Текст книги "Corrupt "

Автор книги: Penelope Douglas

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 26 страниц)

What was he doing? Why wasn’t he helping me?

“Maybe you want him, then,” I heard Damon say.

Kai’s arms came down around me, and I shot my hands up, pushing away from him.

“Stop!” I yelled and raised my hand back up in the air and came down across his mask.

But all I heard was a laugh as he spun me around and shoved me forward, pushing me onto the ground.

I landed on my hands, pain shooting up my arms as I quickly looked up and spotted the cell phone from Will’s pocket—my pocket—laying several feet away. It must’ve dropped out when I landed.

The damp, cold leaves poked my fingers as I dug them into the wet earth, and my knees were chilled from the ground. I quickly flipped over, trying to keep aware of where they were as I slowly crab-walked backward to get to the phone.

Kai and Damon stood a few feet away, watching me, but then I saw Kai launch and charge straight for me. I yelped as I reached for the phone.

But he landed on me, and I grunted, emptying my lungs as his weight knocked the wind out of me.

“You think you can hurt me, you fucking slut?” he whispered hard in my ear.

“Get off me!” I screamed.

He grabbed the back of my hair and called back to Damon. “Hold her arms!”

“No!” I cried, my stomach shaking as I let out my wail. Despair spread throughout my body, and I began shoving and squirming against him. “Get off!”

Kai grabbed my arms and pushed them up over my head, holding my hands to the ground.

Oh, my God. How could he do this?

He reached for my neck with his other hand to hold me still, and tears streamed down the sides of my face.

But then a loud voice pierced the air. “Enough.”

Kai stilled and turned his head.

I continued to squirm under his weight, but I looked down under his arm to see who had stopped him.

Damon stood back with his fists at his side and his eyes narrowed. He charged over, grabbing Kai off me and shoving him away.

And then he dived down, dragging me up by the sweatshirt. “Stop crying,” he ordered. “We weren’t going to hurt you, but now you know that we can.”

He grabbed me by the back of my hair, and I gasped as he brought me in, his warm breath falling across my face. “Michael doesn’t want you, and neither do we. You get that? I want you to stop watching us and stop following us like a pathetic dog begging for someone to notice her.” And then he shoved me away, disdain written all over his face. “Get a fucking life of your own, Rika, and stay the hell away from us. No one wants you.”

I backed away, looking at both him and Kai and wondering why they were doing this.

A pathetic dog. Was that how Michael saw me?

Tears filled my eyes, but before they had the pleasure of seeing me break, I twisted on my heel and took off. Into the forest and toward home as fast as I could away from them.

I let the pain of the last couple of hours go and barely saw the world around me as I cried the entire way home.

Alone, so one could see.

Present

“SHE’S LYING.”

I looked over at Kai, his narrowed eyes glaring at me.

Michael stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a flat expression on his face.

“Kai was with me,” he stated. “He caught up to me at my house almost as soon as I got home, and we got drunk while watching game footage the rest of the night. He wouldn’t have had time to take you out into the middle of the fucking woods.”

I shook my head. “No. That’s not right. He was there!”

“She’s making it up to save her own ass,” Damon chimed in, stepping up next to his friends.

“And I certainly don’t remember that,” Will added. “There was the warehouse and then nothing. I was drunk off my ass.”

Michael looked away, shaking his head almost regretfully. “Just admit it. You leaked the videos, and we know.”

My heart flipped in my chest. “What? Leaked the videos? You think…” I trailed off, scanning the air in front of me.

We trusted you…

Your tantrum cost us three years…

You owe us, and this has been a long time coming…

I closed my eyes, my lungs emptying. All this time they’d thought…

I looked at them again. “You think I posted the videos that got you arrested? That’s why you’re doing this?”

Oh, my God.

Michael leaned in and grabbed me by the back of the hair. I let out a small cry, sweat breaking out on my forehead.

“You had Will’s phone,” he charged.

But I shook my head. “I didn’t! I would never have done that.”

“You had the phone, because you had Will’s sweatshirt,” he argued. “Damon saw you with it. Say it!”

“Yes!” I gritted out. “Yes, I had the phone, but it fell out of my pocket when I was fighting with them!”

“You weren’t fighting with them,” he growled, his voice stinging my ears. “Stop lying!”

“I swear!”

He shoved me away, and I curled my fingers into my palms. None of this made any sense.

“You’re already caught,” Will said. “Michael says Kai was with him. That’s how we know you’re making all of this up. He wasn’t even there.”

I slammed my fists down. “He was! You all were, except Michael! You were passed out in the car, Damon was threatening me, and Kai grabbed me. When I hit him, he just laughed and said, ‘You can’t hurt me. The devil always has my back!’ You were all there, and the phone fell out when I was on the ground!”

“’The devil always has my back?’” Kai repeated, looking confused. “I didn’t say that. I’ve never even heard that before!”

I shook my head, closing my eyes in despair.

“I have.”

Everyone stilled and turned their eyes on Michael.

“My father,” he said in almost a whisper, looking uneasy. “He says that.”

Heat spread over my exhausted body, and I forced myself to take deeper breaths as I watched him turn his dark stare on Kai.

“Trevor,” he said in a low voice.

Kai’s stair hardened, and Will inched in to find out what was happening.

Trevor?

I thought back to that night. Trevor in Kai’s mask. Would he do that?

Michael turned around, and I saw Damon lock eyes with him.

“What?” he snapped.

“Will was drunk as shit,” Michael challenged. “But you weren’t. You took her into the middle of nowhere instead of directly home, and you knew it was Trevor under that mask.”

Damon blew out a stream of smoke and ground out his cigarette on the island. “You’re taking her side?”

“You’re the one lying to me,” Michael replied.

He shook his head as his friends all turned to face him. “This changes nothing.”

They waited while he stood there, and I looked over at him, completely numb. Damon never pretended to be my friend.

I felt nothing.

But Trevor…?

He’d played me for a fool. That’s why he’d whispered that night. So I wouldn’t recognize the voice.

You think you can hurt me, you fucking slut?

All these years I’d been unaware. How he must’ve enjoyed that.

Damon hooded his eyes, looking bored. “Kai left almost immediately after you did that night,” he told Michael. “That’s when Trevor showed up. He was looking for Rika, and he wasn’t happy. Someone told him that she was with us, so he came to get her.”

I walked around, standing next to Kai.

“We had words,” Damon continued, “but then I realized that we could help each other. He wanted Rika away from us, and so did I. We decided to fuck with her.”

“What was your problem with me?” I demanded.

“You had no business with us.” He pinned me with a scowl. “Women always complicate shit. Michael couldn’t take his eyes off you, and Kai was starting to notice you, too.”

Kai straightened next to me, shifting uncomfortably.

“It was only a matter of time before you tore us apart,” Damon bit out. “You’re fucking pussy and nothing more.”

Michael lunged.

He charged for Damon and slammed his fist across his face, sending Damon flying back and crashing into the stove.

He didn’t come back swinging, though. He just stood there, blinking long and hard and breathing fast. He was either in too much pain from the wound or he knew when he was outnumbered.

He swallowed and stood up straight again, continuing like nothing had happened. “We went out to your car and got the masks. If she thought it was Kai, Will, and me together, she’d get the shit scared out of her and never come around us again. Will was piss-drunk, so we put him in the car and went back in to get her, but she’d already left. We caught up to her on the road.”

“And you left my sweatshirt in the booth,” Will chimed in, “along with the phone.”

“Which I found and wore on the walk home,” I added.

Christ.

“And then Trevor found the phone when she lost it in the struggle,” Kai finished.

“So she says,” Damon snapped. “We can’t trust her.”

“I trust her a hell of a lot more than I do you!” Michael bellowed.

“Yeah, fuck you,” Damon growled. “She’s a worthless fucking cunt, and I’ll show you exactly what she’s good for!”

Damon shot out from around the island and moved to pass Michael. I instantly backed up, steeling my jaw as he came at me, but Michael grabbed him and threw him against the counter.

Damon howled, holding his wound, but before he could straighten up again, Michael threw a right hook across his face, sending him flying to the floor. He crashed, and Michael came down on him immediately, grabbing his hair and raising a fist in the air.

“You choosing her?” Damon choked out, reaching up to grab Michael around the neck. “Huh? You choosing her over your friends?”

Michael’s fist came down over Damon’s jaw, but then Kai and Will were on him, trying to pry him off as he fought against their attempts.

Damon’s face turned red as he raged up at Michael. “You’re no better! What’d we bring her here for, huh? She’s nothing! And she’s making you weak!”

Michael lunged for him again, tearing out of Will and Kai’s hold, but I didn’t stick around to see what happened next.

I ran out of the kitchen and raced through the foyer. Slamming into the wall next to the door, I opened the keypad and punched in the code, unlocking the front gate. Digging my keys out of my pocket, I reached for the front door and pulled the handle. But then something hit the door, and I gasped as it was pushed out of my hand and slammed shut again.

I jerked my hand back as I watched the basketball that had hit the door bounce to the ground and roll away.

“You’re not leaving,” Michael’s voice came behind me.

I reached for the door again, but he came and grabbed my arm, whipping me around.

“Let me go.” I tried to yank my arm free. “I won’t stay here!”

“We’re not going to hurt you,” he gritted out, and I could see blood on the knuckles of the hand he had wrapped around my arm. “No one is going to hurt you. I promise.”

“Let me go!”

But then I straightened, rearing back as I looked over his shoulder at what was coming behind him.

Michael turned around, facing Damon. He wiped blood away from the side of his mouth as he charged toward us.

“Get out,” Michael ordered.

Damon shot him a scowl and then locked eyes on me, grabbing the door handle as Michael pulled me out of the way.

He stared into my eyes, and what I saw there was no longer dead. His glare coursed right through me and coiled around my neck.

Yanking open the door, he left the house, slamming it behind him.

I let out a breath, my shoulders dropping.

But then I felt a hand brush my cheek and heard Michael’s voice. “Are you okay?”

I jerked away, slapping his hand off me. “Fuck you.”

He dropped his hand and straightened, keeping his distance. He knew he’d fucked up. What they’d done tonight was unforgivable.

“Fucking Trevor,” Will grumbled, charging into the foyer. “I can’t believe it.”

“He always hated us,” Kai added, coming in behind him.

Michael exhaled and turned away. Walking over to the stairs, he sat down and buried his head in his hands, looking completely defeated.

Yeah, it must be a bitch to realize you wasted three years hating the wrong person.

Chills broke out over my skin, and the heat that had covered my body before was now gone. The wet clothes stuck to my skin, and I shivered.

All this time, I thought I was insignificant to him. A stupid kid, barely worth his time. A mistake he’d made one night long ago that he barely remembered. But now I knew that, not only was that not true, but he’d spent three years planning how to hurt me?

And he was going to let his friends hurt me, too.

Tears welled, and I clenched my teeth, hardening my jaw, to keep them away. He didn’t fucking deserve them.

Stepping slowly toward Michael, I demanded, “Where is my mother?”

He combed his fingers through his hair and looked up, his eyes weary. “California,” he answered. “She’s in a rehab in Malibu.”

“What?” I blurted out.

Rehab? My mother would never agree to that. She wouldn’t leave the safety of her home or friends. She wouldn’t leave what was familiar.

“I had a judge sign a court order, forcing her stay,” he clarified as if reading my mind.

I inched closer, narrowing my eyes on him. “You forced her?”

“What everyone should’ve done a long time ago,” he argued, his voice firm. “She’s fine. Perfectly safe and taken care of.”

I turned my head away, closing my eyes and running a hand over the top of my hair.

Rehab. So they weren’t hurting her then.

But…

But if Michael wanted to hurt me—if he thought I’d betrayed him—why would he do

something that would ultimately help my mom? Why not just lock her in a basement somewhere like I’d thought?

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why haven’t I been able to get a hold of anyone?”

I now knew why my mother had been unreachable. She probably wasn’t permitted a cell phone in rehab. But Michael’s mother, his father’s cell phone, Trevor, our housekeeper who was out of town…

“Because you haven’t been calling anyone,” Michael admitted, looking up at me with a flat expression. “During Trevor’s party, Will went into your car and took your phone, replacing everyone’s numbers under their names. You’ve been calling a fake phone we set up.”

My fists curled under my arms, and I dropped my eyes, seething. I couldn’t fucking look at him.

How had all this happened? Why hadn’t they confronted me sooner?

“We were so sure it was you,” Will chimed in. “I woke up, saw the videos online, and I panicked, realizing I’d left the phone in my sweatshirt at the warehouse.”

He could barely look at me.

“And then Michael saw the sweatshirt hanging on a kitchen chair the next morning, and we finally figured out through Damon that you’d worn it home. You were mad at Michael, feeling rejected, so we...we just…”

He trailed off, the rest not needing to be said.

I glared at Michael. All this time. All these years he could’ve confronted me…

But that was him, I guess. He pushed forward no matter who it hurt, always believing he was right and never apologizing. At least I could see the regret in Kai and Will’s eyes.

With Michael, nothing. The more mistakes he made, the taller he tried to stand, so no one could see over him. So no one could see anything but him.

I shook my head, my eyes burning as I stared at him. Say something!

How could he just sit there after everything we’d…?

I’d trusted him—shared parts of myself I’d never coming close to sharing with anyone else—and this is what had been going through his mind every time he whispered in my ear or touched me or kissed me or...?

I squeezed my fists so tight my nails dug into my skin.

“I want to leave,” I told him, tears still thick in my throat.

“No.”

“I want to leave,” I repeated, hardening my tone.

“You can’t.” He shook his head. “I have no idea where Damon is. We’ll all go back to the city tomorrow.”

I ground my teeth together. Goddamn them.

I stomped past him, up the stairs toward my room. I couldn’t stand the sight of any of them.

“So what do we do now?” I heard Kai ask behind me.

“Let’s get fucked up,” Will breathed out.

And I ran to my room, locked the door, and wedged a chair under the handle.

Present

I HAD NO INTENTION OF STAYING. I didn’t care what their story was or what they had to say. I wanted my life back.

And if I thought I was in danger at my apartment, Alex lived on the sixteenth floor, so I could crash on her couch for a night or two. I wasn’t safe here. I knew that.

But as I leaned down on the bathroom sink, feeling my chest shake with tears that weren’t falling, I raised my eyes and looked at myself in the mirror.

My tank top clung to my skin, wet and dirty with splotches of Damon’s blood, and my hair hung cold and stringy along my cheeks. My damp jeans hugged my thighs, chilling me to the bone, and I curled my fingers into the side of the sink, feeling Damon’s blood thicken under my nails, wedging deeper and deeper, until it was the only thing I noticed.

I closed my eyes, feeling my heart pick up pace again.

I’d fought back. I’d hurt him.

And I hadn’t run. Not like three years ago in the forest.

Being scared wasn’t a weakness. But letting it force my head down and my voice quiet was. Fear wasn’t the enemy. It was the teacher.

I hated Michael, and tomorrow, after I got everything back from him, I was leaving. No more Delcour, no more Meridian City, and no more Thunder Bay. I couldn’t wait to get away from everything that had hurt me.

Chilled and shaking, my muscles exhausted from everything that had happened tonight, I didn’t think. I stood up and slowly lifted the tank top over my head, peeling off the rest of my clothes and dropping everything to the floor before I turned to start the shower.

Just a few minutes.

I stepped in and sat down on the sandy-colored shower floor, right under the hot spray. Steam filled the small enclosure, and my hair was immediately drenched, falling down my back as I tipped my chin up and let the hot water cover my face.

Tingles spread over my body, and my heart began to calm as I hugged my legs to my body and felt everything grow warm again.

Michael.

He’d done all of this. He’d been in charge. He’d told me to come here, and out of love for my mother, I did.

He’d trapped me, blackmailed me, and put his friends on me.

I hate him.

I worked vigorously, washing my hair and body, and then I used a file to dig Damon’s blood out of my finger nails. Getting out of the shower, I dressed and checked my bedroom door again to make sure it was locked before going to dry my hair.

But as soon as I was done—and I’d turned off the hair dryer—I noticed a vibration under my feet.

And my ears perked, hearing an indiscernible beat coming from downstairs.

Was that music?

I set the dryer down and walked toward my door. Leaning my ear into it, I heard a short, fast rhythm and then a few howls.

What the fuck?

Tossing my brush on the dresser, I pulled the chair away from where it was lodged under the handle and cracked open the door.

Loud music immediately hit me, and I could hear voices and laughter.

A lot of voices and laughter.

Leaving the door open, I dashed over to my window and looked out at the driveway.

It was flooded with cars.

“I don’t believe this,” I said to myself.

Whipping around, I charged out of my room and down the stairs, taking a look around at all of the people.

I clenched my jaw. What the hell was going on?

Some of them I recognized from being a couple of years behind me and still in high school, some were college students home for the weekend, and others I had no idea. Maybe people from neighboring towns? Locals?

They walked around with Solo cups, talking and laughing, and some even tried to call out to me to say hi, but I just ignored them.

I stormed through the house, going in and out of rooms, trying to find Michael. The finished basement and media room were packed full of people I barely recognized, and I couldn’t find any of the guys in the kitchen or on the patio, either.

I spotted Alex chatting with a couple of guys by the pool, but I didn’t have time to wonder how she’d gotten here so fast.

Where the hell was Michael?

The court.

I charged for the other end of the house, already hearing the pounding of a basketball coming from Michael’s huge indoor basketball court.

Swinging open the large double doors, I heard the squeaks of tennis shoes running across the polished wooden court floor as the echo of a basketball drifted up to the rafters. Several guys raced on the court with their shirts off, and I recognized a few of them. They were seniors now at Thunder Bay Prep.

Looking to my left, I spotted the carpeted hangout area, complete with couches and a refrigerator. Michael and Will sat on the large sofa, a sea of bottles and cups on the table before them, while Kai sat in a cushioned chair, looking anything but relaxed. His elbows rested on his knees, and he held the rim of a red cup between his fingers.

Stalking over to them, I stared disbelieving at the sight before me.

A party? They were fucking drinking?

“This isn’t seriously happening right now, is it?” I snapped, stopping in front of the table and looking over at Michael.

He raised his eyes but kept quiet.

“You kidnap my mother,” I started, “burn down my house, steal my money, lure me here, and then attack me.”

“We’re really sorry,” Will spoke up right away, sounding sincere.

What?

I opened my mouth to retort, but I was too stunned. I almost wanted to laugh. They were sorry? That was supposed to fix everything?

Will leaned forward and poured some alcohol into a rocks glass and held it up to me.

“Do you want ice in your tequila?” he asked in a gentle voice.

But I darted forward, slapping the glass out of his grasp and sending it flying to the ground. The tequila splashed across the carpet, making a couple of the girls standing nearby scurry away.

Breathing hard, I tipped my chin down and glared at Michael. “Tomorrow you’re going to put me on the phone with my mother,” I ordered. “You’re going to give me back every cent and schedule a contractor to start restoration on my house, which you will pay for! Do you understand?”

“We were going to anyway,” he replied and then looked at me curiously. “But I’m curious. What happens if we don’t?”

I stood up straight, folding my arms over my chest and curling my lips.

“Did you ever find the phone?” I asked. “There are a lot more videos on there, huh?”

Michael’s face slowly fell at my insinuation, and he sat up, resting his forearms on his knees. “You’re lying.”

I held up my hand, inspecting my nails. “Maybe.” I shrugged. “Or maybe I know where Trevor hides everything important to him. And maybe I know what the combination is, and maybe I’m willing to bet that, if he hasn’t destroyed the phone, then it’s in his special hiding place.” I looked straight at him, unable to hide the amusement I felt. “And maybe if I don’t get what I want, I won’t be nice and open up the safe for you.”

Anger crossed his face, and I could tell he was thrown for a loop. They’d assumed the phone was gone. They’d assumed they were safe.

But from the look in his eyes, there was more on that phone that could hurt them.

Kai and Will sat frozen, their ease now apparently sucked away.

“You’re threatening us?” Michael menacing tone made my stomach flip.

“No,” I answered. “That’s what you did to me. I’m simply playing your game.”

He inhaled a long breath and sat back. “Fine,” he bit out. “Mom, house, money. Easy enough.”

Then he snapped his fingers to a group a group of girls to his left, calling one over. A blonde in a tight blue dress, falling just a few inches below her ass, sauntered over and bit her bottom lip, trying to hide a smile, as Michael pulled her into his lap.

My heart sunk.

His hand snaked around her waist and held her close to him as he looked at me the same way he did growing up. As if I were in the way.

“Now go to bed,” he ordered. “It’s late.”

I tensed, half-expecting to hear Will laugh at the remark, but both he and Kai sat silently, looking at the floor.

Refusing to let him see me falter, I raised my chin and turned, walking out of the court as the pain and anger dropped like an anchor into my stomach. It sat there like a brick, and the weight was too much. I couldn’t feel anything anymore.

Too much.

I’d been terrorized tonight for no reason, and not only had he not apologized, he was doing everything he could to hurt me more.

Did he feel anything?

I passed partiers and crossed into the foyer, racing up the stairs and into the solitude of my bedroom.

Keeping the lights off, I closed the door and locked it before walking over to my bed and sitting down. I dropped my head and closed my eyes.

I wanted to leave.

I didn’t care about the money or the house. They should be coming to me, begging to make it right.

A knock sounded on the door. “Rika?”

I popped my head up, hearing Kai’s voice and seeing a shadow in the light underneath the door.

“Rika,” he said, knocking again. “Open up.”

The pulse in my neck throbbed. I stood and walked over to the door, turning the handle to make sure it was locked.

“Stay away from me, Kai.”

“Rika, please,” he begged. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”

I shook my head. Not going to hurt me. You mean any more than you already have?

Twisting the lock, I cracked open the door and saw Kai standing there, dark and tall, dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt. His eyebrows were pinched together, and there was a sea of pain in his eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked, sounding timid.

“No.”

“I won’t touch you,” he promised. “I wanted to hurt you, because I thought you hurt me, and now I know that’s not true.”

“So does that make everything alright?” I glared at him, anger coursing through me. “The stress and the fear you put on me?”

“No,” he rushed out. “I just…”

He dropped his head, looking like he was struggling to find words.

He looked weary.

“I just don’t even know who I am anymore,” he nearly whispered.

I dropped my hand from the doorknob, surprised by what he’d said. It was the first real moment I’d had with any of them in years, and he wasn’t playing with me.

I turned and walked for the bed again, sitting down at the end.

Kai stepped into my room, filling the doorframe and blocking out the light from the hall.

“That night three years ago…” I began, speaking softly, “I felt so alive. I needed the chaos and the anger, and you guys seemed exactly the same. It was a really good feeling not to be alone anymore.”

My eyes watered, thinking back to how, even for a little while, I felt like I belonged somewhere.

“I’m so sorry, Rika. We should’ve made Michael confront you all those years go.” And then he exhaled a shaky breath and ran his hand through his hair. “Your house. Jesus Christ,” he said, as if just realizing the full measure of what they’d done.

I clutched the blankets at my sides and stared at the carpet.

Well, that was one apology, at least.

I shrugged, allowing him a little consolation. “With you in jail and unable to confirm that it wasn’t you in the mask instead of Trevor, we may never have realized what had actually happened anyway.”

I wasn’t sure why I wanted him to feel better, but even if Michael had confronted me, it was my word against Damon’s, and seeing as how I had the sweatshirt, it made sense that he would trust his friend.

But he still should’ve confronted me. What were they hoping to gain with revenge, other than pleasure in someone else’s torture? Would it accomplish anything, take away what happened, or move their lives forward? Had their worlds become so small in prison?

Kai pulled out my desk chair and sunk into the seat, leaning his elbows on his knees.

“I was angry with you,” he told me. “At first, I was so angry when I thought you’d outed us. But I wasn’t vengeful. I was never going to do something like this.”

He stopped and stared off, and for a moment, it was like he’d gone somewhere else.

“Things changed,” he said in a low, dark tone.

I narrowed my eyes, immediately drawn in by the faraway look in his eyes.

What had changed while he was away?

“I never knew people could be that ugly,” he told me. “I’ll die before I ever go back there.”

I sat frozen, wanting to ask him what he was talking about, but I knew I shouldn’t care. He was referring to prison, I was sure, and I knew it must’ve been hard. Hard enough to turn him from angry to vengeful.

I looked over at his tired eyes, once bright with life, and I didn’t want him to stop talking. Michael never told me anything—never opened up—and I was interested.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

But he didn’t answer, and I saw him drift farther and farther away.

Standing up, I walked over to him and knelt down in front of him.

“Kai?” I asked, trying to meet his eyes. “Are you okay?”

He blinked, and I hated how broken he looked. “No,” he whispered.

I couldn’t even get him to look at me. What the hell happened to him?

He hesitated, as if thinking, and then continued, “Damon lost what little heart he had,” he explained. “People, problems…they barely scratch the surface with him anymore. He doesn’t care about anything.” He ran a hand through his black hair, fisting it. “Will finds ways to cope with alcohol and other things, and as for me…I don’t want to be around anyone other than the guys. Not even my family. They won’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

His chest shook with a bitter laugh. “I wish I knew, Rika. I just can’t let anyone in. I haven’t touched a woman in three years.”

Three years? But he’d been out for months. No one in that entire time?

“Michael paid off guards to keep us safe, but he couldn’t shield us from everything,” Kai went on. “He watched as Will deteriorated, and I withdrew more and more. He was helpless to do anything, and he felt so guilty. Guilty, because he thought he’d incited you. Guilty, because he was free.” He took a deep breath and kept going. “He came up with the plan. Something to keep us hot and angry. Something to keep us fighting. And before we knew it, it consumed our every waking moment in there.”

And then he looked up, meeting my eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

I let out a slow breath, seeing it in his eyes. I know.

Reaching out, he grazed his fingers down the side of my face, pushing my hair out of the way. “I haven’t been able to talk to anyone,” he admitted. “Why does it have to be the one person I hated only just this morning?”

I couldn’t help it. I gave a small smile and caught his hand on my face in both of mine and held it.

Kai use to be larger than life. Like Michael, only a straight arrow. Kai was the good one.

But now there was darkness there, too. His fight with me may be over, but there was still something brewing inside.

The light spilling across the floor from the hallway disappeared, and Kai and I turned our heads to see a figure in shadow filling the doorway.