I rub my chin. “It’s gotta be a ploy.”
“How do you figure?” Kayn asks.
“He takes Bunny, then when we find her, he takes off to New York?” I shake my head. “He hates that city. He’s setting us up for something.”
“How do we find that out?”
My eyes go back to hers when I hear her laugh. She has her head thrown back, and she looks … happy. For the first time in the three weeks she has been with me, she actually looks like her old self. I know it’s help from the alcohol, but I find myself drawn to the way she looks now. She reminds me of that girl I fell in love with all those years ago. And I smile, looking back at the men. “We let him think he’s got us.”
“Like you did when you allowed Preston to take you?”
“Something like that?” I mumble.
“What the hell happened to him anyway?” Kayn asks. “You gave him a month. Have you heard anything from him?”
“Nope. Not one word.”
My brother sighs. “Maybe he’s on the run.”
“Possibly.” I take a sip of my drink. “Or maybe he bled out and died.”
Tristan grunts. “We wouldn’t get that lucky.”
_______________
By the time we land in New York, Bunny is hammered. Just like all those nights I followed her from club to club before I took her. I know this because she didn’t even flinch when the plane touched down on the ground. And she won’t stop laughing. I don’t know what she and Chloe have been talking about, but it’s worked. I must admit I’m not fond of Chloe, but she seems to have become a friend of hers. And she could use a few of those.
“Here,” I say, grabbing Bunny’s hand and helping her down the stairs to exit my aircraft.
She grips it tightly and looks over at me. “Where … are we going …?” She hiccups.
“Well—”
“Pres?” A woman’s shriek interrupts what I was about to say.
Bunny removes her hand from mine and stumbles down the steps before running onto the tarmac. “Alex!” she shouts.
A blonde dashes toward her in a short red skirt and a white shirt that looks like it’s about to fall off her shoulders. Once they reach one another, they hug, and the Alex chick picks Bunny off her feet and spins her around. “Fuck, I’ve missed you,” the blonde tells her.
For a moment, I feel guilty for taking her from her friends. But honestly, she didn’t seem to have any when I followed her around during my short stay in New York. Or maybe my rage for her back then blinded me from everything but her.
“Me too,” she slurs.
“Are you drunk?” she asks, pulling away. Then her smile falls. “What the hell happened to you?” she demands, placing her hands on Bunny’s shoulders.
“Long story.”
“Well, good thing we have plenty of time for you to fill me in.” She reaches up and runs the pads of her fingers over Bunny’s neck. It’s healing, but the wounds are still visible.
“Actually, we don’t,” I inform this woman.
Her blue eyes narrow on mine. “Who the hell is this?” she demands.
Bunny places her arm over her shoulders and spins her around so both of their backs face me. “Avery—”
“The fucking Avery?” she interrupts her. “The fucking Avery we hate?”
I fist my hands, and I hear Chloe laugh from beside me. I already know she hates me. Now she has a new member to add to her club.
PRESLEIGH
My lips are numb, and my limbs heavy, but I feel pretty damn good inside. And proud of myself. It took quite a bit of alcohol, but I managed to fly without needing to be put under or having a meltdown. Considering how much I’ve been losing when up against Avery these past few weeks, I’ll take that small win.
I climb into the back of a limo that awaits us, and I drag Alex in with me.
“Don’t you have a ride to catch?” Avery asks her when she follows.
“Took an Uber to get here.” Her answer is clipped, and I giggle. “I’m not leaving my girl.”
God, I’ve missed her so much. She’s the only real friend I’ve ever had. I met her at a bar a couple of years after I lost Avery. After I lost everything. She’s the only person I’ve ever opened up to. It took three bottles of wine and a truth or dare game for us to reveal our deepest, darkest secrets. Hers are just as black as mine, but in a different way.
She made me feel like I wasn’t alone in this world. And we’ve been inseparable ever since.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” she exclaims, holding my hand out from beside me.
“She’s not back.” Avery growls.
Tristan and Chloe fall into the back with us, and I hear the front door open and close as Kayn climbs in.
“What do you mean you’re not back?” she demands, looking at me.
I have no fucking clue what’s going on, to be honest. Avery has proven time and time again that I’m just along for the ride.
“If you’re not here to stay, then why come home at all?”
“I have business to attend to,” he replies flatly even though she wasn’t talking to him.
“You mean you have someone to kill,” Chloe snaps.
“What the hell?” Alex demands. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Pres?” She grips my wrists tightly in her hand, and through the fog of alcohol, the pain makes me hiss in a breath. They’re still tender from the cuffs I wore for two days straight. Her eyes fall to look and then she lets go of me. “What the fuck …?” Midsentence, she stops and lunges across the limo for Avery. But she’s not fast enough because Tristan reaches out and grabs her by the hair, yanking her back. She cries out, and Chloe begins to hit Tristan on the back. Avery doesn’t even move.
“Enough!” Avery barks out.
Everyone seems to freeze where they are, and I arch a brow at him as if to ask what he’s gonna do. Hurt her? Kill her?
He seems to understand my stare and runs a hand through his hair. “Let her go, Tristan.”
Alex shoves him off her, finding her place back beside me. “Who the hell are you people?” she shouts.
“Alex …”
“No, Pres!” she screams, interrupting me. “You just disappear out of nowhere for three weeks, and you return with your high school sweetheart who ruined you.” She looks at him with disgust. He sits there, his hands in his lap unaffected. “And you’ve obviously been abused.” Her eyes are back on mine. “Do you have Stockholm syndrome?”
He actually laughs at that.
“You have kept her against her will,” Chloe chimes in.
“Chloe!” Tristan snaps.
Alex gasps at her words. They all begin to argue. Alex is screaming, and Chloe is arguing with Tristan. I hang my head and rub my temples. Closing my eyes, I try to take a deep breath. I had too much to drink. Maybe two too many. “Just stop,” I tell them. But it’s not loud enough. Their shouts mix with my ringing ears. My teeth clench and my body leans to the left as the limo takes a sharp turn. “Just stop.”
“No,” I hear Alex snap. “I’m not letting you do this to yourself …”
“Shut up!” I shout, lifting my head. The limo falls silent. Taking in one deep breath after another, I open my eyes. “Just. Shut. Up,” I growl. “I just want to go one day without arguing. Without having to fight with myself or anyone else.”
Everyone just stares at me. I focus on Avery sitting across from me. His right ankle on his left knee and arms crossed over his chest. “Do you have a plan?” He nods once. “Does it involve me in anyway?”
He shakes his head and finally speaks. “Tristan, Kayn, and I will handle it.”
“What about me …?”
“Tristan’s men will be with you and Chloe.” He ignores the fact that Alex is with us. But for all I know, they could not be planning on going after Vaughn until days from now.
“Where?” Chloe asks.
“A safe place,” he answers simply, not removing his blue eyes from mine.
�
��What if I tell you I wanna help?” I argue. “Vaughn …”
“I’ll tell you absolutely not.” His reply is instant.
I huff. “I could be useful.”
“You’d only be a hinder,” he counters. “Vaughn wouldn’t think twice. And I refuse to have a repeat of what happened. I want you protected at all times and out of his sight.”
“Who the hell is Vaughn?” Alex asks, her voice softer than before.
When telling her my past, I never mentioned Vaughn because I never knew he was behind the scenes. I mean, I knew he was bad news, but I never thought he would go as far as to record what their father did to me. And then how he treated me when they kidnapped me.
“Our older brother,” Tristan answers.
She frowns. “Why are you all looking for him?”
Avery’s eyes finally meet hers, and he matches her look of disgust. “Because he is the one who hurt Bunny.”
_______________
We come to a stop and get out one by one. I’m the last one to exit. I step onto the rock driveway and look up at the … what I can only think of is a hotel. Most of the front is made of big windows. But they’re tinted, making them look black in the night. The building is a dark red brick and looks to be five stories. Not sure, my count is a little off since my sight is a little blurry. “What is this place?” I ask.
“Mine,” Tristan answers.
“Is it a hotel?”
“No.”
I stumble on the driveway, and Avery grabs my hand, pulling me forward up the white rock stairs. They’re uneven, and even in my Chucks, I manage to stumble a little. The alcohol still lingers more than I would like. Now that the flight is over, I want my drunkenness to clear as well.
The large glass door swings open, and a man stands before us in a black and white tuxedo. He bows to Tristan. “Master.”
I snort, and the sound bounces off the tan walls and shiny black floors. Everyone ignores me.
“Are all the rooms set up?” Tristan asks the poor man.
“Yes, Master,” he assures him.
Tristan nods. “Thank you, Ralph.”
I tug on Avery’s button-down. “Why can’t we stay at my house?”
“It’s not safe,” he replies.
“I don’t think she’s safe anywhere around you.” Alex gives him another jab, but like the man he is, he ignores her well.
Tristan looks at her but speaks to Ralph. “Show Alex to her room.”
Her brows rise. “My room?”
“Unless you plan on going?”
She looks at me. Her eyes run over my faded bruises and then back at Tristan. “I’ll stay.” She says it like I’m in danger here. When, in fact, this is the safest place for me to be at the moment.
I close my eyes and place my hand over my mouth to cover a yawn. The day is catching up with me.
“Come on, Bunny.” Avery pulls me forward, and my shoes slap on the floor. Too heavy to pick up and my eyes too tired to stay open.
He takes me down a hallway and then pushes open a door. I step inside the bedroom and look around when he switches the light on. It’s big and extravagant. But that’s what I expect when it comes to Tristan. He and Avery were always alike.
I fall onto the king-size bed. The fluffy dark brown comforter swallows me up. The bed dips, and I open my heavy eyes to see Avery now sitting beside me. His hand caresses my cheek. “How do you feel?”
“Good.” I give him a drunken smile and close my eyes again.
Then I feel his lips on my forehead. “Get some rest.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
AVERY
I SHUT OFF THE LIGHT AND close the door, allowing her some sleep.
“Can I get you anything Mr. Decker?” Ralph, my brother’s butler, asks me.
“No, thank you.”
He turns to walk away but stops and faces me. “Your brother wants to speak to you. He is in his study.” Then he disappears.
I remove my suit jacket and walk up the stairs to his second floor. I don’t know why he wanted his office up here. I tried to tell him it would be better on the first, but he never listens to anything I say.
Coming up to the landing, I take a right and enter the second door on the left. He sits behind his desk. “You wanted to see me.”
“Yes, I …”
“You’ve been ignoring my calls, Avery.” A voice announces from the speakerphone on his desk.
My eyes narrow on my brother’s. He tricked me. “I’ve been busy.”
“With Presleigh?”
I say nothing.
Tristan leans forward, placing his elbows on his desk. “Sir, we just arrived in New York.”
“To get Preston?” our boss asks.
“Other business,” I answer, sitting down across from his desk.
He sighs heavily. “Avery, I don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s not your fucking job.”
I stand from my seat and walk over to the desk and place my fisted knuckles on the cool surface. “What I’m doing does not concern you.”
“That’s the problem!” he snaps. “Tristan, is Presleigh fogging his mind? You had a chance at Damon, and you passed on it. Does she need …?”
“Don’t fucking say it!” I roar, interrupting him. “I’ll do whatever needs to be fucking done when I’m ready to do it.” I pick up the phone and slam it down, terminating the conversation. Then I begin to pace the room.
Tristan’s chair squeaks when he leans back in it. “He has a point. We’ve gotten off target.”
“We’re just fine.”
“Just as you gave Preston a deadline, we’ve been on one too. And we’re months over it.”
“I’m aware …”
“It’s not about the money. But you know it needs to be done.”
“I know!”
“Then what do you propose we do?”
I come to a stop and stare at my younger brother. He sits in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest. He has a black button-down on with black slacks. His dark hair is slicked back, and his blue eyes on mine. He’s nothing like me. He hides his emotions well. Growing up, Victor always knew I was angry and resented him. Even though Tristan felt the same way, he never showed it. He always did his own thing, and it drove Victor mad. He hated that he couldn’t control him. He didn’t have anything to hold over his head because Tristan just didn’t give a fuck. Victor tried to break him so many times—he has the physical scars to prove it—but he never did. I looked up to my younger brother. Where I tried to play my part before it came time to leave, my brother would spit in our father’s face while he whipped him.
“Avery?” he snaps.
I blink. “What?”
He frowns up at me. “Go get some sleep. We can discuss it tomorrow.”
“No. I’m fine.” I shake my head and sit back down. “What were we talking about?”
“A plan? You were about to tell me what we are gonna do?”
I sigh and undo the top two buttons of my shirt. “I’m not sure.”
“Look …” He pauses, and I know I’m not gonna like what he is about to say. “Maybe he was right. If you need to step back …”
“I’m fine.”
“Avery, I understand you are worried about Presleigh. Hell, I’m worried about Chloe, and she isn’t even involved. But I can handle this if you need to take time off …”
“Absolutely not!”
He sets his mouth in a hard line. A knock comes on the door, and he calls out, “Come in.”
Kayn enters, shutting the door behind him. He just stands there. “What do you need?” I growl.
“I called him in here,” Tristan announces.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because you need …”
“If you tell me I need to step back, I will knock your fucking head off,” I warn.
He throws his hands up. “I don’t know what to fucking do,” my brother snaps. “I’m trying to fucking help you.”
“I don’t want …�
��
“My help.” He finishes my sentence. “I get you don’t want my help, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need it. Fuck, Avery.” He jumps to his feet. “You’re pushing Presleigh to seek help, but what about you?” I snort at his question. “You find out the love of your life was raped by our father. And that he fucking killed your child. And I don’t care what you say; I know that has to affect you.”
“Of course, it has,” I snap. “But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna walk away.” I stand and point a finger at him. “You told me in my office that you would stand by me.”
“That’s what I’m doing.” He hangs his head, and the room falls silent. When his eyes meet mine, I feel a pain in my chest at the way he looks at me. I know what he is about to say, but I pray he doesn’t. “You were there for me when no one else was, Avery. You saved me from the man who was supposed to protect us. I finally have the chance to help you, but you won’t let me.”
“It’s too dangerous for you. There is a reason we keep you behind the scenes.”
“But that’s not where I belong,” he argues. “Not anymore.” Shaking his head, he squares his shoulders. “It’s time we let them know they fucked with the wrong people.”
Even though I’ve never come out and said it, I’m proud of my little brother. In a world full of evil, he managed to be one of the good guys. A man who wants to rescue the helpless no matter the consequences. I nod. “What do you want to do?”
He gives me a smile. “I wanna make a call.”
_______________
I sit behind my brother’s desk, my hands folded in a prayer position on the wood. My brother stands at the front of the room, hidden underneath the TV that hangs above him. Kayn sits to the right of me on a couch. The TV before me comes on, and I sit back in my seat when the man comes into view.
“Hello, Avery,” Damon greets me. “I heard you got your toy back.” My teeth grind. “Hate to say, but I’m a little jealous.”
“You told me to call you.” Even though he text me that a while ago. “What about?” I ask him.
“You know what I want. Your slave.”
I say nothing.
He smiles at my silence. “I’ve decided to offer you …”
“She’s not for sale.”
SLAUGHTER Page 33