“It came from an anonymous sender last week.”
“Shit. So Principal Fallon and Mr. X knew each other since they were our age? I can’t believe it. Do Bryce and Rufio know?”
“Of course not. And you can’t tell them.” She takes a step in my direction.
“Why not?”
She looks away, nibbling on her lower lip, something she does when she’s nervous.
“The other two men in the picture are my father and his older brother, William. He and Principal Fallon were involved.”
Holy shit. Everything is beginning to make sense now. “That’s why she fought so hard to get you here.”
“So it seems.” Daisy still won’t meet my gaze.
“Hey.” I move closer and touch her shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t tell anyone about this.”
“I know I asked you not to, but why would you keep quiet? I’m nothing to you.”
Fuck. She truly believes that.
I touch her face, caressing her soft skin. I could tell her she’s the opposite of nothing, but I can’t say that without sounding like an idiot. “You’re keeping my secret, and it’s only fair that I keep yours.”
She stares into my eyes without blinking, maybe trying to guess whether I’m lying or not. Finally she says, “Thank you.”
The close proximity to her is reawakening certain urges. My dick twitches in my boxer shorts. I’m a second away from kissing Daisy when she steps away. “Morpheus is alone in the apartment, and he guessed you and I… well, he figured we hooked up.”
There’s a sudden tightness in my chest. “And are you bothered by it?”
“No.”
“Daisy, don’t lie to me.”
She lets out a sigh. “Okay, if you must know, I was embarrassed.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Her voice rises to a shrill. “Maybe because in less than a month, I slept with you, Bryce, and Rufio.”
“So what?” I shrug. “You have needs. I get that.”
“That’s your answer? I have needs? Aren’t you even a little jealous?”
I hold back a grin. “Do you want me to be jealous?”
She doesn’t answer right away. I wish I had the power to read minds.
“I don’t know.” She pulls her hair back. “I’m so confused.”
“Then let’s simplify things.” I head for the door, not caring that I’m only wearing underwear. The whip marks on my back have healed; I checked in the mirror earlier.
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“Not where I’m going. Where we’re going.” I grab her hand and steer her into the hallway. When she sees where I’m headed, she digs her heels into the floor.
“Please let me go. This is nuts.”
“No, this is the smartest thing to do.” I open the door, and like I sensed, I find Bryce and Rufio in the kitchen, pulling take-out food from their plastic bags. They freeze when they see me with Daisy.
“Oh crap,” Morpheus mutters from the couch.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Bryce walks around the kitchen counter, tense as hell.
“This is an impromptu meeting to clarify a few things,” I reply.
Bryce turns his attention to Daisy and frowns. “What things?”
“Oh, fucking great. You finally got what you wanted, huh?” Rufio pouts like a child.
Understanding finally seems to hit Bryce. “You slept with him,” he addresses Daisy.
She pulls her arm free and glares at me first before turning her ire on Bryce. “Yeah, I did. So what?”
Bryce doesn’t answer, but he’s clenching his jaw so tight that a muscle twitches.
“Yo, before you blow a fuse, let’s all calm down. I like Daisy, and I want to keep seeing her,” I say.
“Really?” Bryce asks. “Since when? Not too long ago, you wanted to get rid of her at all costs.”
Man, he has me there. But I’m not going to let him create a chasm between Daisy and me by reminding her of my mistakes.
“Bryce, don’t you know there’s a fine line between hate and passion?”
“Oh my God. He’s spewing clichés now.” Morpheus shakes his head. “We’re fucked.”
“Bite me, asshole.”
“The question is, does Daisy want to keep seeing you?” Rufio raises an eyebrow.
Heat surges through my cheeks. I didn’t stop to consider that she might not want anything to do with me. Shit. I’m an idiot. I watch her closely, afraid she’ll laugh in my face for having such crazy notions.
“All of you, stop staring!” she yells, totally pissed off.
Rufio walks over to her. “Why would she settle for you when she can have me?”
Bryce curses under his breath and moves across the living room.
“I’m right here,” she retorts. “Stop talking like I’m a blow-up doll you picked up at a sex shop.”
The cocky grin wilts from Rufio’s face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“To sound like an ass? Well, you did.” She turns to the food on the counter. “What do have there? I’m hungry.”
She moves toward it without waiting for Rufio’s reply and opens one of the boxes. “Pepper steak, my favorite.” She nabs a set of chopsticks and, with box in hand, walks to the door.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“Back to my room. And for the record, I’m not choosing.”
She slams the door shut, leaving me speechless. I turn to Bryce and Morpheus, who are equally flabbergasted.
“I’m not giving her up,” Rufio announces.
“Me neither, douche,” I say.
We both look at Bryce, who’s still watching the front door.
“I think Daisy broke your brother,” I tell Rufio.
He finally unfreezes and glares at me. “She didn’t break me, but she almost cost Rufio his life.”
“No, she saved my life,” Rufio insists. “She never asked me to go fight those gang members. I offered, and I’d do it again.”
“What’s your problem with her?” I ask. “Yeah, her father hated our kind, but he was a Norm. They all do.”
“Daisy doesn’t,” Morpheus pipes in.
“How can you be so sure?” Bryce asks.
“I know she doesn’t, and if you pulled your head out of your ass, you’d agree with me.”
Bryce drops his chin and stares at the ground. “Well, she fucking hates me now.”
“Have you tried apologizing?” Rufio raises an eyebrow, smirking.
“You want me to mend things with Daisy? Why?” he asks.
“Because I’m not stupid. I know she has feelings for you.”
“She’s linked to all of us,” Morpheus adds. “And I think it’s in our best interest to see where this connection leads instead of fighting it. Remember what we discovered at my father’s,” he says to Bryce.
“Which was?” I ask.
“There’s a possibility Daisy has demigod blood.”
I quirk a brow. “Whoa, back up. If she had demigod blood, wouldn’t she be an Idol or at least a Fringe?”
“Not if she’s related to the Idol who reneged on her power and gave it back to the gods.”
“You think she’s related to Magia?” I ask.
“Who?” all three ask at the same time.
“I can’t believe you’ve never heard of Magia, the anathema of our society.”
Seeing their blank stares, it seems the story my horrid father used to tell me is not as well-known as I thought.
“All I know is there was this Idol named Magia who gave back her powers many millennia ago.”
“Any chance you know Magia’s last name?” Morpheus asks.
“Nope. I always thought the story was stupid. Never bothered to ask more details.” Mostly because of who was telling the story.
“Okay, I guess I’ll have to work with only her first name,” Morpheus says.
“Why is this important anyway?”
Bryce stands u
p. “Because there are too many powerful players interested in Daisy. If she’s not working for them, then she’s a pawn and therefore not safe.”
42
Daisy
A WEEK LATER
After the embarrassing meeting Phoenix forced me to participate in, I avoided all those assholes when I could. In the few classes I had with them, I purposely ignored the group. I still shared the notes from math class with Morpheus, but I refused to step foot in their apartment. I guess he’ll just have to handle math on his own until I can figure out what to do with my life and all the secrets I’m keeping.
Morpheus was right about one thing though. Drusilla, and consequently her friend Renata, left me alone the whole week. But I should have known my peace wouldn’t last a very long time. And Bryce is the one determined to wreck it.
When I walk out of biology, he’s there waiting for me. I tense up on the spot. Rufio, Phoenix, and Morpheus have been nothing but nice to me, but Bryce is still giving me a hard time. And when I say hard time, I mean his silent treatment.
Something is different about him today though, and my heart is already going crazy, beating out of sync as I drink the guy in. The yearning hits me hard, as it always does when I’m near him. Today is especially off the charts. I hate that I crave his touch when I know he doesn’t deserve it.
He had to show up looking like this on the day I don’t have my partner in crime. Toby has the flu and missed class.
As much as I want to appear strong, Bryce hurt me more by shunning me than if he’d hit me with a physical blow.
“Bryce? What are you doing here?” Rufio asks, stopping next to me.
“I came to talk to Daisy, alone.”
I sense a shift in the air, a darkness, and I can guess who’s projecting that energy. Morpheus. Today was his first day back from suspension. I don’t want them to fight in the middle of the hallway. If Morpheus is involved in an altercation again, he might not get another chance.
“All right, let’s get this over with.” I veer to my right without waiting for Bryce’s reply. He catches up though and walks next to me.
My throat is dry and choked up. I thought I was fine being estranged from him, but it turns out I was in Denial Land. I’m so nervous now, it’s not even funny. I haven’t forgotten that his father killed the uncle I never knew or that he could have ordered my parents’ murder. But is it right to blame Bryce and Rufio for the sins of their father? I know Bryce doesn’t share the man’s views, and truth be told, Rufio doesn’t either.
My nervousness goes away when a couple of girls to my right attempt to get his attention with giggles and hair tossing.
“Hi, Bryce. Looking good this morning,” one of them says, stepping closer to him.
Her friend turns to me with glee in her eyes, almost as if she’s daring me to do something. My blood is boiling now, and I want to gouge their eyes out with my bare hands, but I’m not on Drusilla’s level of crazy.
I quicken my steps, leaving Bryce behind to deal with his fan club. A second later, he’s next to me again, walking at the same rapid pace as me.
“Why are you mad now?” he asks.
“Who said I’m mad?”
“I can tell. I just don’t know if it’s because I asked to spend time with you alone or those girls back there set you off.”
“The former, obviously. I don’t give a rat’s ass about….” I can’t bring myself to finish the sentence. Of course I care about other girls coming on to him. But I’m not going to admit it.
“About what? My love life?” Bryce continues.
“Whatever. You wanted to talk to me alone, so talk.”
“We aren’t alone. Even the walls have ears in this place. Let’s have lunch off campus.”
There’s a lurch in my chest. I’m not sure I’m ready to be alone with Bryce again. My heart is pounding, and my ears are buzzing. But I let Bryce steer me toward the exit. Instead of heading to the garage, we go to the front of the school building where his shiny SUV is already parked by the curb.
“Where are we going?” I ask when we’re both inside his car.
Bryce turns on the engine, and without looking at me, he replies, “I discovered my mother’s connection to Mr. X. I followed her to Unearthly Desires one day.”
My stomach bottoms out. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Did Phoenix tell him? No, he wouldn’t do that, would he? I look out the window, regretting agreeing to come out with him alone.
“It was where you mother recruited me,” I say, hoping Bryce doesn’t know about the picture.
“Wait, what? She was there on the same evening we were?” Bryce’s tone is agitated now.
Okay, maybe he doesn’t know about my father’s connection to Mr. X and his mother.
“Why are you getting all worked up about it? Mr. X said they were friends.”
“They’re in cahoots about something, Daisy. My mother doesn’t do anything without purpose. She has plans for you.”
I close my eyes for a brief second. Bryce is getting too close to the truth.
“What kind of plans?”
“I don’t know. It might not be to your liking. She gave Rufio carte blanche to bully you on your first week.”
If he had told me that a month ago, I would have been surprised, but not anymore. Xavier warned me not to trust her.
“Why would she do that?” I ask.
“I still haven’t been able to get a straight answer from her. She keeps talking about how we all have a role to play in the board game of the gods.”
I rub my forehead, trying to ward off the headache that’s brewing.
“I’m such a fool,” I murmur. “I should have listened to my instincts and never come here.”
“Please don’t say that.” Bryce glances at me.
“Why not? Nothing good has happened to me since I joined Gifted Academy.”
A few good things have happened, but I’m feeling wretched and in the mood to whine.
“Nothing good, huh?” He quirks a brow.
My cheeks become warmer, and I avert my gaze. “Sex doesn’t count.”
Lies. It does, especially when I got it from three incredibly sexy guys.
Bryce doesn’t speak for another minute. He takes the nearest exit and stops at the first junk food restaurant that pops up.
Staring straight ahead, he asks, “How did your parents die, Daisy?”
The question feels like a steely knife perforating my chest. I curl my fingers around the fabric of my skirt without meeting his gaze.
“I told you already.”
“You told me a lie. I want the truth now.”
Tears prick my eyes, clouding my vision. Shit, he’s going to make me cry. The last thing I want is to talk about that terrible night, especially now knowing what his father might have done. But I’m trapped in his car with nowhere to go.
“It happened in the middle of the night. I couldn’t sleep well, so I was eavesdropping on my parents’ conversation when Idols blew our door open and attacked. They killed my mother first, then my father.”
“How many?” Bryce’s voice is low and tight, which prompts me to lift my gaze to his.
“Three.”
His eyes, which in the past week have been cold and hard, are swimming with emotion now.
“How did you and Rosie escape?”
“Some other Idols came in, and they fought our attackers off. Rosie and I slipped out and went down the fire escape ladder.”
“It never occurred to you that those Idols might have been Knights?”
Another guess too close to the truth. I know they were Knights, and I met the guy. But again, not something I can tell Bryce. He was kidnapped by them, and as far as he’s concerned, the Knights are the enemy. It doesn’t help that they’re manufacturing Idol-killing weapons and neutralizers that somehow made it to the criminal underbelly of Saturn’s Bay.
“No. I didn’t dare to believe there were Idols who cared about Norms. It was easier for me to hate all of you.”
“And do you still feel that way?” He inches closer and wipes off the rogue tear that rolled down my cheek.
“Sometimes I wish I did.”
Bryce’s touch is electrifying against my skin; it makes me tingle all over and crave more than just his fingers on my face. My lips part when I guess what his intention is.
“I don’t want you to hate me, Daisy, even though you have every right to do so. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you the way I did. Or blamed you for Rufio’s attack.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.”
“You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. It’s like you reanimated my dead heart. I was afraid I’d given a piece of me to someone who despised me, someone who wanted me dead.”
He’s too close. Too damn close.
“Bryce, I don’t despise you. How can I hate someone who brought me back from the brink of death? How could I wish you were gone?” My voice gets choked up at the end.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I’d run through hellfire to save you, Daisy. You’re like fireworks in a starless night, and I’m done being afraid of what this feeling means.”
My mind is racing, and my heart is not far behind. I don’t know what to make of Bryce’s confession. Is it true or only a heartfelt lie? He cups my cheek and breaches the final distance between us, obliterating any coherent thought in my head. All I can feel now is Bryce’s lips against mine and the taste of his tongue. This is not our first kiss, but it’s the one that’s going to leave a mark.
I run my fingers through his soft hair and then pull him closer to me. An electric current is exchanged between us, and even with my eyes closed, I notice the brightness all around us. The same thing happened when Bryce healed me. The only thing in need of mending today is my broken heart.
Bryce breaks the kiss to lean his forehead against mine. “Thank you,” he says.
“For what?”
“For letting me do this. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, not after what I put you through, but I’m hoping you’ll let me in again one day.”
I pull away from him to stare into his eyes. I see no trace of deceit in them, but he’s right in assuming I haven’t forgiven him yet. My body might be quick to succumb to the undeniable connection between us, but my mind can’t let go that easily.
Ruthless Idols: A Paranormal High School Bully Romance (Gifted Academy Book 2) Page 23