Forced Proximity (Bluebell House Duet Book 1)
Forced Proximity: Chapter 22

What in all of the fucks are you doing, Eve?

As I crept along the bushes that lined the front of the college, I kept asking myself the same question, all the while urging myself to stop, and yet…I hadn’t. I wouldn’t. At least not until I figured out what he was up to.

It was late, nearing midnight, and not even twenty minutes ago, I’d woken from a bad dream, dragged myself out of bed, and glanced out the window to replace Connor sneaking off into the darkness. No car. No friends. Dressed all in black.

Why I thought it was a brilliant idea to slip some sweats and runners on and dash after him, in the hopes of uncovering one of his many secrets, was so far beyond me. Yet here I was, tripping over my own feet because I’d forgotten to bring my phone in my rush to escape.

Not that I could have used the light and given myself away. It was pure fucking luck that I managed to catch up to him without alerting the asshole to my presence in the first place. Not that he was particularly sneaking along—he strolled quite casually toward the front gate.

I’d never seen Connor look worried or nervous in whatever he did, his confidence and general capabilities were annoyingly attractive. Not that it made me hate him any less though.

Hate and curiosity warred within me every single time I was in this guy’s presence.

It had been a week since he’d smashed into Ethan’s room to replace me naked and fucked to within an inch of my life, and since that morning, he’d steadfastly ignored me like I didn’t exist.

Which sounded like heaven in theory but pissed me off for some reason. I’d spent the week studying, cleaning, and cooking every fucking dinner, which Andrew made all of them be present for. Connor refused to look at me. He chatted and smiled at the others, he ate every dish I created like he enjoyed them all, and he laughed when they addressed him.

But if I spoke, he suddenly had selective hearing and never responded. Fuck, he never even looked my way, his gaze skating over whatever space I occupied like it was empty. I’d have been impressed by his ability to ignore an entire human if I wasn’t so busy fuming over it.

Tripping over a rock I missed in the low light of the half-moon, I recovered just in time to glance up and notice that Connor’s broad shoulders were no longer in view.

Motherfucker! How could he disappear that quickly?

Hurrying my steps, I headed for the last place I’d seen him and, to my surprise, found a small gap in the perimeter of the fence around Meadowridge. Tightest security in the world, my ass.

With a shake of my head, I leaned out through the gap and tried to spot him in the darkness. There was no sign of Connor at all, and when I was about to finally give up and go back to bed, I noticed a flash of red light quite a few yards away, and it took a few seconds for me to figure out it was the end of a lit cigarette, only visible because the moon had ducked behind the clouds, making it darker than ever.

The witching hour.

Dad had always told me midnight was the hour for the darkest and most depraved of individuals to be out and awake. He’d probably kick my ass if he knew I’d followed Connor on a midnight walk, but then again, he had no right to give a shit any longer, since he’d gone out for milk and never fucking returned.

Cliche that he was.

Okay, it wasn’t exactly milk, but the sentiment remained the same. He’d said he’d be back for me and then never showed his face or called again. I was lucky that Mitchell and Karolyn hadn’t just thrown me out on my ass and left me to a group home.

My anger pushed me forward from the gap in the fence, heading toward the spark of red that occasionally flashed far off in the darkness. I remained close to the fence line, amongst the fancy-ass trees and decorative hedges that the college had planted to rich up the front facade. I could duck in behind them if absolutely needed, especially if I was now chasing some rando psycho who wanted a smoke.

Rather than the psycho I shared a house with who I’d never seen smoke.

When I got closer, voices filtered through to me, and I crept even slower. There was more than one person out here, and I was fairly sure I recognized the deep rumble of Connor’s derisiveness, since it was burned into my brain after the last time he insulted me.

“…think you fucking are, motherfucker?”

That voice wasn’t familiar, with a deep accent that I couldn’t place. Somewhere Eastern European if I had to guess, but as I’d never traveled outside of America, it was a weak guess at best.

“My father is going to wipe you all from existence,” Connor said, so casual despite the seriousness of his statement. He could have been talking about the damn weather or who won the Super Bowl last year.

The other voice grew a touch louder as he lobbed back a bunch of words, and this time they weren’t in English, but it was clear they were just as uncomplimentary as the previous motherfucker he’d used.

From my angle, I couldn’t see them, and as stupid as it was to get any closer when I was able to hear from this position, I still pushed through the bushes. Leaves and sticks scratched at my skin, lodged in my hair, and dug into my back, but I’d come too far to turn back now.

I just had to hope the ranting guy kept the rustling of my approach from being noticed.

Connor cut him off after another long outburst in whatever language. “Look, I could have just walked out here and shot you all in the head.”

There he was, that absolute charmer of a guy I called roommate.

“But I was nice enough to give you one fucking chance. Stop dealing on our territory. Stop attacking my father’s guys on the streets. And stop coming any-fucking-where near Meadowridge. This is my territory, and I’m done letting your little gang in on our turf.”

The other guy scoffed, and I shuffled around so I could finally see where the two of them were standing. The moon shifted from behind the clouds right at that moment too, and it shone down on a wiry guy with dark olive skin and a shaved head. He was covered in tattoos, right up the sides of his face and over his entire skull. The cigarette hung from the side of his mouth as he paced and glared.

In the semi-darkness, his eyes looked squinty and dark as he kept shooting death glares across the trunk of his black car. Toward Connor I could only assume, not that I could see him from where I was crouched in the bushes.

“Your confidence is going to be your downfall, Sullivan. Your family might have controlled this town and half the East Coast for the past ten generations, but eventually, every empire crumbles.”

Who the hell were the Sullivans?

Did that mean Ethan was part of this as well? Was that why he’d said he was involved with a criminal organization the other night?

I’d been too dick drunk to really delve into that statement during the storm, and then it had slipped my mind until this moment, but it was clear that there was more to these brothers than I’d initially thought.

Connor’s scoff made his feelings more than apparent. “This empire was built on blood and sacrifice, and it will continue to flourish long after you’re gone. Which will be in the next two minutes if you don’t get the fuck out of here.”

The tatted guy chuckled darkly. “You made a mistake coming out here tonight. We don’t want to start a war…yet. But a little warning wouldn’t go astray.”

There was a scuffle, and I could only see the guy yank out his gun, but he was too slow, Connor’s muzzle already pressed squarely to the side of his head. “If you move, even to breathe, I’m going to blow your brains out.”

I’ve killed more people than you fucking know.

Apparently, that hadn’t been an exaggeration to scare me.

I’d been sleeping under the same roof as a legit murderer who hated me, with just an old lock to keep me from being killed in my bed. Still, he’d never actually done anything to harm me or anyone else in the house, so maybe we were actually safer with Connor under the same roof.

The way I reacted to violence and danger was different now. I enjoyed being around the people who were dangerous in general and not to me, because in situations like this, they knew how to take care of themselves. My therapist had names and titles for everything, but I called it survival.

I was well-versed in what it took to survive these days.

Shifting in the bushes, I could finally see Connor, his face darkened by shadows to match his full black outfit. A glint of silver caught my attention next, and before I could run through the repercussions of what I was about to do, I shouted out a warning.

“Connor, behind you!”

He spun just in time to miss the silenced shot that had been aimed right at his torso, shoving the tatted guy into the path of whomever else was out there.

He dove behind the car to give himself cover and, without missing a beat, added a silencer to the end of his gun. I was half-frozen in the bushes still but saw him glare at me while he returned fire in the general direction the other guys had gone.

Unfortunately, those two weren’t the only ones, and I froze at the feeling of a firm nudge in my back. “Hands out beside you,” a low, heavily accented voice hissed at me. “One sudden move and you’ll never walk again.”

The scar in my back chose that second to ache, as if in remembrance of the last time I almost didn’t walk from being shot. Or more accurately, almost didn’t live.

Despite the rising panic, I kept my eyes locked on Connor, who was still firing back at his enemies. It allowed me to lift my hands to the side and obey the order, and then I was jabbed hard in the spine. “Walk.”

If I looked away from Connor, I found I couldn’t move, but keeping my eyes locked on him helped me step through the bushes, adding a few extra cuts and scratches to my body, until I was out in the open.

Connor swung his weapon around and trained it on whomever was behind me. Meanwhile, I just kept moving my feet, even as my head spun and I was seconds from screaming hysterically.

“One move and she’s dead,” my captor snarled.

Connor scoffed and didn’t bother to lower his weapon. “I have no fucking idea who she is. Some rich bitch from Meadowridge who snuck out to meet her boyfriend or buy drugs. Why would you think I’d give a single fuck about her?”

Another jab in my back, and I took another step forward, my eyes locked on Connor’s too gorgeous face, even as he scowled at us both. Connor denying any knowledge of my existence would probably bother me normally, but tonight, I was beyond the ability to care about such a rejection.

I was about to get shot again, and I had the feeling that there wasn’t another chance waiting for me in the wings.