Drake chuckles slightly, rubbing his chin with his fingers.
“Carrington means nothing to me, and besides nothing happened. She was a distraction. Apparently, she was also pissed about you and the Horseman,” he says, shrugging his shoulder.
And now once again I feel like a total bitch for even bringing it up. He was only in her arms because of what I did to him.
“Drake, I…”
“Don’t, Scar. Don’t say you’re sorry, or that you never meant to hurt me. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t believe any of it. Not your apologies, or your reasons, hell, especially not your half assed excuses. You forget that I know you better than anyone else. And I don’t buy it for one second. Sure, I can see why you’d like him. The power, the status, his reputation precedes him. He’s got that rich, bad boy thing going for him. Physically, I can understand the appeal. But I don’t believe that you’ve stopped wanting me.” He moves in closer to me placing a hand on the small of my back and bringing his other behind my neck. His eyes are staring down at my lips as his tongue reaches out to lick them. “I won’t stop, Scarlett.” His hot breath burns my cheeks and ignites something deep within me. “I won’t give up until I know why you did it. You can’t fool me, Scarlett,” he says in a hushed, raspy voice. His scent fills my nostrils, a combination of sandalwood and smoke, and something completely him.
“Drake, please, don’t. You need to accept the fact that I chose him. I found in him something I never had with you.” My words burn my lips as they come out, but this needs to be said. He needs to back off and not go digging for answers. And well, it’s not really a lie. Ace Servite awoke something within me that I didn’t know existed. He fuels the raging fire within me, while Drake only lit a small spark.
A glimpse of hurt passes through Drake’s eyes but quickly fades away.
“Don’t waste your time looking for answers you won’t find. This isn’t some kind of mystery that needs to be solved. Accept it, you lost, he won. You never had me to begin with. You were my only lover, I didn’t know any better, but now, I do.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Scar. I know the truth. Your body betrays you,” he says as he looks down at my chest. My eyes follow his and I see my nipples poking through my thin sweater.
His eyes shift as he looks behind me.
“Looks like you have an admirer,” he says, smirking deviously. “Like I said before, Horseman doesn’t seem to like me putting my hands on you,” he says, as I turn to look behind me.
I see Ace standing beneath a tall tree across the lawn, the streetlight above him illuminating his ravenous glare. He’s livid as he looks toward Drake and me in this compromising position. He smiles wickedly and winks at me.
“I’d say let’s give him something to watch, but if I get kicked out, which will surely happen if I put my hands on his pretty little face, I won’t be able to find out what you’re trying to keep from me. So, I’ll keep my hands to myself from now on.” He steps back, releasing me, and my body instantly misses his touch. Without another word he heads inside leaving me standing at the steps alone, Ace glaring at me from a mere fifty feet away.
I reach Ace, where he stands angrily underneath the oak tree.
“Thought I was meeting you,” I say, disregarding the fact that I was just standing with Drake, his hands all over me.
“Had a feeling you’d bail. Decided I’d escort you myself. Glad I came and caught the show.”
“You saw, so I won’t even try to justify what happened. We talked, he left. Now are we going or not? I don’t have the energy to argue with you tonight. I won’t apologize for what just happened. I did nothing wrong, and if you haven’t noticed by now, I could care less what you or anyone thinks of me,” I sneer, and his grin widens. He’s wearing black jeans, a white V-neck shirt, and a black flannel on top. His hair is unruly, grown out and not combed perfectly in place, but still somehow manages to look perfectly put together.
“That’s my girl,” he says, as he drapes his arm around my shoulder, leading me toward the beach.
“So what is it you wanted to show me?” I ask, as we make our way up a steep trail past the beach houses to a spot at the edge of the water.
“This,” he says, moving out of the way and revealing a large cliff with a cascading waterfall leading down to the tidepools. It’s beautiful, the water slowly flowing and hitting the ocean beneath it.
“What is this place?” I ask, looking down at the rocks beneath us.
“Follow me,” he says, as he walks slowly toward the bottom.
“Are you insane, we’re going to fall. Those rocks look dangerous. I’m not trying to bust my head open.”
“Do you trust me?” he asks, looking at me with hopeful eyes. The last time he asked me I blurted out no, but this time, something about the way he looks at me has me answering the opposite.
“Yes,” I say, nodding and reaching out to the hand he extended toward me. He helps me down as he guides me, showing me where to step to make my way to the bottom. I lose my footing slightly but he’s right there to hold me up and make sure I don’t fall.
“I got you,” he says, as I step down steadying myself.
“Where are we?” I ask once we hit the bottom. The waves are roaring as they hit along the rocks beside us crashing against the sides of the cliff.
“Crimson Cove, but the locals call it Devil’s Cove because of the sharp rocks and unpredictable tides.”
“What is your town’s obsession with the devil and all things evil?” I ask and he starts laughing.
“There’s a lot of evil hidden behind those steel gates. Malevolent forces that flow through our waters into the neighboring town.”
“The drugs?”
He tenses at my words.
“For one…”
“He called it the Devil’s Kiss,” I say, referring to what Macallan said when he drugged me.
“The Devil’s Kiss is one of them. It’s synthetic, which means it was created in a lab. A combination of various highly addictive drugs put together to make the most lethal weapon.”
“But I…”
“When taken in small doses it provides an indescribable high. Makes you feel like you’re invincible, satiates the mind, an aphrodisiac for the soul,” he says, sounding as if he’s witnessed firsthand its effects.
“And you make it?” I ask.
“It’s made here in Hillcrest, one of the many businesses my family is in charge of. But I’ve said too much, Red. I shouldn’t be saying any of this to you. If they find out. God, if my uncle finds out…” he says, bringing his hand up to caress my cheek. He lowers his forehead to mine letting out a deep sigh. I can almost hear his heartbeat pounding in his chest. Being this close to each other affects both of us, it pains me to see him so scared. Makes me believe I should genuinely fear for my life, were his uncle to find out what he’s told me.
“He won’t. I won’t say anything. I just need to know how I fit into all this, Ace. Why am I here, why did he bring me?”
“I don’t know, Scarlett. Trust me, I’ve tried looking for answers, but when it comes to you, he doesn’t open up easily.” He runs a hand through his hair, desperately trying to understand what his uncle is hiding.
I can see a look of anguish in his eyes and I feel the need to change the subject.
“The drug, when Macallan kissed me, I tasted something slightly minty. Then suddenly I wasn’t feeling myself,” I say, remembering what happened before I was drugged.
“The drug comes in many forms, a pill, something to inhale, snort. But the fastest way it takes effect is either through injection or in a kiss…given the name Devil’s Kiss, or KISS for short. It’s like a strip of sorts, that dissolves when it hits the saliva on your tongue. Like those breath strips one uses and places on their tongue for minty fresh breath. The spearmint was added for taste. It’s sweet, minty, exhilarating when inhaled.” He guides me over to a large rock at the edge of the tidepo
ols and we sit as he continues to speak. “When Macallan kissed you,” he says, a scowl on his face, “He transferred the strip from his mouth to yours.”
“You mean he was also high?”
“Macallan always is. He’s one of my uncle’s best customers. They use the academy to hide the large amounts of money that come through to them. The rich kids of Hillcrest Hills go into the destitute neighboring towns taking their extravagant and expensive drugs to sell. It’s the best kind of system.” He abruptly stands and turns away from me. “Fuck I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this, if he knew he’d…”
“He won’t find out. Who am I going to tell? You already warned me what would happen. Either way, who’d believe me?” I follow him, my hand upon his shoulder as he slowly turns to face me.
“How did I get so lucky to find you, my angel,” he says, cupping my cheek once again in his palm. “When I thought there was no saving my soul, that I was destined to burn in hell’s fire, you come into my life and make me believe there is more to this life. You’re my salvation, my guardian angel sent to watch over me. But once he finds out, he’ll take you from me. The only way to make sure I never turn on him is to make sure there is nothing in this life I’d care more for. Having you here is dangerous to him.”
He cares.
He just admitted he cares for me. The empty hole in my stomach fills with warmth at his words, but also with dread at his warning.
“Then why is it he brought me here?”
“That’s the million-dollar question, my love. He’s the ringmaster in all this, like you said before, we’re all merely his puppets on strings doing his bidding. He has a plan, a reason for all of this. He always does. For our sake, I hope we don’t ruin it,” he whispers as he seals our fate with a kiss.
THIRTY–FOUR
SCARLETT
Three Weeks Later
UNKNOWN – Tonight is your one last chance to redeem yourself. You are to come to Servite Manor dressed to impress. You fail this time, and I won’t be responsible for what’s to come.
Tonight is the night. The night I’ve been dreading for weeks. The night that will determine my fate here at Servite Academy. Will I succeed or will I fail? Will I live or will I die? Will he have mercy on my soul, or will I be condemned to the deepest, darkest depths of hell only to be consumed by its eternal fire? Only the devil can decide now. May god have mercy on my soul.
Three weeks ago, I found out what really goes on behind this city’s steeled gates. What happens behind the closed doors of Hillcrest Hills and the academy, and I almost wish I didn’t know. Servite Academy, hell, all of Hillcrest Hills, is a front to cover the corruption that is flooding the streets of Pleasant Hills and all the surrounding towns. The Servites are running an underground drug operation that is polluting the streets of Pleasant Hills and assuring its demise. Their synthetic, highly addictive drug, or as they call it, The Devil’s Kiss, has been corrupting all of the teens back at Pleasant Hills High, and I’m quite sure here at the academy as well.
Three weeks ago, I followed Ace to an old storage building on the outskirts of town that doubles as a sort of club, whose entertainment comes underage, dressed in tiny lingerie. The Gallows, I’m assuming is some sort of prostitution ring that must recruit these young girls with the pretense of making an easy buck. Or maybe they have them hooked on drugs? Drugs, prostitution, and I think that’s just the beginning. Who knows what else they’re hiding behind these steel gates?
And tonight, I’m hoping to find out how I fit into all of this. Agent Servite is using me once again to lure out my mother, since his two previous attempts have failed miserably. And I am hoping to find out how she fits into all of this. Maybe she is involved in his drug business. Maybe she owes him money or is a supplier of his. I’m quite sure Chaz was a dealer at one point. Unexplained wealth came to us once. Not like it lasted. Mom spent it all on booze and who knows what else. Although I don’t see how she could be capable of such. Not because she’s a good person, but she’s not the brightest of women. I don’t see her being a mastermind in all of this.
Jade and Stella are heading to the cabin Ace rented for the week of Thanksgiving break, and Ace and I are planning to meet up with them tomorrow. Ruby and I are still not on great terms, but we convinced her and the guys to join us at the cabin for a few days. I know Drake is still pissed about me being with Ace, but things have been slightly better between us. And by that, I mean he’s at least spoken to me once since we ended things. It’s going to be an interesting weekend with all of us there. Us poor kids from the wrong side of town and the Horsemen all at the same campground.
All the students have mostly headed home for the holiday, leaving the campus eerily vacant. So tonight should happen without any problems.
I was instructed to arrive at Servite Manor tonight dressed to impress. I told Jade and Stella that Ace’s parents invited me for a small pre-Thanksgiving dinner, but that’s a blatant lie. I seem to be spewing those back and forth. I open up the box that was dropped off earlier today, revealing a deep red, backless gown that fits me like a second skin with a thigh high slit on one side. It’s beautiful, expensive, sexy, and provocative, something I can’t imagine I would choose myself. But Agent Servite sent it over with Ace this morning, and that makes me nearly vomit as I pull out the delicate silk fabric. I notice a piece of parchment fall from underneath the dress landing at my feet. I bend to pick up the paper and carefully read the handwriting on it.
A beautiful dress for an equally beautiful girl. Wear this, my dear, and tonight will go exactly as planned. Your life depends on it.
It’s not signed but I know exactly who it’s from. I slip into the silky satin dress and the material feels amazing against my body, the cool satin flush against my heated skin. I decide on doing my makeup as simple as possible with just a hint of mascara and black liner framing my eyes and finish the look with a bright red lip. I let my dark hair fall just below my shoulders, a few curls framing my face. Looking in the mirror I almost gag at my reflection. I look so much like her, it sickens me. How could I live with the fact that I look so much like the woman who brought me into this life only to leave me behind. A burden is all I was to her. And I’ll probably be seeing her tonight. I grab the same pair of gold heels I wore for the masquerade ball and slip my phone into a small bag before heading out the door and into the dark, cold night that awaits me.
I walk out to the front steps of the girls’ house, an eerie silence surrounding me now that everyone is off campus for the holidays. I expect a car to pick me up to take me to the Servite’s but instead I find Ace hiding in the shadows beneath the trees directly in front of the house. He looks breathtakingly handsome in an all-black suit that fits him perfectly. His hair is tousled in soft dark blond waves atop his head, a clean-shaven A-line jaw, and his ink hidden away from me. He stares intently as his eyes roam over me taking me in. I blush slightly at the intensity of his gaze and a small smirk appears across his lips. I walk over to him slowly and the anticipation is killing me. I step right in front of him and inhale a breath, holding it in as he stares at me not saying a word. His eyes are a dark blue that mirrors the night sky above us. His brows crease slightly as he stands as still as he possibly can. I let out the breath I was holding and move to walk around him, heading to the car I see parked on the street behind him.
I barely make my way around when he reaches out to grip my waist, turning me flush against his body. My mouth at level with his chin, my chest flat against his, our erratic breathing mimicking one another. We are like that for a few moments before I gain the courage to tilt my head up and look him in the eye. I stand straighter bringing my face level to his as his tongue reaches out to lick the space between our lips.
“You’re exquisite, Red. Every inch of you is flawless.” My breath hitches at his candid assertion. “This dress, how it effortlessly hugs every curve of your body.” He runs his hands down my back and reaches around to grip my ass. �
�Your dark hair contrasting against your porcelain skin.” Moving his hands back up he tugs on a strand of my black hair pulling my head back slightly to look at him. “Your plump red lips I can’t wait to taste once again.” He runs his tongue across my lips biting down slightly. He crowds me, his forehead coming down to lean against mine, his eyes looking deep into mine. “And those hypnotizing blue eyes, I want to lose myself in, drown in. Everything about you is perfection.” He closes his eyes slightly.
“Ace,” I moan into him as I reach my lips to his. He takes me in an air binding kiss, our mouths fighting to take control of one another. It’s as if the earth is trembling beneath me as I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him in closer to me until our chests are pushed so tight against each other I need to pull away from his lips to breathe. He reaches for me, gripping my ass tightly as I jump and wrap my legs around his waist. He walks forward until my back slams against the cold metal of the car behind us, causing me to groan in pain.
“Fuck,” he growls as he reaches a hand around to lift me once again. He carries me over, placing me on the hood of the car, standing right between my legs. With his body he pushes my legs apart further nearly tearing the material of my dress.
“Ace, please,” I shout, but I’m not sure what I’m asking for.
He looks up at me, a look of slight confusion on his face as he pushes the material up my thighs, until it’s scrunched up around my waist. He reaches a hand around my waist holding me in place as another comes to land against my thigh. He moves it further until it lands against my soaked thong, radiating the heat from my center. At the contact of his fingers against my thong, a smirk appears on his face and fuck me if it isn’t the sexiest thing. He lets go of my waist bringing his other hand under my dress to rip the thong from my body.
“Ahh,” I groan, as the elastic burns against my skin as it’s ripped from me. He tosses it on the ground beneath us with a chuckle.
The Four Horsemen : A Servite Academy For Troubled Teens Novel Page 31