Forever Golden: Dark High School Bully Romance (Kings of Cypress Prep Book 3) by Rachel Jonas (books like beach read txt) 📗

“It’s a campaign poster,” I finally share with the detective. “For Vin. He’s… running for mayor.”

Roby is silent on the other end at first. “Shit. Guess we now know why good ol’ Vin asked you to make a clean break by the two-month mark.”

“Actually, I don’t understand,” I cut in.

Roby sighs and when he speaks again, his tone is gentler, almost compassionate. “I assumed it was a north side versus southside thing, classism, but it’s bigger than that. With Hunter’s conviction, Golden can’t risk his family name being associated with yours. He doesn’t have a background in politics, so he’s gotta work extra hard to prove himself. Yeah, the city knows him as a staunch businessman, but not as much else. He has to appear to be above reproach when this shit goes public. That means cleaning up anything he thinks might cost him his shot.”

“He wants to control everything and everyone,” I say mostly to myself.

“Which would make it a whole hell of a lot easier to hide possible criminal activity,” Roby reasons. “Guess I know why I got so much pushback when I tried to fire up the task force. Who knows how deep this shit runs? Half this department could be on Golden’s payroll.”

“So, you believe me?” My voice is quivering when I ask, because I know I still haven’t proven my case much more than I had this morning, but it sounds like he believes me.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us, and I’m not making any promises, but… yeah, I think there could be a connection,” he finally says. “If you think of anything else that might help, don’t hesitate to call. Morning, noon, or night.”

I’m on the verge of tears. “Okay.”

And I plan to do just that. As soon as I talk to West and we agree on what’s safe to share and what isn’t, I’ll fill Roby in on the details.

“I’ll be in touch, but you stay safe in the meantime. If you see anything that seems off, call my cell. The number hasn’t changed.”

I nod and feel so much relief.

Maybe, just maybe, we have a fighting chance.

Finally.

Chapter 19

WEST

Tightening the knot of a red tie around my neck, I consider this to be one of the few useful skills my father taught me. So, if he’s ever fishing for accolades, this is all I have for him.

A new black suit, a fresh haircut, and in less than an hour, I’ll have the hottest girl in this hemisphere on my arm. Usually, I avoid this particular dance like the plague, but for some reason the idea of it doesn’t repulse me this year. Without thinking about it too hard, I know why.

It’s her. Any excuse I can come up with to be around Southside, I’ll take it.

Come tomorrow morning, I’m getting her away from all the Cypress Pointe bullshit. Dupont Bayou is like a whole other world, the most laid-back place on the planet. There, we won’t have to deal with school. No Vin. No Pandora.

Her post last weekend had everyone losing their minds, wondering who this “little birdie” is that she mentioned. I was one of them until I got the frantic call from Southside, describing the contents of the mysterious envelope she received.

And imagine my surprise when I heard the news, that my crooked-ass father has plans to run the city. As if he doesn’t already have enough power and influence. I can only imagine the shit he’d pull if he had the police department—and damn-near everyone else—in his back pocket. There wouldn’t be a thing he couldn’t get away with and I’m guessing that’s the whole point of this stunt.

Now, things are starting to make sense—the two-month timeline he gave Southside to end things with me, the NDAs. He was always looking out for number one.

Himself.

Southside filled me in on bringing in her dad’s ex-partner. She didn’t tell him everything, but still, my first thought was that she’d fucked up by telling any of this to an outsider. But that was before she told me a bit more about him, how he stepped in and did what he could to lighten Hunter’s sentence, how he’d been like family before her dad got let go and their friendship fell apart. If any of this is going to work, we have to trust each other. So, if she thinks this guy’s on the level, if she’s willing to include him knowing Scar’s safety is on the line, I have to trust that she knows what she’s doing.

Hopefully.

The storm of speculation died down around midweek. By then, people were pretty sure that whoever Pandora had given that open invitation to would never be revealed, so they got tired of investigating. Only we know who the behind-the-scenes players are, including Vin being the one harassing the town’s digital snitch, posing as X. Or at least he’s the one who put someone up to the idea. Now, with what Pandora delivered to Southside, we can assume she knows it’s him, too.

I check the time and I’ve got twenty minutes to get to the other side of town. If I speed, I can make it in fifteen.

Passing my brothers’ rooms on my way to the elevator, I see both have their bags packed and on standby for tomorrow. It reminds me that I procrastinated until the very last second and still need to pack when I get in tonight.

“I’m out,” I announce.

“Okay.”

“Right behind you.”

I’m too far away to know who said what, but the plan is to meet up outside the school. The elevator doors close and no sooner than they do, my phone rings. Seeing as how it’s not the secret line, I know it isn’t Southside, but I definitely don’t expect to see Parker’s name pop up.

“Shit.”

I stare at the screen, ninety-nine percent sure I’m gonna let the call go to voicemail. But then I remember how I dismissed her at the party before the Championship. Then, she’d