by S. Massery
Uncle David leaned down. “But she did tell, didn’t she? And then her father took matters into his own hands.”
I shuddered.
“She should’ve listened to you, Caleb. If she had, your father would still be alive. Your family would still be together.”
He squeezed harder, until white spots exploded across my vision.
“Say it,” he repeated.
I knew better than to grab at his hands, but the urge was still there. The last time I did that, he backhanded me.
The easiest way to get out of this was to give him what he wanted.
“It’s Margo’s fault,” I whispered. “She ruined everything.”
He released me and sat back, smiling. He was a bit maniacal, wild hair and a crazy grin. “That’s it. One day, we’ll demand justice. Action is the only way things get done around here. Trust me, son. It’ll make you feel better.”
I swallowed. I didn’t believe him, but I would do anything to keep him calm.
“Yes, Uncle.”
Present
What if everything I believed was… twisted?
“Dude.”
I open my eyes. We’re home.
“You fall asleep?” Eli shakes his head. “You still have that concussion.”
I touch the back of my head. The wound my uncle gave me is all but closed. “I’m fine.”
He grunts. “You’re in denial, is what I think.”
I don’t bother with a response. He gets out, and I follow him up into the house. Mr. Black comes down the stairs as we’re kicking off our shoes.
“Margo is a curious girl,” he tells me.
“She talked to you?”
He watches me with eagle eyes. “Wanted to know what there was to be done about Matt Bonner.”
I grimace.
Eli nudges me, then blurts out, “The detective followed us to Theo’s house.”
His dad straightens. “Did you talk to him?”
“Theo’s mom told him to kick rocks,” Eli says. “He’s kind of creepy.”
Mr. Black just shakes his head. “I’ll look into it. See if we can file a harassment complaint. In the meantime, it’s late. Get some rest, boys. Caleb, you have to go back to school tomorrow.”
I raise my eyebrows. “They’re letting me back?”
Given the detective’s interest in me and everything happening with Margo’s family, I figured…
“Yes. I talked to the school, and since no formal charges were brought against you, they can’t expel you. Understand?” The expression he levels me with says I can’t make any more mistakes.
I nod. “Yes, sir.”
He exhales. “Goodnight, then.”
He and Eli head up the stairs, but I hesitate. I should go see Margo, make sure she’s okay. And yet…
Guilt overrides my decision. I can’t see her, knowing I failed. I failed her in so many ways, I can’t even count them.
I shove the emotion down and clear my throat. I’ll see her tomorrow before school—or after, if she’s still sleeping.
I get to the basement and stop. My bathroom light is on, throwing a warm, dim light across my room. I scan it, uneasy.
This wouldn’t be the first time my uncle ambushed me.
Instead, my gaze lands on my bed. My unmade… lumpy bed.
A knot forms in my chest. She was waiting for me in my bed while I was being an idiot.
I go closer, until her hair fanned across my pillow becomes clearer. She faces me, but her lips are slightly parted. Eyes closed. She’s beautiful and innocent in sleep, with no walls between us.
Well, none of her walls.
I sit on the edge of the bed and brush her hair off her face. She shifts, and I about die when her tongue pokes out, sweeping over her lower lip.
“You’re back,” she murmurs.
“You’re in my bed,” I answer. My chest tightens.
She sighs, reaching out blindly for me.
I catch her hand and kiss her knuckles.
Her eyes open, meeting mine. “I don’t know if you’re the best or the worst thing to happen to me.”
I suppress a frown. Where is this coming from?
“Definitely the worst,” I say.
She watches me for a moment with those huge dark eyes. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
I could deny it, but I don’t want to lie to her. So I keep my mouth shut.
All the excuses come to the tip of my tongue.
She was kidnapped because of me.
She’s been hurt, over and over, because of me.
And the worst part is, I haven’t been able to prevent any of it.
Ian, our parents, her abduction.
“Stop thinking,” she orders, pushing herself upright. “Caleb. I’m right here. I’m okay.”
“But you…”
She touches my face.
“I couldn’t save you,” I mutter, and a piece of weight lifts off my chest. See where honesty gets you? “God, I didn’t even know you had been taken—”
She pulls me toward her, her hands gentle on the back of my neck. I go with the pressure until our lips are inches apart.
And then I stop.
“Margo—”
She kisses me.
It shocks me, in a way. She’s not usually the pursuer in our fucked-up relationship. I’ve hunted her down, bullied her, broke her. But in the end, she turned out stronger than I could’ve imagined.
Her lips move against my frozen ones. It isn’t until her teeth tug on my lower lip that my body thaws.
I slide my hands up her sides, over her shoulder blades and into her hair. She gives me the control, letting me tilt her head back, my tongue slips into her mouth. Her tongue slides along mine, forcing me out. She explores my mouth.
She tastes sweet.
I lay her down gently, cupping the back of her head even after it rests on the pillow. My body follows, hovering just over her.
We’re a mess, her and I.
Her leg hooks over my hip, drawing me closer.
I groan into her mouth, shifting so she can feel exactly what she does to me.
She tears her mouth away from mine, panting. “Caleb.”
I move to her neck, licking and kissing a spot just below her ear that drives her crazy. She wriggles beneath me, her head lolling to the side to give me better access. Her hands go to the button of my pants, shoving them down.
She gets my boxers off next.
I bite her neck, and her whole body lurches. I grin.
“Caleb, I need to feel you,” she whispers.
I roll my hips, the head of my cock brushing her panties. It just makes me harder, because she’s soaked.
Her fingers find my erection, and she moves her panties to the side.
I thrust into her, and we both let out a low groan.
Being inside her without a condom is dangerous. This is one time I can’t lose my mind. And I really want to just not fucking think for a little while.
She leans to the side, toward my nightstand. The mind reader.
“As good as this feels, I don’t want to be a teen mom,” she says.
I snort. “Ditto.”
She finds a condom, and I pull out of her, rolling it on. I tear her panties off, while my mind is at least a fraction clearer.
“If this hurts your head, tell me,” I warn her.
“You have a head wound, too,” she says. “So, ditto back.”
I chuckle. “It won’t.”
I’ve had a constant, minor headache for the last week. And this? Worth it.
I grab her thighs, hauling her to me, and line myself up. My heart is beating out of my chest. In the dim light, she appears ethereal. Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin. So much pale skin.
I slide her shirt up to her chin. No bra.
Her breasts are perfect, and her nipples harden. I pinch one between my thumb and index finger at the same time that I push into her.
She groans, her back arching off the bed. Her pussy cle
nches around me.
I almost explode right then and there.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” I growl. I pull back and slam into her, and she rises to meet me.
I set a fast pace, ignoring the demons that’ve been crowding my head for as long as I can remember. She’s beautiful splayed out beneath me, taking my length and begging for more.
“Touch yourself,” I say. My hand is still on her breast, and I tweak her nipple when she blinks up at me.
Slowly, her hand slides down her body. Her finger pauses on her clit, and she shudders, then rubs in small circles. Her eyes roll back.
I roll my hips, hitting a new spot inside her. Her ass bounces on my thighs from the force of my thrusts, but her finger doesn’t stop moving.
Her orgasm claws out of her.
I lean down and cover her lips with mine, swallowing her loud moan. She rakes her nails down my back.
I pound into her, hissing out a breath as I come. I still inside her and breathe sharply through my nose.
Our lips are still fused together.
She doesn’t let me get away. If anything, we’ve broken through a barrier and she wants me closer. Her legs and arms wrap around me, and she tucks her head into my neck.
“You’re not the worst thing to happen to me,” she says.
Her breath hits my skin and gives me goosebumps. “Far from it.”
I slide out of her and roll us onto our sides. She watches me deal with the condom, then I pull her close again. There’s a lump in my throat, and my head is pounding.
Concussion be damned.
“Caleb…”
I hadn’t realized my eyes closed. I meet her gaze, but my attention strays to her stitches. “How do you feel?”
She sucks her lower lip between her teeth and contemplates my question.
“Lost,” she says.
“Then I’ll find you,” I tell her.
“Why did everyone hate me? Shouldn’t they have been mad at the people actually having an affair?”
“Apparently, everyone knew except your dad.” It’s time for a bit more truth around here.
She flinches. “What?”
“I don’t know how, but Uncle David wasn’t surprised. And at the funeral…” I grimace. “Mom didn’t cry. I think it was the betrayal…”
“Her husband was cheating on her,” Margo says. “So she was mad at his betrayal.”
I lift one shoulder. “I was ten. I don’t know.”
She huffs, then flops onto her back. “Dad said he didn’t do it.”
“You can’t be serious.” The words are out of my mouth too fast. I should’ve held them back. But old, deep rage reignites in my chest. “He murdered my dad in cold blood. Of course he’s going to lie to you and say he didn’t.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” she murmurs. She sits up and scoots to the end of the bed—choosing to go around me than climb over me to get up.
I watch her pick up her underwear, straighten her shirt, and yank on leggings draped over my couch.
“You’re leaving?”
“Going back to my room,” she says stiffly. “In case the Blacks check on me.”
“I—”
I almost just apologized. And for what? Not believing the words of a murderer? Not gonna happen.
She spares a glance back at me, then lets out a long breath. “I know.”
I narrow my eyes. “You know what?”
“That your dad’s death still hurts. That you blame the entire Wolfe family for it—including me.” Her beautiful lips tip down.
She’s almost entirely in shadow, but I know her eyes are burning into mine.
Maybe she’s right. I do blame all of them.
It’s what my uncle drilled into me from the moment I stepped into his house.
After Margo leaves, slipping up the stairs quieter than a mouse, I touch my own throat. Flat on my back, it’s easy to remember how his hand on me felt. He liked shows of power. Cutting me down, making me feel small.
And what do you know?
I did the same to Margo—just like Uncle taught.
My phone buzzing jars me awake.
It took me forever to get to sleep, my mind twisting around Uncle’s lessons that I had shoved away, on top of Margo’s confession.
I fumble for the phone and finally find it.
“What?”
“Come outside.” It’s Theo.
I glance at the screen. It’s late—like, two in the morning, the rest of the world is sleeping late—and that piques my interest.
That and the urgency in his voice.
“Be there in a minute.”
“Backyard,” he says, then hangs up.
I wait a beat. I cross to the bathroom, the light still on from Margo, and splash water on my face. Get dressed, grab my shoes. Creep up the stairs, through the kitchen and out the back door, then put my shoes on.
Eli and Liam are waiting for me just beyond the brick patio.
“Took him long enough.” Liam grins. “Guess Theo didn’t spoil the surprise.”
I shake my head. “He didn’t.”
“Right this way.” Liam turns and disappears into the darkness.
I glance at Eli. “A surprise? For me?”
He shrugs. “I dunno.”
We follow Liam up the hill, to the shed at the back of the Blacks’ property. They used to keep a lawn mower in here, but now it just houses a few jet skis. Summer with the Blacks is never a dull moment.
We arrive just as Liam cracks the door, sliding it open wide enough for us to slip inside.
“We’re lucky the snow melted,” Eli whispers before we go in. “Or else my parents would question why we were up here.”
I grunt my agreement and enter ahead of him.
He closes the door behind us, and then the overhead light flickers on.
Theo stands in the center of the room, grinning like a fool.
“Best. Christmas. Present. Ever,” he says. “Just saying.”
I look around. “Yeah?”
“Fuck yeah,” he answers. He steps to the side, revealing…
Ah, hell.
Matt is bound by his wrists and ankles, curled into a ball. Duct tape covers his mouth, and he jerks when he sees me.
“Come now, Matty, you didn’t think we weren’t bringing you to Caleb?” Liam says, approaching and crouching down. He grabs Matt’s jaw, tilting his head back. “What do you think, Caleb? Free hall pass.”
“How the hell—”
“Matt’s sister sure is a pretty one,” Liam says. He leans in close to Bonner’s face. “Sure would be a shame if something were to happen to her…”
Matt lunges, knocking Liam back with his bound arms.
Theo quickly hauls Matt away, holding him upright, and Liam laughs from the floor.
He climbs to his feet and shakes his head. “See? He knows not to talk.”
Eli shifts. “But don’t kill him. Not sure how I’ll explain that to my parents.”
I take a deep breath. “Remove the duct tape from his mouth.”
Theo rips it off in one smooth motion, and Matt jerks away. Theo gives him a little push into the center of the room.
“Are you going to answer our questions?” I ask.
He glares up at me. “Fuck you.”
I tilt my head. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are—”
“Were,” Eli corrects from my left.
Liam stands behind Matt. Theo to my right.
And then there’s Matt Bonner, on his knees in the center.
“Who was your alibi, Bonner?” I ask. When he doesn’t answer, I crack my knuckles. The demons are coming out to play, and there’s no one here to reel them back in.
I think even Margo would be okay with this.
“Why did you take her?”
His gaze would cut through me if he wasn’t such a fucking coward.
Sudden clarity hits me. I hate him more than I’ve hated anyon
e in my life. Dad, Uncle David, the way I used to feel about Margo… it’s all dust compared to the fury welling inside me.
He hurt her.
Took her.
Tied her up and left her to die—
“Just fucking hit me already, Asher,” Matt growls. “Because I’m not saying a goddamn thing one way or another.”
“We’ll see about that,” Theo mutters.
“Who owns your loyalty?” I squat in front of him. “Honestly, Bonner. What the hell would make you clam up?”
He shakes his head. “Someone scarier than you lot.”
I snap my fist out, connecting with his nose. Pain radiates down my arm. It’s a sharp feeling, like squeezing a piece of glass. It wakes me up.
All of my senses come to life, exploding through me.
Blood gushes from his nose, and he brings his hands up to his face.
But he doesn’t say anything. Hardly protests.
“Cut him loose,” I order.
Liam frowns.
“Cut. Him. Loose.”
Eli pulls out his knife and cuts through the tape on his ankles, then his wrists. It’s painfully similar to how we found Margo.
Matt shakes out his arms and stands quickly, spinning in a circle.
“Eyes on me, Bonner,” I growl. “You hit me, you get to walk out of here. Right now.”
His eyebrow goes up. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch.”
Liam steps forward. “What are you—?”
“Hit me, Bonner,” I goad. “You took Margo, and I think you did it to get back at me for something. Jealousy?”
“Jealous of you?” He lunges for me, swinging wildly.
I easily dodge it.
He stumbles to a stop and spins around. “Your whole family is fucking crazy.”
I shrug. He’s right, there’s no point denying it. Although, I’m not sure when he would’ve formed that opinion.
He charges again, his fist barely missing my cheek as I twist away. I stick out my foot, and he catches on it, sprawling out.
My blood is pumping. Theo was right—best fucking Christmas present ever. Revenge is a dirty thing, like a stink that you can’t wash off. But this isn’t revenge.
This is justice.
Eli pulls Matt up, slapping his cheek. “You still with us, Bonney?”
He shoves Eli away and spins back toward me. The blood from his nose has stained his front teeth red. I’m itching to hit him again—just like I’m itching for him to hit me.