Pretty Little Lies

28. Bay

TWENTY-EIGHT

bay

Clearing the woods, I steel my spine and stride as carefully as I can into the clearing that opens up to a park. I’m immediately met by Matteo’s agitated glower. My ex isn’t going to fuck off until we meet without anyone around so he can spit out whatever the fuck it is that he wants.

And I’m far from alone.

Levi is behind him, settled in between two thick maple trees, and I saw him before I stepped out of my safe haven. Then, to top it all off, I brought the next best option to have my back with the lack of bitching—Reeve.

He picked me up, parked a ways down, and followed me up until I had to encounter this piece of shit that I used to date. Levi’s gun rests along the side of my spin and it’s begged me to play with it since stepping out of Reeve’s Audi. One bullet in Matteo’s head and Levi can get rid of the body easily enough. That’s how blinded with rage I am that he had the balls to step his repulsive feet inside my home.

With Dad there.

With him vulnerable and unable to fight for himself.

This is the second fucking time someone has entered my home with the intention of harming my loved ones and I want to know, in what world, Matteo would ever believe I would ever want to be linked back up with his piece of shit vibe.

He takes a few steps but surprisingly leaves me some distance. His short dark hair shines off the moonlight and he shoves his meaty hands into the black pocket of his leather jacket, which could hold his own weapon.

I’m not stupid.

And he’s not either when his eyes slide down the line of woods behind me.

“You’re late.”

His words instantly irritate me, but I don’t have the energy to go back and forth on some stupid shit. I want this done and over with.

“You got less than five minutes,” I retort back. “To tell me what the fuck you were doing in my house last night and what that was going to do for you.”

He quirks a thick brow at me. “This could’ve been a simple text.”

I stretch my jaw at his evading the question, because he’s just making it seem like he’s not doing anything wrong and I’m the one tripping here. “I’m not unblocking you from my phone, asshole. So spit it out.”

He scoffs and shakes his head as if I’m being completely unreasonable. He would, the fucking narcissist. “It’s amazing how beautifully you grew up, Bay…but you’re still blind as fuck.”

“You always thought I was too stupid for my own good, Matt, so again, answer the question. Unless you’re still into kid games where you wanna go back and forth and see who can get the last word.”

“You don’t know me anymore,” he vouches flatly. “Not like you used to. Things change, and no matter what you think of me now, I don’t want a war on my hands, and let’s face it, I couldn’t win one if I wanted it.”

Huh.

My first thought is that he needs allies. My second is that it’s why he’s hanging out with Emilio. Torin hates him so the Forsaken Crew is out, but the Void…that’s a pretty good shot.

“And what am I supposed to do with that?” I press back. “Do you think I care about your gang?”

“I want Levi’s help.”

“I wouldn’t be the best person to grab that for you.”

“You still have pull.”

And I wonder if my ex saw Levi storming into my house last night after I called him. The idea makes my skin crawl, because I don’t know what Matteo has seen and if he’s actually buying Levi and my separation.

“Isn’t there some sort of number you leaders of gangs call when you want to talk peace and treaties and shit?” I solicit. “You don’t go through old girlfriends, I know that.”

“Levi was not your boyfriend and we both know that,” Matteo claims confidently, causing my skin to crawl. “You don’t think I’ve seen you over the last few years? That I haven’t been watching? You got me fucked up if you think I was in Shoreline Peaks just kickin’ it with my boys and not paying any attention to who was going to kill who in this dumb-as-fuck rival gang shit. Unfortunately, nothing’s changed. And Levi became King of South Shore, which didn’t and doesn’t bode well for me.”

“I don’t care what you need, Matteo. I’m not going to be a pawn for your gain.”

“You need to get over what happened, princesa .” My nostrils flare as he calls me princess in Spanish. His little pet name for me when he desired for me to just forget everything all the time. Like I was just supposed to take it and deal with it. “We were kids?—”

“Fuck you ,” I sneer through my teeth. “You terrorized me. You put bullets into a vehicle I was in weeks ago. The slightest mention of you freaks me the hell out.”

“You’re dramatic as fuck,” he clips out. “And I don’t remember you being a bitch.”

“And I don’t recall you being one by breaking into someone’s home just to talk?” I tsk my indifference of how insignificant he is in my life. “Why don’t you get over me and find some other puta to harass. I’m over you and this .”

“You don’t make it easy, Bay,” he retorts. “You have one of those Forsaken fuckers around you all the time now. You’re playing a game and I bet Wallace is pulling all the strings.”

“Why don’t you come over again and find out?” I taunt easily. “Maybe I’ll fuck him to kill you and that’ll solve all my—” Matteo lunches forward, and before I can grab my gun, he stops himself in his tracks.

His chest pulls in a deep inhale as if calming himself down before he cranes his neck to the side to release some of the tension I put there.

“You better watch your fuckin’ mouth with me,” he warns through my racing heartbeat. “I’m runnin’ out of patience and you outta time. I want the Wharf Bay Titan spot. I want the Pistol Posse to be part of the group and for us to start bringing in money. I need?—”

“I’m not the one handing out Titan seats, Matteo. The fuck does that have to do with you scaring the shit out of my dad?”

“Interrupt me one more time and I’m going to fuck your mouth to keep you quiet.” His dark brown eyes bore into me in a promise that he will but, even with Reeve and Levi at the ready, I don’t want him to touch me. “Now…as I was saying. When I acquire the Titan seat, Wallace and I will need to team up?”

God, can we say delusional?

“Why would you go for that seat when Lorenzo Black is tied up with Emilio Wildes?” I ask. “He runs the Forsaken Crew. You don’t think by trying to take it you’re not gonna be on their shit list.”

“I already am on their shit list. They don’t want any other gang around here except themselves and I’d be pullin’ mine in. You ever wonder why you’ve never heard of anyone else around here? Because they don’t exist. The Forsaken Crew annihilates any competition and who do you think is next? Me and you. South Shore and Shoreline Peaks.”

“I don’t care what happens to you.”

He moves forward, making me flinch back in old fear that still resides in my brain and everywhere else. “All of this…it has everything to do with me— us— when we don’t want to become existent. You were with me when I built my posse. And I know how much you love South Shore.”

This isn’t my jurisdiction of power of making anything happen, it’s Levi’s, but I bite anyway. “Even with us two, we can’t take?—”

“We could if we take Titan spots. Emilio Wildes is a punk-ass fucking rat. He doesn’t deserve to be on shit.”

“Then why are you at his parties?”

“Because I need my face shown. I need to show them that I’m not a bitch.”

Yeah, whatever.

I know the boys see through Matteo like he’s made of glass, but I’m not going to tell him.

“I know you got pull on Levi,” he repeats again. “And I need you to talk to him. I need a meeting.”

“Then you leave me alone?”

“Bay…” He cocks his head again, hinting that it’d be a no and I’m naive as shit to think so. “Babe, me and you. I did some shit, I know, but I’m grown now. I would put you so high on a pedestal that not even God could touch you.”

“But not high enough to where you can’t pepper bullets at me.”

“C’mon,” he imparts with a tsk, trying to shove that important fact away. “Why would I want to kill my girl?”

“Because she won’t comply.”

A mirthless laugh emits off his chest, and I hate the sound of it. I’ve heard it way too many times, and it always produced a never-ending feeling of hopelessness. “If I got his support to fuck off me while I do this, I got South Shore’s back in the future. Everything remains the same. I’m just the muscle. You wanna run dope through The Landings, whatever.”

“But at what cost?”

“None.” I pry my eyes off him because bullshit. “I’m serious, Bay. Things are shifting. Emilio is trying to gain every single Titan spot and what has every gang tried to obtain from South Shore since you’ve been alive?”

The port.

“You sit right along the shoreline. Your town is the gateway for international anything to get your people cash. You guys just don’t use it.”

Because the Coast Guard is up our entire ass thanks to Sheriff Muncy and Emilio. “Because we’re not looking to get rich quick and get on Sheriff Muncy’s radar.”

“You already are,” he drawls, clearly becoming exhausted at my lack of concern. “You know damn well about Muncy being under Emilio. And if Wildes wants him to pull the trigger, he will. Without the Forsaken Crew as muscle, he has nothing. He doesn’t own The Landings anymore and the people there aren’t total fans of him because of what he did to Penn Northcott.”

“He’s building The Void, Matteo. He won’t need the Forsaken Crew anymore.”

“More reason to stand together.”

Steering my focus back to my ex, I mark him with a glower. “You want to stand here and tell me you want a truce, Matteo? Because I’m not stupid. The more power you get, the more you’ll want. And South Shore will be on your list.”

“Not if you’re an ally.”

“That’s not my call.”

“Like I said, you have pull. And those boys you’re playin’ with are going to rip you to shreds when they found out what you’re doing.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

Matteo perks a brow, then recognition dawns all over his face. “Oh, Bay…” He laughs, and I obviously don’t join in. He knows who I am and who I’m around, but he still thinks of me as a stupid litlte girl. “You think Torin Wildes isn’t going to have him and his band of white boys take you out the moment Emilio announces you publicly as his sole heir? When you decide to take what those boys have been built to take the whole time?”

Maybe Matteo doesn’t think I’m so stupid after all.

I don’t confirm nor deny Matteo’s assumptions of what I am and not going to do. The last thing I need is him running to Emilio with my thoughts.

“And you pushin’ me in the pool was going to get you on the friends list with them?”

He shakes his head. “It was to keep your name away from mine. If they saw that we weren’t on good terms?—”

“You're fucked up.”

Matteo smirks, and it’s nauseating. “I wouldn’t have let you drown. I knew one of those fucks wouldn’t want a dead body in their pool. I’m a little shocked it was Cairo Black who rescued your ass. Levi is just as adamant as I am to keep Emilio out of his home turf. That rich prick is going to make suburbia in our backyard, bring in his rich friends and we’re out. Plain and simple. Those boys you hang out with, who are always up your ass…I hope you don’t catch feelings and think you’re going to change them.”

“Nah, Matt,” I hiss out. “You taught me that. I’m good.”

He lifts his shoulders dismissively. “You don’t have to explain shit to me. If you know to keep away, you’re already ahead of the game. You’re pullin’ some spy shit with Levi then, by all means, go for it. However, Torin and Ramsey are fishing around. I’ve heard about it because I have my own spies within the Forsaken Crew.”

“That’s public knowledge.”

“They think you’re part of the grand master plan to take them down. That you’re playin’ them. You’d be smart to do it. You’re in the right spot. Use your magical pussy?—”

“Shut the fuck up while you’re ahead,” I leer, balling my fingers into fists.

“Just remember you’re guilty by association, sweetheart, get used to it now. You’ve made it no secret that they’re your boys—Levi, Juice, and Hot Rod. I’m curious, though…what are your plans?” I just gape at him and notice how he’s not doing well. His jaw keeps ticking, if I were anyone else, he would’ve beat my ass for answers. It’s a warning sign, so I don’t push back on him any further. “We have the same agenda. When I get the Titan’s spot, Bay, you’re gonna want me as a friend, I promise you.”

“I’ll get a call out to Levi, but I can’t promise you anything.”

“The sooner the better. Emilio is coming for South Shore.”

“Do you have a date and time for this?”

“No.”

“Then your information is as worthless as you are.”

He shakes his head. “What did I tell you about runnin’ your mouth.”

“Fuck…you—” Matteo pounces toward me, but my fingers have already brushed the handle of my gun and I yank it around to point it at him.

“I oughta kill you right the fuck here, you motherfucker.”

Matteo holds his empty hands out in the air then clucks his tongue with the roof of his mouth. His full lips curving into a shitty smile. “Look at who you grew up to be. A queen meant for a kingdom.”

My index finger squeezes the trigger, but my rationality doesn’t allow me to pull. His entitlement irks my ever-loving nerves. “I don’t owe you shit, Matteo. And you don’t order me around.”

“And if I find out information about Emilio?”

“Call Levi. We’re done.”

“Hence why you’re here. I don’t have his number.” He erases more space between us, and I order my index finger to pull the trigger.

No one would ever know.

“You gotta know by now, Bay…you’re the only one for me.”

“No.” I shake my head against his lies. All of it, everything we ever had together was so fucking fake. I was so stupid. “We’re done .”

“We don’t have to be.” His voice is so soft. It was like that when he needed me to keep quiet after he’d let his boys use me. Then the dogs…

Pull the trigger.

“I hate you,” I choke out, tears burning the back of my eyes. “You ruined me. I’ll never trust anyone ever again because of you.”

“It taught you how to be tough,” he retorts. “You were weak.”

“You didn’t have to hurt me.”

“Didn’t I? You never would’ve understood?—”

“Stay away from me!” I scream. The closer he looms, the worse it gets. My body is trembling, and I can’t get it to stop.

He fucked me up, and I can’t get over it. I’m absolutely terrified to hand my trust out for someone else to break it.

“Bay, c’mon,” Matteo upbraids with zero compassion in his tone. “Don’t act as though I never—” The echo of a gunshot goes off, causing me to jerk back because…did I just fucking shoot him?

Matteo checks his body, palms patting down his front, just as confused as me.

Yet, when he heaves his heavy and murderous regard back to me, I lose my fucking breath. “You gonna shoot me, huh?”

I ignore the question because I have enough crap going through my head, like the main reason why I came here, which hasn’t been discussed yet. “Now, that you’re done spewing your shit,” I sneer, “I find you in my fucking house again, Matteo, you’re gonna meet the double barrel of my gun.”

His brows narrow in disbelief. “ No one fucking shoots at me.”

Well…

I pivot, my heart slamming inside my chest as I sprint back to the woods where Reeve is waiting for me.

“You’re mine, Bay!”