was babysitting me. And I definitely didn't want her thinking I was losing my mind like the police had insinuated. _Wish you could, but Dad's got a tutor for me. Won't be finished for hours._

Thirty seconds later, another message appeared. _I feel your pain. See ya tomorrow :)_

_Tomorrow?_ "Shit." How the hell was I going to make it to school then get around once I was there? Unfortunately, the only thing I could come up with was Jett. I just hoped that his offer to take care of me included helping me at school, and that my wound would make another miraculous overnight recovery.

### Chapter 13

An hour later, a knock sounded at my door. Again, Jett didn't wait for me to answer before he opened it, but he didn't come inside. "I've got to pop out for a bit. Do you need me to pick up anything for you?"

I shook my head. "No, thanks."

"Right. I'll be back in about an hour. My brother's downstairs if you need anything."

"Your brother?" I raised my eyebrows. "What the hell for?"

"To take care of you while I'm gone."

"I think I can manage 'til you get back."

"All the same, he'll be staying."

The authority in his voice made me think it wasn't up for discussion. I didn't understand why, and I was pretty sure Jett wasn't going to tell me. "Fine."

He flashed me an easy smile. "Don't miss me too much."

I rolled my eyes. "Goodbye, Jett."

He closed the door, and I was once again left wondering what was up with that boy and why he thought I needed looking after so badly that he would ask his brother, who I'd never met, to babysit me while he stepped out for a bit. God, the way Jett acted was way over the top for a concerned neighbour. My credit card could easily pay for a home nurse. But no, he insisted on being the one to care for me.

The doorbell rang, interrupting my thoughts. I picked up the remote and switched on the TV. I flipped to the channel that displayed the living room. A guy who looked to be in his early to mid-twenties with dark-brown hair, tanned skin, jeans hanging off his hips, and a black T-shirt opened the door. He was obviously Jett's brother, but I didn't have a clue what his name was. He stepped back, and another guy who looked to be my age entered the house. They stepped into a manly hug and sure enough, I saw an exchange between the two.

Jett's brother kept his hand closed as he leaned against the door while the other guy shoved whatever he'd received down in his pocket. They chatted a few minutes, making me wish once again that the system included audio.

When the guy left, Jett's brother closed the door and pocketed something. Between Jett and his brother, my home had turned into the local go-to place for addicts to find their next fix. Knowing my luck, the cops were staking out the house and would ping me for an accessory.

Jett's brother wandered off camera, toward the kitchen. I furiously flicked through the channels, hoping to find a view in there to see what he was doing.

For a moment, I wondered if he was planting evidence, and he and Jett planned to frame me. Then I laughed. What was I thinking? The guy was a drug dealer. There was no way he would leave any of his stuff at my house. If everyone, including cops, already knew about what Jett's family did, then I was pretty sure they were untouchable. Yet I didn't get why that was. In all the news stories on other gangs and drug lords, the police were able to charge them, but Jett's family somehow always walked free.

By the time I found a camera showing the kitchen, he was walking back into the lounge room with _my_ tub of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. I switched back to that camera. He flopped down on the lounge, put his feet on the coffee table, then opened the tub and dug in. Who the hell did he think he was? It was one thing to turn my house into a dealing venue, but it was another to take a girl's ice cream. He had stepped over the line, especially because it was my last tub, and I couldn't ask Jett to pick up some more for me because I wasn't supposed to know I was out of the stuff.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang again. Jett's brother put down the ice cream and went to answer it. Two girls were standing on the porch: a blonde dressed in denim shorts that just covered her ass and a tank top, and a redhead wearing a short beach dress that showed far too much boob.

Blondie stepped forward and kissed Jett's brother on the lips. He wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her off the ground, and turned around so that she was inside my house before he dropped her to her feet. My mouth dropped open as he pushed her against the wall and kissed her as if they were about to drop their pants and do it in _my_ lounge with another girl present. The red-haired girl stepped inside and looked around the room, then her mouth started moving as she said something to them.

Jett's brother managed to tear his lips away from Blondie's mouth to say something. The redhead didn't look happy with his response. She walked off in a huff and sat on the sofa, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jett's brother gave Blondie one last kiss then pulled her over to sit on the sofa. She played with his hair while he finished off the rest of the ice cream. Every so often, she would plant kisses on his neck or shoulder, but he didn't respond. He obviously had no emotional attachment to the girl, and I wondered why she would make a fool of herself with someone who clearly didn't want anything but sex from her. But maybe just having sex wasn't what she wanted, too.

I really didn't want to watch any more of what was going on downstairs, but at the same time, I wanted to know what they were getting up to in my house.

Less than ten minutes later, I heard the sound of a motorbike. My heart skipped a beat when I realised why the second girl was there. She hadn't been checking out my house; she had been looking for Jett.

When Jett came in, Red's face lit up. She stood and strutted over to him then ran her hands up his back and across his shoulders as she kissed him on the back of his neck. Fire burned inside of me. I was jealous. _I_ wanted to be able to run my hands...

I shook my head and switched off the TV. I tried to think of something to do to distract myself, but I was practically bedridden, and the only things within reach were the TV remote and phone. I decided to check Facebook in the hope that some of my friends from Sydney would be online.

Just as I was reaching for my phone, my bedroom door swung open. Jett sauntered over to my bed. "I've got a present for you." He dropped a chemist's bag on the bed.

I put on a mask of nonchalance, swallowed the lump in my throat, and asked, "From a chemist?"

He shrugged. "Okay, so maybe present wasn't the right word. But it's still something you need."

I opened the bag and peeped inside. "Fresh bandages?" I looked up at him. "Surely you could do better than that."

Laughing, he snatched the bag from my hands and sat beside me. "Next time I'll have to remember to get you some jellybeans, too." He pulled out the gauze and unwrapped it.

Before he had a chance to remove the old one, I quickly peeled it off. Jett leaned forward and ran his thumb below my wound, then gently tugged at my skin. I thought it should've hurt even with his sensitive touch, but the only thing I felt was heat rushing to the spot, following the movement of his thumb across my boob. Of course I was imagining it was much more intimate than what it actually was, but I couldn't help it. I was turning into _that_ girl.

"It needs a clean," Jett said, pulling me out of my girly-girl–induced stupor.

"Huh?"

He looked up at me, his brown eyes melting the defensive layer I was so desperately trying to keep up. God, what was wrong with me? It wasn't as if Jett had actually shown any interest in me other than taking care of me while I was hurt. Heartbreak was certainly in my future, especially if that girl downstairs was anything to go by.

"I'll be back in a sec." He stood and went into the bathroom. A moment later, he returned holding some cotton balls, a small bowl of water, and a hand towel.

"No antiseptic?" I asked.

"Nope." He sat down and put the bowl on the nightstand. He dipped a cotton ball into the water then gently swiped it over my wound.

I sucked in a sharp breath. A trickle of water ran down my boob, and Jett caught it with a swipe of his thumb. Holy hell! The stupid things he was doing to my insides were ridiculous. I picked up the towel and tucked it into my tank top so there wouldn't be any need for his fingers to become more acquainted with my breasts.

"You're getting more movement back," he said. "The pain must be easing?"

I nodded. "It still hurts but not as much as it did yesterday."

"And tomorrow it should be even better."

I shifted nervously. "Speaking of... I don't suppose your wanting to keep an eye on me will stretch to driving me to school tomorrow?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You know, I think they'll give you a pass, considering you were shot two days ago."

"Yeah, the school might, but my father won't."

He looked at me as if I were crazy then shrugged. "If you say so."

"Is that a yes? You'll drive me to school?" I bit my lip.

"And pick you up."

I smiled with relief. The last thing I wanted was to deal with more of my father's crap. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." He took the plastic off the back of the gauze and then pressed the material against my skin. "All done." He stood and picked up the paper bag. "I'm going to go for a surf. Do you want me to get you anything before I head out?"

"Some more water, please."

He refilled my glass in the bathroom then headed for the door. "My brother will be staying 'til I come back."

That probably meant Blondie and her friend Red would stay, too. "He can go home. I don't need someone to stay here with me while you're just down on the beach. You said yourself I'm looking better..." I trailed off when a smirk crept over Jett's face. I closed my eyes in embarrassment and shooed him out the door.

When I was sure enough time had passed for him to go downstairs, I turned on the TV. Sure enough, the girls were still there. But Red didn't look as happy to see Jett as she had earlier. She didn't even look in his direction, which made me think he hadn't been as welcoming to her displays of affection as I had originally thought.

Without saying a word to his brother, who still had Blondie hanging on him, Jett walked out the front door. I quickly fumbled with the remote, trying to find the channel for the outside cameras. Once I had Jett on the screen again, I watched as he walked down the driveway then took a left toward his house.

I flipped back to the footage of downstairs and saw his brother stand and walk to the door. For a minute, I thought he had more guests coming over to _my_ house, but he opened it, and no one was on the other side. He looked back to the girls, who seemed to take the hint. He was kicking them out. What kind of guy would be so happy to see a girl, then half an hour later, he couldn't wait to get rid of her? That didn't make sense, but then again, not much did when it came to him and Jett.

Blondie kissed him on the cheek and waited a second for a reciprocation that never came. She rolled her eyes and followed Red out.

Jett's brother slammed the door and closed his eyes as he shook his head. He ran his hands through his dark messy hair. He didn't seem very happy. I couldn't decide whether his expression held disgust or shame. Maybe it was a mixture of both.

Not wanting to watch any more, I flipped through the channels but found nothing interesting, so I turned off the TV. I spotted my iPad on my desk and decided I should study. I knew it was going to hurt like a bitch to get up, but I certainly didn't want to ask Jett's brother to get it for me.

I carefully swung my legs over the edge of the mattress. I sucked in a breath, preparing for the pain, but when I stood, there was hardly any. Not wanting to overanalyse something Jett kept reminding me that I knew nothing about, I straightened and walked cautiously toward my desk. I picked up my tablet and held it to my stomach.

On my way back to the bed, I somehow made a detour to the balcony door. I was definitely not trying to get a peek of someone without his shirt on because I was not that girl. But when I saw Jett with his board under his arm as he walked down the beach toward the water, my stomach flipped out. Sighing, I leaned against the doorframe and watched as he jogged through the water then jumped onto his board.

"You're wasting your time. He doesn't do relationships."

I turned around to find Jett's brother standing right behind me. The heat rushed to my face when I realised that I was in my underwear. Nice way to meet the brother.

He smirked. "I see what he means. You do look cute when you're embarrassed." He ran the backs of his fingers down my shoulder.

I wanted to quickly walk away, but that wasn't an option. I turned my back to him and looked down at the beach. "What's your name?"

"Zane." His breath brushed against my shoulder, and I realised he'd closed the distance between us even more.

"Well, Zane, you might be surprised to know that I'm not like all the others. I don't have a thing for your brother, so I couldn't care less if he does or doesn't do relationships."

He brushed my hair to the side. "Good, because I was thinking..."

The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. Biting down on the pain, I spun around and gave him my best don't-try-that-with-me look, but his grin grew even wider. Who did he think he was coming into my room? Did he think I was just going to throw myself at him? Well, he was in for a surprise. I was so not like the girl he'd just kicked out.

He tilted his head and looked out the window for a moment before returning his gaze to me. "Never mind." He took three steps back then turned around and headed for the hallway.

My breath caught in my throat. His T-shirt had ridden up at the back, displaying a _gun_ tucked into the waistband of his jeans. Fear engulfed every fibre of my being. I had never seen a gun in real life, and it scared me so much so that I was surprised I hadn't peed my pants.

Once I had my breathing under control, I waddled back to bed, furious that Zane could presume I would just fall at his feet the minute he showed some interest in me. I wanted to tell him to get the hell out of my house, but I could barely get to the bathroom and back, much less order someone out of my house and expect to be obeyed. I was seriously going to have a conversation with Jett when he got back. A killer after me or not, Zane was never stepping foot into my house again.

I switched on the TV so I could keep an eye on Jett's gun-wielding brother downstairs. I wanted to run out of the house and get as far away from Zane as possible, but that wasn't going to happen. How had I gotten myself into such a mess? And who was I kidding... having a crush on someone as dangerous as Jett? That wasn't me. I didn't do danger. And if Jett was anything like his family, then I had to find a way to alienate myself from him. Zane was just watching TV in the lounge, so I swiped my tablet open. I had four new emails. I clicked on Jess's message first. God, I wished she was up on the Gold Coast with me. Or better yet, I wished I was back in Sydney, where none of that mess would've happened.

Hey, Zara,

I just thought I should give you a heads up. Maddie heard from Cassidy, who heard from Michelle, that Josh has plans to get you back at Schoolies, and we think it has something to do with GHB. Okay, so maybe there was no mention of GHB, but that must be his plan because there's no way in hell you'd take him back after what happened, and he is dodgy as hell. I wouldn't put it past him to try something like that.

So, what's been happening? Any cute guys?

Jess xxx

I had to laugh when I read her last question. There was so much I wanted to tell her, but my being shot wasn't something I could divulge until she came for Schoolies, just in case her mum found out then called my father. I knew she'd freak when she saw a bullet wound in my chest.

Hey, Jess,

I'd like to see Josh try. I'd cut his balls off! LOL!

As for cute guys, holy hell I've found one. Problem is, he's a player from what I've heard—although he hasn't tried anything on me...

And then there's another problem—he's the son of a drug lord and lives two doors down from me. I know you probably think I'm full of shit, but I just saw a gun in his brother's pants. And no, I wasn't getting acquainted with him when I saw it.

Anyway, better get back to studying. I've only got one more week left. Yay! Can't wait for you to get up here!

Zara xxx

Disregarding what looked to be three spam emails, I opened my math revision work and tried to study. But after I'd read the same page five times and still didn't have a clue what it said, I decided I was wasting my time. All I could think about was the run-in I'd had with Zane. If I was honest with myself, I was more concerned that Zane had caught me perving on his brother than the fact that he had a gun, which made no sense at all.

### Chapter 14

The sun began to set, and Zane was still downstairs, slouched on my couch and watching TV. My mouth felt like sandpaper, so I did my awkward get-out-of-bed move and took my glass to the bathroom.

When I saw my reflection in the mirror, I wrinkled my nose. My hair was straggly, and my skin was shiny with oil. I also knew my teeth hadn't been brushed in two days. My personality had done a complete one-eighty since that day in the canal, and I wished more than ever that I hadn't tried to fit in so much. If I hadn't tried to hang out with the popular girls, then none of that would've happened. But they weren't responsible for the bullet in my chest.

I picked up my toothbrush, put some toothpaste on it, then scrubbed the layers of fur off my teeth. Next, I tried to give myself a sponge bath, but I only got as far as my face and arms before the pain became too much. At least I no longer felt the layer of oil covering my skin. There wasn't much I could do about my hair until I was good enough for a shower, so I grabbed a hair tie and pulled my hair back into a ponytail, cursing the whole time at how much that simple task hurt.

Back in bed, I checked the TV. Zane was gone. Panic spiked as I flipped through the channels, trying to find him on one of the other cameras.

Someone knocked on the door, so I stabbed the button to change the channel back to regular programming. I thought about pretending to be asleep then dismissed the idea out of fear of what Zane might do to me if he thought I was unconscious. I didn't have time to come up with any other ideas because the door opened and I was greeted with Jett's easy smile. No matter how much I told myself that he was no good, my stomach continued to do somersaults when I saw him, especially when he wasn't wearing a shirt!

"Miss me?" he asked with a grin.

When I realised I was staring at his body with my mouth hanging open, I quickly turned back to the TV. "You know, you can go home to put some clothes on."

He laughed. "But then I'd miss seeing you squirm when I catch you checking me out."

I shook my head. "You enjoy this way too much."

He shrugged. "Well, if you weren't so uptight, I wouldn't be so entertained."

I glared at him. "I am not uptight."

He raised his eyebrows. "You get embarrassed when someone sees you in your panties."

From his smile, I was sure my face had turned red again. "Getting embarrassed when you wake up with someone you don't know in your bedroom and finding out you're only in your panties and tank top with only a sheet covering you isn't being uptight. It's called having morals, which from what I've seen is not something you're used to."

He crossed his arms, making his pecs pop out even more. "Not something I'm used to? Care to elaborate?"

I rolled my eyes. "I may be new around here, but your reputation precedes you."

The muscle in his jaw clenched. "Maybe you shouldn't believe everything you hear."

"You're going to have to be more specific, because I've heard a lot."

The angry look on his face deflated as he dropped his arms to his sides. "Things aren't always what they seem." He turned around and walked out, leaving me feeling like an ass and wondering what the hell he had meant by that.

I switched channels again until I found Jett on camera. He didn't look happy at all. Maybe he was right. People made up some horribly ugly things about celebrities, and perhaps that was what had happened with Jett. He hadn't once treated me badly or tried to add another notch to his belt.

I picked up my phone and texted him: _I'm sorry._

A moment later, he grabbed his phone off the coffee table. His face remained expressionless as he stared at the screen, then he tossed his phone on the couch beside him.

I hadn't thought he was the type to hold a grudge. Maybe I was wrong about other things when it came to him, too.

### Chapter 15

An hour later, Jett got up and headed toward the stairs.

I quickly switched the channel. When he knocked, I figured he would just walk in as he always did, but the door remained closed.

I cleared my throat. "Come in!"

Jett entered without his customary smile, making me feel even worse. "I'm going to order some food. Do you have any preferences?"

I shook my head.

"Right." He started to leave.

"Hang on a minute."

He stopped and looked at me, keeping his hand on the knob.

"I... I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I had no right to judge you on what could be nothing more than teenage girls' gossip."

Jett stared at me with an expression I couldn't read. "Let's just forget about it." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Forget about what?" I grinned back at him, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled genuinely. "Do you want me to get another movie?"

No matter how much I wanted to curl up and watch a movie with him, I needed to do the responsible thing. "I can't. I have to study."

"And give up spending another night in bed with me?"

"Oh, the temptation," I teased.

He laughed as he shut the door behind him.

***

Jett returned with boxes of Chinese food. "So what are you studying?" He put the meal on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed, twisting around to face me.

"Math."

"And how's that going for you?" He started unfolding the tops of the boxes. The mouth-watering aromas of the various dishes wafted over to me.

I put down my iPad. "It would be better if I had this year's test instead of last year's."

He smirked. "You know, I could get that for you."

Shocked, I laughed nervously. "I was only joking."

"Then so was I."

I raised my eyebrows, but he didn't bite. I snatched the box out of his hand and looked around for the chopsticks.

He handed me a fork. "Here you go."

"Can't do chopsticks?"

"Can but can't fit as much in my mouth as I can with a fork." He shoved a fork full of noodles into his mouth then picked up my iPad. "I thought you said you had a math test."

I swallowed the chicken in my mouth. "Yeah, I did. Why?"

"Then why are you Googling black-eyed people?"

I sucked in a sharp breath. I had completely forgotten that I had been trying to find answers to why my eyes occasionally turned black. I snatched my iPad away from him. "Don't you know it's not polite to look through someone's Internet browser without permission?"

"I was just trying to bring up the test when I saw that." The look on his face was far from innocent.

"Says the one who can fix my GPS that malfunctioned."

He smirked. "I swear it was an innocent mistake."

"Sure it was."

He lowered his fork, still full of food. "Now, what did you find out?"

"About what?"

"Black-eyed people." He shoved the noodles into his mouth.

"So far, I've found five mythical creatures posing as humans."

He nodded as he chewed then swallowed. "And why would you be researching such a thing? You don't look like the type of girl who'd buy into all that crap."

I studied him, looking for any hint that he was hiding something from me.

"I know I'm hot and you've got a thing for me, but you're starting to make me feel uncomfortable when you look at me like that." He gave an evil grin.

I just about choked. _Great._ Zane must've told him about catching me watching him. "I was not spying on you."

"That's not what my brother tells me."

"Then your brother's full of shit."

"So it's not true?"

"I bet he conveniently forgot to mention how he tried to hit on me."

His expression turned serious. "He won't ever do that again."

"So he told you about it?"

He twisted some noodles around his fork then stabbed a piece of meat. "I heard about it."

I waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't say anything else, I asked, "Why does that make you so crabby?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Crabby?"

"Just answer the question."

"Fine. I have my reasons."

"Reasons you're not willing to share?"

He winked. "We do have a smart one here."

I picked up a pillow and threw it at him, causing his food to splatter all over his shirt. "Oops."

He turned the pillow over, and picked two noodles off of it, and put them in his mouth. "You know, you could've just asked me to take off my shirt." He pulled his T-shirt up over his head and folded it so that the dirty part stayed on the inside.

My jaw dropped, and I stared unashamedly at his chest, abs, shoulders... really anything I could lay my eyes on.

He took the dirty case off the pillow, folded it up, and put it on the floor with his T-shirt. "So it's true. You do have a thing for me."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. I could tell you were undressing me with your eyes."

I tried my damnedest not to, but I couldn't help but laugh. "You're really something else."

He winked. "That I am."

### Chapter 16

The next morning, I awoke to the sheets getting ripped off me. My heart pounded as I looked around the room, terrified that one of the boys had come to finish what they had started in the canal.

When I saw Jett's smiling face, I wanted to slap it off him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting you ready for school."

"And you think practically assaulting me is the best way of doing it?"

He laughed. "I didn't assault you."

"Well, you certainly didn't need to tear my sheets off. And if I'm correct, the law would consider a stranger ripping the sheets off a girl while she was asleep as some form of assault."

"For one, you wouldn't wake up when I tried to wake you nicely. And two, when are you going to stop calling me a stranger?"

Ignoring his question, I asked, "What's the time?"

He sighed. "Eight twenty-five."

"What?" I shouted.

I only had fifteen minutes until class started. I jumped out of bed then realised that should have hurt way more than it did. I was still wobbly on my feet, though.

"Easy." Jett took my elbow to support me. "Sit back down, and I'll get your uniform." He eased me back onto the bed then went over to my wardrobe. A minute later, he emerged with my little maid outfit held to his chest.

"Oh, my God!"

"I think you might not be as uptight as I thought."

"It was from a _Rocky Horror_ play we did in school last year."

He winked. "Sure it was."

I huffed. "Aren't you supposed to be helping me get ready for school?"

"Right." He went back into the wardrobe and returned with my school uniform.

"Thanks," I said as he handed it to me. I needed some clean underwear, but I wasn't about to ask him for that.

"I'll be right outside." He went into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

I managed to get out of bed with greater ease than the day before then went over to my wardrobe and pulled out a pair of panties and a bra. I carefully got dressed, surprised by how little it hurt.

A knock sounded at the door. "You ready?"

I quickly shoved my dirty underwear under the bed. "Ready."

He opened the door and walked over to my bed. "We have ten minutes to get you to school."

He supported me as I got to my feet. When I stood, our faces were inches apart. I realised there was a great possibility that I had morning breath, and he was copping the full brunt of it.

"I need to brush my teeth."

"I wasn't going to say anything, but..."

Horrified, I took a step back and covered my mouth.

He chuckled. "I was just kidding. Your breath doesn't smell."

"The bathroom, now," I said with my hand still slapped over my mouth.

He shook his head and helped me to the bathroom. As I started brushing my teeth, Jett leaned against the wall next to the sink and watched me—and I mean _really_ stared at me.

I pulled the toothbrush out of my mouth and turned to him. "Do you really need to watch me brush my teeth?"

He shrugged. "You can tell a lot about a person by how they brush their teeth."

I smirked at him. "Is this some weird kinky fetish you have going on?"

"Maybe."

"Seriously?"

"Hell no." He laughed. "I just like to see you squirm. It's cute."

My cheeks flushed, the red emphasised by the bright lights above the mirror. "I think that's what you get off on—making girls get embarrassed."

He smiled, but I noticed he didn't deny it. I finished brushing my teeth then spat the toothpaste out, all the while watching Jett out of the corner of my eye. He was enjoying my discomfort way too much.

Once I was finished, Jett helped me down the stairs. He picked up my school bag from beside the couch and guided me into the garage.

When he opened the passenger door of my car, I asked, "You want to drive _my_ car?"

"Or we could take my bike."

"My car it is." For the first time, I sat down in the passenger seat of my car.

When Jett got behind the wheel, I said, "Just press..."

He pushed the button to start the car before I could finish. He also found the remote for the garage before I had a chance to tell him where it was. He moved the seat back, adjusted the rear-view mirror, then reversed down the driveway and onto the road.

I looked at the clock on the dashboard—eight thirty-six. "We're not going to make it in time."

He flipped on the turn signal. "We'll make it."

"School starts in four minutes and it takes at least five minutes on a good day."

"We'll make it," he repeated.

### Chapter 17

Jett must've made over a hundred road violations just to get me to school on time. Never had I been so self-conscious on my walk from the parking bay to my class. Jett had his arm wrapped around my waist and insisted I do the same to avoid face- or ass-planting. I had only agreed because I hadn't walked that far since I was injured and very well could've faltered and ended up on my ass. Well, that was what I kept telling myself. The fact that I could finally touch the body I'd admired all weekend really had nothing to do with it— _yeah, right!_

Everyone stared at us as if Jett was a celebrity and I was someone from another planet who had no right to be standing beside him. Wanting to crawl under a rock and hide, I walked with Jett all the way to my classroom.

Because we had somehow arrived before the bell, the door was locked. Twenty-five of my classmates were standing around staring at us. It didn't help that my bag was slung over Jett's shoulder—another thing he had insisted on. Jett pulled me over to a spot against the wall and turned me in his arms so we were facing each other like a couple.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"I think there will be less questions if they think we've got a thing going on." He shrugged and added, "Or you could just explain to everyone that you were shot on Friday night and I'm helping you get to your classes. Of course, then the teachers will find out, and they'll probably call your dad and—"

"Okay, okay. I get it."

He brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear, making me suck in a sharp breath.

He bent his head and whispered, "Unless you want to tell everyone the truth, then I suggest you stop acting like this is the first time I've touched you."

I was saved from responding by the teacher's arrival.

Mr. Harvey unlocked the door. "I hope everyone prepared over the weekend for the exam." He walked into the classroom.

Nobody followed. They just continued to watch us. Ignoring the gawking, Jett walked me inside and helped me to my seat.

Mr. Harvey took off his glasses and looked at Jett. "Mr. Lomazzo, may I remind you that you no longer go to this school. Therefore you should not be in this class."

_Lomazzo?_ Where had I heard... "Oh shit." I remembered Jett saying that Nurse Lomazzo had been the one to change me out of my bloodstained clothes.

Jett whispered, "Now be a good girl for Nurse Lomazzo." He kissed the side of my head then moved toward the door.

I vaguely heard him say something to Mr. Harvey, but I didn't care. I was too busy thinking about the fact that Jett had been the one to take off my pants. _Oh my God!_ I thought I was going to die from embarrassment.

When the rest of the class came in and settled down, Mr. Harvey blabbed on about something then handed out the test papers. I tried to concentrate on the problems, but the test may as well have been in a different language. All I could think about was how much Jett had seen of my body while I was unconscious. I didn't know how I was ever going to look him in the eye again—other than to slap him.

Mr. Harvey walked to the board and wrote: 15 Minutes Left.

I rubbed my eyes then tried to read the first question. I had to read it three times before it made sense. After that, I raced through the questions as fast as I could.

I was about halfway through when Mr. Harvey stood and said, "Time's up. I want everyone to put your pens down, turn your paper over, and leave the room."

"Shit," I muttered. There went getting into university on my own merits. I flipped the page over then eased out of my seat. I looked up to see Jett sauntering into the room.

"Mr Lomazzo, I thought I told you..." The colour drained from Mr. Harvey's face when Jett shot him a look. The teacher suddenly found some papers on his desk that needed straightening.

"Hey, you." Jett grabbed my hand as though he was actually glad to see me. He wrapped an arm around my waist then leaned down and whispered, "How's my favourite patient?"

I raised my hand, fully intending to slap him. "You—"

He caught it in the air. "Uh uh uh. You don't want to ruin the appearance we have going on, do you?"

Unfortunately, there was no way out of the room without his help—or my dad finding out about my wound—so I sucked it up and pretended to be happy to see him. But as soon as I was sure no one was looking, I threw him a bunch of daggers with my eyes to let him know just how not okay I was with what he'd done.

"So," he said, ushering me toward the door, "you've got a study period next, right?"

"For the rest of the day." I only had one test that day then two to three a day for the remainder of the week.

"Then, let's get out of here."

As we exited the classroom, I ran into Lilly. She didn't seem at all surprised to see me with Jett, and the grin on her face made me think that the rumours had somehow already spread throughout the school.

"Jett," Lilly said, nodding at him.

He smiled. "Hi... umm..."

"Lilly," she supplied, completely unfazed by the fact that he didn't know her name even though she knew his.

"Right." He turned to me, his eyebrows knitted together. He bent down and whispered, "Is this how you heard so much about me?"

I said, " _This_ has a name, and don't blame her for your reputation."

Lilly was standing there, looking like the third wheel, not knowing what to do with herself while we shared something private, which was not what was going on.

Breaking away from Jett's hold, I told him, "Just give me a sec," and stepped toward Lilly.

He nodded. "Sure." He walked to a nearby seat and sat down.

Lilly turned her back to him and asked, "So I'm guessing he's the reason why you were so busy 'studying'?" She even did air quotes. "What were you studying? His arms? His abs? His...?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh my God! That was so not what we were doing. I barely know him." But he knew me—much more than I wanted him to at that point.

She looked over my shoulder. "Well, you may not get a chance with all those hussies hanging around."

I followed her gaze, and all my anger toward Jett for lying to me was forgotten when I saw three girls sitting beside him. One girl ran a hand up his bicep, and I wanted to go over there and rip her arm off her body. _How dare she touch him?_ She wasn't his, and she never would be. _Whoa!_ What the hell was I thinking? He wasn't mine to be jealous over. But still... seeing that girl lay her grimy hand on him made my blood boil. And I was so not the jealous type.

He looked up at me, his eyes wide open as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. He said something, and the three girls scattered, their faces expressionless.

Jett stood and walked over to us. "I wasn't..." He looked at Lilly.

Before she could take a step, I linked my arm with hers. "Hey, Lilly, do you want to come back to mine for a bit?"

She stared quizzically between Jett and me. "Um..."

I smiled. "Good. You can tell your mum we're studying."

Lilly looked apologetically at Jett. "Ahh... okay."

Though clearly pissed, Jett wrapped his arm around my waist. "Come on then."

"Oh, hang on," Lilly said. "I need to get something from the office. I'll meet you at your car. Where did you park?"

"Right up front," Jett said.

"As in the disabled parking bay," I clarified.

Jett shrugged casually. "It was the only one left."

"Okay." Lilly stepped back. "I'll meet you there in five." She turned around and rushed off in the opposite direction.

Once she was out of earshot, Jett said, "It wasn't what it looked like."

"Oh, no?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No. I was just—"

I cut him off. "Look, it doesn't matter. What you do with your love life is none of my business."

He nodded but didn't say anything else, which only pissed me off more. I wanted him to try to explain, but more importantly, I wanted to know why I felt so betrayed. I wasn't sure that anything that came out of his mouth would answer that insane question. So I just let him take me out to the car without further discussion.

As he opened the passenger door, I said, "You know what? You're so busy telling me, 'It's not what it looks like,' and that I shouldn't believe everything I hear about you, but you haven't told me a damned thing about yourself. Why don't you enlighten me? Tell me why you have girls hanging off you, and you have a reputation for being a player on a monumental scale? And while you're at it, why don't you tell me about your family? What does your dad do, and what the hell is up with your brother?"

"Get in." His tone said it was an order.

That made me even angrier. I crossed my arms over my chest. "Don't tell me what to do."

His eyes flicked to the side, and I followed his gaze. We had an audience of about fifteen students.

"Fine," I conceded. With as little help from him as possible, I climbed into the car. As soon as he got behind the wheel, I lifted my knee onto the seat so I could turn my body without hurting my chest. "Well?"

"First, don't judge me by what my family does. You of all people should know that the DNA you share with your family doesn't mean that you're like them."

"What the hell do you know about my family?"

"I know that your father only cares about himself."

"How do you know? You haven't even met him." I didn't know why I was trying to defend my father, when he really was a shallow, self-absorbed bastard. I was nothing like him, and I always hated it when someone assumed I was.

"I don't need to have met him to know that he doesn't give a shit about you. You were shot, for Christ's sake, and you didn't even tell him. And you've got me taking you to school just so he doesn't find out."

"Taking me to school? Well, you're relieved of your duties whenever you want."

He sighed. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm here because I want to be."

He put his hand on my knee but withdrew it immediately when I stiffened. I wasn't sure why I reacted that way because that was exactly what I'd wanted him to do. I wanted his hand on my knee. Hell, I wanted it many more places than just on my knee.

A knock on my window startled me. Lilly was bent over, waving at me through the glass.

I motioned for her to get in the backseat then told Jett, "This conversation isn't over."

He nodded then started the car. The drive home was awkward at best. Lilly did her best to ease the tension, and I was guessing she thought we'd had an argument about those girls and the fact that he hadn't stopped them from touching him. Under the normal dating rules, that would have been something to fight about.

When we pulled into the garage, I opened my door without waiting for Jett to get out and come around. I thought I was well enough to get out on my own, but I got about a quarter of the way up and was about to fall back in when Jett put his hand on my ass and pushed me the rest of the way.

Lilly got out, completely unaware of the trouble I was having. "So what do you want to do?" she asked. "I can't stay long because my mum doesn't trust me enough to think we're really studying."

"That's okay. We can just hang out 'til you need to leave." The funny thing was that I had initially invited her over as a distraction so I didn't have to talk to Jett, but I was wishing I hadn't because talking to Jett was exactly what I wanted to do.

Jett came around the car and put his arm around me. He helped me inside and to the sofa. As we sat down together, he provided a lot of support, but to Lilly, it probably looked like he was being the attentive boyfriend. Lilly sat on my other side.

Jett popped back up and walked toward the kitchen. "What do you girls want to eat or drink?"

"Would a coffee be too much?" Lilly asked with a hopeful expression.

"Not at all."

She smiled. "Good. I'll have a latte with two sugars."

"Don't forget the Tim Tams," I said with a grin.

She looked sheepish, and I was guessing that she might not want to display her weird habit of sucking coffee through the Tim Tam in front of Jett.

Jett looked at me. "You want one, too?"

"Yes, thanks. I'll have the same—minus the Tim Tam."

When Jett left the room, Lilly whispered, "When the hell did you two happen?"

"Umm..." _Think, girl, think._ "Over the weekend. I needed help with something, and he was only too keen to assist."

"Wow! A whole weekend? That's got to be a first for him."

Her words felt like a punch to my gut. Even though we weren't really dating, I wished we were. And if what she and Jett's brother said was true, then I didn't stand a hope in hell. I put on a fake smile and shrugged. "Lucky me."

Lilly's eyes gleamed with excitement. "You should have heard what everyone was saying about you two."

"What?"

"Let's just say you have pissed off at least half the girls in school."

"Only half?" I asked dryly.

She smiled. "Well, the rest were still in class, so I can't report on them."

I closed my eyes as I slowly released my breath. I hated to think of what would be said when news broke that we had broken up, because that was inevitable.

She sat back with a devious grin. "I bet they were hoping to get it on with him at Schoolies." She laughed.

"Oh, crap." I had completely forgotten about Schoolies. That was less than a week away, and I didn't know how I was going to hide my injury when we were expected to go out partying while wearing not much more than our bikinis.

The smile dropped from her face. "Don't tell me something happened to our accommodation?"

I shook my head. "Our accommodation's fine."

"Then what is it?"

I bit my bottom lip. "Nothing. I just can't believe we've almost finished school."

Jett returned carrying a tray with three mugs and a packet of Tim Tams. He placed the tray on the coffee table and handed us our coffees. Lilly reached for a Tim Tam.

"Be warned," I said. "What she's going to do with those things is pretty disgusting."

"Let me guess." He grabbed a Tim Tam, bit off the end, then turned it around and bit off the other end.

I scrunched up my face. "Not you, too."

Lilly laughed as she dunked her biscuit into her coffee then sucked on it. To my horror, Jett did the same. His hotness immediately dropped a couple of pegs.

I shuddered. "That is so gross."

Jett raised his head and right away gained more pegs than he previously had when I saw his chocolate-covered lips. "Aw, hell."

He smiled and licked his lips seductively. I knew he was mocking me, but that didn't make it any less appealing, and I had to remind myself that I was still mad at him.

"So, Jett," Lilly said, "are you planning on staying with us at Schoolies?"

I almost spat out my coffee and had to really concentrate on swallowing it before I lost control.

"Maybe." Jett glanced at me. "We haven't really talked about it yet."

"What test do you have tomorrow?" I asked Lilly, trying to change the subject.

She drew her eyebrows together. "Um, English and chemistry."

"Geez. Tough day for you," I said. "I'm surprised your mum hasn't locked you in your room."

"Yeah..." Lilly put her mug on the coffee table then opened her bag and pulled out her phone. "Oh, shit. Mum's been calling and texting, telling me to get my ass home."

"I thought you said she was okay with you coming here for a bit?"

"She must've changed her mind." Looking nervous, she thumbed the strap of her bag. "Don't suppose you could drive me home again?"

"Sure." Jett downed the rest of his coffee then took a bite of his mushed-up biscuit.

"Thanks," Lilly said.

"Come on." He held out his hand to me. When I didn't take it he said, "I'm not leaving you here alone."

Knowing it was beyond pointless to argue, I let him help me up. With his arm around my waist, we followed Lilly into the garage. The whole way to Lilly's house, she rattled on about how she couldn't wait to finish school and finally get to lead her own life without her mother telling her every five seconds what she should be doing.

As soon as we dropped her off, I started on Jett. "So now's your chance to explain."

He shifted in his seat as he made a right-hand turn then stopped at a red light. "Explain what?"

I scoffed. "You know what."

Jett sighed then turned to me with a grin plastered on his face. "I told you there's nothing going on with that girl. You're really don't need to worry about me _cheating_ on you."

I gaped at him. "You're seriously trying to get out of it by making me embarrassed that I was jealous when I saw another girl all over you?" Whoops. I didn't mean to say the J-word.

"Ahh, so you do think I'm hot." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Blind Freddie can see you're hot. But that's not what this is about." Actually, it was, but I didn't want him knowing that. "Tell me about your family. Tell me why you have your reputation, and tell me why the hell you're playing nurse to me instead of having a real nurse look after me."

The light turned green, and he turned onto Gold Coast Highway. "My father owns a few clubs."

"And what about your brother?"

"He works for my dad."

"And your mum?"

"It's a family business."

"And what about you?"

"It's a family business," he repeated.

I wondered if that was a euphemism for the mob. "Is that all you're going to tell me?"

He clenched his jaw. "There's not much else to tell."

"The girls?"

"It comes with our line of business."

"What? They all throw themselves at you because your family owns a few clubs?" I asked then realised there were many different types of clubs. "When you say clubs, are we talking night clubs, strip clubs or... brothels?"

He laughed. "Such disdain."

I just about died. There I was worrying about stupid teenage girls when he probably had his choice of grown women. "They're brothels, aren't they?"

"No," he said, still chuckling. "But thanks for the idea. It might be something we should look into—I hear the money's great."

My mouth dropped open, and I sat there looking at him like an über-jealous idiot. Oh, and a prude as well.

### Chapter 18

Jett pulled into my garage, a grin still playing on his lips. I was far from amused. All I wanted to do was go inside, lock the door, and refuse him entry to my house.

Before I got out, I remembered that he needed to explain something. "You haven't told me why you're the one who changed my clothes."

That wiped the smile off his face. He wouldn't even look at me.

"What? Has the cat got your tongue?"

"It's not—"

"What it seems? Yeah, nothing seems to be what it seems with you."

His grip tightened around the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened. I thought he was going to break the thing in half. I was sure his eyes had turned black, but he faced away from me before I could be sure. He loosened his vise-like grip on the wheel, got out of the car, and slammed the door.

I could feel anger radiating from him, but I didn't understand why. I had a right to know why he had taken off my clothes. If he wasn't going to tell me, then I was going to find some way to get the truth. I opened the door and got out, only half noticing that the pain was really minor.

Jett was standing in my front yard, his hands resting on the balustrade fence. He heard me shut the car door and spun around. He rushed to my side and, without saying anything, put his arm around me.

Inside the house, he asked, "Do you want to go upstairs?"

I nodded. The trip upstairs jarred my chest with every step, bringing back some of the pain. In my room, he practically dumped me on the bed then headed for the door.

I stared at his retreating back. "You're just going to leave me here?"

He stopped and turned around with a grin. "Do you need Nurse Lomazzo's help getting changed again?"

I felt a mixture of humiliation and anger. I knew he was trying to avoid my questions by embarrassing me, and as much as I hated it, it worked.

Jett laughed. "Let me know if you change your mind. Nurse Lomazzo's always happy to help." He winked then left the room.

Flopping down on my bed, I willed myself to calm down. I couldn't believe how I could be so infuriated by a guy, then the moment he smiled, my heart did all kinds of crazy things. I wanted to knock the lustful thoughts from my brain.

Wanting to see what he was up to downstairs, I turned on the TV and flicked to the security camera in the lounge room. Jett was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands. About a minute later, he picked up his phone and put it to his ear. He didn't seem to talk much, and he looked troubled by the conversation. I made a mental note to tell Dad to have audio added to the security system.

After hanging up the phone, Jett rubbed the back of his neck. He stood up, and I wondered if he was coming upstairs to apologise, but he detoured to the front door. I hadn't heard the doorbell, so the person must have knocked.

He opened the door to a leggy woman in her early twenties. She had long blond hair and big boobs overflowing from her top. My wound felt as though it had ripped open when she stepped forward—as close as her boobs would allow—and kissed him right beside his mouth. She allowed her lips to linger, obviously waiting for him to do something.

Jett put his hands on her hips and... pushed her away. I wished there was a rewind button, so I could make sure I hadn't hallucinated the move, but by the look on the girl's face, I had absolutely seen correctly.

He cocked his head toward the open door and said something to her. The greasy look on her face said she didn't like what she was hearing. She turned around and walked out. I was so relieved that I wanted to jump up and down and do a happy dance.

Jett stalked over to the coffee table, picked up his phone, and called someone. A few seconds later, Jett's mouth started moving rapidly, as though he was chewing someone out.

Shoving the phone into his pocket, he headed out the back door and disappeared off the screen. Telling myself that I just wanted to make sure he was all right, I slid out of bed and shuffled to the balcony door. I slid it open a couple of inches and stuck my ear to the crack. Silence.

After a few minutes, I started to feel kind of silly, so I decided to study for my next exam. I climbed back into bed with my textbook, but my mind was on other things. No matter how much I didn't want it to be true, I knew that I was going to fail. The odds of my actually passing my year twelve exams were virtually impossible—thanks to the black-eyed boy downstairs.

"Speaking of..." I opened up the browser on my tablet and looked up "black-eyed people." I used several different search terms, but I didn't find anything new, just demons and supernatural stuff. Bringing Jett's image to the forefront of my mind, I couldn't help but laugh. There was no way on earth that boy was a demon.

I switched on the TV and flipped to the local news. The reporter was talking to some Schoolies helpers group. They were discussing all the safety measures they were taking, which they hoped would cut down the police arrests by half. _Yeah, right!_ They'd said that every year, and each Schoolie was worse than the year before when it came to crime. It wasn't the actual Schoolies that were the problem, it was the _toolies_ —the older people who thought they were young enough to join in the festivities but who were really just tools.

Just as the weather report came on, there was a knock at my door, then it opened.

Jett stood in the threshold, holding up a tub of ice cream and two spoons. "Peace?"

"How can I say no when you've brought such a great offering?" Actually, I could think of a better offering, but ice cream would have to do.

Clearly relieved, he smiled and came over to the bed. I sat up and turned around to fluff my pillow.

Jett put a hand on my shoulder. "I got it." He positioned it expertly.

"Thanks." I leaned back against the pillow.

Jett climbed in the other side, sitting much closer to me than last time. "Here." He handed me a spoon.

"One tub, two spoons?"

He smiled. "You worried about germs?"

I almost said I had no idea where his mouth had been. Yeah, that would've been the ultimate setback. And really, I wanted his mouth all over me, but sharing was probably as close as I was going to get to kissing him. "Not at all."

"Good." He dug his spoon in and scooped some ice cream into his mouth then tipped the tub in my direction.

I took a bite. The weather report had finished, so I changed the channel to my favourite soapie.

Jett nudged my arm. "Seriously?"

I swallowed. "Seriously."

He threw his head back and groaned. "You're going to be the death of me."

Fighting desperately to keep the grin off my face, I said, "Get used to it. It's one of my favourite shows." I realised I had insinuated that he would be watching a lot more episodes with me, and I was glad he didn't call me out on it.

Jett let out a dramatic sigh. "I get to pick what we watch next."

"As long as it's _The Big Bang Theory_." From the corner of my eyes, I saw his lips tighten as he tried to hide a smile.

He bumped my thigh. "Are you planning on sleeping in that thing?" he asked, referring to my school clothes. "Don't get me wrong. I like a girl in uniform, but I like your jammies even more."

My cheeks flushed. "And why would I care what you prefer?"

He looked at me— _really_ looked at me—in a way I'd only dreamed of, and I was pretty sure I would've done just about anything he asked. I had to shove another scoop of ice cream into my mouth to keep from asking Nurse Lomazzo to help me change.

Forcing my eyes back to the TV, I tried to concentrate on the storyline, but my whole brain seemed to have turned to slush. I had no idea why he would want me when he had gorgeous women falling at his feet. I was attractive, but Blondie from that afternoon took good looks to a whole other level.

Maybe I had eaten the ice cream too fast, causing a brain freeze, and I was only imagining that look on him. That was a more probable explanation. But then again, what was wrong with me? Why wouldn't he find me attractive? And he had pushed Blondie away. "Are you gay?" I blurted.

Jett coughed, almost choking on his ice cream. He gave me an incredulous look. "Ah, no, I'm not gay. Do I look like I'm gay?"

_Holy hell._ I really hadn't thought that through. I couldn't tell him that I had seen him push Blondie away. I shrugged. "No. But you haven't..." _Oh, crap._ I had no idea how to finish that without sticking my foot in mouth.

"I haven't what?"

"Um... you haven't been on any dates since you've been staying here."

He laughed. "It's only been three days." A sly grin crept over his face. "There's something else, isn't there?"

"No," I said a little too quickly.

"Then why—"

Relief washed over me when the commercial break ended. "Shh." I tapped his arm. "It's back on."

He shook his head but stopped pressing for an answer. I stared at the TV, acting captivated while dreading the next commercial break.

Jett's phone beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the message. When he started typing out a reply, I leaned over to try to read the screen, but he smirked and tilted his phone away.

After putting his cell back in his pocket, Jett groaned and sat up. "I've got to duck out for a bit." He handed me the ice cream. "One of my cousins is coming over to stay with you 'til I get back."

"I don't need a babysitter."

He ignored me. "Her name's Jenna, and I'm sure she'll be a lot nicer company than my brother."

"Didn't you hear me? I said I don't need anyone looking after me. I'm eighteen, for Christ's sake. I can take care of myself."

He climbed off the bed. "Like you did last Friday?"

I raised my eyebrows. "He had a gun!" When he didn't say anything, I added, "And what? I suppose your cousin could've done something to protect me?"

"Yes." He walked over to the door. "I'll be back soon," he said then disappeared around the corner.

"I won't let her in," I called out.

"You won't have to."

As soon as I heard him get to the bottom of the stairs, I flipped the channel to the one that showed the foyer. Jett had opened the door to a beautiful brunette. She stepped in and kissed him on the cheek. They talked for a minute before Jett left, then the girl—presumably Jenna—closed the door.

She strolled into the lounge and stood with her hands on her hips as she surveyed the room. When she spotted the stairs, she walked toward them—then up them. I quickly turned the channel.

A second later, her smiling face appeared in the doorway. "Hi." She gave me a quick wave. "Mind if I come in for a bit?"

"Sure, why not? Everyone else has been here."

She pinched her eyebrows together as if I'd offended her somehow.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. It's just... I don't know why you're here. Hell, I don't even know why Jett's here."

Jenna sat on the foot of the bed and adjusted her skirt, which had crept halfway up her thighs. "Jett's just worried about you."

"I don't get why."

She pursed her lips. "You were shot, weren't you?"

I pulled down my top to show the gauze. "So it seems."

Jenna leaned forward. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Um, okay." I put the ice cream tub on my bedside table then peeled off the gauze.

The wound appeared to be almost healed, and the stitches were probably way overdue for being removed. I made a mental note to call the hospital to find out when I should come in to have that done.

Jenna shuffled closer to my side then ran a finger over my scar. As she did so, she rested her hand against my boob, and I wondered if she was gay instead of Jett.

Leaning in closer, she sucked in a deep breath, as if she were sniffing me but trying not to be obvious about it. My thoughts flicked back to the information I had read about demons feeding off human energy, and I barked out a laugh, which garnered me a look from Jenna.

She gently pressed the gauze back into place then dropped her hand to her lap. "So Jett tells me you've just moved here?"

I nodded. "Last week, actually. We moved up here from Sydney."

"We?"

"My dad and me. He left for China last week, so it's just me here."

She nodded. "How are you liking it?" Her eyes went to my chest. "Apart from being shot."

I thought about my time on the Gold Coast—the people I'd met, the people who'd tried to hurt me. Then I thought about Jett, and somehow, everything bad that had happened was forgotten. He had an amazing way of eating away at my mind until there was nothing left but my infatuation with him. "It's been good—apart from being shot."

She smiled. "It'll get better. Jett will take care of you."

"I don't get why. I'm not his responsibility."

"Well, he feels that you are."

_I'm a responsibility?_ Geez, that made me feel all warm and cosy. I decided it was time to look after myself. I didn't want to be anyone's _responsibility_.

"Now." She put her hand on my thigh, sending a new round of questions through my mind. Maybe I had been right about the gay thing, and I'd have to fend her off like Zane. "Do you want me to get you something? Some food? A drink?"

"What I really want is a shower."

"Do you need help?"

"No!" I practically shouted.

"Easy." She laughed. "I just meant that I could get you a fresh towel and some clean clothes. Unless you need help with the actual showering part?"

Not trusting my voice, I shook my head.

"Okay." She gave my leg a quick rub. "I'll be downstairs if you need me." Jenna stood and left the room.

Holy hell, what was with his family? And what the hell was with her sniffing me? Bending my head down, I lifted my arm and took a whiff. "Wow." I needed a shower badly.

I got out of bed with a little pain and went into my wardrobe. I picked out a tank top and pajama shorts then headed for the shower, remembering to lock the door behind me.

Once I was showered, dressed, and teeth brushed, I made my way back into my room, half expecting Jenna to be in bed, ready to seduce me. Fortunately, she wasn't. I sat down at my desk and pulled out my study notes. I was halfway through the first page when I remembered to call the hospital.

I had no idea which hospital I had been taken to, so I Googled hospitals on the Gold Coast. The listings included Broadbeach Hospital, Robina, and a couple of small private ones. Checking a map, I did a quick search to see which was closer. My house was almost the same distance from both. Deciding to try Broadbeach Hospital first, I dialled their general inquiries number.

"Hello, this is Amy. How may I direct your call?"

"Um, I was wanting to know if I was admitted to this hospital last Friday, and if so, I would like to speak with someone about when my stitches are supposed to come out."

"May I have your name, please?"

"Zara O'Dell."

After a pause, she asked, "Do you mind spelling that for me?" When I gave her the spelling, she said, "Sorry, we don't have any record of you in our system. You might want to try Robina."

"Okay, thanks."

I hung up and called the Robina hospital. The conversation went pretty much like the last one.

"Are there any other hospitals that would take gunshot victims?" I asked.

"Just us and Broadbeach Hospital. The only other hospital would be either up in Brisbane or down at Tweed. You said you were shot last Friday?"

"Yeah."

"This may not be my place to say, but do you think you might have the day wrong?"

"No. Why?"

"Let's just say if you were shot three days ago, you'd still be in hospital."

My heart hammered in my chest, not because I thought I was going insane—as I was sure she was insinuating—but because I knew that something was off—in a big way!

"Thank you," I mumbled then hung up.

### Chapter 19

Two hours later, I was still sitting in my room, utterly confused that there was no record of me at any hospital. I had even called the small private hospitals and the ones in Brisbane and Tweed. None of them had me in their systems.

Lifting the gauze, I poked and prodded the scar just to make sure it was really there and not someone's idea of a sick joke. The scar wouldn't budge, and the stitches lifted my skin when I pulled at them, which ruled out the fake theory.

I did a search for "recovery time for gunshot wounds." The information I found didn't make me feel any better. According to the first five pages of search results, I should have been in hospital for weeks.

On a whim, I Googled "black-eyed people inhaling people" and ended up freaking the crap out of myself. I _so_ wasn't one of them, and I was pretty sure Jett wasn't either because they apparently had to be invited into your house, and I certainly hadn't invited Jett into mine.

Jett still wasn't back, and Jenna was still downstairs. I was so sick of being in my bedroom. It was my house, and I wanted the run of it. I looked at the clock—ten thirty. Deciding it was time to take control of my life, I went to confront Jenna. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw Jenna sitting on the sofa.

She whipped her head around. "Is everything okay?"

"Um, yeah." I walked over to the sofa and rested my hands on the back of it. "It's getting late. You don't have to stay here any longer. I'm feeling well enough to take care of myself."

I expected her to take the hint but she didn't budge. "It's okay. I don't mind staying 'til Jett gets back."

"Thank you, but that's not necessary."

She shrugged. "I know, but I'm happy to."

"Thank you again, but I'm fine." I wondered if I would have to spell it out.

Her smile dropped. "I'm staying until Jett gets back." The authority in her voice reminded me of Jett.

Something told me that no matter how much I insisted that I would be okay, Jenna would not leave. "Fine. I'm going to bed now."

The cheery smile returned. "Night."

"Night." I went back upstairs, locked my door, and crawled into bed.

I didn't care that Jenna was supposedly there to protect me. My door was staying locked. I didn't want her sneaking in later to sniff me while I was asleep.

Frustrated that my mind kept going where I didn't want it to go, I put on my favourite playlist and tried to focus on the music to lull myself to sleep. Eventually, it worked.

***

The next morning I was dressed with my bag packed and ready to walk out of my bedroom when someone knocked on the door. I'd hoped to get out of the house before Jett came to wake me up, but obviously, I was a little late.

I opened the door just as he turned the handle. I expected him to be startled, but he wasn't the least bit.

"Hey," he said casually.

Adjusting the strap of my bag, I said, "Morning."

He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe. "Feeling better this morning, are we?"

"Much." I looked at my watch, hoping he'd take the hint, but he didn't move. "But I won't be if I'm late."

His hand flew toward my face, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact. But all I felt was a soft brushing sensation at the corner of my mouth. I opened my eyes, completely stunned that I was still conscious.

He studied me. "You had a bit of toothpaste."

God, I was pathetic. "Umm... thanks." Blood rushed to my cheeks.

He smiled and straightened. "Let's get you to school."

"You don't have to take me. I feel good enough to drive."

Jett shook his head. "I'll take you."

I huffed. "Has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly bossy?"

He raised his eyebrows, then a mischievous grin played at the corners of his lips. "May I remind you that Nurse Lomazzo knows best, and he says you're not fit to drive just yet."

If I thought my cheeks were red before, I was pretty sure they were practically glowing after his last remark. Taking my silence as acceptance, Jett took up his usual position by my side, and even though I didn't need it, he helped me down the stairs and out to the garage.

"So where did you get to last night?" I asked once we were in my car.

Jett started the engine. "Sorry, I got caught up with something."

"Something or someone?" Where the hell did that come from? I wanted to slap myself for being such a jealous bitch. And I had absolutely no idea why I was feeling that way, when last night I had decided to distance myself from him.

"Something and someone," Jett said, making my chest tighten in response. "I had to stay at the club for a bit longer than I planned. There were a few staff problems I needed to deal with." He pulled out onto the road.

"Oh," I said, hating myself even more for being jealous. "I don't suppose the strippers went on strike and you had to cover for them?" I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled. "No. But we'd have probably made more money if I was up on stage."

I bit my lip, trying to supress the stupid grin that wanted to work its way onto my face when I thought about Jett strutting his stuff on stage. Then my stomach churned as I took the image further and thought of girls drooling all over him and sticking money God knows where.

Jett put a hand on my knee. "You okay?"

I was jolted out of my daydream as I became completely fixated on the fact that his hand was _still_ on my knee.

He shook my leg. "Zara?" His gaze flicked between the road and me.

"Yeah, just thinking how this is the last week of school, and then I'm officially an adult."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're already eighteen, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but my dad thinks he still has control over me, even though the law says I'm an adult."

He moved his hand back to the steering wheel, and I held in a sigh. "Yet he leaves you at home alone?"

"Well, yeah. He only cares that I do well in school so I don't embarrass him."

He nodded. "And what do you want to do?"

"You mean after school? With school?"

"Both."

"I wanted to go to university and study business, but I think I've blown that dream."

Jett turned onto the school's road. "How so?"

I glared at him. "You think I could concentrate on my math exam yesterday after I found out you saw me naked?"

He grinned. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't see you naked."

I laughed. "Yeah, right."

Jett pulled into the lot and once again parked in a disabled parking spot right up front. He turned off the ignition. "I was a complete gentleman. I even closed my eyes when I took off your bra."

"And I don't suppose your hands accidentally slipped?"

"I wish they had, but they didn't."

My eyes practically bugged out as I gaped at him.

"What?" He smirked. "I'm a guy."

"Oooo... kay." I threw open the door and jumped out, relieved to feel the warm, salty breeze blowing across my face. I headed toward the gate.

Jett caught up and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Now, remember to be completely and utterly in love with me for everyone to see so dearest Daddy doesn't find out."

Pretend? I wasn't quite up to the love part, but I couldn't deny the complete and utter lust I had for the guy. There would be no pretending on my side, and that was the biggest problem. "You know... I'm pretty sure I can get to class by myself."

"Now what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't walk you to class?"

"Need I remind you that you're not my boyfriend?"

He scowled. "And what if you get halfway there and you collapse, and they take you to the school nurse, who then has an obligation to call your dad, who will then hire a babysitter much uglier and meaner than me to take you to and from school?"

I slipped an arm around his waist. "Is that better?"

"Much."

We walked through the gates and were met by way too many hot-bodied females waiting to pounce on Jett the second I left his side. The bitch who'd had a go at me in class for trying to steal her boyfriend was also there, even though she was supposedly dating my would-be rapist. I smiled at her as I snuggled my head against Jett's chest.

He leaned down and whispered, "Not that I'm complaining, but I think they would believe we're together even if you don't do that."

"You're enjoying this way too much, aren't you?"

"You have no idea." He slipped his thumb under my shirt and softly rubbed my hip.

"I'm pretty sure that was unnecessary, too."

He shrugged. "Maybe. But I wanted to give the full effect for that girl over there who looks like she wants to rip your throat out."

I laughed. "You have no idea."

We walked up the path to the first building.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why what?"

"Why does she hate you?"

Stopping in my tracks, I stared at him. I was sick of pussy-footing around the topic, but I wasn't sure school was the best place to discuss it. "I think you already know." When he didn't respond, I asked, "You were there, weren't you?"

"Looky here," a voice said from behind Jett. "Slut face has already moved on."

We turned around at the same time, and I saw Tyler standing about two metres away with his rape posse. I expected to see a smart-assed expression that matched his comment, but his face paled and his eyes were full of fear as he stood there, locked in Jett's gaze. Jett took a step toward him, and Tyler's posse scattered.

The world went into fast motion. One minute, Jett was standing in front of me, and the next second, he had Tyler up against the wall, his arm pushed up against Tyler's throat.

I looked around, expecting to see a bunch of gawkers. But everyone, including Tyler's friends, was hurrying off to class as if nothing was happening. Jett leaned in and said something I couldn't make out. I knew I should've been trying to drag him off Tyler, but that bastard deserved everything he got. Maybe he would think twice before attempting to rape another girl.

A second later, Jett dropped his arm, and Tyler crashed to the ground. Tyler doubled over as he desperately tried to suck in some air, but Jett hadn't punched him.

Jett strolled back over to me. "He shouldn't cause any more trouble," he said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

Everything inside of me was screaming that I should be afraid of him, but I wasn't. I wondered if my lack of fear had to do with Tyler being a potential rapist or if it was because I was so infatuated with Jett that I was making up excuses for him like abused spouses so often do.

"Hey," he said, putting his hand on my hip. "You okay?"

I gave him a small nod. "Um... yeah."

Jett wrapped his arm around my shoulders and ushered me away from Tyler, who was still hunched over on the ground. The way he held me close to him the whole way to class was kind of possessive, which had my head fighting my heart. When we got to my classroom, everyone was already inside and sitting at their desks.

"You want me to walk you inside?"

I shook my head. "I think I can manage."

He ran his hand down my arm then took my hand and gave it a squeeze. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I think I'm going to need it."

He lowered his head and brushed his cheek against mine, taking a deep breath as if he were inhaling me. But the action didn't feel creepy coming from him as it had with Jenna. Instead of being grossed out, I wanted to step closer to him. Letting out his breath, he pressed his lips against my cheek. I feared I might die on the spot from ecstasy. I put my hand on his side for support so I wouldn't collapse like some idiot who'd never been kissed before. Only that made it worse. Feeling his rock-hard hips made me want to slide my hand under his shirt and touch his stomach. I mentally slapped myself out of the stupor I was falling into.

Jett stepped back and smiled. His eyes were ten shades darker, but at least the whites were still showing. "I'll see you soon." He squeezed my hand one last time, and as embarrassing as it was, he had to physically turn me around and show me to the door to stop me from staring at him.

### Chapter 20

Turning the last page of the test over, I sighed with relief. I had actually managed to finish with ten minutes to spare. How I had been able to concentrate after Jett's kiss was beyond me.

Many nervous faces turned to the whiteboard as the teacher put a line through the "ten" of "ten minutes left" and wrote "five." Only one other person had his paper turned over. His arms were crossed, and he was leaning back in his chair as he waited for the time to go by.

Turning my head to the right, I noticed one of Tyler's friends staring at me. The moment my eyes met his, he dropped his gaze. I thought that must've had something to do with him seeing me with Jett. Maybe all the harassment was going to stop. I could only hope.

"Two minutes," the teacher called from behind his desk.

Planting my elbow on my desk, I rested my head on my hand and spent the remaining minutes thinking about what I was going to do when I got home. The previous night—even that morning—I had been determined to create some distance between Jett and me, but after the incident outside the classroom, I wanted anything but that. Then I remembered my stitches. They needed to come out, but something deep inside me that I didn't understand was telling me to keep quiet and talk to Jett about it first.

"All right, class, put your pens down and turn your papers over." The teacher walked around the room, collecting the exam papers.

Once he returned to his desk, he dismissed us, and everyone piled out of the room. I was the last one to leave, and I expected to see Jett waiting outside for me, but he wasn't. So much for his possessiveness. It must have all been in my imagination.

My next exam wasn't until after lunch, so I had a few hours to kill. If I'd had my car, I could've gotten away from school, but without it, I was stuck. I pulled out my phone, scrolled through my recent call list, and found Jett's number. I decided a text would be best—less personal.

Where's my car?

While I waited for a response, I opened the last message from Lilly and sent her a text. _Are you still at school?_

As soon as I hit Send, my phone beeped with a message from Jett. _In the car park._

And my keys?

He replied almost immediately: _Behind you._

I turned around and was met by a smiling Jett standing only inches away from me. My heart started beating faster as I inhaled his godly scent.

"Didn't think I'd forget about you, did you?"

"No," I lied.

He slung an arm over my shoulder. "So how'd it go?"

"I don't know, but at least I finished this one."

"I'm sure you did great." He started leading me out to the car. "Do you want to go out for lunch somewhere?"

"As nice as that sounds, I've got another exam this afternoon that I should be studying for."

"Come on. It'll only be for an hour at most."

"Since you put it like that... okay."

"Seriously?" He laughed. "I thought I would've had to work a bit harder than that."

I shrugged. "I've already failed one exam, so it's not as if I've got a chance of getting into my course now, anyway."

He pulled out my keys and clicked the unlock button. "You might be surprised."

He opened the passenger door and helped me inside, even though I no longer needed any assistance. Walking around the front of the car, he looked around as if expecting someone to jump out of the bushes. Maybe he was worried that Tyler's friends were going to come back for revenge. But Jett didn't strike me as the type to be afraid of anyone. And those guys would have to be pretty stupid to take on the son of a drug lord. It was practically a death wish. And yet there I was, about to go out to lunch with him. What the hell was wrong with me? Two weeks ago, I would've laughed if someone told me that I would have a thing for such a dangerous guy.

Opening the driver's door, Jett climbed in beside me then shut it behind him.

When Jett got behind the wheel, I asked, "Where are we going?"

He started the car. "Have you been into Surfers yet?"

I shook my head. "I know it's lame but..." I shrugged.

Jett put the car into reverse then drove out of the lot. "You've only been here for just over one week, and for four of those days, you've been in recovery."

"Speaking of that, when do my stitches come out?"

"Let me see." He reached out and touched my shirt.

I grabbed his hand. "Not while you're driving."

I loosened my grip on his hand, but he held on as I dropped my hand to my lap, and I couldn't be more thankful that I didn't know how to drive a manual. He gave my fingers a squeeze and I realised that he was watching me as I stared down at our intertwined hands.

"You know there's no one here you have to put on a show for," I said.

"I know."

"And why do you presume I would be okay with it?" I was so totally okay with it, but I didn't want him to think I was like all the other girls who constantly fawned over him.

"It's one of my special gifts."

I almost laughed. "Confident, aren't we?"

He glanced sideways at me. "I see the way you look at me."

"Oh, really? And how's that?"

He didn't say anything for a minute, then he replied, "Let's see. Every time you look at me, you get this cute little goofy look on your face."

"I do not," I said, smiling because I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"And whenever I have my shirt off, you have this major staring problem, and your cheeks flush—just like they are now," he said with a laugh.

"It's called blush. You know, as in the makeup."

He raised his eyebrows. "You also have this cute little habit of staring at my lips when I talk, like you're wondering if they feel as soft as they look."

I choked on a laugh.

"Laugh all you want, it doesn't change the fact that you think I'm hot," he said smugly. "And you haven't let go of my hand, even though you're the one who pointed out that there's no one watching us."

God, I was so transparent. I thought about denying it, but then I decided there was no point. I looked out the window. "So what if I do?"

Jett pulled into a parking spot in front of the beach. "She admits it. You know... that's the first step." He killed the engine, then I heard him shift in his seat, and I was sure his eyes were boring holes into the back of my skull.

Unable to take it any longer, I turned to face him. "What is this, twelve steps to Jett recovery? First step is admitting we have a problem?"

Jett grinned. "Witty. Just another thing to add to your list of good traits."

I raised my eyebrows. "I have a list?"

"Oh, yes. But not as long as mine."

I whacked him across his chest.

"And there's another one. If you keep this up, you'll have a list as long as mine before you know it."

I smiled. "Cocky much?"

"Just another thing you can add to my list." He gave my hand a squeeze. "Come on. We can compare lists over lunch."

I bit my lip, trying to suppress the stupid grin threatening to take over my whole face. I opened the door and stepped out of the car.

The beach was only metres away and looked more like a construction zone than a place to lie back and relax. I thought it might have had something to do with Schoolies. Last year, Surfers Paradise Beach was sectioned off so all the newly graduated teens could party with stages, lights, and music. One thing I hadn't noticed when I saw the TV report was the eight-foot-high fence.

Jett slung his arm over my shoulder. "You just wait 'til the end of the week. You'll be down there dancing away—hopefully with your shirt still on."

I glared at him.

"I'm kidding. But you should see this place. You're gonna love it." He turned me toward the iconic Surfers Paradise sign at the entrance to the mall. "Where are we staying?"

"We?"

"You still need someone to make sure you're okay. You know, just in case you get an infection or something."

"Oh, really?" I laughed. "I guess thoughtfulness and self-sacrificing are on your list as well."

"Quick learner," he said. "So again, where are we staying?"

I tipped my head back and looked up at the building. "Up there."

"Nice."

"Have you stayed there before?"

"Yep. I stayed there for my Schoolies." He pressed the button for the crosswalk light.

Palm trees almost two stories high lined either side of the strip, with fairy lights hanging between the buildings. I thought there would be clubs everywhere, but I didn't spot any.

The green man lit up, and the Walk signal buzzed. We crossed the road and walked through the mall until we came to a street on the right.

"This way." He turned and led me into a café.

Not waiting for us to be seated, Jett dropped his hand to my back and ushered me to a table with a Reserved sign. He pulled out a chair and waited for me to sit. Jett took the seat opposite me.

"I'm guessing 'gentleman' is another one on your list."

"That particular one is reserved for very special people."

"And I'm special? You hardly know me."

With one arm resting on the table, he leaned back in his chair. "There aren't too many girls who would get themselves shot just to spend time with me."

"Yeah, that was my whole motivation," I said sarcastically.

The guy behind the bar came over to our table. "There you go, mate," he said, putting a beer in front of Jett. Then he looked at me. "What can I get you? Beer, wine, cocktail?"

I looked down at my school uniform and wondered what type of person would offer a schoolgirl alcohol. "Water will be fine."

Jett handed me a menu. "I'll have my usual."

Looking through the menu, I became acutely aware that they were both waiting for me to pick something to eat. The trouble was that I usually took twenty minutes to decide. "What's good?"

"Everything," Jett said.

Getting flustered, I said, "I'll have the same as you."

Jett chuckled. "You don't even know what that is."

I smiled at the barman. "Thanks."

He took the hint. Taking the menus off the table, he turned around and headed toward the kitchen.

"So you're a regular here?" I asked Jett.

He took a sip of beer. "This is one of my dad's businesses."

"Right." I scanned the café. "I don't see any poles."

Jett grinned. "They only come out at night." His smile dropped. "I wanted to show you a bit about my life. My family don't just own clubs. We have a few cafés, restaurants, and liquor stores." He cocked his head toward the buildings on the other side of the road. "Across the street is the club I had to go to last night. My dad's given that one to me to look after."

I looked that way, trying to see where the club was. I finally caught sight of a sign with Paradox scrawled in unlit neon bars. "Paradox?"

"That's the one." He took another sip. "I'll take you there during Schoolies if you like."

"Do I really want to see it?" I had a picture in my head of naked women dancing around and filthy old businessmen drooling into their warm beers.

"There aren't any strippers, if that's what you're thinking. My brother's got that one."

Well, that didn't surprise me. "We'll see."

A waitress came out of the kitchen carrying two gigantic platters. She came over and put a platter down in front of each of us. The plate was filled with prawns, crabs, ribs, lamb cutlets, scallops, chips, and one bowl of mushroom sauce and another containing tartar sauce.

I gaped at the piles of food. "Oh, God!"

Jett had a grin plastered across his face. "You should've asked."

Looking up at, Jett, I smiled. "I guess our taste in food is another thing we have in common."

He looked as if he didn't know whether to believe me or not. "I bet you can't finish even half of that."

"You're on." I looked at my plate again. There was no way I could finish it all, but I was going to give it my best shot. I picked up a lamb cutlet, dunked it into the mushroom sauce, and took a bite.

He shook his head and started eating. I got through a good portion of my plate before I needed a break.

"So just how big is your family?" I asked.

"I have two brothers. One lives in Sydney, and the other you've already met."

"Are your parents still together?"

Jett nodded. "What about you? Are your parents divorced?"

"No." I picked up my glass. "My mother died during my birth." I took a sip of the water.

Jett reached across the table and placed his hand over mine. "Sorry." He rubbed his thumb over my wrist.

I put down my glass. "Don't be. I didn't even know her."

"You never had the chance, and that has to be just as bad."

I thought about what he said. He was right. I had been denied the chance to know what it felt like to have a mum. She had been ripped out of my life, and I was left with an egotistical father who probably regretted the day she got pregnant with me. I looked down at my food and felt sicker than ever.

Jett stood. "Let's get out of here."

"You haven't finished yet."

"I never finish it anyway."

I wanted to punch him for making me think I needed to eat all that, but he laced his fingers through mine and led me through the tables and onto the sidewalk, never once looking in the direction of the staff. I guessed paying for the meal wasn't applicable when he owned the joint.

Outside, he let go of my hand and put his arm around my shoulders. "I don't suppose you want to skip the rest of the day so we can go have some fun?"

I looked up at him, trying to figure out if he was being serious or not, and sadly, I thought he was. "As much as I've enjoyed this... whatever it is, I need to get back to school."

"Figured you'd say that."

I laughed. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

He shook his head. "Nope. It's a good thing."

"How so?"

"Most girls would've said yes."

We stopped at the crosswalk, and I said, "I don't think there'd be a single girl willing to throw away the rest of her life for you."

"You'd be surprised."

Somehow, I believed him.

### Chapter 21

I arrived back at school with about two minutes to spare. Not waiting for Jett, I jumped out of the car and made a mad dash to the classroom where my economics exam was being held. Oddly, my chest didn't hurt at all during my marathon sprint.

I started freaking out when I saw nobody standing outside the room, but when I got to the door, I was relieved to find that they hadn't started yet. As I was about to walk in, someone grabbed my arm.

"Good luck." Jett leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, lingering near my face as he... smelled me? The whole thing was weird, but something about the way he did it made me want to take him up on the skipping-school idea.

Straightening, Jett said, "I'll see you soon." And once again he had to physically turn me around and gently push me inside my classroom.

As I took my seat, I looked toward the window, hoping to catch one last glimpse of him, but he'd already gone.

***

Two hours later, Jett was waiting for me outside the classroom. Sighs escaped from two nearby girls when he wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled my hair. How I even heard them above the beating of my heart was beyond me. I swallowed hard, trying to get my brain to function again, but it was impossible. As strange as his habit of smelling me was, having him so close was like a high that I never wanted to come down from. Sadly, he pulled away. I looked into the darkest brown eyes I'd ever seen. I had to blink a few times just to be sure they weren't black.

"Come on. We've got to be somewhere." Dropping one arm, he ushered me toward the car.

"Where?"

"You're getting your stitches out now."

We passed Tyler's friends, who all made a point of averting their eyes. Tyler was nowhere to be seen. Jett continued past them without even a glance and led me across the lot.

When I saw where the car was parked, I asked, "We've moved up to the loading zone?"

He unlocked my car and opened my door. "It's closer."

I got in the car. "Not to mention illegal."

Jett shrugged then closed my door and walked around to the driver's side.

"You seriously don't care, do you?" I asked as he sat beside me.

He started the engine. "Care about what?"

"Breaking the law."

He put the car into reverse then pulled out onto the street. "Not really."

"Do you even have a licence?"

He laughed. "Yeah. Passed my test first time round, and I've never had a ticket."

I laughed. "I find that hard to believe."

"Let me rephrase that. I haven't had a single ticket that I've had to pay. And before you ask, no, I've never lost my licence."

And I would have bet that was because of his father. He probably had a high-ranking officer on the payroll. Yet I found it hard to imagine that Jett was part of anything sinister. He had been nothing but sweet to me.

"Thank you," I said.

He looked at me curiously. "For what?"

"For taking care of me."

Jett put his hand over mine. "You're welcome." He turned into our street.

"Wait. I thought you said we were going to get my stitches out?"

"We are." He pulled into my garage.

Ugh! Getting answers from him was like pulling teeth. "Then how come we're here?"

He turned off the engine and opened his door. "The doctor's coming to your house." He got out of the car.

I opened my door and stood. Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I turned to look at him over the car roof. "That's a bit unusual, isn't it?" I thought I would at least have to go into a surgery if not the hospital.

"I'm going to ask you again: How do you know so much about what's supposed to happen when you get shot?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What makes you the expert?"

He made his way around the car. "Because I was the one the doctors gave instructions to after you were shot."

Nothing about his logic seemed right, but I wasn't going to get anything else from him, so I let it go. But when the doctor arrived, that was going to be another story.

Jett tucked his fingers under the strap of my bag and tugged me toward him. I sucked in a shallow breath as my heart started doing somersaults. My eyes dropped to his mouth, which was separated from mine by no more than a sliver of light. His lips parted, and he slowly dragged in a breath, making my heart skip a beat or two. I thought he was going to close the distance, but the seconds ticked by and... nothing.

I looked up into his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking. My impure thoughts came crashing to a halt when I saw that his eyes had once again changed to the almost-black I'd seen earlier.

A knowing look crossed his face. He slipped my bag off my shoulder and spun toward the door. "We should get inside. The doctor will be here any minute."

Still in a daze, I followed him inside. He dropped my bag next to the door and sauntered into the kitchen. I picked up my bag and carried it over to the lounge, where I sat down and pulled out my study notes for my next exam. I tried to concentrate, but it was useless. My mind was once again completely consumed with Jett and his mysterious eyes.

I dropped my notes on the couch and turned on the TV. When the screen came to life, a news reporter was covering a story of a missing man in his early twenties. A car matching his had been found completely burned out with the licence plates and VIN numbers removed. A picture of the man was shown along with the contact number for Missing Persons. The next story was about the upcoming Schoolies celebration. The camera switched to a police officer who warned that there would be zero tolerance for public drinking and fighting. The officer added that they were hoping to have a significant drop in Toolies this year.

When Jett carried in two cups of coffee, I teased, "You're going to be a Toolie, aren't you?"

He handed me a coffee. "Yep." He sat beside me on the couch. "I've already got a T-shirt made up with Toolie written across the chest just so there's no mistaking what I am."

"You do not."

"Do, too." He took a sip of his coffee. "My brother had it made up for me last year."

"Wait," I said, pulling my eyebrows together. "Weren't you a schoolie last year?"

He shook his head.

My eyes widened in surprise. "I thought you graduated last year."

"Nope." He took another sip. "The year before." He watched me tick the numbers over in my head. "I'm nineteen, turning twenty in January. On the twenty-fifth."

"Bullshit." I scooted over next to him and held out my hand. "Give me your licence."

With a smile, he pulled out his wallet and handed it to me. I opened it and took out his licence.

"That's friggin insane." I shook my head in disbelief. "I was born on the twenty-fifth of January, too." When he didn't seem surprised, I said, "You know that's weird, right?"

"There's a one in three-hundred-sixty-five chance that we could be born on the same day. And in case you're unaware, there are probably another twenty million people that share our birthday, too."

I slapped him with his wallet. "Smartass."

He grinned. A knock sounded at the door.

Jett got up to answer it. "Wait here."

A few seconds later, he led a man in his late thirties over to where I sat. The guy carried a black bag in one hand.

The man held out his hand. "Hi, Zara. I'm Doctor Brennan."

I reached out and shook it. "Hi."

Doctor Brennan sat down beside me and put his bag next to his feet. "Now, Jett tells me that the wound has healed quite well. Have you had any questions or concerns?"

"Um, yeah." I gulped. "From what I've read on the Internet, I don't understand how it healed so quickly. I mean, it's been less than a week, and all I feel is a slight tightness in my chest."

He nodded as he opened his bag. "You were actually quite lucky. The reason your wound healed so quickly was because the bullet didn't go in far and it just nicked a rib. The surgeons were able to retrieve the bullet and stitch together the damaged tissue." He pulled out something that resembled a large tin pencil case. "The pain you've been feeling over the last few days is nothing more than bruising and repairing of the damaged muscles."

Something about that explanation didn't sit right, but I felt weird arguing with a doctor. And as Jett kept pointing out, I knew nothing about gunshot wounds.

"Okay," I replied. "Um, I was also wondering why there's no records of me in any of the hospitals around here?"

He drew his eyebrows together. "That's not right. I was one of your treating doctors at Broadbeach Hospital. There must be a spelling error or something... I'll look into when I'm back at work on Friday."

Relief washed over me. "Thanks."

"Now," he said, opening the case and pulling out a pair of tweezers and some blunt-nosed scissors. "Let's get these stitches out."

My blood ran cold when he reached for my shirt. Jett must have sensed my unease because he sat beside me, wrapping one arm around my shoulders and holding my hand. "You'll be okay."

Taking a deep breath, I undid the top two buttons of my shirt. The doctor pulled my shirt to the side, exposing my bra. I thought about telling Jett to go into another room, but fear overcame modesty.

Focusing on Jett's eyes, I tried to block out my peripheral vision as the doctor pulled at the stitches.

Minutes later, Doctor Brennan said, "All done."

It took me a second to realise that the doctor said anything at all. I was completely captivated by the changing colour of Jett's eyes. In that short period of time, the colour had changed from a medium brown to a deeper hue that was almost black. I had heard of some people's eyes changing colours, but I never thought it could be within seconds.

I turned to the doctor. "Thanks."

Doctor Brennan put his things back in his bag and stood.

"Is that it? I mean, do I need to make any more appointments for scans or anything?" I asked.

"That's it. Everything has healed nicely, and I don't anticipate any complications." He headed toward the front door. "However, if you do notice anything unusual, just ask Jett to call me." He opened the door and left.

I thought it was a bit strange that a doctor would tell me to ask someone who wasn't even related to me to call him. I didn't have much time to think about how screwed up that was because I completely lost track of my thoughts when Jett lifted his shirt over his head.

He grinned when he noticed me staring. My cheeks flushed, and I looked away. I felt him get off the couch, then he was behind me, bending over the back of it.

He lifted me with apparent ease and held me against his bare chest. "Come down to the beach with me?"

I giggled like a stupid schoolgirl. "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope." He carried me over to the back door, opened it, and put me on my feet on the other side of the threshold. "Wait here."

He disappeared inside then returned, holding two towels. He handed them to me then grabbed his board, which had been leaning against the house.

I cocked an eyebrow. "You want me to watch you surf?"

"Unless you want to join me..."

I looked down at my uniform. "You realise I'm not wearing my swimmers, don't you?"

He smirked, his eyes flicking down to my chest, where only moments ago, my bra had been on display. "I know."

Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I turned to go back inside.

"Not so fast." He wrapped an arm around me, his hand settling above my scar. "Come sit on the beach, and I promise I won't bring up what I may or may not have seen." When I started to pull away, he added, "Or I could get my brother to come over while I'm gone?"

I glared at him. "You do know that I'm no longer in need of someone looking after me twenty-four-seven?"

He let go. "You may not need any physical help anymore, but need I remind you that it was less than a week ago that someone broke into your house and shot you?"

I exhaled loudly. "Fine. But at least let me get my phone."

Once I had retrieved my phone, we walked down to the beach. About halfway to the water, Jett dropped the towels and shoved his board into the sand. He laid out a towel for me.

"Thanks," I said, sitting down with my legs crossed.

"I won't be out there long." He ruffled my hair then jogged down to the water.

I unlocked my phone then opened my Facebook app. Scrolling through the recent updates from my friends in Sydney, I thought I should be missing them a lot more than I actually was, and it made me realise that something had changed in me. At first, I thought it was because of almost being raped then getting shot, but neither of those seemed to be the catalyst for what I felt. I opened the search engine, planning to do some more investigating about rapid wound healing.

Zane suddenly plopped down next to me. I hadn't heard him approach, and I jumped a little.

"Some warning next time would be nice." I wanted to add that having him stay away from me would be even better, but he was Jett's brother, so I figured I should at least try to be polite.

"Sorry," Zane said, obviously not meaning it. He leaned back on his elbow. "I see you're still caught up over my brother?"

I could feel him practically undressing me with his eyes. I readjusted my skirt to cover as much of my legs as possible. "I'm not. I—"

Zane wrapped a piece of my hair around his finger "I told you before—he doesn't do relationships."

His touch made my skin crawl. He was so arrogant, but not in the same way Jett was. Zane expected me to fall into his lap and feel blessed for the opportunity.

I gathered my hair and twisted it up into a bun. "And I suppose you do?" I raised an eyebrow.

In one swift motion, he sat up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. My breath caught as he leaned into my ear and inhaled in that same creepy way Jenna had. "I would make an exception for you."

As I started to scoot away, Jett appeared out of nowhere and shoved Zane to the side. How he had gotten out of the water and up the beach so fast was beyond me. Only a moment ago, I'd seen him out there, waiting for a wave.

Ignoring, Zane's death stare, Jett held out his hands to me. I took them, and he pulled to my feet.

"Thanks," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

He cupped my cheek. "You okay?"

I nodded.

Zane laughed. "Of course she's okay. We were just talking."

I turned around. "Is that what you call it?"

Jett possessively pulled me against his wet body. A million butterflies were released inside of me, and even though his actions may not have meant what I wanted them to, I was happy to live in my delusion.

Jett nuzzled my hair and took a slow, deep breath, making my knees go weak. I leaned into him and tilted my head to the side. A throaty growl escaped from him, and I closed my eyes, revelling in the completely bizarre moment that seemed to say so much that I didn't understand on a conscious level, but on a subconscious level, my body was responding to something primitive.

Zane looked away.

"Let's go." Jett nudged me forward.

He didn't let go until we were inside my house. In the lounge, he turned me in his arms, the cool air of the air conditioner blowing against the back of my soaked uniform sending a chill down my spine.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked.

I didn't understand what had gone down on the beach between him and his brother, but as far as I was concerned, Zane was a creep, and that was everything I needed to know. "I'm fine. Just a bit cold."

He looked me in the eye, probably trying to ascertain if I was telling the truth.

"I'm gonna go have a shower," I said. I turned around and hurried up the stairs.

After I was clean and dressed in pyjama shorts and a tank top, I ventured downstairs. I found Jett in the kitchen, standing over the hotplates. The smells wafting through the air were divine.

He looked up and asked, "Feeling better?"

"Much." I rested a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't know you could cook." I leaned over to take a look in the pan. "What are you cooking?"

"Spaghetti bolognaise."

Jett swiped at my hand as I reached for the pan, but he wasn't fast enough. I picked out a strand of sauce-covered spaghetti and shoved it in my mouth. I regretted it the moment the noodle landed on my tongue. "Holy shit, that's hot!"

He laughed as I grabbed the milk out of the fridge then poured some and downed the entire glass.

"That is way too hot," I said, when my mouth no longer felt on fire.

Jett grabbed a spoon and tasted a bit of the sauce. His eyes flared, and he rushed to the sink and spat it out.

I poured a glass of milk. He gulped it then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Holy shit." Taking the pan off the stove, he tipped it into the sink and turned on the incinerator.

I shook my head. "You know, spaghetti bolognaise isn't supposed to be spicy, right?"

He shrugged. "I never said I could cook."

I took a seat on the bench. "Then please don't ever cook again."

He came over to me and placed his hand on the bench on either side of me. "So I guess winning you over with my amazing culinary skills is out of the question?"

Winning me over? I wasn't sure I'd heard right. "Did you just say...?"

He nodded.

I laughed as I waved at the sink. "Is that what you were trying to do?"

Jett moved forward, pushing my knees apart. My legs cooperated before my brain even knew what was going on. He placed his hands on my hips and pulled me toward him.

I raised my eyebrows. "That's pretty forward, isn't it?"

"I know what I want."

I slumped my shoulders. "And what is that?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Placing two hands on his chest, I pushed, forcing him to take a step back. I hated every second because all I wanted was to feel him against me, but I wasn't willing to become a booty call. "I'm not that kind of girl." I figured he would be pissed because I was pretty sure I was the only girl to ever reject him, even if only temporarily.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't do one-night stands."

He chuckled then regained his position between my legs. "What makes you think that's all I want from you?"

"Rumour has it, you don't do relationships."

"Is that what you want?"

"It doesn't matter what I want. I'm not going to get involved with someone who has commitment issues."

He smiled. "How do you know I have commitment issues?"

"Your brother told me. Not those exact words. But he said you don't do relationships."

"Zane told you that?"

"Twice."

Jett scratched his forehead. He seemed to be debating on what to tell me. "Zane's right. I don't do relationships."

I dropped my gaze to my hands that I'd unknowingly balled into fists. I felt as if I'd been sucker punched, but I was glad that I'd found out then rather than after I'd completely fallen in love with him.

He put his finger under my chin and lifted it, so I had no choice but to look at him. "But you're different. And I know that sounds corny, but it's the truth. Those other girls could never have been a part of my lifestyle."

"But I could be?"

"Yes."

"Why?" I shook my head. "That doesn't even make sense. Wait. Is that the line you use on girls?"

He tucked my hair behind my ear. "No, it's not a line. And I know it doesn't make sense, but one day soon, you'll understand. For now, you're just going to have to trust me that you're different. _We'll_ be different. And I'm not saying that we're going to fall in love, get married, and have two-point-five children."

I strained a laugh. "Good. I think we're a bit too young to start planning our forevers."

Jett smiled and took my hands in his. "I want to give us a go and see where it takes us."

I bit my lower lip. "You haven't even kissed me yet. I could be the lamest kisser who makes you swallow a mouth full of saliva every—"

Jett pressed his lips to mine. Cupping my face, he gently parted my lips with his tongue. My entire body began to tingle from the soft, sensual way he was discovering my kissing abilities for himself. All too soon, he pulled away, leaving me desperately wanting more.

"Did I pass?" My voice came out raspy.

"Hmm... I think I need another try just to be sure." He leaned in and kissed me again.

I ran my hands through his hair, pulling him into a deeper kiss. A sexy growl came from his throat. He worked his hands down my back, stopping on my ass and pulling me closer. I wrapped my legs around his waist. Lifting me off the bench, he carried into the lounge and laid me on the couch, careful not to put his full weight on me as he stayed trapped within my embrace.

His hand found the hem of my shorts and slid up my thigh until it reached my panties. I wasn't a first-date girl, but feeling him against me almost changed my mind. But we needed to stop. I put my hands on his chest and... I couldn't do it. His pecs were almost too perfect, and I just had to take the time to appreciate them. And then I had to see if his abs were as good as his pecs, and then...

Before I knew it, I had found his belt, and I didn't care what type of girl I wanted to be. All I knew was what I wanted at that very second. I wanted him— _all of him_.

Jett broke away. "I'm sorry." He sat up, pulling me up with him.

I was practically panting. "I'm not."

He grinned. "Not like this."

I grinned back. "Isn't that what the girl is supposed to say?"

"Then I guess I'm the girl tonight." He winked.

### Chapter 22

Never in a million years would I have thought I'd wake up next to the son of a drug lord and not be afraid. But there I was, wrapped in his arms, completely content for the first time in weeks.

Somehow, we'd kept our clothes on all night. And I was unashamed to say that it was because of Jett's stubbornness of not wanting to "deflower" me—his word, not mine. I had assured him that he would most certainly not be doing that, but apparently, I hadn't experienced anything yet.

"Morning," Jett said in a husky voice.

I pulled his hand up to my neck and hugged him. "Morning."

My head dipped back as he lifted his off the pillow, then he kissed me just below my ear. "As much as I'd love to keep you in here all day, it's almost nine, and your next exam starts in an hour."

I rolled over and sat up. Just as my feet touched the floor, a hand snaked around my middle and pulled me back onto the mattress. My laugh was cut off when Jett's lips found mine. All the built-up passion that I'd put to rest when I fell asleep last night came back with full force.

But like before, he pulled away. "You're going to be late if you don't get up now."

Groaning, I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After my shower, I wrapped a towel around me and opened the door. I expected Jett to still be in my bed, but he was gone. I got dressed, gathered my stuff, and went downstairs to the lounge.

Jett came out of the kitchen, holding two coffees. "Such a shame I'll only get to see you in that uniform for another three days." He put the cups on the table, grabbed my tie, and pulled me to him.

I traced the lines of his tattoo. "It could always make a reappearance."

He grinned. "I'm going to hold you to that one."

I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek before picking up my coffee to take a sip. The whole time I could feel his eyes practically undressing me, and I loved it.

Jett wrapped his arms around my waist from behind me then leaned in and inhaled deeply in that funny way. "How about we take my bike?"

I choked out a laugh. "Yeah, probably not such a good idea," I said, holding up my coffee.

***

When we arrived at school, Lilly was leaning against the fence. Her eyes lit up when she spotted us.

After we parked, she strode over, her smile growing bigger the closer she got. When I got out of the car, she said, "Two guesses why you weren't answering last night."

I tried to squash the grin that spread across my face, but it was hopeless. My mouth seemed to have a mind of its own.

"Hey, Lilly," Jett said, coming up behind me.

"Morning," she said with a smile. Lilly looked to me. "We better hurry, or we'll be late."

I furrowed my brow. "We take history together?"

"Sure do," she said.

Jett laced his fingers with mine as we walked through the school gate. Lilly led the way, and I listened absently as she chattered the whole way there. She seemed so much more self-confident over the last week, and I wondered what was responsible.

Lilly slapped my arm with the back of her hand. "You're not listening to me, are you?"

I shook my head. "Sorry. I was just... thinking about the exam."

"How do you think you'll do?" she asked.

"I think I've got it." History was always one of my stronger subjects. "How about you?"

She nodded. "With the way my mum had me studying, I think I've memorised the whole bloody textbook."

When we reached the classroom, the bitches were huddled to the side of the door. History class was where I had first met them.

Emily nudged the other two girls, then all three of them looked up at us. I waited for the smart-assed comments, but nothing came. I looked over at Lilly, expecting to see her cowering as she'd done every other time she was near them, but her back was straight and her head held high. It was like a complete role reversal.

Jett squeezed my hand. "I'll be here waiting for you when you've finished." He leaned down and kissed me, then pulled me into a hug, where he once again buried his head in the crook of my neck and slowly inhaled as if smelling my hair or my skin.

"All right, that's enough," the teacher said, walking past us into the classroom.

Lilly giggled and grabbed my free hand.

"See you," I said as Lilly dragged me inside the room.

***

When Lilly and I finished the exam, we walked outside to the parking lot. Jett was sitting on the garden wall under a tree, playing on his phone.

"Want a lift home?" I asked Lilly as we headed over to the tree.

"If it's not too much trouble." She adjusted the strap of her bag. "I can't believe we've only got one day left."

"Ah, you do realise that it's only Wednesday?"

"You know what I mean. You can't really count Friday as a school day because we finish by ten o'clock."

I tipped my head back. "I can't wait 'til Friday."

Jett hopped off the wall and slipped his phone into his pocket. "How'd you do?" He kissed my forehead then slung his arm over my shoulders and turned me in the direction of the car.

I laced my fingers with his. "Piece of cake."

He looked over at Lilly. "Are we taking you home?"

"If it's no trouble."

"It's no trouble," I answered. I nodded at Jett. "Another good reason not to bring your bike."

"You'll change your mind once you've had a ride." He opened the passenger door and waited for me to get inside before closing it.

Lilly crawled into the backseat and leaned forward. "Did I hear right? Does he want to take you on his bike?"

I twisted in my seat to face her. "Yeah, why?"

"That has got to be the hottest thing ever. Sitting on the back of a bike with him in—" She cut herself off mid-sentence when Jett opened the driver-side door.

On the ride to Lilly's house, I couldn't get the image of sitting on the back of Jett's bike, with him between my legs, out of my mind. Lilly was right. That would be hot.

By the time we dropped off Lilly and got back home, it was almost two thirty. We pulled out the left-over Chinese and sat at the table outside to eat.

"Are you ever going home?" I asked. "Not that I don't like having you here, but doesn't your family miss you or something?"

He shook his head. "There's no need for me to go home. They know where I am."

"And they don't have a problem with it?"

"I'm almost twenty. They stopped having a say in what I did two years ago." He shrugged. "Besides, I think they understand, considering someone shot you less than a week ago."

I twirled some noodles around my fork as I thought about that night. So much had changed, and so much was unexplained. "Hey, do the police have any leads on who did it?"

"Nope." He shovelled some pork into his mouth.

I slumped back in the chair. I felt so useless that I couldn't even help the police with a description so they could find my attacker.

"Hey." Jett put down his fork and placed his hand over mine. "You need to stop worrying about it."

I gave him a half-hearted smile. "Easier said than done."

He squeezed my hand. "So what test do we have to study for tomorrow?"

I raised my eyebrows. "You plan on helping me study?"

He scooped the last of his food onto his fork. "Well, I am the expert on..."

"English?" I finished for him.

"Exactly."

Jett's phone buzzed. He pulled it out and checked the screen. He typed something in response then stood up. "I have to take care of something at the club for a bit." He picked up his bowl then came over and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Please don't argue with me on this, but I'm taking you over to Jenna's to stay while I'm gone."

Tilting my head back to look at him, I said, "I don't need anyone watching me." I got to my feet and put my hands on my hips. "You go take care of what you need to, but I'm not going anywhere."

He stared at me for a moment. "Fine. I'll get my brother to come over here." He pulled out his phone again.

I barked out a laugh. "He is so not coming over here."

He swiped the screen. "Well, if you won't go over to Jenna's, then Zane's coming here."

I snatched his phone out of his hand. He looked mad, but I didn't care. "You're worried that whoever shot me may come back to finish what they started, but you're okay with letting your slimeball brother get all up in my shit?"

His face softened. "I'm not okay with my brother touching you, but it's better than the alternative."

"Which is?"

Jett put his hands on my waist and drew me to him. "Call me crazy, but I'm worried about you. And I think I have every reason to be."

I laid my hand on his chest. "I'll be fine." He looked so worried that I gave in. "Fine, I'll go to Jenna's."

He cupped my face and kissed my forehead. "Thank you."

***

My stomach churned the whole way over to Jenna's. I was a little nervous about being in her territory, where I couldn't lock her out as I had done when she was over at my house. I hoped that my needing to study would give me some reprieve.

Jett squeezed my hand when he met me in front of the car. "You'll be fine."

Putting on my best fake smile, I walked with him up to the porch. Before Jett could knock, the door swung open.

"Hi," Jenna said. She wrapped her arms around Jett's neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she turned, pulled me into a hug, and kissed my cheek as if we were best friends who hadn't seen each other in weeks. And I was almost certain she smelled me again.

"Okay, okay," Jett said. "Give her some space."

Jenna pulled away, chuckling. "Sorry. I can be a bit full on at times."

"That's okay," I said just to be polite. The last thing I wanted was to have a problem with every one of Jett's family. Zane was inevitable, but I would try to get over the whole sniffing thing. Maybe she'd had too many drugs and had some kind of brain damage.

"Anyway," Jett said, gripping me around my hip and pulling me to him, "I better go now. I'll be back as soon as I can." He tucked his face in the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply as he kissed me, making my stomach dip. Reluctantly, he pulled away. "See you." He looked at Jenna for a moment, and I was sure some sort of unspoken message passed between them, then he turned around and left.

She put her arm around me and ushered me inside. "Jett tells me you guys are together now, huh?"

Wow. I hadn't realised he would be so quick to tell everyone. "Um, yeah, I guess you could say that."

She squeezed my arm. "He's a lucky guy."

I was thankful that she couldn't see my face because I was sure I wasn't hiding my internal freak-out. She wasn't my friend, so I didn't get why she would say something like that other than... _Oh, God._ What was with Jett's family and me? I hoped that the rest of them weren't so... friendly toward me.

Jenna pointed at the couch. "Have a seat, and I'll get us something to drink. Coke?"

"Yeah. Thanks." I sat on the sofa and dropped my bag on the floor.

Her place was immaculate to the point that it looked more like a display home than a place someone actually lived. To the left of the couch were bifold doors that opened up to a large patio. Most of the small backyard was taken up by a pool.

I stood and walked onto the patio. My heart practically stopped when I looked to the right and saw the bridge, the same one I had jumped off of and nearly been raped under, and the very spot where I had first seen my black-eyed boy.

"There you are," Jenna said from behind me.

I whipped around, feeling as though I had been caught snooping. She held out a bottle of Coke.

"Thanks," I said taking the soda. "How long have you lived here?"

"About three years." She walked over and stood beside me, brushing her shoulder against mine. "My parents bought me this house as my twenty-first birthday present."

"Holy crap. That's a pretty amazing present." I wondered if my father would ever do something like that. The answer was probably yes, but not for the same reason most parents would. "Or was it more like a 'here's a house, please move out' kind of gift?"

She laughed. "No, it wasn't like that. My parents knew I wanted to move up here, and I guess this was their way of giving me their blessing."

I stepped out and sat on the wicker lounge. Jenna followed, but fortunately, she left a little space between us.

I opened the bottle and took a sip. "Where did you live before?"

"Sydney."

"Seriously? I used to live there, too."

Turning to face me, she put her knee up on the couch. "Whereabouts?"

"In Bronte. How about you?"

"That's so funny. We lived just up from you in Vaucluse."

"Huh." I leaned back and took another drink. "So what do you do up here?"

"As in work?" When I nodded, she shrugged and said, "I help Jett and Zane out when they need it."

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

"Not a fan of Zane?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Let's just say the few times we've met, he overstepped some boundaries."

She chuckled. "He can be a bit like that, but I wouldn't worry about him. I think he's probably a bit jealous that Jett found you first."

A nervous laugh escaped my lips. Even if I had met Zane before Jett, there was no way I would've ever fallen for that creepazoid. "I don't get why. He seems to have his hands full as it is."

She laughed. "Let's just say you're not like most of the girls from around here."

"Why? Because I didn't throw myself at him?"

She grinned then took a sip of her drink. "So, you've only got two days of school left. Are you excited?"

I was a little irritated by the obvious subject change, but then I decided I didn't really want to discuss guys with her, anyway, especially not her cousins. "Relieved is more like it. But I've still got one last exam tomorrow that I really should be studying for."

"What subject?"

"English."

"Seriously?" She leaned toward me. "That was one of my best subjects. I could help you if you like?"

"Um, yeah, okay. Thanks."

Jenna stood. "Let's go inside and sit on the couch."

I followed her in and got out my study notes. Amazingly, Jenna was practically an encyclopaedia, and I was thankful I'd gone over to her house rather than insisting on staying home by myself.

When Jett returned, I had to do a double take. His hair was wet, and I was sure he was wearing something different from when he'd left. It seemed pretty weird that he would have gone back home to have a shower without picking me up first, but I didn't give it too much thought because I was actually grateful that Jenna was able to help me so much.

Jett sat beside me, draped his arm over my shoulder, and pulled me close. He kissed the side of my head. "Miss me?"

"Actually, no." His eyebrows shot up, and I chuckled. "Jenna's been helping me study."

"If I'd known you wanted a study partner, I could've helped."

"Right," I said with a laugh. Jett _so_ didn't come across as the academic type.

"Actually, he's pretty smart," Jenna said. "Of course, not as smart as I am." She grinned.

"You wish." Jett picked up a cushion and threw it at Jenna, who caught it with ease. "Come on. Let's go," Jett said to me.

I gathered my things and shoved them back in my bag. "Thanks again for helping me with this," I said to Jenna.

"Don't mention it." She walked us to the front door. "Maybe next time we can do something a bit more fun."

"Sure thing."

Jenna pulled me into a hug. "Take care."

She did the smelling thing again, but it didn't bother me as much. Over the last two hours, I seemed to have gotten over the discomfort I had felt around her.

### Chapter 23

Friday had always been my favourite day of the week, but having it also be the last day of school topped every other Friday in my life. Thirteen years of what at most times felt like torture was going to be over in a few hours.

The principal stood on the stage at the front of the hall, giving us our last lecture on how our lives would change after we left the room that day. He told us when we could expect our year-twelve results and how proud he and the staff were of us and our accomplishments. I zoned out, thinking about how I couldn't wait to see my friends from Sydney. Even though I would be celebrating Schoolies with Lilly, my real celebration wouldn't be until my Sydney friends arrived next week.

Lilly leaned over and whispered, "How much longer do you think he's going to go on?"

I shrugged. "Does he usually talk this much?"

"Yep. He loves the sound of his own voice." She tapped my knee and pointed to my right.

The guy in the row in front of us had fallen asleep. His head was hanging forward, and saliva had started to pool at the edges of his lips.

"That's so gross."

"But funny."

The guy started leaning farther and farther forward in his chair. Then he was startled awake just before he almost face-planted on the floor. Lilly and I both started snickering.

"Hey, what time do you want to check in to the hotel?" she asked, trying to stifle another giggle.

Schoolies didn't officially start until Saturday, but everyone was checking in on Friday. School was over, and no one wanted to wait that extra day.

"Jett has a surprise for me after this, but I think we'll be ready by about three. I've given the hotel your name, so you can check in earlier if you want."

"Cool. The sooner I can get away from Mum, the better. I've so had enough of her slave driving."

She wasn't the only one who was glad to finally get a parent off her back. My father wasn't there to make me study, but his threat of a babysitter was probably worse.

I smirked. "And order anything you want. It's the least my father can do, considering he hasn't even called me to congratulate me or anything."

She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Forty minutes later, we were finally free.

"I am so not going to miss this place," Lilly said, eyeing Tyler and his friends as they walked ahead of us and exited the hall.

I still didn't know what had actually happened between Lilly and those guys, but I was hoping to get her to talk about it during Schoolies. Having a few drinks usually loosened up a girl, and maybe she would start talking. And never having to face them at school again might also be an incentive.

Stepping out into the bright sunlight was like being reborn. I was officially an adult—no more having to listen to my father and no more threats of a babysitter.

"Congratulations," Jett said, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me into the air. He hugged me before putting me back down. He looked over at Lilly. "Congrats to you, too, Lilly."

"Thanks," she said, her cheeks turning rosy.

We stepped to the side to get out of the flood of students.

"Do you want a lift home?" I asked Lilly.

She looked at Jett. "Don't you have something planned?"

"Oh, yeah. The surprise." I leaned my back against Jett's chest and looked up at him. "We can take her home first, right?"

He shook his head. "Sorry. There's no room."

I spun around. "What?"

He grinned. "You'll see."

"Sorry," I told her.

Lilly had the same confused look on her face that I imagined was on mine. "That's okay. I'll catch the bus. I've done it a million times before. What's one last time?"

"Those dicks aren't on your bus, are they?" I didn't want her having to deal with them on her own, especially confined to such a small area.

She shook her head. "No. Thank God."

We walked toward the gate. The parking bay was to the left, and the bus stop was to the right. I stopped short when I saw that my car wasn't parked in the loading zone or the disabled spot. Instead, Jett's motorbike was standing in the loading zone. A helmet with a pink bow on top was perched on the seat.

I shook my head violently. "Oh, no, no, no."

Jett nodded just as vigorously, grinning the whole time. "Yes, yes, yes."

I had said before that I thought riding behind Jett would be sexy, but when it came to the crunch, all I could think about was my face splattered on the asphalt.

"Holy shit!" Lilly shrieked. "I can't believe you bought Zara her own helmet."

Jett deflated a little. "Somehow I don't think she's as excited as we are."

My eyebrows shot up. "You think? You know those things are a death wish. One accident and they're either scraping your body parts off the road, or you're wishing they were because you're in so much pain from all the skin grafts, amputations, and broken bones."

"Wow," Lilly said. "That's pretty extreme, isn't it?"

"Extreme, maybe. But I went to school with a guy who had a bike accident, and let's just say it wasn't pretty."

"But I'm not that guy." Jett put his hands on my shoulders. "And I'm not going to crash."

"How do you know? Some idiot could crash into you, and that's it for us."

"Come for one ride with me, and if you don't like it, I'll never ask you again."

I was about to say, "No way," when he pushed out his bottom lip.

"Don't be a chicken shit," Lilly said.

I cringed. That was the same thing the girls had said on the bridge. If I hadn't jumped then, I wouldn't have been assaulted. And if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have gotten to see my black-eyed boy, who I was sure was the guy wanting to take me for a ride on his bike.

I let out a dramatic sigh. "Okay. I'll go for one ride."

"Yay." Lilly clapped.

Jett grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the bike. "You won't regret this."

He ripped the pink bow off the top of my new helmet and tossed it to Lilly. After putting the helmet on my head, he fastened it then gave it a knock on top. "You look so hot in that." He kissed my nose.

"Come on and get on the bike," Lilly said. "I want to see this before I miss my bus."

Jett climbed on first. I sucked in a deep breath then swung my leg over, wrapped my arms around his waist, and held on for dear life.

"Easy." He laughed.

"Sorry."

He started the engine then waved at Lilly. "See you later."

"See you." She waved. "Have fun!"

I leaned my cheek against his back and closed my eyes. A second later, I felt the bike move. I opened my eyes, thinking it wasn't that bad, then I realised we were just pulling onto the road. He twisted the throttle, and I let out a scream as we began to fly down the street. I thought I'd be terrified, but I wasn't. There was something about zooming through the streets, the wind lashing against me, that made me feel free.

Loosening my grip on Jett, I sat up and enjoyed the ride. After going on the highway, weaving in and out of traffic, Jett took an exit and some more turns until I was completely lost. He drove up a mountain road then stopped at a grassy lookout.

I got off the bike and removed my helmet. "That was friggin awesome!"

He took off his helmet and laughed. "Told you."

"What is this place?" I asked, looking at the buildings in the distance. I could see the skyscrapers from one end of the Coast to the other. "The view is amazing."

"The Panorama."

He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward a small boulder. He sat next to me, looking unsure of himself, which was really odd.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Jett put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small box—a jewellery box! _What the hell?_ We'd only known each other for just over a week, and he was buying me jewellery. I hoped it wasn't a ring because that would've been way too creepy.

"Relax," he said with a smile.

My cheeks flushed. I was such an idiot.

"I wanted to get you something for graduating, and I didn't know if this would be too much too soon but..." He shrugged and handed me the box.

Nervous, I opened the lid and just about died. "Oh, my God," I whispered as I looked at the custom-made platinum and diamond necklace in the same shape as the tattoo covering his neck and shoulder. It had to be worth a fortune. "This is too much." I pushed the box back into his hand.

"No, it's not." He gently pulled the necklace from the box and held an end in each hand.

Lifting my hair, I turned around, and Jett leaned in and clasped the necklace around my neck. Inhaling deeply, he kissed the side of my neck then slowly worked his way down to the pendant, leaving a trail of kisses in his path.

"Thank you," I whispered. "It's beautiful."

### Chapter 24

"I don't think you're going to need this much stuff for just one week," Jett said, lifting one of my two bags onto the hotel luggage stand.

I sat down on the king-size bed. "I like to be prepared."

"There's prepared, then there's you." He shoved my other bag under the rack then picked up his overnight bag. "This is all you should need." He laid it on one of the shelves.

"Yeah, whatever." Lying back, I turned my head and looked out the window.

The view from the room was amazing. Nothing stood between us and the ocean. The sunrise would be killer, but I was guessing I would never see a single one because we'd be so buggered from the late-night partying—unless we didn't go to sleep.

Jett climbed onto the bed and lay down beside me. He turned onto his side, his head resting on his hand.

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Do you really have to go down to the club now?"

He draped his hand over my hip. "I won't be long." He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. His phone buzzed for the tenth time since we'd left my house. He got up to answer it. "I better get down there."

"See ya." I gave him a quick wave. I didn't understand why he wasn't insisting on someone staying with me, but I wasn't about to bring it up on the off chance he'd forgotten.

When Jett shut the door behind him, I pulled out my phone and called Lilly. She hadn't been in the apartment when we got to the hotel, but her things were in the other room, so I knew she had to be somewhere nearby. The call went to voicemail, but I didn't leave a message.

I walked into the lounge room and looked around for something to do. Spotting the fridge, I trotted over and opened the door, hoping that it was empty so I could have something to do. But there were enough groceries in there to last us the next few days.

With nothing better to do, I curled up on the lounge, pulled out my phone, and clicked on the Facebook app. I had quite a few posts on my page with congratulations for finishing school and notes from my friends saying that they couldn't wait to see me next week. Jess had sent me a private message:

OMG! I can't believe you've actually finished school! I am so jealous! And you get two friggin' Schoolie weeks. You better not be too tired when it's our week! Anyway, I've got a surprise for you, but I'm not telling you what it is.

Miss you.

xxx

I replied: _Where's my congratulations, you jealous bitch? And the surprise better not be that you're pregnant!_

I sent the message then decided to do a bit of searching. I didn't know why I hadn't thought about looking up Jett on Facebook earlier. I typed his name in the search bar. I spotted his picture right away. Of course, he was bare chested and showing his tats. I think he spent more time with his shirt off than on, but I wasn't complaining. That was one part of the Gold Coast lifestyle that I was quickly growing accustomed to, as long as I didn't have to go around almost naked.

I read through his posts and was surprised to find that he wasn't a status-update type of guy. He had a lot of posts on his page from other people, mostly females wondering where he'd been the last week, but he hadn't bothered to reply.

A faint buzz came from the front door, then Lilly walked in wearing her swimmers with a sheer kaftan over the top. She held a beach bag with a towel sticking out the top in one hand and the room card in the other.

"Yay, you're here." She walked over to the couch, dumped her bag on the floor, and sat on the other end of the sofa. "So what was the big surpri—" Her eyes locked onto the pendant I was wearing. "Holy shit! Is that your surprise?"

I held it up so she could see it better. "Pretty nice, eh?"

"Nice, no. Unbelievably amazing, yes." She moved over for a closer look. "I can't believe he had that made for you. I mean, you guys have only been together for what? A week?"

"Yeah."

"And he gives you a replica of his tattoo with diamonds. Those are diamonds, aren't they?"

"Yep."

She shook her head. "All of this from a guy who's apparently never been in a serious relationship."

I shrugged. "I know. I don't get it myself. Wait. How did you know that this is the same design as his tat?"

She smiled. "Everyone knows. It's like a symbol of the family. Each member has a slightly different one, but they're all a similar pattern."

"How do you know so much about him and his family?"

The smile dropped from Lilly's face. She looked down at her lap. "It's just what I heard when I was hanging out with Emily and the others."

Knowing that was my chance to ask her about what happened to her with Tyler and his friends, I tucked my legs up onto the sofa. "Lilly. You don't have to answer this if you really don't want to, but did Tyler do something to you?"

She didn't say anything.

"I know you don't know me very well, but you can trust me." When she still didn't respond, I decided to put what happened to me out there. "They tried to do something to me."

Lilly looked up, tears welling in her eyes. "They didn't rape me, if that's what you're thinking. But it wasn't because he didn't try."

"What happened?"

She picked up a cushion and hugged it against her chest. "Emily invited me to a party at her house. I thought Tyler was pretty hot, and when he invited me to get some fresh air outside, I was all for it. I mean, we weren't going into a bedroom, so nothing bad could happen, right? And Emily was telling me how sweet Tyler was and how lucky I was that he was interested in me." She let out a strained laugh. "Well, anyway, we went down to the jetty. He tried to force himself on me, but I kind of ruined his plans when I kneed him in the balls then took off."

"Did you go to the police?"

She shook her head. "What was I going to tell them? That he tried to rape me? There was no proof other than his bruised balls, which could've had me up on charges instead."

I guessed Lilly was the reason why he had added assistants to his ploys. One against one could stand a chance, but one against five... no chance. Only I did get away. I picked up my pendant and absently rubbed my thumb over it. That day could've ended so badly for me.

"So what happened to you?" Lilly asked.

"The bitches convinced me to go bridge jumping with them." I shook my head. "I can't believe I actually jumped. Anyway, Tyler and his mates were waiting in the shallow water under the bridge. His friends held me down in the water while he tried to... you know."

She sucked in a sharp breath.

"But somehow, I got away from them..."

Lilly's eyebrows shot up. "How did you—"

I quickly made up what I hoped was a plausible explanation for my escape. "Someone was walking by, and the boys ran."

She nodded, so it must have worked. The truth was far less believable.

Lilly threw the cushion to the side. "They're such dicks."

"And bitches."

"Yep. Hopefully, they'll get theirs one day."

Something told me they already had. What exactly had happened in the canal that day, I might never know, but I was pretty sure those boys would never try that again—at least not with me, but maybe even with no one.

Lilly looked around the room. "Where's Jett? Isn't he staying here with you?"

"Yeah, he had to go out for a bit. He'll be back soon."

"So I guess you guys will be sharing a bed?"

"I guess so."

A knowing look came over her face. I was about to tell her that we hadn't had sex yet, but I decided that really wasn't any of her business. And I would rather her think we were already doing it than to have her studying me every morning, wondering if that night had been our first time.

I needed to change the subject. "How about we go downstairs and see what's happening tonight?"

"We don't have to." She picked up her bag and pulled out a flyer. "They're throwing a beach party because there's so many of us here a day earlier than we're supposed to be. They want to make sure we're not wandering the streets."

"Awesome," I said, trying to sound excited.

"So," she said, getting up, "we need to go get our wristbands."

"Wristbands?"

"You know, you need them to get into the events."

God, I was so out of the loop. "Let's go get our wristbands then."

After grabbing my bag, I joined Lilly at the lifts. The doors opened to about half a dozen girls and guys that I guessed were Schoolies, too. Lilly and I stepped inside and stood to the left.

The doors hadn't even closed before one of the guys decided to get a little friendly. "Ladies," he slurred. "I don't suppose you're coming down to the beach, are you?"

He was about half a foot taller than I was, with sandy-blond hair, brown eyes, and a light dusting of freckles across his nose. Any other day, I would've thought him cute, but the alcohol stench was a real turn-off. I could tell by the way he looked at us that he was one of the popular kids. But his easy smile and cocky attitude was no match for Jett's.

I shook my head. "No. But you guys have fun."

The red-headed girl behind him let out a breath as she tried to hide her smile. It was obvious she had a thing for Freckles.

He rested his hip against the wall. "Well, if you girls ever get bored, we're staying in Room 3505."

A pretty brunette stuck her head around the guy standing in front of her. "Leave the poor girls alone." She looked at me and shrugged. "Sorry."

I smiled at the girl then turned back to Freckles, who still had that drunken grin on his face. "We'll keep it in mind." I had no intention of remembering that room number.

The door opened on the ground floor, and Lilly and I rushed out.

"He was cute," she said.

"He was drunk."

She laughed. "Expect to see a lot more of that over the next week."

"The next _two_ weeks," I corrected.

"Oh, yeah. You're doing this whole thing again next week, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Yep. Lucky me."

She nudged me with her shoulder. "Come on. This is your rite of passage. You need to have a good time. In fact, I'm going to make it my personal mission."

I laughed. "Really?"

Lilly linked her arm with mine. "Yep."

We stopped behind a line leading up to a table. There were only about twenty people in front of us, so it went rather quickly. The next day would probably bring over a hundred eager graduates waiting in line to start partying.

A woman in her thirties greeted us when we reached the table. "Hi, girls. Can I see your IDs?"

We produced our student cards and completed the process.

The woman fastened wristbands on each of us. "There you go." She smiled. "Enjoy your week and remember to keep safe."

"Thanks," we said in unison.

Lilly hooked her arm through mine again. "Come on. Time to go get us some alcohol."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You're only seventeen."

"Ah, no. I'm eighteen."

"Fine," I conceded. "But I'm not getting drunk."

The main reason for my sobriety plan was that I wanted to be in control when it came to Jett and me and what I hoped was going to happen later that night. I couldn't wait to get my hands on him again. I didn't have much time to linger over that thought because Lilly dragged me into a liquor store.

Twenty minutes later, we emerged with an array of different liqueurs, vodka, and some premixes. We carried them back to the hotel, and fortunately, we rode the lift back up alone.

Once we were inside the apartment, I put the premixes in the fridge, the vodka in the freezer, and the rest on the shelf. I emptied the ice into a container then refilled the tray before sticking it back in the freezer.

"So what do you want?" She pulled the pineapple-coconut juice from the fridge. "Actually, I'll make you my favourite."

"Great," I said, trying to sound excited.

Leaving her working in the kitchen, I walked over to the couch. My phone buzzed with a new message from Jett.

I'm on my way back. Do you want me to pick us up something for dinner?

"Lilly?" I called.

"Yeah?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the bottle she was pouring over a spoon.

"Jett wants to know what we want for dinner. What do you feel like?"

"Pizza's good."

"Pizza it is then."

I typed: _Can you pick up some pizza?_

Sure thing, babe.

Babe?

Not a babe girl?

Nope.

Princess?

No!

"What are you smiling about?" Lilly asked, walking over with two blue-green-and-yellow-layered cocktails.

I put down my phone. "Nothing."

Lilly grinned. "Sure." She handed me a glass.

"What is this?"

She sat on the other end of the couch. "Just try it. It's my speciality."

I took a sip. "Wow. That's really good."

She laughed. "You sound surprised."

"Relieved is more like it."

"I'll take that as a compliment, then."

I took another sip and then another and another until there were only ice cubes left. Holding up the glass, I asked, "Don't suppose you can make me another one of those?"

She downed the rest of her drink. "Sure." She grabbed my glass and stood. "But I'd let this next one settle before you want any more. It's pretty strong."

I had barely tasted any alcohol in the drink. "Really?"

"Yep." She walked over to the kitchen. "Those layers were all alcohol, except for the top layer, which was juice."

"Holy crap. That's like half the glass."

"And that's why I'm telling you to let this one settle."

The door opened, and Jett walked in, carrying three pizza boxes. He strolled over to the lounge and put the food on the coffee table. "I'm gonna get cleaned up." He started for our bedroom.

"Weren't you wearing a black shirt when you left?"

He paused then turned to face me. "Someone spilt some wine on me, so I changed into the spare shirt I keep in my office. I won't be long." He went into our room and closed the door. A moment later, I heard the shower turn on.

Lilly brought me another cocktail. "Now don't drink it too fast. I don't want to be dragging your ass back here later tonight. I might break a nail." She winked then did exactly what she told me not to—she guzzled her cocktail. "Do as I say, not as I do." She giggled.

I laughed. "Whatever."

"Hang on." She darted back to the kitchen then returned with a vodka premix. She sat at the other end of the sofa and curled her legs up under her.

Lilly had me completely stumped. When I had first met her, she seemed so timid and... afraid. But the girl sitting before me was anything but shy. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," she said cautiously.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't get how much you've changed since I met you. I mean, you were so shy and all, and now... well, you don't seem like the same person."

She unscrewed the drink cap. "I don't know. I guess I just feel comfortable now. You know, that part of our life is over. I won't have to listen to any of their snide remarks anymore." She shrugged. "I'm free."

I took a sip that turned into a gulp and drained half the glass. "So Miss Lilly, what do you plan on doing now that you're free?"

"Get away from here, for one."

There went my one and only friend on the Gold Coast—not counting Jett. "And go where?"

"Back to Melbourne. I never planned on living here, so I'll be applying at universities down there."

I was going to have to get my ass into gear and apply for something around the Gold Coast. I wasn't going back to Sydney and leaving Jett. I shook my head. Jett, Jett, Jett. All my thoughts completely revolved around a boy I'd only met last week. There was something about him that had me completely captivated. I was drawn to him in a way I'd never been drawn to any other guy. It scared me, but it was also the most thrilling feeling in the world.

Maybe it had something to do with his bad-boy image, even though I hadn't seen a single bad-boy characteristic in him—apart from when he'd held Tyler up by the neck. But that didn't really count because Tyler was an ass. I shook my head.

"So are you still applying for accounting?" I asked, trying to steer my thoughts away from Jett.

Lilly nodded. "I should have no problems getting in, thanks to my mum. I practically memorised every textbook we had this year."

"Well, I'll miss you."

She smiled. "At least you'll know someone next time you go to Melbourne."

The shower turned off, and I found myself edging to get up. "And you'll have someone to hang out with when you come back to visit your mum."

She rolled her eyes. "Which will be every weekend if she has anything to do with it."

I looked over at the door to my room, wondering what Jett was doing in there.

She cocked her head toward my room. "Go on."

"Am I that obvious?"

"You couldn't be more obvious if you tried."

I smiled and got up. "You sure?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She wiped her mouth. "But don't be too long. I want to get down there and party."

I grinned. "I'll try not to keep you waiting, but I can't make any promises."

With my drink in hand, I went into my room. I was half relieved and half disappointed to find Jett already in a pair of jeans. He was standing at the bathroom sink, doing his hair. Of course, he was shirtless, which kind of made up for it.

He looked at my cocktail. "You sure you're old enough to drink that?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny." I walked up behind him and grazed my lips along his shoulder.

His body tensed under my touch. Lowering his arms, he turned around. His eyes dropped to the pendant he'd given me, and he smiled.

Holding the pendant between my fingers, I asked, "Does this design have a meaning?"

He took a second too long to respond, making me wonder if there was something more to it. "It's something that my family gets done. And it'll let others know that you're with me."

I didn't know whether I should feel honoured or angry. "So it's kind of like a branding to let others know that I'm taken or something?"

"Something like that."

"I don't know whether to be offended or not."

"I say, not." He put a finger on the pendant. "You could always look at it the other way around. I'm the one who's actually been branded. Mine's permanent, whereas you can take yours off—not that I want you taking it off."

I let the pendant fall back against my chest. "I have no intention of taking it off."

He swiped my hair behind my ear. "Good, because I have no intention of taking mine off, either."

I slapped him playfully on his chest, and my hand decided to stay put. His pecs were like magnets, and my hand was the steel. Jett put his hands on my waist and lifted me onto the vanity.

Spreading my legs with his hips until his body was pressed against mine, he tilted his head to the side. "God, you're beautiful."

My cheeks flushed under the intensity of his stare. He seemed to see something in me that no one had seen before. It was as if he were bearing witness to a phenomenon that only he was aware of.

Just when I thought I could handle no more, he leaned forward and kissed me softly, savouring every brush of our lips, every breath that I took, the very essence of my being. And boy, was that a turn-on. Trailing a row of kisses across my jaw then down my neck, he placed one last kiss on my branding before pulling away.

I ran my hands down the curves of his muscles until I reached his belt buckle. Realization flashed in his eyes.

Slipping his fingers under my tank, he pulled it over my head. Jett trailed his hands down my thighs and hooked my legs behind him then cupped my butt. He lifted me in his arms and carried me over to the bed.

My heart was thumping as he gently laid me down then lowered his body on top of mine, keeping most of his weight on his hands and knees.

Rising, he hovered over me as he made a path of kisses from my lips down to my belly. He undid the button on my shorts, then I lifted my ass off the bed so he could slip them off.

He sucked in a harsh breath as he took me in from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. Not being able to take it any longer, I unclasped my bra and slid the straps off my arms. His eyes turned a shade darker, then almost black when my panties joined my shorts and bra on the floor.

I sat up, grabbed his belt, and pulled him toward me. Pressing my lips against his, I undid the buckle.

Jett stood and kicked off his jeans, then it was my turn to suck in a sharp breath. He was even better than I'd imagined.

I quickly learned that the few sexual experiences I'd had in the past were nothing compared to Jett. The two other guys I'd been with had only cared about themselves, and I loved that Jett seemed to care more about my pleasure.

### Chapter 25

With a smile on my face that I couldn't get rid of, I followed Jett out of the bedroom. Lilly tried to squash her smirk but was unsuccessful. I hated that she knew what we'd done, but I wouldn't have changed a single thing. The embarrassment was completely worth it.

Jett sat on the couch and pulled me onto his lap. "So what's the plan for tonight?" he asked Lilly.

"We're going down to the beach." Her smile dropped. "But you can't get into the Schoolies venues."

"They'll let me in." He smirked. "Trust me."

A knowing look crossed her face. Apparently, his family connections opened the doors to any venue on the Coast. Rules didn't apply to his family.

Lilly stood. "Let's get ready then." She carried her empty vodka premix into the kitchen and set it beside the bottle she had finished earlier.

Turning in Jett's arms, I kissed his lips. My thoughts instantly went back forty minutes, and my body wanted to relive that experience, but I couldn't do that to Lilly. Reluctantly, I pulled away. "I won't be long." I stood and went into the bedroom to get ready.

After taking a shower, I opened my suitcase and rummaged for my bikini and a beach dress. From what I'd seen through the window, I was going to be seriously overdressed. The guys were bare chested, and most of the girls wore their swimmers and nothing else. Even though I wasn't planning on being that adventurous, I was completely okay if Jett went shirtless—not that he needed any encouragement. Once I was dressed and makeup done, I went back into the lounge.

"Let's go party," Lilly said with a slight slur.

"Let me guess, do as I say, not as I do," I said as they both stood.

She looked at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

"You were giving me a lecture on not drinking too much and—"

She giggled. "Well, I had to do something while I was waiting for you two."

That shut me up. I wanted to crawl under a rock, but Jett's eyes twinkled with humour. Nothing seemed to faze him, and I wished some of his carefree attitude would rub off on me.

The three of us went downstairs and walked across the road to the beach. As we got closer to the gates, I saw some guys get turned away. I worried that Jett would be as well.

Jett squeezed my shoulder. "Relax."

The security guard took one look at Jett and waved all of us through without even checking for wristbands.

"See? I told you there wouldn't be a problem," Jett whispered.

He was such a cocky bastard, but it was so sexy on him.

"Let's dance." Lilly grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the crowd before I had a chance to argue.

There must have been close to a thousand Schoolies on the beach, dancing under the laser lightshow as the DJ on the stage did his thing. A few games of beach volleyball were going on to one side of the dance area, while the other side looked like a recovery area.

Masculine hands wrapped around my waist from behind. I leaned my head back against his chest and just about screamed when I saw his face. Some drunken guy was feeling me up.

"Hey, beautiful," he said with a drunken grin.

Without warning, the guy doubled over and collapsed to the sand, leaving Jett standing in his place. I didn't feel a knock from a punch, so I guessed the guy had probably drunk too much and was about to be sick. I was just glad that he had the decency to let go of me before he puked.

Jett stepped around the dry-heaving sleezeball. "Another drunken idiot."

I looked around for Lilly to make sure she was okay. I finally spotted her dancing with the girls we'd met in the lift. She caught my eye and waved for us to come over.

Jett slung his arm over my shoulders and pulled me to his side. I was surprised that he wasn't pissed at the guy for feeling me up but glad he didn't seem to want to start a fight or something. We walked over to the makeshift dance floor.

When we reached her, Lilly grabbed my hand. "Zara, this is... oh, crap. What was your name again?" she asked the brunette, who was too busy checking out Jett to answer.

Redhead stepped forward. "I'm Sarah, and this is Bec," she said, hitting her friend in the arm to get her attention.

"Jett!" someone called from the crowd.

Jett turned around then said, "Just give me a sec."

I nodded. "Sure."

He kissed me on the cheek then took off.

"Oh, my God! He is so hot," Bec said when Jett was out of earshot. "He's your boyfriend, right?"

Boyfriend? Wow. I hadn't really thought of him that way, but I supposed he was. "I'm a lucky girl, huh?"

She giggled. "Lucky doesn't even begin to describe what you have."

Sarah slapped her friend's arm again. "Don't be so rude. It's not polite to drool over someone else's boyfriend."

Bec snapped her head to the side. "I wasn't drooling."

Lilly laughed. "Yes, you were. But hey, I don't blame you. He's one of the hottest guys around here." She gave me a sheepish look. "Sorry."

I waved her off. "Just because a guy's taken doesn't mean a girl can't appreciate. But make a move on him, and you'll be dead." _Wow. Where the hell had that come from?_

The three girls' eyes went wide.

"I'm just kidding." I sucked in a sharp breath as arms wrapped around my waist from behind. I was relieved to see that it was Jett.

Lowering his head, he nuzzled my ear. "I need to go take care of something at the club."

"Seriously?" I turned around in his arms.

"I won't be long." He brushed my hair back then put his hand at the base of my head and pulled me in for a kiss. By the time he was done with me, I was practically panting for air.

He tapped my nose. "Be good."

My heart sank as I watched him walk away, and I wondered how I had become so attached to a guy so quickly.

### Chapter 26

An hour later, I was sitting in the recovery area with the other girls, taking advantage of the drinks and candy they were handing out.

Lilly was smashed, making me think that she'd had a lot more than the two Cruisers and two cocktails. For all I knew, she had popped a pill or something. I had no idea whether she was a casual drug user or not.

Lilly swung her arm around my neck and leaned her head against my shoulder. "You know I love you?"

"You're so drunk."

"As I said, I had to do something while I was waiting for you and Jett to finish having sex." She slapped her hand over her mouth. "Whoopsie."

My eyes went wide as Sarah and Bec's jaws dropped. I couldn't believe Lilly had just said that in front of people we'd only just met. But I guessed it served me right. Maybe we should've waited until bedtime to take that next step in our relationship, or at least a time when we didn't have an audience in the next room.

Lilly dropped her hand. "Sorry," she whispered loudly.

When I shuffled my butt to the side so I could turn to face her, Lilly tumbled over onto the ground. She spat sand out of her mouth as she sat up.

"I think you might need to get this girl to bed," Sarah said.

"I don't need to sleep..." Lilly's voice trailed off in a yawn.

We laughed, but I didn't find it as humorous as Sarah and Bec did.

"I can't take her to our room until Jett gets back. I didn't bring a key."

Bec picked up Lilly's bag and threw it to me. "Did she?"

Feeling really awkward about going through her stuff, I looked over at Lilly, hoping to get a nod of approval or something. But she had flopped onto her back and was staring at the stars. I rummaged through her bag but came up empty. I pulled out my phone and tried calling Jett, but there was no answer.

"Can you go and get the key from your boyfriend?" Sarah asked.

"Um, I guess." I didn't feel comfortable about going to the club. I had never been there. But looking at Lilly, I knew we couldn't wait. I had no idea how long he would be gone.

Sarah rubbed Lilly's knee. "We'll look after her 'til you get back."

"Thanks." I stood up and dusted the sand off my clothes. "If you need to call me, my number's in Lilly's phone. I won't be long."

"Got it," Sarah said.

I nodded and headed up the beach. Once I was out of the gated area, I made my way down the mall to the club. There was a line of about twenty people waiting to get in. I didn't have time to wait in a line that didn't seem to be going anywhere.

My stomach lurched when I realised what I had to do. I glanced down at my dress and was glad I'd chosen it. It wasn't exactly club attire, but it was better than what most of the girls on the beach were wearing. Sucking in a deep breath, I walked to the front of the line.

The bouncer didn't even wait for me to speak before he said, "Back of the line."

The bouncer didn't look happy when I didn't move. I looked to my right. I had the full attention of the girls at the front of the queue.

I cleared my throat. "I just need to speak to Jett for a minute."

He laughed. "Don't you all?"

"Can you call him or something? I really need to see him."

"Ah, no, I'm not calling him. You can wait like every other person here." He pointed at the line.

I cringed as I thought about what I was going to have to say. I was totally into commitment, but the G-word made me squirm. "I'm his girlfriend, and I really think he'll be okay seeing me."

The girls snickered. "Yeah, you wish, honey," one of them said.

The bouncer crossed his arms. "If you're his girlfriend, then why don't you just call him?"

Groaning, I threw my head back in frustration. "He's not answering."

When I looked at the bouncer again, he was completely fixated on my pendant. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise." He unclasped the rope and stood to the side.

So the branding was useful after all. If I'd known that would work, I would have flashed it like a badge from the start.

The girls gave me dirty looks as I walked past them. I smiled to let them know there were no hard feelings. Yeah, right. That was just my bitchy side coming out to play.

The bouncer called to the cashier, "She's right to go on through."

As I entered the club, my heart fluttered with the beat of the music resonating through my body. Sweaty people were packed like sardines on the dance floor. I didn't see any beers or cocktails, only water bottles. Those people were there for drugs.

Standing against the wall, I scanned the room. I spotted a window above the bar that looked pretty fitting for the owner's office. A set of stairs to the far right seemed promising.

Making my way through the drug-fuelled bodies, I headed that way. At the top of the stairs, I entered a long room with scattered sofas. A bar at the opposite end had about half a dozen people milling around it. I looked around for a door to the room I'd seen from below, but there wasn't one.

Walking up to the bar, I hoped I wasn't going to have to go through the same thing as I did downstairs with the bouncer. As I got closer I realised that the bartender was the same girl who had come to my house to see Jett and been shut down. Then I remembered that she hadn't seen me that day, but the girlfriend card probably wouldn't go over very well with her.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked once she'd finished serving the group before me.

I made sure my hair wasn't covering my pendant. "Um, I need to speak with Jett for a moment. Do you know where he is?"

She looked me up and down, her eyes stopping on my necklace. She sucked in a slow breath, then a smirk spread across her face that I wasn't sure I liked. She motioned toward a waist-high swinging door that led into the bar area. "Sure. Come this way."

I went around and pushed through it then followed her through another door behind the bar. We entered a short hallway.

She pointed at the door at the opposite end. "That's his office in there."

Her evil smirk only grew bigger as she turned around and walked off.

The closer I got to the door, the more my stomach churned. I was worried what she was so eager for me to see. Memories of my last boyfriend crept to the forefront of my mind. He had cheated on me, and I wondered if I would walk in on Jett doing some girl.

I knew I wouldn't find out by standing in the hallway. I thought about knocking, but then I remembered all those times Jett had come into my room without an invitation. I opened the door and saw a bullet enter a man's forehead just as I heard a muffled pop. He dropped to the floor, blood oozing from the hole in his skull. I slowly shook my head, not wanting to believe who had pulled the trigger.

Jett dropped the gun and strode toward me. I backed up until I hit the wall of the hallway, then I turned and ran... smack into Jett, who had somehow gotten in front of me. I didn't stop to think about the impossibility of that as I tried to push past him.

He stuck out his arm, blocking my exit. "Just wait. Let me explain."

Tears streamed down my cheeks. He was everything I didn't want to believe he was. He was a monster—a killer without an ounce of remorse. "You just shot a guy. What is there to explain?" Ducking, I slipped under his arm and ran down the hall and back through the bar door.

The girl behind the bar almost looked like the Joker with her wide grin. I wanted to slap it off her, but I needed to get out of that club. I was done with Jett. She could have him. I didn't want any part of someone who could do that to another person.

The vision of the shooting played over and over in my head as I weaved and dodged people and tables to get to the exit. I had slept with that psycho. I wanted to puke.

Outside, I sprinted down the mall. More than a few people stopped and stared at me, but I didn't care. Back at the beach, I showed the security guy my wristband and went in search of Lilly. I wanted to find her and get our asses out of there. There was no way I was returning to our room. We would get a different one in another hotel so Jett wouldn't know where to find me.

When I got back to the spot where I'd left the girls, no one was there. I scanned the dance area and spotted Bec. The moment she saw me, her eyes went wide. She rushed over. "I don't know where Lilly is. We only looked away for a second, and when we looked back, she was gone."

"Shit."

"I'm so sorry," Bec said.

I waved her off and started working my way through the crowd. At the edge of the Schoolie section, I stopped cold when I saw the bridge girls running away from the darkened area behind the temporary fence. They were hunched over and giggling.

Terrified for my friend, I ran back through the gates and sprinted over to where the threesome had come from. I couldn't see anyone, but I knew something was wrong. I closed my eyes and tried to block out all the noise from the Schoolies celebrations and focused on something that would give Lilly's location away. Then I heard it—a girl's whimper.

I took off in that direction, and within seconds, I saw them.

Two guys were holding Lilly on the ground, while another two stood nearby, watching. Tyler knelt between Lilly's legs with his pants halfway down.

Alex looked over at me and snarled. "Your turn next, you stupid little bitch. There's no water here for you to drag us under." He leaped and tackled me to the ground.

A rage that I never knew existed built up inside me. My vision turned a shadowy black. I felt as if I were being swallowed by darkness that was then pierced by a bright light that flooded my senses. I could see every detail better than if it was daylight. The next thing I knew, I was on my feet with no idea how I'd gotten away from Alex, who lay on the ground, holding his neck and gurgling while blood spurted from between his fingers. I leapt at Tyler and ripped out his throat. I knew it was me doing it, but I was completely disconnected from the action, almost like watching it on a movie screen. I took down the other three boys with amazing swiftness, killing all of them.

As suddenly as it came, the light disappeared. I knelt in the sand, staring at my blood-covered hands. The bodies of the five boys were strewn across the sand.

"Lilly?"

No answer.

Getting to my feet, I spotted her a few metres away. She sat on the sand, arms around her knees and rocking back and forth as tears streamed down her cheeks.

I walked toward her, holding out my hand. "Lilly, I—"

She scooted back on her butt, her mouth opening as if she were trying to scream, but no sound escaped her lips. The sheer terror in her eyes made me stop.

I plopped back down on the sand, trying to comprehend what had happened, what I'd done, and how I was even capable of such a thing.

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind. "It's okay," Jett whispered. "Everything will be all right." He swept my hair back and kissed my cheek. "I need to make a phone call, then I'm going to get you and Lilly out of here."

I was too stunned to answer. I couldn't seem to get my brain to focus on anything but the bloody bodies in front of me. I had ended five people's lives, and I didn't understand how. Even though they were assholes that had just raped my friend, I wasn't sure they deserved to die like that.

Jett was whispering into his phone, but I couldn't focus on what he was saying. My mind kept replaying the images of me doing... what I had done. They had been living, breathing human beings, and I had killed them. All the research I'd done came flooding back. A human could never have done what I did to those guys. There was no doubt about it. I was a demon.

Jett pulled me to my feet then he lifted me into his arms, cradling me like a baby. As he carried me toward the water, I saw Jenna walking the opposite direction with her arm wrapped around Lilly's back.

Water touched my ass and my feet. Slowly, he submerged my entire body. As my head went under, I thought maybe he meant to kill me, that he had known all along I was a demon. I didn't care. I deserved it after what I'd done.

But he brought me back up, whispering something I couldn't hear over the soft _whoosh_ of the tide. He carried me back up to the sand dunes.

Jett lifted me higher and pressed his lips against my forehead. I didn't understand how he could want to touch me, but I was grateful for the human contact.

He carried me all the way to the hotel, where we entered through a back door. In our room, he sat me on the toilet seat then took off my clothes, putting each garment into a plastic trash bag. Next, he stripped, throwing his own clothes in with mine, then turned on the shower.

I was completely numb as he guided me under the water. I turned when he said to turn. I closed my eyes when he said to. Afterward, he wrapped a towel around me and led me to the bed.

"I'm going to give you something that'll help snap you out of this," he said.

I wasn't sure I wanted to be "snapped out of this" because then I'd have to deal with the reality of what I'd done. Being numb felt good in a way. But I had to face it sometime. Still not able to form any words, I nodded.

Bending over, he searched through his bag. Finding whatever it was that he was looking for. He went into the bathroom and came back with a glass of water and a tiny blue pill. I took the pill, popped it into my mouth, then downed the glass of water.

He sat beside me and gently rubbed my back. Even though he'd also killed someone, I didn't understand why he wasn't scared of me. He had done it from a distance, using a gun. I had ripped those boys apart with my bare hands.

Within minutes, the fog started to lift from my mind. Questions poured into my brain, questions I wasn't sure I wanted the answers to.

I glanced to the left and saw my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were their normal brown, but I knew that I was the black-eyed demon I'd read about. "I'm evil," I murmured.

Jett pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head. "You're not evil. You're just a little different." He rubbed his cheek against my hair. "They deserved what you did to them."

I looked into his eyes, not understanding how he could be so calm about what had just happened and why he seemed to know more about me than I knew. "What am I?" I bit my lower lip.

He sucked in a sharp breath, and his eyes went almost black.

I stared at him. "You were there, weren't you? You were the guy in the canal."

He nodded. "I was visiting Jenna when I saw those guys holding you down. I started to help... only you didn't need help." Jett slipped off the bed and went onto his knees in front of me. "That's when I realised you were different."

I wanted to throw up. All my life I'd considered myself a decent human being, and yet he was about to tell me that I was the complete opposite—and maybe not human at all.

Reaching forward, he brushed my hair behind my shoulders. "What I'm about to tell you will probably freak you out—"

I barked a laugh. "I'm a demon, aren't I?"

He let out a little chuckle. "Well—"

"Don't laugh. I've seen your eyes. Hell, I've even seen it happen to mine. So I Googled it, and that's all I could find on black eyes."

"No. You're not a demon. Look, there's no easy way to say this, but it's got to be better than what you're thinking." He covered my hands with his. "You're a half-caste."

"Half what?"

"You're half alien."

### Chapter 27

_Alien._ That one word resonated over and over in my mind. I almost laughed in his face. But I pictured those five bloody bodies. Then I remembered my miraculously healing gunshot wound. That part I liked. But the evil part... "You need to start talking."

He nodded. "Well, you can obviously tell that we don't look like the ones from _Aliens_ or other freaky movies." He chuckled, but I frowned to let him know that I didn't find him amusing. "Fine. What do you want to know? Where we came from? Why you're a half-breed? Why the humans don't know about us?"

"All of it."

He began rattling off a story as if it were a speech he'd given a million times. "Our civilization has been on Earth for about two thousand years. We came from the planet Dracoria, which was destroyed by our people fighting each other. Our planet was mostly water, and we needed to find a similar place to live. Our ancestors decided on Earth because of the suitable climate and the inhabitants, blah, blah, blah, and we've been here ever since."

"And what about me?"

He shrugged. "We don't actually know how half-breeds come about." He grinned. "Well, we know the act of having children is the same, but it's extremely rare for a child to be conceived between one of us and a human. We don't know how it happens, and we can't recreate it on purpose. It's a phenomenon. But when we find one... a half-breed..." He looked down at my chest. "That's why you were shot. You're a precious commodity."

"What? I thought I disturbed a burglar?"

Jett grinned sheepishly. "That was just a cover." He held up his hand. "And before you say anything about how I should've told you sooner, I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wait until after you finished school and celebrated your Schoolies. I didn't want you to have to deal with finding out you're an alien when you're supposed to be having the time of your life."

How could I be angry at him when he'd done everything for me? I remembered when he'd said that one day soon, I'd understand. He had obviously had every intention of telling me, but I had ruined his plans when I ripped apart Tyler and his mates. "And the police?"

"Part of the cover."

"I knew it didn't make sense," I said under my breath. I narrowed my eyes at him. "So you had me believe that I was going insane?"

He grinned sheepishly again. "It was for the greater good?"

Smiling, I shook my head. "So why am I such a precious commodity?"

"Remember I said we also came here for the inhabitants? Well, humans are a big reason Earth was chosen. They produce a special energy. We need it to survive, and humans have an abundance of it. We feed off them." He held up a hand. "Don't get any sick ideas. We don't eat people or anything like that."

He rested his hands on my thighs. "The more emotion the human is experiencing while we are feeding, the more sustained we become. But the problem is... let's just say we don't like to see our kind with humans. The act is a necessary evil for us to survive."

When he saw the horrified look on my face he quickly continued, "Don't get me wrong. We don't hate humans. If we could, we would only be with our kind. You've probably felt some sort of reaction when I'm around female humans. It's a primitive response, and it's a hard one to live with. When I have to feed off humans, it's like a state of ecstasy, but afterwards, we feel dirty, repulsed at what we have to do to survive. Unless we find a half-breed. Then none of those sickening feelings apply."

"Glad to know you weren't wanting to be sick after you had sex with me," I said dryly.

He cupped my cheek with his hand. "Don't ever think you would make me sick. You could never make me feel that way." He brushed his thumb over my lips. "You are the very essence of perfection. Don't ever doubt the way I feel about you."

I wanted to look away, but I had to see his reaction. "Are you just with me because I don't make you feel sick when you feed off me?"

He smiled. "Seriously?"

"I think it's a valid question."

Not taking his eyes off mine, he put his hands on my waist and pulled me toward him. "Look. You being a half-breed is a massive perk, but that is _not_ the only reason I want to be with you."

I scoffed. "Geez, that sounded real assuring."

"I can get what I need elsewhere. I can get what I need from you any time, and I don't have to date you to get it. I'm with you because I like you, not because you're a convenience."

"But you've never dated anyone before."

"It's pretty hard to date one of our kind when you constantly have to watch them feed from humans. Most of us can't handle it."

"How do you do that? Feed, I mean?"

He leaned in, pausing within millimetres of my lips. "We breathe it in."

My eyes went wide. "So that's why Jenna's been sniffing me."

He laughed.

"I've noticed you doing it as well, but it was just plain old creepy coming from her." A thought popped into my head. "Do you get jealous when someone else sniffs me?"

He chuckled. "We're not dogs." He smirked then began sniffing my neck, face, and chest with exaggerated noises. He pushed me back and climbed on top of me, not breaking from his sniffing. I burst into a fit of giggles and shoved him off me.

He rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hand. His stare felt as if it were boring into my soul. "You seem to be taking this better than I'd expected."

The smile dropped from my face. "After what I did down on the beach, I knew something was wrong with me, and being half alien sure beats being a demon."

He brushed his thumb along my jawline. "Nothing is wrong with you." He smiled. "Well, at least not to me. But to the millions of humans, yeah. They'd be hurling pitchforks at you if they knew the truth."

"So is my father an alien, then?"

"No. He's human."

"Are you sure? 'Cause that would explain _a lot._ "

"I saw him leaving your house when he left for China. He's definitely not an alien."

"Then it was my mother."

Jett nodded.

I wondered if my life would've been like Jett's if my mother hadn't died. Sure, she probably wouldn't have been a drug lord... I trailed off as I thought about what I'd seen in Jett's office. I sat up and ran my hands over my thighs. "I know this is rich coming from me, but I need to ask anyway."

His brow furrowed. "Okay."

"Why did you kill that guy?"

Jett rubbed the back of his neck. "It was a business thing."

I laughed nervously. "You execute people for a living?"

He sighed. "You know my family's reputation is a little shady by human standards, right?"

I nodded.

"Well, when someone steps out of line..." He shrugged. "We need to keep control. We're not the only aliens around here or in the world. And sometimes we'll get someone who betrays us, and we need to keep order so the GC doesn't turn into a battleground."

I scrunched up my face. "I'm sorry, what?"

"GC—Gold Coast," he explained. "This is our territory, and we want to keep it that way. Anyone who tries to screw us will be dealt with by whatever means necessary."

I stared at him. "So you're telling me that I better watch my back, because if I step out of line, I'll end up like that guy?"

He shook his head. "He was the one responsible for letting it get out to our enemies what you are."

"Oh." So I could add another person to the list of people who were dead because of me.

"As I said before, we're extremely territorial."

"You didn't even know me then."

"I found you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "So that automatically makes me yours?"

"In our world, yes."

Running my hands through my hair, I stood. "We live in the same bloody world, you know."

"But we don't live by the same rules." He got to his feet. "Just because I knew I wanted you from the moment I saw you, that doesn't mean I like you any less than if I were human and had done this the 'normal way.'" He did air quotes.

"Do I even get a choice in this? Because the way you're saying it, it doesn't feel like I do."

"Of course you have a choice." He reached for my hand.

I wasn't ready to give in so easily. I took a step back, holding my hand out of reach.

"I'm not going to _make_ you be with me. But I will say that you'll have a pretty hard time in getting rid of me. I know what I want." Jett stepped closer, only a sliver of air separating us. His eyes dropped to my lips. "I want you."

I let out a little gasp. Of course I wanted him, and with him standing so close, breathing me in, I couldn't think of anything but the way his lips felt against mine. How my skin seared under his touch. How I wanted to feel that way again. Everything inside me ached to feel him again. To give him what he needed. And the satisfaction in knowing that I was the only one who could give him _everything_ he needed was indescribable.

I never thought I would willingly get involved with someone who killed people as a "necessary part of business," but things had changed. What had happened down on the beach had changed me in ways I might never know. My eyes had been opened to another side of me, one that no human would be okay with and only one of Jett's kind could ever understand. I was part of his life whether I liked it or not. And the thing that scared me the most: I liked it.

### Chapter 28

A knock at the door killed the moment. "Yeah," Jett said, his lips brushing over my forehead as he breathed me in.

The door opened, and Jenna stood on the threshold. "Do you want me to take Lilly down to the hospital? Or should I just call Doctor Brennan?"

"Shit." In all the chaos, I had completely forgotten about Lilly. She had just had her world ripped apart. I felt like a pretty crappy friend. I slipped around Jett. "Where is she?"

"She's in the other room." Jenna grabbed my arm as I walked past her. "But I don't think her seeing you right now is a good idea."

I slumped against the doorframe. "Lilly's afraid of me, isn't she?"

Jenna glanced at Jett. "Yeah, she is. But don't worry. I've given her something to mess with her memory." She patted my arm. "Don't worry. I wouldn't give her anything that would harm her, especially after what she's been through."

I backed up until I hit the foot of the bed. "Take care of her for me?"

"Of course." Jenna pushed off the doorframe. "I'll call you when we're finished," she told Jett, then she left and closed the door.

Jett sat beside me and put his hand on my back.

"Where's she taking her?" I asked.

"To the hospital. She needs to be checked out, and it's best that she has all of this on her medical record."

I never heard Jett tell Jenna to take her to the hospital, but other concerns came to mind at that moment. "What about Tyler and his friends? The police are going to come for me. What I did must have been caught on CCTV footage." Actually, I was surprised they weren't already banging down the door.

He put his arm around my shoulders, leaned his head on mine, and inhaled deeply. "You don't need to worry about any of that. The cleaners are dealing with that problem."

_The cleaners?_ "Do I even want to know who they are?"

"All you need to know is that they'll clean up all the mess, and no one is going to come looking for you."

That explained how his family seemed to get away with murder. It didn't seem right, but I also didn't want to go to jail. I raised my hands and held them out in front of me. I studied both sides then my fingernails, wondering if some claw-like razors were hiding under there.

"What are you doing?"

I shook my head. "How's it possible for my fingers to go through a person's skin?"

He pushed my hands down into my lap and covered them with his. "You've got to stop thinking of yourself as human. You're a lot stronger than a regular human, and you're capable of so much more."

Strong didn't even begin to explain what I'd felt during that dream-like state when I massacred them. It was one thing to hear Jett explain it to me, but it was another to wrap my head around it. What I needed was time—and maybe a clearer head.

Jett's phone buzzed in his pocket between us. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. "I've got to make a phone call. I'll just be out in the lounge room." He squeezed my knee as he stood. "You'll be okay?"

I ran my hand over the bedspread. "I'll be fine."

Something held me back from having a full-blown panic attack, and I had a pretty good idea that was because of the pill Jett had given me. Crawling up to the pillows, I lay down and pressed the button to turn off the main light, leaving only the dim glow from the bathroom. Just as I'd done when I was a child and wanted to keep the monsters away, I pulled the covers over my head and squeezed my eyes shut. But even with my lids closed, blackness took over, and the images of what I'd done on the beach replayed in a continuous loop.

I threw the covers off and turned on the bedside light, hoping the brightness would wash away the dark images my mind wouldn't let go of. But that was only good in theory. In reality, it didn't do a thing to erase the haunting memory.

The mattress dipped as Jett sat beside me. He put his hand on my knee. "I thought you would be asleep by now."

"I can't sleep. Hang on. Why would you think I would be asleep?"

A sheepish grin crept over his lips.

"Was that a sleeping pill you gave me?"

"Calm down. I wasn't trying to knock you out or anything. I was just giving you something to relax."

Did I really need something to subdue me?

Jett's eyebrows drew together. "What's wrong?"

I bit my lip. "Am I dangerous? I mean, am I safe to be around Lilly? Will I hurt her?"

"Come here." Jett wrapped his arms around me. "You're not an unstable psychopathic killer who can't be trusted around anyone. You only killed those guys because of what they were doing to your friend. Sure, you may not have reacted as badly had you been used to what you can do, but they still deserved what they got. I mean, that last time they attacked you, you didn't rip them apart. And you've never done anything like that before, have you?"

I shook my head. "Why is all this only happening now? Does it have something to do with me coming of age or something?"

He grinned then quickly tried to look serious. "No, it's not like that. It's believed that a half-breed needs to go through a traumatic event where they experience a strong fight-or-flight reaction, where the consequences are usually death. And that's when your alien side surfaces. You were being held underwater. They could have easily killed you, even if that wasn't their intention. When I got to you that day, you had changed. Your alien side had taken over. And from that moment on, people responded to you differently."

I pulled my eyebrows together. "How do you know?"

Jett scratched his forehead. "I saw how those girls reacted to you in the classroom the next day."

My eyes widened in surprise. "You were there that day?"

He nodded.

What I was about to ask him would sound really stupid if it wasn't true, but I had to ask. "Can you change your appearance? Like morph or something?"

"You saw me?" He laughed. "Most people think we're just vapour."

That wasn't the only time I'd seen his other form. "You're the one who saved me when I got shot."

"Yep. You have your very own knight in shining armour here."

"Or my very first stalker."

He laughed. "Just admit it, you wanted me from the moment you laid eyes on me."

"I don't know if I'd go that far."

"Really?" He gave me a flirty smile.

Yep, I was completely and utterly hooked on Jett, but I wasn't about to admit that to him. "Tell me, what parts of the rumours about your family are true?"

A devilish grin spread across his face. "Everything and more."
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