“Just watch.”
I hear a door creak open, but the camera doesn’t show it. Then a man is shoved into the middle of the room. He trips, falling flat on his face. He lets out a growl of frustration as he makes his way up to his knees. He wears an orange jumpsuit and faces the camera, but his head is down, and his hands are cuffed in front of him.
“What the …?” My voice trails off when another man enters. He’s dressed in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt with black boots. His head is shaved, and he looks like he belongs in the middle of a WWE ring.
“I know he sent you,” the guy snaps from his knees. “Fuck you, Liam! Fuuucckkk yyyyoouuu!” he screams.
My heart starts to beat faster. I recognize that voice.
The other man doesn’t say anything. Instead, he punches the guy in the face, knocking him back. He kicks him in the stomach, making him ball up in the fetal position. Then he kicks him in his back before hitting him on the side of the head. I stand motionless as I watch some random guy beat the shit out of Bruce Lowes until he’s unconscious. He never once asks him to stop or tries to fight back. He takes each hit, each kick, knowing that my father placed the order.
Bruce lies there, hands cuffed, face bloodied, and barely breathing when the man pulls away. He looks at the camera, nods once, and then walks out of the room. The camera goes black, losing its connection.
My father stands from his chair and turns to face me. I straighten my back as I swallow. “Why would you do that?” I ask.
“It’s out in the public now. Everyone knows that Bruce hired a man to kill you. You think I’d stand back and not do something about that?”
“You did when he did it!” I snap. I’m done pretending he didn’t fucking know.
His jaw clenches. “I did this for—”
“Not for my sake,” I respond flatly, interrupting him. Bruce deserved it for not only killing three of my friends but also for what he did to Austin. What he put her through when he shipped her off to her mother and her boyfriend who he knew touched her, hit her.
“Best friends or not, he had to be taught a lesson,” he growls.
I snort. “You think he cares that you beat him up?” I shake my head. “He’ll be sore for a few days, sure. A little pissed that you betrayed him, maybe. But I put him in jail for life. You wanted me to see that, why? This isn’t a competition.”
He shakes his head with a laugh. “I agree. It’s not. Because if it were, you would lose.”
I turn to walk out.
“You know that game you played where you held something over Bruce’s head in order for him to let you have Austin?”
I stop and turn to face him. “We’ve already had this discussion,” I say. In fact, it was in this very room. When he called Austin a whore and threatened that Bruce was going to nail me to the fucking cross for taking something from him that didn’t belong to me—his precious fucking car. “What about it?” He can’t possibly expect me to give the car back. It’s not like Bruce can drive it.
“He could have ended you then. You actually thought you had leverage with that car.” He shakes his head. “You didn’t have shit.” He chuckles, and my anger turns to confusion. “See, that’s the thing, Cole, you think you’re all grown up and badass, but you still have so much to learn.”
“Enlighten me,” I snap.
“Sex,” he says.
I snort. “Gonna give me the sex talk? You’re four years too late.” I hope this isn’t leading up to him asking if we’re using protection like last time.
He laughs and shakes his head. “She was underage. And you were sleeping with her.”
I roll my eyes when I understand where he’s heading with this. “She was seventeen”—the first couple of months—“not thirteen. And I was only eighteen, not forty. I don’t see how that’s a problem.”
“The problem is, Oregon’s legal consent is eighteen, and there is no close in age clause to cover people seventeen and eighteen. All Bruce had to do was report you to the police once …”
“It was consensual. Every time,” I grind out. “And Austin would have never gone along with that.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He shrugs carelessly. “She wouldn’t have even had a say. She was underage. Bruce could have had you arrested for statutory rape. It’s that simple.” He stands. “The only reason he didn’t is because I told him I would bury his ass if he said one fucking word.”
It doesn’t matter what he could have done; it’s too late now. She’s been of age for almost four months, and he’s in prison. “Doubt it was for my benefit.”
His jaw sharpens. “I told you she was trouble. I told you to stay away from her.”
“I’ve never listened to you before, so I wasn’t about to start.” No one was going to keep me from her. Not even when all I wanted to do was destroy her.
“Goddammit!” he yells, throwing his empty glass across the room. It hits the far wall and shatters. “Don’t you see I was saving you? While you were out running around with her and your friends, pulling stupid pranks, I was here”—he pounds his fists onto his desk—“having to cover your tracks.”
“Sorry I’m not more appreciative.” I didn’t need him to do shit for me.
“You little shit—”
“Enough bullshit!” I interrupt him, tired of running in circles. “You did that for you!” I shout. “Not me!” Shaking my head, I take a deep breath. “Everything you do is for you. Always has been. Always will be. No one else fucking matters to you!”
He places his knuckles on his desk and bows his head. We stand in silence while I try to calm my breathing. My heart races. After a few minutes, when I’m about to turn and leave, he shakes his head and laughs.
He looks up at me and straightens. “You’re right. I did that for me.” His face grows angry. “’Cause you were out fucking some whore! Ruining your future! She’s just like her mother …”
I’m across the room and punching him in the face before he can finish his sentence. His head snaps back, and he stumbles. I grab his crisp white button-down and slam his back into the nearest wall. “Listen to me very carefully,” I say evenly even though my body shakes with rage. I’ve had enough!
His wide eyes are staring back at me in shock. Blood trickles down his busted nose. That’s the second time I’ve ever hit him. The first time was after my mother died when I was twelve, but I’m stronger now.
“Don’t talk about her like that, or I will bury your body next to all the others. Do you understand me?” I shake him when he just stares at me. “Answer me!” I scream in his face.
They’ll never find him. I may even be able to pin it on Bruce, or, hell, Kellan would be better. All I would need is a day to figure out a plan.
“You think you got me?” The shock wears off, and his eyes narrow on mine. “Because you used your fist? I’ll take her …”
“You’ll never touch Austin.” Over my dead body! Kellan taught me a lesson. Never let your guard down no matter what.
“You can have that piece of trash.” He spits out, and my teeth grind. “I can keep you from Lilly. Both of you!” he shouts in my face. “I’ll ship her off to an all-girls school in Switzerland, and you’ll never see her again.”
I laugh at that, and it just makes him even more furious.
“I fucking raised you! I taught you everything you know! You will show me some respect!” His face is red with anger, and his blue eyes so big they look like they are about to pop out.
I give him a smile and take a step back from him.
He squares his shoulders and runs his hands over his now wrinkled button-down.
“You’re right, Dad.”
He smiles like he just won. As if he expects me to kneel in front of him and thank him for everything he ever gave me, including Austin. I’ll burn in hell before that happens.
“You did raise me,” I say, and he grunts. “I only came over here today to give you something before I leave town with Austin and Lilly.” Reaching
into my jeans pocket, I pull out the USB drive and toss it on his desk. His smile falls. “You taught me that without insurance, you have nothing.” Austin wasn’t the only one who made sure to record things that could come in handy.
“What?” he snaps, looking down at it and then back at me. Swallowing nervously, he picks it up and wraps his fingers around it. “What is on this, Cole?” he demands. “You have nothing on me!”
“Don’t worry about trying to destroy it. I’ve got copies.”
“You ungrateful little shit …”
The door opens behind me, and I spin around to see the last man I expected to walk into Liam’s office. I stay away from him as much as I do my own father.
His graying hair is slicked back, and his face cleanly shaved. He wears a midnight blue button-down and black slacks with a matching suit jacket, sans tie.
He doesn’t acknowledge me in any way. To him, you are insignificant unless you have a pussy or a wad of cash in your pocket he can take.
Langston walks over to the mini bar and takes the cap off the bourbon my father keeps and pours himself a glass.
“Cole …” My father growls my name.
“We’re done here.” I give Liam one last look, and his jaw sharpens while he glares at me. I walk over to the door and yank it open.
“Cole?”
I look over my shoulder to Langston when he calls out my name this time.
He stares down at his glass as he swirls it around, not caring to meet my eyes. “Tell my son it would be in his best interest to return my phone calls.”
I snort and walk out, shaking my head at the fucking bastard.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DEKE
I PULL UP to the clubhouse and turn my SUV off. I see Cole parked out front but still sitting in his car. I exit mine, and ask, “What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you,” he says as he climbs out of the driver’s side.
“That’s what your text said.” I frown. “Is this about what you wanted to tell me at the hospital?”
“Yes.” He turns toward the door to enter but stops and faces me. “If Austin asks, I just had lunch with you.”
“Okay.” Simple as that. No questions at all.
“Hey, babe!” Austin calls out from the top of the steps. “How was lunch with Deke?”
“It was great,” I answer, entering behind him and rubbing my stomach. “Gotta love sushi.”
Cole glares at me over his shoulder, and I wink back at him. I’ve got your back, buddy. I hope he wasn’t specific about where we were going to eat.
“Austin, will you come down here for a second?” he asks.
The smile drops off her face, and she straightens her shoulders. “Everything okay?”
He doesn’t answer. “Just come down here.”
I sit on the couch. My eyes going back and forth between Austin and Cole. I’m confused. I thought this was something he wanted to tell me. Honestly, I didn’t think she would even be here.
“What’s going on?” she asks, concern taking over her features.
“Sit next to Deke.”
She looks over at me, and I just shrug. When she sits down, we both look up at him. He sits down on the gaming chair and leans over, placing his elbows on his knees. “There are some things you need to know.”
“We see that,” I say, nodding.
“Did the police find something?” Austin asks. “Are they gonna take you guys to jail?” Panic evident in her voice.
He shakes his head. “Nothing like that.”
“Then what is it?” she demands.
He takes in a long breath. “It’s about the car wreck.”
She frowns, and I tilt my head to the side. “What about it?” Austin asks.
“I wasn’t driving.”
“We know that.” I nod and clarify. “Well, I did.”
“You did?” Austin asks, looking over at me. She looks as surprised as Cole is at my confession.
“We had our suspicions that he was lying. I was the first one to know about the accident. Shelby called me from the hospital and told me what happened. She said that Cole was brought into the hospital.” I shift in my seat. “She informed me that he was the only survivor. That everyone had been thrown out of the car.” I nod toward him. “She snuck me back there to see him in ICU. You were in the hospital bed and didn’t have a shirt on. The bruise was still fresh across your chest. I knew then it was the seat belt and you were covering for the driver.”
Austin fists her hands in her lap. “Why didn’t you say anything?” she snaps at me. “You guys let the entire town believe he killed three friends!”
“Austin—”
“No, Cole!” she interrupts him. “Why wouldn’t you stand up for him?” she demands.
I look at my best friend when I answer her. “Because I know Cole, and if he didn’t want anyone to know the truth, then I wasn’t going to out him.”
Cole sighs and sits back in his seat.
“I don’t understand why all of you would cover for Eli like that,” she growls.
“I didn’t cover for Eli,” Cole tells her.
Interesting. That’s also who I thought he was covering for.
“Yes, you did. You told me that day up in the loft that you took the fall for him.”
He shakes his head. “You assumed, and I never corrected you.”
A long silence fills the clubhouse. She opens and closes her mouth a few times.
I frown. “Then who was it?”
He takes in a deep breath and lets it out. I stiffen, knowing I’m not going to like whatever his answer is.
“It was Becky.”
Austin stares at him wide-eyed while I shift in my seat. “What …?” I shake my head. I must have heard him wrong. “Becky? My Becky was driving?”
“Yes.”
He doesn’t correct me that she wasn’t mine then or now. “I don’t understand. Why was she with you?” They didn’t hang out. As far as I know, they didn’t even talk. He knew how I felt about her. All the guys knew. Why would he keep this a secret from me? Why not just tell me? Unless he … My eyes narrow on him. “Were you sleeping with her?” I demand, and my heart begins to pound in my chest.
“No,” he answers immediately.
I stand and so does he. My hands are already fisted, ready for a fight. “Why was she with you?”
“I wasn’t sleeping with her, but she was sleeping with someone.”
“Who the fuck was it?” I shout.
“Eli.”
Austin remains on the couch, looking back and forth between us. I run a hand through my hair. Why hasn’t she told me this? It’s not that I don’t believe Cole. I do. One hundred percent. He has never lied to me. Well, maybe he has. He’s kept this secret from me for a year now.
I’m breathing heavy, and I fist my hands by my side. I want to punch his fucking face in. I don’t care if he wasn’t sleeping with her or not. “Why would you not tell me this?” I demand.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
COLE
DEKE HAS ALWAYS had my back no matter what. That’s why I hate what I’m about to tell him. It’s going to hurt him, and he’s going to kill me, but he deserves to know. Austin deserves to know. I’m going into our new life leaving every fucking secret here in this fucking town. And at the time, it was the only rational thought I had. I realize now it wasn’t the best one.
We stumble out of the house party, kids littering the yard. Some passed out. Some rolling around in the manicured grass because they are high on Mollys. Cars parked all along the circular and long driveway.
“Fuck, those shots are hitting me,” Maddox calls out as he almost trips over his own feet, but he manages to keep a hold of his beer. “What about you, Eli?”
“Not yet,” he answers, chuckling.
“Give it another five minutes.” Maddox hiccups, making me laugh.
We make our way down the driveway, heading to my car. We got here late because we had a swim meet in another to
wn. Pressing the key fob to unlock my white Porsche Cayenne, it lights up, and I see a figure leaning up against my hood.
“Who the fuck is that?” I ask.
Eli looks up from his phone. “Babe.” And then he runs over to my car. Babe stands up straight and jumps into his arms once he reaches her. He spins her around and kisses her.
I look at Landen and Maddox. They just shrug and take a drink of their beers. I didn’t know he was seeing anyone. Well, he sees several girls a week, but I didn’t know any of them were serious enough to meet us out tonight. We come up to the car, and I come to a quick stop. “Abso-fucking-lutely not!” I snap when I see the girl’s face.
I blink a few times. I had way more alcohol than I should have, but I want to make sure I’m really seeing what I think I’m seeing.
The girl giggles, and Eli drops her to her feet. “Come on, man …”
I grab his shirt and yank him over to another car parked on the opposite side of the street. “You can’t be serious?” I hiss.
“What?”
“You know damn well what!” I snap. “That is Becky Holt! There are two things wrong with that.” He rolls his bloodshot eyes. “One, she’s dating David. And two, your best friend Deke is in love with her!”
He pulls away from me. “They’ve been on a break.”
“Is that what she told you?” I snap. What the fuck? I’m so glad Deke didn’t make it out with us tonight. I wouldn’t even be having this conversation with Eli right now. He’d be passed out cold with Deke’s fist print in the side of his face. “You know she’s off-limits.”
He places his hands on my shoulders. I don’t know if it’s to help stabilize his drunk ass or mine. “Listen, Cole.” His heavy eyes close and then open again. “If Deke wanted her, all he had to do was make his move.” He goes to walk back over to her, but I yank him back.
“End it now!” I’m about to punch him myself.
“No!” He pulls away from me.
“End it right fucking now, Eli!”
We have a code.
We don’t fuck or date the girls who one of us likes. I mean, sure we’ve shared girls, but they didn’t mean anything. Off-limits means you don’t even fucking look at them.
DARE SERIES COLLECTION Page 51