Wicked Titan: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Golden Olympus Academy Book 1)

by A. J. Logan

I’m not embarrassed because someone thinks we did something in the darkroom. I’m embarrassed because I’d wanted to.

  32

  Tucking my legs to my chest, I lean my chin on my knees, studying the lifeless Corvette. A glimmer catches my eyes as I look to the immaculate Audi sitting beside it, the gold-winged pig hanging from the mirror reminds me of Nathan saying anything is possible.

  There’d been so many times I’d wanted to ask Nathan questions at dinner, but didn’t.

  It’s frustrating because I’m not sure if I’m scared of the lies it may uncover or the truth it might unearth. Either scenario will probably lead to pain.

  Telling myself it’s best to figure out a little more about Nathan, I’d decided to play along with him and Candace. I’d even directed a smile Candace’s way at the dinner table. Putting on a show had been the hardest part of my day because I’d just wanted to scream, demand the answers that I fear.

  The side door opens, and Asher steps inside the garage. I don’t move my chin off my knees as he strides over, hopping on the counter next to me, resting his back against the wall.

  “You about done hiding away?”

  “I’m not hiding,” I mumble.

  “Then were you out here waiting for a rematch of our last round?”

  “I know this news flash will hurt your precious little ego but not everything is about you, Asher.”

  “Try me. I bet I can fix the problem.”

  I clutch my legs to my chest. “I don’t think anyone can.”

  For a second, I see a glimpse of something. Insecurity? Uncertainty? But before I can decide, the mask of arrogance he’s perfected returns, his voice dropping a notch as he speaks. “You’d be surprised how resourceful I can be.”

  Returning my gaze to my car, I sit in silence until Asher hops off the counter. He stands in front of me, blocking my view of the broken-down car.

  “Staring at it won’t make it run. Let’s get to work.” Wrapping his fingers around my ankles, he tugs me forward. I slide to the edge of the metal counter, my hands press against his chest to steady myself.

  His palms smooth up my thighs as he stands between my legs, pressing into me. I grip the soft material of his cotton T-shirt, pulling him closer. He licks my lip briefly before grazing it with his teeth. “I thought a taste would appease me, but it only made me crave more, Weakling.”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  “Make me.” A seductive chuckle vibrates on my skin as his tongue trails down my neck before playfully nipping at my shoulder.

  “You’re such a jerk.”

  “Never claimed differently.” His hands grip my hips, lifting me off the counter before setting me down, my bare feet landing on the smooth concrete. “Let’s get this thing running.”

  “No,” I say flatly, watching as he opens the driver’s door, reaches in to pull the lever, and releases the hood latch. It pops up an inch with a creak.

  He moves on the side of the ’Vette fluidly, easily pulling the hood open before I register that he’s actually serious. My dad was supposed to get it running, not Asher.

  “Do not touch my car.” Stomping over, I move in front of him in a wretched display of protectiveness. Forcing him back as best as I can, I slam the hood shut as hard as I can.

  I spin, pressing against the car in an attempt to gain some leverage in order to push Asher back farther, but he’s solid, an unmoving force. Anger surges through me.

  “You are not fixing it.” My chest rises and falls rapidly, my heart pounding against my chest.

  “He’s not coming back.” The detached tone and abrupt delivery hits me harder than it should.

  “You don’t know anything about it.” I go to step around him, but his hand grips my arm, holding me in place.

  “Your dad is not coming back.” His voice is cruel, heartless as the words slice through me.

  A sharp breath is pulled from my lungs as my hand slaps hard across his face. “Get out!”

  He rubs his hand across his face. “That shit is getting old, Weakling.”

  “Then stop giving me a reason to do it.” Before Asher, I’d never slapped a person in my entire life. Now, I’ve slapped him twice. That should tell him something … or maybe it says more about me.

  Hurrying away, I run out of the garage, sucking in a deep breath as the night air hits my face. I need to get far away from Asher and the mocking charm that glistens through the undamaged windshield of an overpriced car, reminding me that not everything is possible. At least not the thing I want most—my dad.

  33

  Tiptoeing down the hallway, I hold my breath, watching to make sure no one is around. Every time I’ve tried to sneak into Nathan’s home office unseen, someone has been around. Either Candace asking about my day at school, Francis dusting this side of the house, or Tanner following a step behind, telling me every single detail about his Lego video game. Usually I wouldn’t mind, but I need to find out what’s going on, and Nathan’s home office is the only place I can think to start. So here I am again, hoping to uncover something even if I’m not completely ready to know the entire truth.

  The door clicks open and I peek inside, stealing a quick glance before stepping all the way inside and closing the door behind me with a soft click. The office is so large it’s overwhelming, bookshelves are lined wall to wall, with books and trinkets covering every inch. I glance on the shelf as I pass by, nothing seems out of place. The oversize oak desk catches my focus, a laptop sitting open on it. It’s the same one I’ve seen Nathan using around the house. Sitting in the stiff leather chair, I wake up the computer as the screen alights, requesting a password. There’s no chance I’d be able to guess, and with my luck, it will lock me out after one try and alert Nathan to my snooping. Pulling the drawers open on the desk, I shuffle around through folders and papers. Everything looks organized and in an assigned place, so I’m careful not to move much until I see a folder labeled S.C., my dad’s initials. It’s everything I can do to hold the folder steady as I flip through the pages, holding my breath.

  It’s the same document from Ruby Flame that Detective Davis showed me, but it’s a thick stack, stapled together. The signature isn’t mine on this one, it’s my dad’s. Behind it, there’s an equally thick packet with the document from Nathan’s company’s contract. It too has my dad’s signature on it.

  My breath hitches at a faint voice in the hallway.

  Shoving the papers back together, I fumble getting them back in the drawer before slamming it shut. Standing, I yank the top drawer with pens and stationary supplies free just as the door opens.

  Nathan looks to his desk then back to me, murmuring something into his phone before disconnecting the call. “Hey, I’ve been looking for you.”

  I force a smile as I hold my hand up, showing him the tape roll. “I needed some tape. Trying to add a little personal touch to my room, so I wanted to hang some pictures up.”

  “Asher must be rubbing off on you. Not sure that’s a good thing.” He chuckles, looking unconvinced, but he goes with it. “There’s plenty in there or downstairs if you need more.”

  I walk to the door, and he pushes it open, allowing me to pass. Tension is thick between us as I wave the tape in the air, playing for nonchalance. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. Tell Candace I’ll be down in a few for dinner so she doesn’t send a search party for me.”

  I laugh, letting out the breath I’d been holding as I nod, hurrying down the hallway. I make a mental note to hang some pictures in my room, and not ones that remind me of Asher.

  After the incident in Nathan’s office, I gave up snooping for a while. Especially after they informed me of a weekend getaway they had planned to New York. Apparently, a part-business, part-pleasure trip. Candace pleaded with me to go, and part of me did want to since I’ve never been, but with everyone gone for the entire weekend, it will be the perfect opportunity to search without getting busted, again. Even Francis is taking the weekend off. I�
�d convinced Candace I am perfectly capable of cooking for myself. When I mentioned the fact that I’d done all the cooking for Dad and I, she dropped the subject promptly, giving in to my request.

  Of course, the school day is dragging by. I’m sitting at the table, tapping my fingers against the wooden tabletop as I watch the clock on the wall.

  “Have plans this weekend?” Grant interrupts my thoughts.

  “Yes.” I glance to him.

  “Okay. If you have any free time, maybe we can hang out or something?”

  “No.” Looking back to the clock, I hear Wade snicker from across the table.

  When the bell finally rings, I jump up from my chair, heading for the parking lot in such a rush that I don’t see Allison until I crash into her. Stumbling back, I catch my balance as she curses, smoothing her hands on the trace amount of material that passed for her skirt. “Can you not even walk without being a pain in my ass?”

  “The pain’s probably from chlamydia, not me.” I grit my teeth and start to move past her.

  She curses, shifting in front of me to block my path. “Then you’d better stay away from Asher since he’s been exposed several times, especially last week at his party. All. Night. Long.”

  I know she is lying about the night of the party since he was with me, but the thought of them together some other time twists my insides, knotting them as my hand grips my stomach. I’m so focused on images of Allison and Asher together that I don’t notice Victoria until she steps in front of me.

  “He’s never touched your desperate, nasty ass—even when you beg him to just let you suck his dick. It’s an appalling scene to watch replay over and over.”

  Allison’s face is beet red as she glares at Victoria while Elliot chimes in. “Lil’ V is right. As a sworn witness, I can testify that it’s really pitiful.”

  “Screw you, Bass,” Allison spits, her eyes on Victoria. “You’re just pissed someone else tapped your side piece.”

  “Get the fuck out of here!” Elliot’s voice booms down the hallway. Allison flinches as all eyes in the corridor turn to watch as he snakes his arms around Victoria’s waist, restraining her as she lunges for Allison. Elliot pivots to position himself between them, whispering something in Victoria’s ear before turning to Allison, throwing his hand in the air as he yells again. Allison hurries away, glaring at me as she leaves.

  Elliot stands in front of Victoria, blocking the view of the gathered audience before she shoves him away. Tears flow down her cheeks as she takes off down the hallway.

  She’s in the parking lot, hurrying to her car by the time I catch up to her. “Victoria.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” She tugs the handle of her car, flinging the door open as she tosses her bag in.

  “Okay. But if you change your mind, you can talk to me.” She pauses, clinging to the door as she stares into her car. Whatever is going on with her got stirred up with Allison when Victoria stepped in for me. “I’m sorry.”

  Her eyes are red and blotchy as she turns to look at me. “Just don’t tell my brother about any of this.”

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  “Thanks,” she whispers before sliding into her car, pulling the door shut as I walk off, watching her car in the distance. It’s not my place to tell Asher anything and even if it was, I trust Victoria more than anyone else I know. The sad thing about that is we’ve spoken the least amount of words to each other. Maybe that’s it. She doesn’t feel the need to fill space with needless, phony lies.

  Asher steps out of the building’s side door, cocky and arrogant as he walks to his car. I slide into mine before he gets close. It’s been the game we’ve played with each other all week, at least on my part, so I do my best to avoid him once again.

  There’s still an unease in my chest as I step into the house. I can’t get Victoria off my mind, but I know she needs space, so I avoid sending her a text. The other thing I can’t get out of my head—Asher and Allison. I hate to admit what a relief it is that he hasn’t screwed her, at least according to Elliot and Victoria, who should know. But that doesn’t stop the images from popping into my head. The only image worse is the real-life version of her having sex with Grant. That one is still burned onto my brain, thanks to Asher.

  Ugh. If there was a memory erasing device, I’d scan my brain right about now. I do the next best thing and focus on the task at hand. The house is already empty as I grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. There are several premade meals lining the shelf with Post-it notes on each, labeling their contents. I smile at Francis’s handwriting—even after I’d insisted I could make my own meals, she’d gone out of her way to make sure I was taken care of for the weekend.

  I walk to the garage to take a peek inside, and notice the family SUV is gone. It doesn’t hurt to double-check, in light of getting caught during my last investigation.

  My hand squeezes around the cold glass bottle as I tiptoe to the office. It’s ridiculous. I’m in the house alone, but I still feel the need to be quiet.

  Slowly pushing the door open, I move to the big oak desk, pulling the drawer open. I want to read the details, find out what was on the other pages of the contract, but there’s a folder missing, the one labeled C.S., the one that has the answers I need to find out what happened to my dad. And it’s nowhere in sight.

  He knows. My eyes dart around the room, I’ve checked the house a million times for cameras. There are more than enough on the outside of the property, but none on the inside. He hadn’t bought my act; he’d known I was snooping. Why doesn’t he want me to read the contracts? And why was my dad’s signature on those but my phony signature on the ones Detective Davis had shown me? There’s something he’s hiding.

  Quickly, I push the drawer in, returning the chair and everything else to their original positions before quickly leaving the office. If he hid that file, there’s no hope of finding anything else. He would conceal everything. My only hope to learning the truth is gone. I’m back to having nothing, once again.

  34

  I already thought this house was massive, but it’s absolutely colossal when you’re in it alone. I made sure every window and door were locked, even set the alarm system before I went to shower. Night has barely fallen, and I’m already bored out of my mind.

  I look at my phone. Am I considering going to that random party Elliot invited me to? I drop my phone on the couch, pulling the blanket up to my chin as I focus back on the movie. Nothing good could come out of going to the party. Victoria probably isn’t there, and she’s the only person I’d consider hanging out with.

  I focus on the oversize television, my eyes feel heavy as I drift off to sleep.

  It feels like minutes later, but it’s been a few hours. The movie is over, and another has started playing. I pick up my phone as a few messages chime.

  Victoria: Don’t tell him

  Victoria: Please

  A loud rapping sounds on the front door as my phone flies from my hand. It doesn’t take me but a few seconds to take a guess at who it is after the unexpected messages from Victoria.

  Slowly, I press my hands against the smooth wood door as I look through the peephole. Yep. Asher stands on the other side, angry and pouting as always.

  “Open the door,” he yells as I jump back.

  Shaking my head, I know he’s not leaving until I open the door and part of me doesn’t want him to leave. Dashing to the wall, I punch in the alarm code before returning to the door, pulling it open as I take in the sight of Asher leaning against the door frame.

  “About time.” He pushes off, walking into the house as I close the door behind him.

  “Hi to you too. Thanks for using the front door this time.”

  He swiftly turns back to me, his heated glare would have been enough to press me up against the door even if his strong hands hadn’t already found my waist. “Tell me what happened.”

  “What are you—” My words fade as he leans forward, a dark look in his e
ye.

  “Don’t lie to me.” His voice is low, floating through the air as he lifts his hand to my face, skimming his thumb along my jaw.

  “Ask your girlfriend.”

  “Jealous, Weakling?” A seductive smile spreads across his lips.

  “No.”

  “More lies,” he tsk-tsks.

  I shouldn’t push. Especially right now when I see the menacing look is in his eye, but the more he pulls—and everything about him is pulling me in—the more I want to push. “It’s not fun being in the dark, is it?”

  “The dark doesn’t scare me. Being trapped, confined, imprisoned, stripped of my will … that terrifies me.”

  A shiver goes through my body as I feel the pain in his words, like he’s already experienced his worst fears. My fingers unconsciously grasp his shirt, clutching as I suddenly want to erase his pain.

  “Asher,” I whisper, wanting to ask what he’s referring to. I’m fearful he might tell me and terrified he might not because I want him to confide in me, reveal his pain instead of yanking mine out.

  “Tell me what happened.” His commanding tone snaps me out of my delusional thinking, but my fingers remain clinging to his shirt.

  I won’t betray Victoria’s trust. “I was in a hurry and crashed into Allison. She wasn’t happy about it. That’s it.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Then why are you still hiding from me?” His knuckles brush up my arm, trailing along my shoulder. He slips his finger under the thin spaghetti strap, pulling it to the side as his lips move to my shoulder, his tongue teasing my skin.

  My hands instantly slip under his T-shirt, craving the contact of his rock-solid muscles as I’m reminded how effortlessly Asher can influence my body. “Because you’re still playing a game with me. I’ll stop when you tell me how you knew about my dad.”

  I feel his body tense under my touch, full-blown rage engulfs his eyes as he slowly backs away from me. His hands drop to his side as he stares at me for a moment before reaching for the door handle, pulling it open swiftly as I jump to the side and out of the way.