“Safe. For now.” I stand.
He takes a step toward me. “If you …”
“What?” I ask. “Rape her? Take advantage of her? Like you were going to do to Demi?”
He swallows, making his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Funny,” Cole says, coming to stand next to me. “Neither did we.”
His jaw sharpens. “I’ll tell you anything you need to know.” I expected it to be that easy. Too bad it had to be this way.
I reach out my hand. “Give me your phone.”
“No.” He shakes his head, taking a step back. “Anything but that.”
“Shane,” I call out, not taking my eyes off Seth.
I hear the chair he’s sitting in slide across the tile and then his shoes on the floor as he exits and goes to the only bedroom in this small cabin. Seconds later, he comes back into the living room, and this time, he has a woman in his arms. She lies across them, still passed out.
“Melissa!” Seth snaps and goes to take a step toward them, but Cole places a hand on his chest, stopping him.
I walk over to the kitchen area as Shane sits her in a chair. She slumps forward, and I walk behind her, gripping her dark hair in my hand, I pull her head back. With my free hand, I gently push her brown hair off her face, neck, and chest. I slide my knuckles down over her exposed neck, making him think the worst, but really, I’m just checking her pulse. When satisfied, I pull my hand away and look back at him.
“Melissa?” he shouts.
“She can’t hear you,” I tell him. “See, I gave her what GHB you had left.”
Cole holds up the now empty bottle that he found here earlier this morning. “You know, what you didn’t use on Demi.”
“You son of a bitch!” he shouts and goes to walk toward me, but Cole slams his fist into Seth’s face, knocking him back.
“But there wasn’t much left,” I add. “I say we’ve got maybe thirty minutes before she starts to come around.”
“If you hurt her …”
“What?” I ask. “What are you going to do? There’s four of us and one of you.” This guy has no clue what we are capable of.
“And unlike you, none of us are gay.” Shane says, stepping up next to her. “And in case you were wondering, brunettes are my favorite,” he adds, pulling a long piece of rope out of my black duffle bag.
Blood runs from Seth’s nose as he watches Shane somewhat speechless and wide-eyed.
Shane moves behind the chair and pulls the girl’s arms behind it. He begins to wrap the rope around her small wrists, binding them together before tying the rope to the chair. Making it impossible for her to move if she wakes.
“Stop,” Seth chokes out, finding his voice. “I’ll give it to you.”
I stay where I’m at, holding the girl’s head back by her hair, and Cole takes the phone from him. He brings it over to me. Pulling up his Facebook app, he then goes to his PMs. He scrolls down until he gets to Evan Scott and opens it up.
Evan Scott: Want to keep your secret a secret? Fuck Demi Holt.
Seth: What? Who the fuck is this?
Evan Scott: Someone who knows everything about you.
Seth: Fuck off, man.
Then Evan sends a video to him. Cole pushes play. Sounds of grunts fill the silent room as we watch Seth and our English Lit professor fuck under the sheets of a bed. It’s clear who it is and what they are doing. Cole exits out of it.
Seth: What the fuck? How did you get that?
“Where was this recorded at?” I demand, not bothering to look up at him.
“Here,” he answers roughly.
Evan Scott: Fuck Demi Holt at the cabin in the bedroom, and I’ll keep your secret. You’ve got twenty-four hours.
Cole exits out of the app. I look at Seth. “When were you here with him?”
Blood still drips from his nose and onto his white T-shirt. He won’t look us in the eyes. Instead, he stares at the floor. He’s embarrassed. I don’t give two shits who he fucks as long as it isn’t Demi against her will. “Last time was earlier this week. This is where we always meet.”
“Go check the bedroom,” I order to Shane. “There has to be a camera set up.”
“Evan didn’t tell you to drug her. What made you think to do it?”
“I thought it would be easier …” He swallows. “I overheard Peter talking about it. He sold it to me.”
“You bought GHB from your sister’s boyfriend?” I demand.
He flinches but doesn’t answer.
“Who all knows you’re gay?” Cole asks him.
“No one did. No one other than Demi.”
“And Professor?”
He shakes his head. “He wouldn’t do this.”
“What makes you so sure?” I ask. Now that I know he bought the GHB from Peter, and Peter had been the one openly bragging about how he would fuck Demi. I’m thinking that maybe they weren’t as careful as they thought. And the professor needed to cover his tracks.
He runs his hand over his dark hair. “’Cause we’ve been hooking up for over a year. There’s no reason to do it now.”
Shane enters again and shakes his head. “Nothing.”
My jaw clenches. “It doesn’t make any sense. Someone had to know. And they are connected to both you and Demi.” And us. They had us come to this very cabin to give us that fucking letter.
“Becky.”
We all turn to look at Shane. He leans up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “I accused the wrong sister. She’s the only one who connects them both and the four of us. She came here to Texas with you. You fuck her over for her sister.” He shrugs. “She was around him.” He points at Seth. “Who knows what she heard or saw. She’s crazy enough to do it.”
“But not smart enough to pull it off.” Cole growls.
“She did have Austin’s journal. She knew a lot more than we knew she did,” I add.
“What?” Shane asks. “Austin had a journal? What all was in it?”
“Everything,” I answer.
“Fuck.” He sighs, leaning back and hitting his head against the wall. “I swear, every time I’m around your asses, I find out more shit that I should have already known.”
“Bennett.” I turn to face him. He sits at the kitchen table, typing away on his phone. “Bennett?” I snap.
“Oh.” He drops it to the table and joins our conversation. “It could be her. All she’d have to do was see you log in one time. It’s not hard to change an email address and login info.” He shrugs.
That’s all the confirmation I needed. We’ve spent too much time on this already. If Becky did it, Cole’s right, she won’t be smart enough to cover her tracks. And it’ll be easy to prove.
I release her hair and lean down to untie the passed-out girl’s wrists and throw the rope to Bennett who is already back to texting on his phone. “Shane,” I say, and he pushes off the wall. He walks over to us. “Go load her up in the back of my SUV. Take her back into town.”
“No!” Seth shouts.
“He’s just gonna take her home,” I tell him. We did some research earlier before we went out to the party. Their parents are out of town for the night on their yacht. They’re throwing a party for a co-worker of his father’s. Showing off their wealth is the best way to do that.
“I’ll take her home,” he growls.
“You’ll be staying with us,” I inform him.
He swallows nervously, and Shane smiles at him. “Don’t worry, man. I’m not into fucking chicks who are unconscious. I like it when they fight.” He winks at him as he lifts Melissa into his arms.
“I don’t believe you.” Seth fists his hands.
I was never going to hurt her. I slipped some GHB into her cup when she bent down to pick up my phone, but I never had any plans to do her any harm beyond that. I didn’t even give her much. I just needed enough for her to sleep while I interrogated her brother.
“You have my wor
d,” I tell him. “I don’t hurt the innocent.”
“You’ve drugged her.”
I take a step toward him. “And you slammed Demi’s face into the floor while you held her down and unzipped your pants. If she hadn’t gotten away, you would have raped her!” I scream the last part. “Your sister will wake up tomorrow with a headache and no memory of tonight, but she won’t think her friend betrayed her.”
He hangs his head, and I look at Cole. “Help Shane get her in the car.”
Bennett brings the chair to the center of the room that Melissa just occupied and hands me the rope. “Have a seat, Seth,” I order.
DEMI
I chew on my nails as Austin drives us down the dark highway. The clock on her dash reads a little after midnight. Deke sent me a message a half hour ago to head their way. They didn’t tell Austin and me much about their plans for tonight, and I’m not sure I even wanted to know them. The less we know, probably the better.
Austin slows down and turns onto the gravel road parallel to Lake Travis. She comes to a stop in front of the cabin, and my heart begins to pound when I see Seth’s Jeep parked out front. Shutting off her car, she exits, and I follow. We make our way up the stairs, and I enter behind her.
I come to a stop as I look down at the hardwood floor in the entryway.
“Seth! Please stop!” I cry as he lies on top of me. I reach out in front of me, trying to grab something, but there’s nothing there. My cheek throbs, and it’s hard to breathe with all his weight on me.
I hear his zipper lower, and then his hands are on my hips. He lifts up enough to flip me over onto my back. And I slap at his face.
“I have to.” He growls.
What is he talking about? “No.” Tears run down the sides of my face. “You don’t.” I slap at him again, and he jumps up off me.
I get to my shaky legs and reach for the door, but he grips my hair with his fists and starts dragging me across the floor. “Stop!” I cry, trying to twist in his grip. “Please,” I beg.
He kicks the bedroom door open and shoves me inside. “It’s just sex, Demi. Not like you’re not already a fucking slut.”
He reaches out for me, but I dart to the left. He gets a hold of my shirt and yanks on it, stretching it out before shoving me onto the bed. I kick and scream, knowing I won’t be loud enough. No one will hear me.
He takes a second to shove his jeans off his hips, and I ram my head into his face, smashing it into his nose.
“Fuck!” He growls, rolling off me.
I jump to my feet and run for the front door. I don’t look back. I don’t even stop to grab my bag. Nothing is more important than getting the fuck out of here.
“Demi?” I hear him scream my name as I run outside and to my car. “Demi!”
I yank open my car door, start it up, and throw it in reverse, not even bothering to look behind me.
“Demi?”
I blink to see Deke standing in front of me. “You okay?” he asks softly. His blue eyes searching mine.
“Yeah,” I lie. “Fine. Why are we here?” I look around to see a chair sitting in the middle of the living room. It’s empty, but a rope sits next to it on the floor along with a black duffle bag. Cole stands behind it, wiping his bloody knuckles off with a dish rag. And Bennett sits at the kitchen table with his phone in his hands.
I look at Deke and notice that he too has blood on his knuckles and shirt. “Are you okay?” I ask, placing my hands on his chest. His heart beats slowly, and his breathing is even. Whatever he did, didn’t even work him up.
“It’s not mine,” he says.
I swallow, immediately knowing who it belongs to. “Where is he?”
“He’s in the bedroom.” Cole is the one who answers.
I go to walk that way, but Deke places his hand on my shoulder and pulls me to a stop. I look up at him, and his blue eyes soften. “I’d rather you not.”
“But …”
“Can you trust me that I took care of it?”
“Did you kill him?” He had told me while in bed that he was going to kill him.
“People don’t have to stop breathing to stop living,” he says, and I understand. They took something from him, but it wasn’t his life.
I drop my eyes back to the chair and take a step back, letting him know I won’t go back there. No matter how badly I want to see what they did to him, he’s trying to protect me from something that he thinks I can’t handle. I like that he’s trying. That he actually cares to keep me innocent in their world filled with blood and chaos.
“Let’s go,” Deke orders.
Cole reaches out and snatches Austin’s car keys from her hands. Deke places his hands on my shoulders, spins me around, and ushers me out the front door. He opens up the back door of Austin’s SUV, and I crawl in with him. He pulls me into his side as Bennett gets in on the other side of me. Cole throws his dish rag and a black duffel bag into the back before he gets in and starts up the SUV as Austin gets in the passenger seat.
I snuggle up to Deke, and he kisses my hair. I close my eyes and release a sigh. It feels good for someone to stick up for me. I used to hate the GWS, but it seems they all came together to help me tonight.
“Where is Shane?” Austin asks no one in particular.
“He’s got my car,” Deke answers. “He had to run an errand but will meet us back at the house.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
DEKE
I PACE THE gravel road, holding my phone to my ear, but I’m met with silence. The drizzle slowly soaks my shirt, making it cling to my body. The Collins night air is cold, but I don’t feel it. I’m too wound up. My free hand is shoved into my jeans pocket, and I kick a loose rock around.
“I miss you,” she finally says. Her voice so soft, I barely hear it.
I smile and admit, “I miss you too, princess.” Coming to a stop, I turn and look at the clubhouse where the sharks and I spent most of our time over the past year and a half. “What are you doing right now?” I ask her while watching Cole pack his black duffle bag into the back of Bennett’s car.
“Lying on your bed,” she answers. “Naked.”
I moan at the visual. “You better be that way when I return tomorrow.”
The guys and I decided last night to make a quick trip back to Collins. Well, Bennett and Shane were coming home, but after Shane suggested Becky was Evan Scott, Cole and I decided it was time to find out once and for all. And if she is, we’re ending it.
We weren’t putting anyone else in danger. Evan had threatened Demi when Seth didn’t do as he ordered, so the clock was ticking. I wasn’t taking that chance again. I won’t gamble with Demi’s fate. Especially if her sister is the one calling the shots. She’s already hurt her enough. I was going to end it for her. That’s the least I can do after trying to kill her myself.
“We’ll see,” she teases me. “Depends on what time you get back.” She’s fishing.
The guys and I didn’t tell the girls much. Just that we were taking a quick trip to Collins to take care of something. They knew. They exchanged a look. Austin turned and left the room. She’s still not talking to Cole. And Demi just nodded, leaving it at that.
They both knew they weren’t going to change our minds. It’s not like we’re going to kill Becky. We’re just going to make sure this shit ends once and for all.
“You ready?” I hear Austin’s voice on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah, give me one minute,” Demi answers her.
“What are you girls doing?” I ask. It’s a little after seven here. That makes it past nine there.
“Austin and I picked up Lilly earlier, and she asked if we could have a girl’s sleepover tonight since you guys are gone. So we’re gonna make a pallet in the living room, pop some popcorn, and eat our weight in chocolate while we get drunk off cherry Kool-Aid.”
I laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just remembering when we were at Silence standing in line to
get popcorn and you told me that you admired my lack of empathy,” I recall. She stays silent, and the smile drops off my face.
“I still do, Deke.” she says in a soft voice. “I never once wanted you to be or pretend to be someone other than who you are.”
I hate how much I needed to hear her say that. Deke Biggs doesn’t need permission to do anything. I always kept Becky in the dark regarding what I did with the sharks. She would have hated it, bitched about it, and made me out to be the bad guy. Which I am, don’t get me wrong. I know where I stand in the world of good versus evil. The one drowning in blood and full of hate. But look what she did. Look how far she went to hurt Demi. Or what she did to her back when they were younger. She’s tried to have her raped twice now. She deserves to pay for that. And that’s what the sharks do. They make you pay. In blood.
“I gotta go,” she says.
But how would she feel if I said those words to her? Her imagination isn’t nearly as dark as our actions are. “Demi—”
“I’ll be here when you get back tomorrow.” She interrupts me. “Waiting on you.” Then she hangs up.
I drop the phone from my ear and walk over to the door of the clubhouse. Cole stands over at the table, leaning up against it. Shane sits on the couch typing away on his phone, and Bennett is standing in the small kitchen area looking down at a piece of paper in his hands.
“What’s that?” I ask him.
He looks up at me and lets out a long sigh. “There’s something I need to tell you guys.”
“What is it?” Cole asks, pushing off the table.
“I received this right after you guys moved to Texas.” He hands me the paper.
“This glass can break as easily as your promises. What would you do to keep them both intact?” I read the typed letter out loud.
“What the fuck is that shit?” Shane asks, jumping up from the couch.
“I don’t know.” Bennett shrugs. “Another cryptic letter.”
“And you’ve had this the entire time?” Cole growls.
“I didn’t say anything because it didn’t have my name on it. It could have been to any of us or all of us.” He sighs. “I honestly thought it was for you, Cole, since you own the place. I figured it was someone who knew what you did to Kellan.”
If You Dare (Dare Series Book 3) Page 30