The Queen Of Bad Things (Book 2)

Chapter 14. Man To Man

"Yeah," Austin whispered. "Maybe it isn't a good idea."

"There is only one way to know for sure, Austin. The sooner you decide, the better. You need to end it with Kalia first," I said.

"I get that," Austin said. "If I can get ahold of her."

The study door opened. Benny came in, followed by Aria and Carley.

Carley stopped when she saw Austin.

Austin turned to see Carley froze near the door.

Aria stopped beside me, and Benny stopped in front of me. I handed the numbers to Benny. "I don't know what they mean. I need you to figure it out."

"Austin, can we talk?" Carley asked.

"Um, yeah," Austin said.

I looked around Benny at Austin.

"Wish me luck," Austin mouthed.

I smirked and nodded. My gaze flickered to Benny. From the look on Benny's face, I knew he was thinking.

The study door closed behind Austin and Carley. Aria stared at the door curiously and looked at me. "What is with them?" Aria asked.

"Beats me," I lied smoothly.

"Ace, I think it's a tracking number," Benny said.

"I tried that, Benny," I muttered. "I took it to the fucking post office to see if they could find it."

"Maybe it is a fake tracking number," Benny said.

"Like untraceable?" I asked.

"Right. It'll take me a while, but I might be able to figure it out. It must have been scanned at some point," Benny said. "Someone could have deleted it from the systems at the post office. Next time just call me. It is my job, right?"

I rolled my eyes and flipped him off.

Aria chuckled. "Oh, hey, you are supposed to pick your sister up at the airport for your mother."

"Right," I muttered. "I'll be back. Put Angel down for his nap." I pecked her on the cheek.

"Okay," Aria said.

My car sat in the driveway. I put my sunglasses over my eyes and stopped when I heard Austin and Carley's voices.

"Can I just ask you one thing?" Carley asked.

"Shoot," Austin said.

"Did you ever love me, like even a little?" Carley asked.

"Like a lot, and that's the part that scared me. I was afraid of hurting you, of getting hurt, growing apart, and getting older. I mean, you name it, I was afraid of it. I pushed you away because it was the easier way out. I'm not nearly as brave as people think," Austin said. "I'll always regret what I did to you. Well. . ." Austin trailed off. "It wasn't the worst thing. You loved Jax, right?"

"Yeah," Carley said. "Just not the same way I loved you, not even close. He knew it too, and he always tried harder for that reason. I felt so guilty when he died, like I should have tried harder. I-I don't know."

"Yeah, I get that."

"If you decide not to leave her, I get it. I don't want you to give her up if she makes you happy," Carley said.