“I can't control what my father does and doesn't do,” Brittany snaps back, and Vic grabs her chin harder, yanking her face down toward his.

“Well, you better figure out a way to turn his head and quick. We wouldn't send him on a wild-goose chase: there's another gang we want him to deal with, that's it. Just redirect his attention away from Havoc and over to the Charter Crew.”

“I don't know anything about the Charter Crew,” Brittany simpers, but I notice she doesn't try to pull her face away from Vic again. Good girl. I just sit there, content to watch things play out. My gaze drifts back to Hael's after a minute though, searching for some sign that he feels this strain between us. My heart aches when I think of him leaving in the Camaro with Brittany.

He was always meant to be mine.

I turn away to look back at Brittany and Vic.

“Of course you don't,” he purrs, reaching out to push some hair back from her face. She cringes and squeezes her eyes closed, all of that bitchy bravado she had yesterday fading away to nothing. Underneath it all, Brittany Burr is just a terrified preppy Fuller High brat. “And you won't learn anything about them until it's necessary. Let's just set this agreement up and then see how the DNA tests goes, shall we?”

“What if I can't get my father to agree?” she asks finally, as soon as Vic lets go of her face. I notice he's left red marks where his fingertips pressed into her skin. He stands up, looking down at her with an expression that reminds me that, no matter what sort of chemistry we have between us, I really don't know him for shit. I don't, I think, know what he's truly capable of. For some reason, the boys chose to go easy on me during sophomore year. If they'd wanted to, they could've destroyed me.

But not anymore.

I'm not the same person now as I was then.

I get up and move over to stand next to Vic, putting my hands on my hips and hoping I cut a pretty figure in my leather pants and jacket.

“You don't want to know what'll happen to you if you renege on this deal,” I tell Brittany, loving how meek she is. Does that make me a bad person, that I enjoy power? That I enjoy finally being on the other end of the bullying? I think that maybe it does, but I can't help myself. The old Bernadette, the one who believed in daisies and dreams, she was shattered to pieces by the hammer of reality. There is no getting her back, no going back to who I used to be. As Alice once said, there's no use going back to yesterday; I was a different person then. “If you don't think you can pay up, then don't take the deal. Fuck off and raise your bastard kid by yourself.”

“I'll do it!” Brittany snaps, shoving up to her feet. She glares at me, nostrils flaring, and then turns away again, like she can't bear to hold my attention for any longer than that. “What do I have to do?”

“Take Hael and go, tell him what you promised to tell him—who the other possible father is. And also who you'd like us to take care of. Don't let us see you before then. If you need to talk to Hael, text him but don't expect him to be a slave to your whims.” Vic hooks his thumbs in the waistband of his jeans and looks Brittany over carefully. “For the next two weeks, he'll behave as a respectful boyfriend should, but not like a trained dog, do you understand and accept?”

“I accept,” Brittany agrees, sealing her fate in blood.

“Jesus Christ,” Hael murmurs, swiping his hand over his mouth as he grimaces. There’s zero hesitation on Brittany’s end as she grabs his arm and encourages him to find his feet.

“We have a prior engagement for Friday night, so don’t expect cuddles and kisses all night long,” Vic tells Brittany with a sharp laugh. God, he’s an asshole. I stare at him and he stares right back in challenge.

“Fine,” she snaps, clearly over her groveling for the time being. She proceeds to drag her ex toward his car.

On their way past, I grab Hael, my fingers burning as they curl around his wrist.

“Don't forget about me when you're on your little date,” I say, hating the way the jealousy pulls me apart on the inside, like my bones are separating from the muscle, making my entire body ache.

“How could anyone ever forget you, Blackbird?” Hael says, the edge of his mouth curving up into a slight smirk. He flicks his honey-brown eyes my way as I release his wrist, and then turns abruptly in my direction. I don't expect him to touch me, or put up much of a fight, considering that Brittany's standing right there, and we just made a goddamn Havoc deal for him to be her boyfriend.

But, apparently, unlike Aaron, Hael is willing to test the limits.

He puts his hands on my hips and leans in close, letting his lips brush against my ear.

“I feel like we owe each other a good, long fuck. What do you think, Blackbird?”

“I think if you screw Brittany—or hell, kiss her—even once during these two weeks, I'll castrate you the way you did Donald Asher.” Hael lets out a howling laugh, and then reaches up to cup the side of my face. His thumb plays across my lower lip before he leans in and takes my mouth with his, searing me with an intensity that I didn't expect. Everything between me and Hael thus far has been … I don't want to say casual, but it hasn't been serious. This kiss is different. It's dead serious, a promise made with lips and teeth and tongue.

“This is bullshit,” Brittany whines, standing off to Hael's right. “What sort of boyfriend act is this? Is this what I'm really paying for?”

A caustic laugh slips past my lips as I pull away from Hael and move over to stand in front of her, grinning like a goddamn maniac.

“Oscar already explained this to you: we are Havoc. You are not. You can't police what I do with my own family—no bargain can ever infringe on that.”

“Blood in,” Victor says, lighting up a cigarette. “Blood out.”

Hael winks at me as he steps back, leading Brittany to the Camaro, and taking off with a squeal of tires and a cloud of dust.

I pretend like that doesn't bother me, but it does.

“Didn't realize you two were so close,” Vic murmurs as he pauses behind me.

Slowly, I turn over my shoulder to give him a sharp look.

“Then you weren't paying attention,” I quip back. He scowls at me, but that's about it. Maybe he knows what a thin line he's walking?

I might be a part of Havoc, but if he wants me to be his girl, then he better shape the fuck up.

“Oh, and I have a few things I need to tell you,” I start as Cal looks up, studying us with bright blue eyes. Victor just cocks a brow, and I feel this near-orgasmic satisfaction at the idea that I’m about to piss him off. “First, Callum and I almost had sex on Saturday, at the dance studio.” Victor’s eyes go wide, and he turns in a very slow, very scary sort of way to stare at his friend. Before Vic even gets the chance to respond, I forge on. “Second, I smashed Kali’s face into a locker until she was bloody and unconscious. We might have some extra problems with the Charter Crew this week.”

Victor’s cold, dark gaze swings back to me, but for several minutes, he says nothing, just stares down at me with an inscrutable demeanor.

“You’ve managed to surprise me, Bernadette. And I’m not one who’s easily surprised.” Vic turns and heads over to his bike, climbing on and taking off in a cloud of dust, leaving me behind.