“I deserve that,” he calmly replies, giving nothing away.
Something else occurs to me, and I narrow my eyes. “Did you know about the pregnancy plan?”
He vehemently shakes his head. “I didn’t even know you were pregnant. Neither did my father. Turns out, Atticus wasn’t as forthcoming as we’d been.”
“That’s how the guys knew their way around my house. How they knew there were cameras in the main living areas. How they knew about the safe.” I climb back onto the bed, resting my back against the headrest and pulling my knees up to my chest. “Your father told them everything.”
That fucking son of a bitch. I inwardly seethe. I knew his compassion was too good to be true. That he wasn’t doing it out of the goodness of his heart. I’ll add him to the list of cruel, ruthless, self-obsessed bastards, alongside my father and the Montgomerys.
“He did, but Atticus abused his trust by hiding the true nature of his plans.” He twists around so he’s facing me. “My father loves you like a daughter. I hope you know that. And he’s always known how deep my feelings ran. He’d never have agreed to partner with Atticus, Wes, and their associates if he’d known they would use you as a pawn.”
“But you knew what the new elite were up to.”
“It was planned so they’d arrive when we were away in Parkhurst. They were supposed to manipulate you to earn your trust so they could gain access to the house without suspicion. I was furious when I found out what they were doing to you. Sawyer had promised you’d be treated with respect, but he’s a fucking liar because he did nothing to stop his friends from abusing you.”
My head is on overload, and I’m trying to decipher the myriad of threads floating through my mind. I recall Sawyer’s obvious disgust the day Kai made me kneel at his feet in the cafeteria. His annoyance when he came into my living room to find Kai and Jackson groping me. His frustration with them the night they used me to help them break into my father’s office.
“He tried,” I admit. “But no one tells Kaiden Anderson what to do.”
“And yet you still love him.” He grinds his teeth, and his jaw flexes. “Maybe I should bully you and treat you like shit. Perhaps you’d fall for me then.”
“He doesn’t treat me like shit, and there’s so much more to him than that.”
“He’s continually lied to you, Abby.” Frustration thunders through his tone.
“So have you. So has pretty much everyone. I should hightail it out of Rydeville and let my father kill all of you. I don’t know why I’m loyal when it’s not shown to me in return.”
“But it is,” a familiar voice says, and I jerk my head to the doorway, jumping up when I spot Drew. “All the guys in your life would take a bullet for you. They would die before letting anything happen to you.”
I race across the room, throwing myself into his arms, way too happy to see him to be mad. He pulls me into his warm embrace, and we hug it out for ages. I rest my head on his chest, and he presses a kiss into my hair. “Missed you, A.”
“Missed you, too, D.”
When he tilts my chin up, forcing my gaze to his, I smother my shocked gasp as I take in the state of him.
His usually coiffed hair has grown out, curling around his ears and down the nape of his neck, and it’s messy on top, in a similar fashion to Jackson’s hair. A thick layer of stubble covers his chin and cheeks, and bruising shadows linger in the curves under his bloodshot eyes. “You look like shit.” My gaze drifts to the jagged scar over his lip, and there’s another similar one just over his eyebrow.
“Feel like shit too,” he says, surprising me. I expected a snappy retort.
“We have lots to catch up on.” I take his hand, dragging him over to the couch.
“I should go,” Charlie says, standing and rounding the end of the bed.
“You should.” Drew’s cold tone matches his critical expression.
“I’ll collect you in the morning for school,” he tells me. “And we can swing by here after to pick up the rest of your stuff.”
“Okay.”
He leaves, and Drew walks to the door, checking the hallway before closing and locking it. “I don’t trust him. We’ve frozen him out, and I expected him to push back, but he hasn’t, and I’m suspicious.”
“I don’t trust anyone, and I’m suspicious of everyone.”
“That’s fair.”
“I’m glad you agree.” I purse my lips.
“Abby.” Compassion splays across his face. “I’m so sorry for what that fucking bastard did to you, and if I hadn’t been almost comatose in the hospital for two weeks, I’d have gone after you. It probably wouldn’t have made much difference, but I would’ve tried.”
I want to believe him, but…
“Are you okay?” I run the tip of my finger over the scar across his lip. “He did this?”
Drew bobs his head. “I thought he would kill me this time. I fought back, but he pulled in four of his guys, and five against one are never good odds.”
“We need to get rid of him, Drew. I can’t live my life like this. I won’t live my life like this.”
“I’m with you, A. I have been for a long time.”
“You have a plan.” It’s more of a statement than a question. He nods. “You’ll share it?” He nods again.
“I hope you mean that, because I don’t want to be on opposing teams, Drew. We won’t succeed unless we work together, and that means you have to stop shielding me.”
“I know.”
The truth radiates from his every pore, and I think we might be able to get somewhere. “You won’t get another chance, D. You get that, right? If you let me down again, there is no coming back from it.”
“I won’t fail you again.” His eyes flash with steely determination, and I sincerely hope he means that, and that he’ll stick to it.
“How did you get back in his good graces?”
“I told him I was double-crossing the new elite. That I recorded the theft, and I intended to use it to put them behind bars. That they were meant to bring the documentation to me, and I’d safeguard it. I told him I wanted to prove I could handle things without running to him. Thank fuck, my cell was smashed beyond repair during the shootout so he couldn’t confirm or deny it.”
“And you think he bought that?” I’m skeptical in the extreme.
“He’s on the fence, but I’m his only male heir and the timing is sensitive, so he’s no choice but to give me the benefit of the doubt.” His face turns pale, his mouth contorting into a grimace. “I’m working my ass off to prove my loyalty, but I’m still on probation. One false move. One hint that I’m playing this game, and it won’t be pleasant.”
Fear for my brother turns the blood in my veins to ice. If the bastard finds out what he’s up to, he will kill him.
A pregnant pause ensues, and there are so many things I want to say to my brother I don’t even know where to start. I want to ask him what he’s doing to prove his loyalty, but I sense I’m better off not knowing. “Where is Jane?” I ask instead.
His face contorts in pain. “I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?” I wail. “She was the love of your life!”
“Is. She is the love of my life, and it’s because I love her so fucking much that I sent her away. I’ve tried to protect both of you, but all I’ve done is continually put you in harm’s way.” His shoulders slump in defeat.
“What did you say to her father to get them to leave?”
He drops onto the couch, burying his head in his hands, and I sit down beside him, snaking my arm around his back. He rests his head on my shoulder. “I told him some truths about Parkhurst, the order, what Father is planning, and the kind of life Jane would have if she married into it. I told him to run. To never look back and never come back.” His voice cracks. “They were gone less than twenty-four hours later.”
“I’m proud of you, Drew.”
“Don’t.” He lifts his head. “Don’t be proud of m
e unless I’ve done something genuinely worthy of it. And I haven’t.” He shakes his head, and the look of sheer agony on his face destroys me.
“What if Father goes after them? They were part of the elite, and they shouldn’t have run.”
“He’s juggling too many balls, and they’re not important in the scheme of things.”
“He won’t forget.”
“No.” He scrubs a hand across his stubbly chin. “He won’t. But I have contingencies in place.” Fire blazes in his eyes. “He won’t get near her.”
“Agreed.”
He sighs, offering me a tentative smile. “It’s good to have you back.”
“I’d like to say it’s good to be home, but it’s really not.” I skim my eyes around my bedroom, feeling like a stranger in my own space. “And I won’t even be living here.”
“That might work to our advantage.”
I peer into his eyes. “How?”
He stands, pulling me up with him. “I’ll tell you when we get there.”
“Get where?”
“To Xavier’s warehouse. The others are meeting us there in an hour, and we’ll fill you in on the rest.”
I kill the engine on the Kawasaki just as we reach Xavier’s warehouse. Riding the open roads again for the first time in months is exhilarating, and it’s lifted my spirits.
Drew hops off first, holding the bike as I disembark. “I’m capable of doing that.”
“I know you are, but I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
“You’re trying to butter me up.” I prod him in the chest. “Because you know I’m about to go apeshit on your ass.”
“There is that.” He grins, and it’s good to see him smile.
I stand under the camera at the corrugated iron doors, poking my tongue out. The doors click open a millisecond later and I dash into the warehouse, letting Drew wheel the bike in behind me.
Xavier is zig-zagging across the room, heading in my direction, his face awash with emotion, and my heart does a twisty jump. I run toward my remaining bestie, jumping up and wrapping my legs around his waist a little too enthusiastically when we eventually collide. He loses his balance, falling to the ground with me straddling him.
“Oomph.” He squeezes his eyes shut for a minute, and I know that landing hurt like a bitch, but he doesn’t whine. “I missed you. You crazy bitch,” he says, yanking my head down and smacking a kiss against my lips.
“Missed you too. You deceitful bastard,” I retort, tugging on his brow ring.
“Ow.” He rubs his fingers over his brow, pouting.
I sit back on his lap with my knees on either side of his hips. “You’re lucky I didn’t yank on your cock ring.”
“You have a cock ring?” Sawyer splutters, entering the room at an opportune moment.
“It’s a Prince Albert piercing,” Xavier confirms, winking at him upside down.
“Why is it called that?” I inquire.
“It’s named after Prince Albert who was reputed to have had the piercing done shortly before his marriage to Queen Victoria in 1825.”
“I love how you know the most random, odd facts,” I admit. “And I love your new red hair,” I add, tugging on the spiked Mohawk. “You look fierce.”
“I’d love to know how you knew about his cock piercing,” Drew adds, sounding unhappy.
“I’d love to know that too,” a familiar deep voice says from behind me. “And why you think it’s acceptable to straddle some other dude when you’re mine.” Kai lifts me off Xavier in one fell swoop.
“Way to make an entrance, beautiful,” Jackson says, blowing me a kiss as he leans against a crate.
Kai spins me around in his arms, and I forget how to breathe. We’ve only been separated about seven hours, but it feels like forever since I’ve seen him. He’s wearing a familiar pout, one that promises I’ll pay for sitting in Xavier’s lap, and my body combusts internally. I trail my fingers along his gorgeous face, melting under his heated gaze.
He’s sexy as fuck with his dark hair, dark eyes, neat stubble, full lips, and ripped body, and I can’t believe he’s all mine. The memory of our declarations back at the hotel are still fresh, and I fling my arms around his neck, pressing my mouth to his, uncaring we have an audience.
He angles his head, directing the kiss as his tongue invades my mouth, licking me all over. Fireworks detonate inside me, and I forget where we are and that I’m pissed at him again. He yanks my body in flush to his, placing his palms on my ass, as a possessive growl emits from the back of his throat.
“Unless you want me to kick your ass six ways from Sunday, you’ll remove your tongue from my sister’s mouth and your hands from her butt.”
Kai smirks as he pulls his lips from mine, keeping his palms on my ass on purpose.
“Payback is a bitch,” I reply, teasing my brother before I remember Jane is gone. Drew’s face turns to stone. “Shit, sorry, D.”
“Get used to it,” Kai says, looking at me like he wants to eat me alive.
I smile sweetly at him as I lift my knee and ram it into his balls. He doubles over, cupping his crotch, as his face twists in agony. “What the fuck?” he rasps.
“That’s for not telling me about Charlie.”
“I was just about to when he burst into the room!” he protests in between panting.
“Not good enough.” I turn my stink eye on Jackson and Sawyer too. “And that goes for you two as well.”
“They deserve a knee in the junk too,” Xavier says, draping his arms around my shoulders. “We can tag team them. I claim Hunt.”
Jackson smirks. “Took you long enough.”
Sawyer elbows Jackson. “Go smoke a joint or jump off the roof or something.”
“Touchy subject, dude?” Jackson slaps him on the back.
“Is anyone serious about taking my father down or we’re just here to joke around?” Drew says, impatience bleeding into the air.
“No need to get your panties in a bunch.” Xavier drops his arms, taking my hand in his.
“He needs to get laid,” Jackson, unhelpfully, supplies. It’s his standard response when someone is grouchy, but my brother does not appreciate it.
If looks could kill, Drew would have him buried alive right now.
He storms off toward Xavier’s office, and I glare at Jackson. “That was mean.”
“Never pretended to be nice,” Jackson says, shrugging.
My arm almost wrenches out of its socket as Kai yanks me away from Xavier. “I should put you over my lap and redden your ass for that stunt.”
“You’d be too late,” Drew says, shouting over his shoulder. I pin him with a “shut the fuck up” glare. “Charlie already beat you to it.”
Deathly silence greets his statement, and I sigh. “How’d you even know about that?”
Drew shoots me an apologetic look. “I was watching the camera feed. But I turned it off before he delivered your punishment.”
“Jeez, that makes me feel so much better.”
Kai grabs my shoulders and we slam to a halt. “What happened?” I give him the cliff notes version. “That’s it. He’s fucking dead, and he’s mine.”
When the time comes, he’ll have a fight on his hands.
“Shit,” Drew says, approaching me and looking as pale as a ghost. “Dad perved on you?” I nod. “You need to stay away from the house, and from him, A. I mean it. You have no clue how fucked in the head he truly is.”
“And you do?”
He squeezes his eyes shut momentarily. “Just avoid him, Abby. Promise me.”
“That’s an easy promise. You know how much I despise him.”
“What happened after that?” Kai asks, threading his fingers in mine as he struggles to contain his anger and frustration.
“Let’s head into my office,” Xavier says. “It’s secure, and I’d feel more comfortable there.”
We all traipse in after him, taking seats at the round table while Xavier locks the door, securing us in his
impenetrable lair. The row of high-tech monitors and screens on the front wall are powered off, except for the screens hooked up to the security system. They broadcast different images of the exterior of the warehouse on a rotational loop.
“Okay, let’s hear it. And hold nothing back,” Kai says, leaning his elbows on the table and warning me with his eyes.
“First, you’re all complete fucktards for working with Charlie and his dad and not telling me.” Sawyer opens his mouth to speak, but I raise my palm to halt him. “I’m not interested in hearing more lies or the usual bullshit excuses. You’re still on my shit list,” I say, glancing from one to the other, “but I’m choosing to forget about this, because the more we dwell on stuff that’s happened, stuff we can’t change, the less we are discussing what to do about my father, and I don’t want to lose focus.”
They all bob their heads.
“And all the secrecy ends here.” I level them with a deadly look. “No more secrets. No more lies. No more shielding me from the truth. We’re in this together, and I’m on an equal footing or you’re all dead to me.” I let my gaze dance between them, pausing on Kai’s face. “I’m not joking. I’ll take off, and none of you will ever find me.”
Kai’s face hosts a multitude of competing emotions. He likes I’m standing up for myself, hates that I still don’t fully trust him, and he’s afraid I’ll carry out my threat.
“We’re a team,” Kai says, eyeballing me. “And no one is keeping anything from you again. I give you my word.”
I stare at him, before dragging my attention away and looking at each one of them to ensure I see the same commitment staring back at me.
“Good.” Some of my stress lifts, but there’s still a long way to go. They’ve all betrayed me, and they need to win back my trust. But, for now, I’m satisfied we’re on the same page.
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