by Eden O'Neill
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey,” he returned and how good it was to hear his voice. I didn’t realize how good until I heard it. He sounded hurried. “The news. Has is broke? We just posted the video.”
I closed my eyes, leaning against the wall. The news had definitely broken. “Yeah, it did. Classes were canceled even.”
There was silence on his end, and I wondered where he was.
“You okay?” I asked. “You’re not arrested, are you?”
Because that would really, really fucking suck, and I was surprised to hear him chuckle into the line.
“If I was arrested, you think you’d be my only call for saving grace?” he said it lightly, flirty, and if he’d been here, I would have smacked him. “No, I’m not arrested, but I’m lying low. The other guys too.”
“Where’s Mayberry? Did…” I couldn’t even think. We were actually talking about this right now? “Did you do something to her? Did you hurt her?”
He was quiet for a beat and my mind left to wander.
“There are things I wanted to do, but I didn’t,” he said, my breath leaving me. He sighed. “Anyway, she talked easy. Didn’t have to do anything but record it.”
“Where is she now?”
“I’m assuming back in the real world. We left her ass at the location we recorded yesterday. Left her untied. What she decided to do from there was up to her.”
I wondered why she wasn’t back today, then?
Some activity sounded behind his voice, and I wondered if he was with the other guys. “What are you doing? Are you with the guys?”
“No, we parted off,” he said. “We thought it best to go our separate ways after we left Mayberry. I haven’t seen them since yesterday after we recorded her.”
“Where are you now?”
“My family’s cabin. We got a vacation home on the far side of town near Sweetwater Lake.”
He told me that, like actual information about himself and his well-being.
I wondered why and even more so why he was trusting me.
“And now my family’s blowing up my phone, my parents.” He cursed. He was silent while I assumed he studied his device. “Fuck. I just need an hour before my life changes.”
Because it would change, probably. I mean, even if he got away with the kidnapping he’d still have to answer to his family. They’d know it was him on the video.
“Where’s the cabin?” I asked, then got Bruno’s keys. “I’ll come out to you.”
“You will?” he sounded shocked. “Why?”
I didn’t know why. But I had a feeling it was the same reason he told me everything he’d just told me.
The same reason he was calling me now.
This boy and I had this weird connection. It was something I was sure he equally hated as much as myself. I mean, we loathed each other.
At least, we used to.
“I’ll send you the details,” he decided to say, and I didn’t miss the smile in his voice. He laughed a little. “I’ll see you in a few.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Sloane
“You were wrong, you know?” Dorian placed a hand on my back, a warm wide hand. He flattened it on my spine, his finger tracing the line. “What happened to Charlie was my fault. You heard Mayberry in the video. She said he contacted her.” He shook his head, blond tendrils swaying across his brow. “He did that because of me. Because of what I said. He never would have texted her had I not told him she was still with her husband. They’d broken up with Charlie thinking Mayberry was going to leave Coach.”
How funny he’d heard something completely different than I had.
He really was damaged, taking on this blame for himself. Charlie and Mayberry were two people who made a choice, Dorian’s involvement or not. Also, I didn’t miss how he completely threw away the fact that he’d gotten that woman to tell the truth at all.
I slid onto my back, his hand flattening on my tummy now. I’d driven Bru’s car to come out here to Dorian’s family’s cabin, not hard to find with my cell phone’s navigation. And funny enough, the dark prince and I actually hadn’t jumped each other’s bones the moment I arrived.
We hadn’t had time.
We both knew we were biding it here. He said he just needed a moment before things changed.
I laced my fingers with his, as thick and powerful as the rest of him. We barely fit on this couch together. “I heard something different,” I admitted, and he smirked.
“And now you’re going to tell me.” He kissed my mouth open, a lot of cuddling, a lot of kissing on this coach. I felt like a girl obsessed with a boy.
What’s he doing to me?
And he said I got in his head. Our tongues dueled, our mouths tasting for hot moments. I grinned. “I would if you’d get your goddamn tongue out of my mouth.”
To be an asshole, he deepened the kiss, his tongue basically down my throat at this point.
I wished I cared. In fact, it was all I could do to not let him pull me underneath him and own me like he had everything else. I’d come over here so quick.
“Dorian…”
He stopped to look at me, but didn’t stop pressing kisses to my face, my nose, my eyelashes.
“You can’t convince me otherwise,” he breathed and sounded more sad about that than anything. He harbored so much guilt for what had happened to Charlie, obviously. He tightened the grip of our laced fingers. “It’s my reality, Sloane.”
I sat up on my elbow. “Two people got involved with each other. Two people that had nothing to do with you.”
“And I knew about that too. The affair.” He frowned. “Kept it all to myself thinking I was having Charlie’s back.”
There was an honor amongst most brothers, and Charlie definitely sounded like Dorian’s. “What happened to Charlie was awful,” I said. “But something tells me he wouldn’t like what you’re doing now. Taking the blame?”
“And you know Charlie so well.” He said it, but he smiled a little. “You haven’t even met him, and you don’t know me.”
I might know more than he believed. He wore his heart on his sleeve more than he may think and I wanted to tell him that again. I wanted to tell him that I saw him. That he wasn’t whatever he believed he was. He couldn’t be. Not with what he did today for Charlie.
His phone buzzed beside us. Dorian sighed, reaching over me to pick it up from the coffee table. I’d only been here an hour or so, but he’d had so many missed calls he debated turning off his phone. He never answered one, but I supposed he didn’t have to. He said his parents had been blowing up his phone.
We don’t have much time.
It was like each moment and touch with him was an hourglass losing sand.
These moments we had now weren’t supposed to be lasting. That was why I came over here. His family’s cabin was by the lake and pretty remote. His mom and dad obviously enjoyed their privacy when they stayed here.
“It’s Wolf now,” Dorian said, studying his phone. “He never calls. Only texts.”
He let the call go, but there’d been so much debate in his eyes. I didn’t know whether to push him toward reality or away. Reality meant we weren’t here in whatever bubble we’d temporarily created.
My phone buzzed next.
Bru: Hey. I know you just left, but Callum’s here.
I sat up, reading the message.
Bru: He just got in. Says his deal wrapped up, so he’s staying in town for a bit. You should come home. You know, since he’s here and all.
I studied the device while Dorian got another call.
He released a large sigh. “Wolf again. Something could be wrong or…”
He had to take it, his phone literally ringing in his hand.
We need more sand.
He let the phone fall to voicemail again, squeezing it. He really shouldn’t be ignoring Wolf or his family.
Checking my own phone, I noticed only a little bit of battery left. I didn’t give a fuck
about it, but if Dorian needed to call someone, it’d be a good time for me to step out and get my charger. I had it in my car and leaving him would give him privacy.
“You should call him back,” I said, getting up. “My phone’s about to die anyway. I’ve got my charger in my brother’s car. I’ll step out and get it. Give you some privacy.”
I wouldn’t allow him to protest, and he watched me as I left the cabin.
You should leave.
We didn’t have any more sand, but I wouldn’t leave. Not yet. I wouldn’t go until Dorian told me I should or kicked me out. For some reason, I really felt compelled to be there for him.
I didn’t question this as I went out to my brother’s car. I found the charger quickly but stiffened when rocks crunched beside me.
Shit.
The squad car rolled up without sirens. The word Sheriff was on the side, and I froze with my charger in hand.
Why is he here?
I thought about Dorian instantly. I mean, he had kidnapped someone. He said he left Mayberry and she could have told someone who took her.
Even still, I didn’t panic when the car parked beside my brother’s. The guy was alone and sometimes cops did circulate spots like this. Remote to make sure no kids were dicking around the properties.
He got out of his car, watching me. “You Noa Sloane?”
What the fuck?
I said nothing, too shocked. This guy shouldn’t know my name right now.
He eyed me. “Noa Sloane?”
“I, uh…” Instinctually, I gazed toward the cabin.
The guy noticed. Next thing I knew, his expression shifted, and he jutted his chin toward the cabin. “The suspect in there?”
Holy…
“Sloane?” Dorian came out of the cabin, his eyes squinting in the morning sun. He placed his hand above his eyes. “What’s going—”
In a quick move, the sheriff grabbed me, tucking me behind. He drew his gun, and I screamed.
Dorian launched forward, ran at me instead of running away. The officer barked at him to stop, but he didn’t until the other squad cars arrived.
They surrounded the property.
The officers came out of nowhere and from all sides. Three vehicles rode up and blocked Dorian’s car. They got out, and next thing I knew, they were drawing their guns. Dorian raised his hands, then the sheriff commanded the other officers to take him down.
They did, fighting Dorian to the ground, and I screamed again.
“Dorian!” I fought from behind the sheriff, but he pulled me back. “Dorian!”
“Sloane!” he called, an officer pulling his left, then right arm into cuffs. He tugged at them, facing me. “What did you do?”
Meaning, who did I tell?
But I didn’t tell. I wouldn’t tell where he was. I shook my head. “Dorian, I didn’t—”
I tried to go to him again, but the sheriff tugged me back. I had to watch while the other officers got Dorian off the ground, then forced him to move.
They literally shoved him past me, and he angled a look around at me. He bared his teeth. “You said something? Tell these fucks where I was?”
“I didn’t. I swear I didn’t.” I had to plead over his shoulder with the sheriff. I shoved the guy. Probably not fucking smart, but I didn’t care. I growled at the man. “Why are you doing this? He didn’t do anything.”
At least nothing wrong as far as I was concerned.
The man didn’t listen to me, none of them as they kept Dorian walking. He angled around to me again. “You swear you fucking didn’t, Sloane?”
“I swear.” I wished I could somehow show him the truth. I hadn’t said anything, not a word.
With Dorian restrained, the sheriff returned his gun to his holster. He read him his rights, and on the tail end, he said something that blew my fucking mind.
I think it blew Dorian’s too. The color instantly bled from his face, his mouth parted.
The sheriff grimaced. “That’s right, son. You’re wanted for the murder of Elaine Mayberry,” he said, and I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t even think.
I just stared at Dorian, so confused.
He said he’d left her alive. He said they’d left her alive.
Dorian bucked against his handlers now. Wild, he shouldered the officers around him.
“I didn’t fucking do that,” he roared, being forced away. He faced me. “Sloane, I didn’t fucking do that.”
I had no words. I…
I stared along in a haze, like I’d left my body. Dorian called out to me while they shoved him into the back of a squad car.
“I didn’t, Sloane!” he urged. “I swear to God she was alive when we left. We didn’t do anything to her.”
I blinked, bristling. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say, but out of the fog of my mind, I heard Dorian call me again.
“Contact Wolf,” he said before the door shut in his face. He’d turned a million shades of red, yelling into the glass. “Wolf. Call him. Please.”
That was all he could get to me before the officers peeled off with him inside, and I stood there, panicked. Things had gone from zero to sixty in seconds.
Wolf.
He told me to contact Ares, and I dropped my charger, shooting back into the car. I got my phone, looking for that text he sent me. I never saved his number, but I still had that.
My phone lit up in my hands.
Callum Montgomery’s name flashed on my screen, and I was too out of it to even realize I answered.
“Callum, hi. I’m sorry this isn’t a good time,” I said, already getting into my brother’s car. I didn’t know where I was going, but I figured the Maywood Heights County Police Station might be the first place these people would go.
“Sloane?” Callum stated, a clear confusion in his voice. “What’s going on? Are you all right?”
I wasn’t all right, not at all. I palmed my face, shaking. “I know you’re in town, but I have to go. I’m sorry.”
“Sloane, wait. Wait just a second. What’s wrong? You sound panicked.”
I was panicked. I just watched my boyfriend being dragged away in front of my eyes and into a car.
Whoa, when did he become your boyfriend?
I didn’t know what Dorian was. An obsession or mere fascination like he said. I just knew he was taken for something he clearly hadn’t done.
“Sloane?” Callum nudged. “Just take a moment. What’s wrong?”
And so I told him, every word of what had happened in the last few minutes. I didn’t know if Callum could even help, but I hoped.
I needed hope.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Dorian
I was in and out of my cell in under an hour.
Wolf must have come through.
I told Sloane to contact him because he’d be able to post bail without getting my parents involved, and my parents did not need to know about this. At least, not right now and with everything that was going on. They’d find out eventually in this town, but not right away.
Murder.
I hadn’t killed that woman. She’d been alive when the other guys and I left her.
It’d been on purpose.
I wanted her to live with what she’d done, thrived on that shit. That would be penance for what she’d done, and though I wasn’t sure she’d keep her mouth shut about me being the one to take her, I hadn’t cared. My family and my family’s friends literally owned this town. They could make anything I did go away.
The guys and I broke off just in case of heat. We’d figured it’d be better to be apart and at remote locations until our families caught up with us. If any of us did receive a backlash, it’d be best for our families to find us first and we moved from there.
So, what’s this about a murder, then?
I didn’t know. Like stated, we’d left Mayberry very much alive in that warehouse. She had not one bruise, not even a damn paper cut. We untied her, then left her.<
br />
I expected to see Wolf the moment I was let out of my cell. I figured he’d be standing there right in the waiting area when I got out, and though I saw a familiar face, it wasn’t his.
Sloane.
She’d been pacing, and I had no idea if it’d been her to rat my location out or not. I mean, I told her, and she could have told someone.
For some reason, I didn’t believe she did.
For some reason, I was trusting her now when I didn’t trust anyone outside of my family and friends.
She couldn’t have heard me. I made no noise when I came out, but she still turned around when the officer brought me down the hallway. It was like something compelled her.
Like we were linked.
I had a tether to this girl, and I had no idea what it was, but if it hadn’t been Wolf, my family, or my friends here today, I was glad it was her next.
“Dorian.” She appeared to be glad to see me too and ran to me. She threw herself in my arms, and I did something crazy back.
I hugged her.
I drank all of her in and would have let myself bleed into her if I had the knife. I leached off her warmth and basked in how good it fucking felt.
“You swear,” I said, realizing I was fucking shaking. I held her, but I was still goddamn rattled at her showing up of all people. “You swear you didn’t say anything.”
I needed to know. I knew I’d already asked her, but I just…
“I didn’t. I didn’t,” she said, the relief flooding me. She looked at me, and I couldn’t even believe she was here. She hadn’t even changed out of her school clothes, still in them. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I just about pinched her to confirm she was real but settled for her hand. I wouldn’t question why I needed it. I just took it. “Where’s Wolf?”
“I…” she started, but then another appeared out of nowhere. He came in and stopped beside her.
And I stopped breathing.
I stopped fucking feeling anything. A ghost literally walked right up on us…
And put a hand on my girl.
He placed his aged-as-fuck hand right there on her shoulder. He did this like he had a right and none of this made sense. This wasn’t possible, him standing there.