My hands are shaking with rage, as I pull up more of the footage from that night, searching desperately for any other recordings that may shed light on the culprit responsible. Finally, I locate the two men who I’d seen on the other camera in a nondescript, yet familiar hallway. My heart is pounding as I watch the two of them argue, and the one who had his hands wrapped around my sister’s neck slams his palm against the wall in anger, before tearing off his mask and throwing it at the other man’s feet and storming away from him. I clench my teeth, fighting to regain control so I don’t burst out of this room and put him in his own grave as I hit pause, and stare at the face of a man I know all too fucking well—Devin.
Chapter Fifteen
Devin
The Society is in fucking disarray. The whole network is down, and I can’t find Ethan anywhere. I’m doing my best to rebuild the firewalls and eradicate the bots and viruses that tore through it.
“Fuck. Where’s Ethan?” I growl, frantically typing in an effort to slow it all down and get some kind of protection back in place.
I don’t know exactly what’s been hit, but as far as I can tell there’s been a localized cyber-attack that has ripped through everything Ethan has spent weeks rebuilding. Thankfully, it seems that we’ve been the worst hit by it, not that it makes me feel any better. My phone has been vibrating on the desk for the last ten minutes, with my father's name flashing across the screen, but I’ve been ignoring it while putting out the technological fire that’s been raging for the past hour as the viruses wreak havoc on everything.
I shake my head in frustration as I finally manage to create a weak firewall so I can work on stemming the flow until Ethan gets back from wherever he’s disappeared to. I’m trying hard not to let my suspicions get the better of me, but something tells me he’s not coming back, and that the reason why is in front of my very eyes. I pick up my phone and swipe across the screen before holding it to my ear.
“What?” I snap at my father, as I sit down in the chair and drop my head over the back of it, looking up at the ceiling.
“Son, check our accounts. Am I seeing this correctly?” my father snaps right back, not bothering with the formalities.
As I straighten in my chair I hit the loudspeaker and put the phone beside me on the desk. I bring up the accounts, and check through every single one of them, getting angrier by the minute as I see zero after zero on each of the balances.
“Yes,” I grit out, rapidly tapping keys and loading up programs to try and track down where it’s gone, and wishing I were better at this than I am.
“Devin,” he says, “Fix it.”
His blunt words stop my hands for a split second as my father hangs up the phone after giving me the order. If I find out that this was Ethan, which I’m almost certain it was, and if I can’t get him to repair the damage he’s done, I’ll have no choice but to show him the hand my father has dealt.
I spend the next few hours repairing the damage and patching up the firewalls as best I can, and then begin my search to track down Ethan. He may have vanished from the premises, and fled from our property and my life, but I’ll find him, and I’ll make him put back every cent he has stolen from us. If he refuses, then I’ll fuck him within an inch of his life before I put a bullet in his skull, because if I don’t then I’ll be joining him in death.
It takes me nearly a week to finally get what I think may be a location on Ethan, but that’s not the only problem I’ve got. His last name isn’t Beckett like it says on his file. Ethan Drake... the name rings a bell and I’m not entirely sure what it is about it until I start digging. It took hours of scouring through documents and files, but finally I found something. It’s a complete record of his background and family. That’s when I see it, the reason why he always felt familiar even though we were nothing more than strangers.
Picking up my phone, I shoot off a quick message and wait.
Sebastian saunters into the room looking as tired and disheveled as I feel, and I show him the pictures on the screen.
“Fuck, that’s our tech guy, Ethan? What’s he doing with Katy?” he asks, sounding confused and a little pissed off.
“Well, it seems that Ethan is Katy’s older brother,” I tell him shortly, and he curses.
He looks at me for a moment, and his eyes narrow with accusation, “I knew she didn’t do it. I fucking knew it. Quinn wouldn’t have, no matter how much she hated her. You’re a bastard, just like Dad is, Devin. This fucking mess, right here,” he says, gesturing at the screens, “It’s your fault because he fucking knows what you did. And you know what, Dev? Right now, I fucking hate you too.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ethan
A pounding on my front door rouses me from sleep. I roll over in bed to look at the clock, and groan. Five a.m. Who the hell is here at this time? I ignore the nagging suspicion as to who it could be as I sit up and scrub a hand down my face. Fuck. Grabbing a t-shirt and a pair of sweats, I quickly pull them on and head for the door. There was a brief lull in the knocking, but it starts up again just as I go to open it. I look through the peephole and let out a heavy sigh when I spy Devin through the tiny portal of glass. He looks furious and ready to kill.
I open the door. “What do you want, Devin?”
“Fix it now! Put back every penny you stole from us and fix the mess you made. If you don’t then you’ll force my hand. Because if I don’t do it, The Reapers will come for you!” he demands, pushing past me and storming into my house.
“How did you find me? And who the fuck are The Reapers?” I ask quietly, shutting the door behind him.
“If The Reapers get involved you won’t live long enough to know who they are. They’ll find everything you’ve tried to hide, including your true identity and that of your family, and you won’t be the only one to suffer. As for how I found you, well, let’s just say you’re not the only one who knows how to work a computer, Ethan,” he snorts. “After your little stunt, I did some digging of my own. I know exactly who you are, and what you tried to hide.”
“Well then you’ll no doubt be aware of what you stole from my family!” I shout, letting my anger at him get the better of me.
I’m pleased to see him flinch. He hesitates, unwilling to answer.
“Yeah, exactly. I know what you did, Devin. When the cops refused to investigate, and my mom told me who Katy had been seeing, I knew that your little Society was responsible,” I spit, laughing bitterly. “I wasn’t prepared for getting a front row seat to the footage of you with your hand around her neck. I saw you push her up against the wall and hold her there when she tried to fight you off.”
“She wasn’t supposed to die!” he bursts out. “My father ordered me to kill her, and I refused. She was eighteen and my brother’s girlfriend, for fuck’s sake. I told him I’d scare her away, so she’d never come back. It was an accident; I never meant to kill her!”
“You bastard. You let them cover it up, you’d murdered a girl and didn’t suffer a single day over it,” I sneer, disgusted. “Get the fuck out before I kill you myself.”
“I’m not going anywhere. You’re fucking wrong, Ethan. You think I didn’t feel guilty? That I didn’t suffer knowing that I had an innocent girl’s death on my hands, and all she did was love my brother. Did I think she deserved him? Fuck no, I didn’t. However, I didn’t wish her dead for wanting him. I’ve seen plenty of girls throw themselves at his feet, as they’ve done mine, all wanting the same thing from us. I didn’t trust her. I didn’t trust any of them.”
“So my sister wasn’t good enough for your family. Then why was I? What makes me any different to her?” I snap, balling my fists at my side.
“No one will ever really be good enough for my brother, not in my eyes. Was anyone ever good enough for your sister? Because I’m willing to bet that the answer is no.”
“Get out,” I growl, pointing at the door.
He shakes his head and takes a step closer to me. “I’m not going anywhere.
I didn’t just come here to get you to put back what you stole from us. I came here for you, Ethan.”
“Are you here to kill me, like you did Katy?” I scoff, my lip curling in disgust.
Devin doesn’t answer, only takes another step closer. He better watch his step because I’m not going to put up with his bullshit. Him and his pretentious Society think they’re better than the rest of us because they have money and power. They never have to think about the consequences for their actions, because if they throw enough money at their problems, they’ll be swept under the rug. I glare at him, searching his face and eyes for the arrogance that has always shone through so clearly. I’m not prepared for the guilt and remorse I see in them. It doesn’t matter though, remorse doesn’t bring my little sister back from the dead, and guilt doesn’t make the anger fade away. He takes another step, and I shoot him a warning look, which he ignores.
“No, I’m not. I should kill you. That’s what’s expected of me, but I figured I’d see if I could fix this mess instead. I’d rather not kill you, there are other things I’d prefer to do to you instead,” he finishes with a smirk, and I hate the way my stomach flips at the smoldering look that enters his eyes.
Devin switches from murderous to ready to fuck in a matter of moments, and leaves me reeling at the sudden change as the tension between us crackles. At this moment I’ve never hated him more. I don’t know whether it’s simply hate because of what he stole from my family, or whether it’s the fact I can’t seem to hate him enough despite all of that. What I do know is that I want to make him feel the rage that’s building inside of me.
Chapter Seventeen
Devin
I don’t know what made me say it, but when Ethan’s eyes darken with anger, I notice the undercurrent of desire lurking just beneath. A part of me wants to provoke him further, just to see how far I can push him before he snaps. I want to see him lose control like he did that night a couple of weeks ago when he fucked my mouth like it belonged to him. This isn’t the time to get lost in fantasies of Ethan, but hatred and desire are walking hand in hand. One half of me wants to kill him for what he’s done--and I should! But the other half wants to fuck him into an oblivion of pleasure.
“You want to hurt me,” I assess slowly, inching towards him. “But you’re scared you’ll enjoy it, just like you enjoyed it when I had my mouth wrapped around your cock.”
Ethan loses it. He lunges forward, wrapping a hand around my throat and slamming me into one of the walls. His furious blue eyes meet mine, and I smirk at him. I shouldn’t be riling him up, but it excites me. I relish seeing him so off balance and wild, letting his feelings off their leash. It makes me fucking hard, and I want more of it.
His hand tightens, pushing my head back so I’m unable to move it. I swallow against his hand, struggling to draw in a full breath. If he were to kill me right now, I’d fucking deserve it. I told him the truth, I never meant to kill his sister, but I’ll never be able to wipe her blood off my hands, or redeem my soul for taking an innocent life.
Ethan moves closer and squeezes threateningly while whispering in my ear, “I fucking hate you.”
“Show me,” I challenge him in a strained voice.
He makes a sound that’s somewhere between frustration and a moan, and as he loosens his hand I feel him press his lips against my skin. He’s restricting my airway enough that I can barely breathe, but not enough to do anything permanent. I don’t want to fight him off, I want whatever he will give me. His mouth is hot on my neck, and a ripple of desire shoots down to my cock, which is already straining against my slacks. I’m sure he can feel it, just as much as I can feel his digging into my abdomen. I’d never ask him to forgive me for what I did to his family, but I’d take his hatred, his fury, and his desire over the vacant nothingness I’ve experienced up until this point in my life.
Everyone has always come easily to me, and I’ve hated every part of that. Sure, I’ve indulged in the attention that’s been lathered on me, but it’s never made my blood rush or filled me with the excitement that I’ve found with Ethan. For the first time in my life, I’ve been the one doing the chasing, and the hunt has been more exhilarating than I ever imagined it could be. It’s even better than the high of watching the life drain from someone’s eyes.
I let out a surprised grunt of pain that blends with a moan as Ethan sinks his teeth into the soft flesh at the base of my neck, then runs his tongue over the sore spot. “Fuuuck.”
“I’m gonna fucking hurt you,” he promises, lifting his face to look into my eyes.
“Good,” I bite out just as he closes the gap between us with a ferocious kiss, swallowing the word and my groan.
Our lips fight and our tongues tangle, each seeking to dominate and take control of the kiss. I may be surrendering to him, but I’ll never relinquish all the control. I want to make him as crazy with need as he makes me. Reaching between us, I cup his dick through his sweats, rubbing the covered length that’s tenting them. Ethan moans and grips my wrist in his free hand, slamming it up against the wall as he presses himself closer against me until there’s no gap between us and his erection is digging into me. He breaks the kiss, leaving mere millimeters between our lips.
“Feel what you’ve done to me, Devin,” he breathes, a sneering edge to his tone as he grinds against me.
Giving as good as I get, I move my hips forward in response, rubbing my own dick against his body. We’re both fully dressed, and the heat that’s radiating between us makes me feel like I’m trapped in a building inferno beneath all these layers, and I want them off. I want his bare skin on mine as I let him unleash everything he’s holding back on me.
“Is that all you got?” I taunt, and he releases my throat to fist my hair.
“I haven’t even started,” he responds, and I flash him an evil grin.
Sliding my free hand down the front of his sweats, I tease the sensitive skin above his cock with my fingertips. He shivers, and his hand which is still wrapped around my wrist loosens at my touch, and then tightens again when I fist his cock, and ease my own up and down his thick shaft. Ethan lets out a low moan and seeks my mouth, thrusting his tongue deep inside. I match him, fighting back while maintaining my slow movements and grip on his cock, working him into a passionate, furious frenzy.
Chapter Eighteen
Ethan
I’m losing myself in the sensations that Devin is creating with his hand and trying not to surrender to the growing need that I’ve been fighting to repress when it comes to him. His hand is warm, and his movement skillful as he works my dick with fervor, and I know he’s trying to ply me with pleasure. I’m still shocked that he somehow found me, but it pales in comparison to the hatred that’s warring heavily with my desire for more of what he’s doing.
Jerking my hips forward, I trap his hand and groan when he fights my weak attempt at obstructing him to continue with his rhythmic strokes. We’re both breathing heavily, mouths still locked together. I hate how much I want Devin. I want to hurt him, but in this moment, what I want most is to take this stuck up prick, put him on his knees in front of me, and fuck him until he’s begging me for mercy.
Gripping him by the hair again, I deepen the kiss and move back a couple of inches so I can slowly unbutton his jacket and shirt to expose his chest to me. His body is toned and muscled, and there’s a thin smattering of hair trailing down from his belly button and beneath the waistband of his pants. Devin gasps into my mouth when I lightly brush my fingertips down his chest and stomach to tease at the edge of his pants before sliding them back up and over his nipples.
Devin infuriates me, even as he drives the craving to own him to ridiculous heights. I will fuck him, but I’m not going to go easy on him either. I pinch his firm nipple between my thumb and forefinger, lightly tweaking it before applying more pressure. Extracting his hand from my pants, I distract myself from the loss of his delicious touch by undoing his and tugging them down to free his dick. I wrap my hand ar
ound his shaft and slide my palm along it. He lets out a gasped moan, tilting his head back as much as I’ll allow.
Devin likes to play the big man. He has the money and the power to back him up, but right now with his dick in my hand, I’m the one holding all of the power, and by the end of the night, he’s going to know it. I slow my pace and loosen my hand so I’m giving him the barest of touches. He grabs me, squeezing my arms with a moan, and I watch as his expression contorts at my torturous and light teasing.
I release my hold and tug his pants back up, enjoying the annoyed growl that passes his lips. Spinning him around, I quickly admire how his pants are tailored perfectly over his ass and press myself up against his back, digging my dick into the crease of his behind.
“You’re gonna fucking take this, Devin,” I tell him, whispering over his shoulder and into his ear.
He turns his head slightly to look at me out of the corner of his eye and his lips kick up into a devious grin, “About fucking time, I was getting bored.”
I grit my teeth and do my best not to visibly react to his taunts. I don’t respond, simply push him forward. Devin doesn’t fight me; he allows me to manhandle him all the way to my bedroom. As we cross the threshold he twists in my grasp and forces me into a grapple. He let me think I was in control to lure me into a fall sense of security, but we’ll see who has the upper hand at the end of this.
I fight back, unwilling to allow him to regain the control he handed to me the moment he challenged me to touch him. Gaining the upper hand, I slam him up against the wall, pinning him in place again.
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