Текст книги "Corrupt "

Автор книги: Penelope Douglas

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 20 (всего у книги 26 страниц)

“I told you to go to sleep.”

Michael.

I dropped Kai’s hands and stood, the corners of my lips turning up. “No, you told me to go to bed. And maybe I was just about to.”

I threw a pointed look, hoping he got my insinuation.

“Do you two ever stop?” Kai chuckled, standing up.

Michael remained silent as Kai gave me one last look before turning and walking for the door. He waited for his friend to move and then walked through, disappearing around the corner.

Michael turned back to me, filling the doorway with darkness again, and my stomach flipped and then tightened.

I hadn’t realized it, but I’d been relaxed with Kai here. Now I wasn’t again.

Michael hadn’t changed from before. He still wore jeans and no shirt, and I wondered where the girl was that had her hands all over him downstairs.

“Come here,” he told me.

And I did.

I walked over—going to him, just like he asked—and then I smirked as I grabbed the handle to the door and swung it closed.

He shoved out his hand, stopping it, like I’d known he probably would.

“I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you,” he stated. “I knew it the second you walked through the door tonight. I swear.”

“I don’t care,” I replied in a flat tone. “I don’t want you in here.”

And then I tried to push the door closed, but he planted a hand on it, stopping me. Forcing it open, he walked through and slammed it shut behind him before pulling me in and swinging us around, so my back was against the door.

“I stopped them.” His breath fell over my face. “I chose you over my friends.”

“Yeah, it looked like it downstairs,” I said sarcastically, referring to the girl in his lap earlier. “I’m tired of your games, Michael, and I’m tired of you. Get out.”

“What did he say to you?” he demanded, ignoring my order.

Kai? Was he bent out of shape because Kai had sought me out?

“More than he probably says to you,” I answered.

He breathed out a bitter laugh, and for the first time it looked like he was at a loss for words.

“Sick of my games, huh? You’ve learned to play them pretty well.”

“I’m not playing your games. You were wrong.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You want to know what I’ve learned? I don’t win by playing your games. I win by making you play mine.”

His eyes pierced me, darkening as his breathing grew shallow.

He was pissed.

I laughed, suddenly feeling ten feet high. “Look at yourself,” I joked, elation filling my veins. “You’re actually breaking a sweat trying to keep up with me, aren’t you?”

He bared his teeth and grabbed the backs of my thigh, hauling me up and slamming me against the door again. My heart jumped in my chest—the rush of fear filling my body—as the wind was knocked out of me.

And I couldn’t help it. I locked my ankles behind his back, holding him between my thighs.

“Goddamn,” he whispered against my lips. “I want you.”

“You’re not the only one.”

“Kai?” he gauged. “Don’t look to him, Rika.”

“Why not?”

He darted out, catching my bottom lip between his teeth, the heat of his mouth sending shivers down my spine.

“Because you get everything you need from me,” he argued, his hot tongue flicking my upper lip. “And you’d only be doing it to fade me out, anyway, and that will never happen.”

He dived in, taking my mouth, and I groaned, my head feeling dizzy. I met his powerful lips as I tilted my head to the right to deepen the kiss. His tongue brushed mine, and I could feel a fire building low in my belly.

I broke the kiss and tilted my head back, so he could trail kisses down my neck. “That sounds really good, actually,” I said, groaning at the feel of his lips over my scar. “A new man. A new mouth.”

His fist tightened in my hair, and his teeth brushed over my skin, warning me. “If you ever let that happen, I will make you sorry.”

And then he came in again, sucking and nibbling my skin as I gasped and dug my nails into his shoulders.

“Oh, God,” I moaned, grinding on him. “Oh, Kai. Yes.”

I felt his angry breath exhale across my skin, and his hand squeezed my ass painfully through my thin pajama shorts. His nibbling turned to biting, and his kisses became so hard they stung.

I pulled his hair, forcing his head back as I grazed my tongue along his bottom lip. “Trevor,” I whispered. “Touch me, Trevor.”

He growled and shoved away from me, backing up. I dropped to my feet and breathed hard, holding his glare.

“Fuck this,” he barked, and then he reached out and yanked me away from the door, pulling it open. I watched as he charged out of the room, and I couldn’t help but smile as he ran away.

I immediately followed.

“Does this mean you’re tapping out?” I inquired with fake concern.

“No,” he bit out, storming down the hallway, the muscles in his back flexing. “Game change. New Players. There are plenty of other girls here, Rika.”

“And there are lots of guys here, too,” I threw back, following him down the stairs.

He stopped in the foyer and turned around to look at me, a dare in his eyes. “Is that so?” And then he smiled and twisted his head around, speaking to the crowd. “Listen up!” he shouted to all the guests hanging out. “Rika Fane is Horsemen property. Any guy lays a hand on her has to deal with us!” And then he turned back to me, lowering his voice with a smirk. “Good luck.”

I clenched my teeth together. Dammit.

Play his game. Play my game. It ultimately didn’t matter when he had more people on his team.

Fuck.

He turned around, knowing he’d won, and walked toward the kitchen, leaving me standing in the middle of the foyer, surrounded by people eyeing me and thinking God-Knows-What.

Horsemen property? Christ.

But then his words came back to me, and I paused. Any guy lays a hand on her…

I fought to hold back my grin.

Walking into sitting room, I scanned the area and then moved into the kitchen, finally spotting Alex at the island fixing herself a drink. She wore a tight black dress held up by a strap on one shoulder, bare on the other.

I approached her, and she immediately looked up. “Hey. Can you believe Will flew me here in his dad’s helicopter for this?” she said, setting down one bottle and picking up another. “Like I’m going to find a lot of business with the high school set. I mean I’m controversial, but not a pedophile.”

I snorted.

Not everyone here was in high school, and Alex certainly wasn’t much older than them. But yes, I could guess she was used to more sophisticated men.

I took a deep breath before I lost my nerve.

“How much do you charge?” I asked.

She set down the vodka and pinched her eyebrows together. “For what exactly?”

“For women.”

Present

PLENTY OF OTHER WOMEN HERE. Yeah, that was a fucking bluff if I’d ever heard one. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and I’d either have to swallow my pride and actually be nice to get into her bed tonight, or…

Or I’d have to pick another fight.

Either way, she’d have my number. She’d know I couldn’t stay away and that she was the only girl I wanted. How the fuck had that happened?

I stood outside on the patio with a few old friends—some locals who worked in town and some high school friends that never made it out of Thunder Bay—but I wasn’t listening to anything they were saying. I stayed rooted, my arms crossed over my chest, as I watched her through the windows talking to Alex at the kitchen island.

I couldn’t believe she’d called me Kai. And then fucking Trevor? She was doing it on purpose, but why would she challenge me?

She wanted me. Why not just give in?

But no, the more I tried to get her to melt for me and forget all the bullshit we’d gone through tonight, the more she opened her smart ass mouth to feed me her disdain. I couldn’t bend her anymore. She was laughing at me.

What if I’d completely corrupted her? What if she’d begun to like playing games too much, and the lust to play—and to win—overpowered her need for me?

What if her heart had hardened so much that she closed herself off in order to survive?

What if I was the one that had to bend?

Unease weighted on my shoulders, and I let out a breath. I need her.

I want her.

At least tonight I was safe. I’d won this round. No guy was going to come near her, so she’d eventually just go to bed in defeat.

She had no cards left to play.

I watched as she and Alex walked around the island, Goodbye Agony playing through the house, but then Rika stopped, looked up, and met my eyes through the glass. Leaving Alex standing in the middle of the kitchen, Rika opened the door and walked up to me, leaning in.

“You said no guys, right?” she asked, sounding mischievous. “Just making sure.”

One corner of her lips curled, and she turned, walking back inside. I watched as Alex shot me a smug, devious smile and took Rika’s hand, leading her out of the kitchen.

What the…?

I inched to the side, following them through the foyer with my eyes and seeing Rika cast one more glance behind her before they disappeared up the stairs.

No guys. Meaning…?

Charging for the door, I swung it open and bolted through the kitchen.

“Hey, where you going?” Kai grabbed my arm, stopping me. “We’ve got to talk about Damon.”

“Tomorrow.” I pulled away, dismissing him, and made my way through the foyer and up the stairs.

I couldn’t think about Damon right now. He was injured, and he wasn’t doing anything tonight.

Walking down the dimly lit hallway, I approached Rika’s bedroom, noticing that the door was open. The entire upstairs was quiet, the echoes of the music downstairs like a faraway hum.

But when I stepped into her doorway, I found the room empty. The lights were off, as they had been the last time I’d been up here, and her bed was still made.

I looked back down the hallway, narrowing my eyes. Where the hell was she?

Throwing open doors, I searched my parents’ room, my brother’s room, the guest bedrooms…But when I got to my room, I noticed a flicker of light coming from underneath the door.

Reaching out a slow hand, I turned the knob and pushed it open.

And my heart skipped a beat.

“Shit,” I barely whispered under my breath.

Alex sat on the side edge of the bed, and Rika stood between her legs, both girls with their hands on each other. Alex held Rika’s hips, staring up her and looking entirely too interested.

And Rika…

My fucking stomach was floating up into my throat, and I inched into the room, closing the door behind me.

Rika put one knee on the bed at Alex’s side, leaning her hips into Alex’s chest and threading her fingers into her hair, caressing Alex’s neck and shoulders.

Alex inched up Rika’s gray tank top, leaving soft kisses across her belly and darting out the tip of her tongue to taste Rika’s skin.

My cock rushed with blood and heat, swelling painfully.

She was going to win this round.

“What are you doing?” I was already sweating. Jesus.

Rika blinked her eyes up at me, gentle and calm. “Game change. New players,” she repeated my words. “You’re not needed. Sorry.”

And then she let out a moan, arching her body into Alex’s mouth and letting her head fall back.

I grunted, resisting the urge to adjust myself. Goddamn her. What the hell did she think she was doing?

Was she really willing to go this far to challenge me?

“You’re in my bed,” I pointed out, trying to look unaffected.

Rika grinned down at Alex who was still kissing her stomach, both of them practically ignoring me. “Your bed is bigger,” she answered. “You don’t mind, do you?”

I steeled my jaw, seeing her hands trail down Alex’s chest and grasp at her dress, pulling it up and off her body.

But I barely noticed, because I couldn’t take my eyes of Rika. She still wore her thin, pink pajama shorts, looking so sexy and innocent with her glowing skin and hair. I swallowed the dryness in my throat, not sure if she was bluffing, trying to get me to react, or if she really did want this. Both possibilities, though, would have her coming out on top. She’d know she was smarter and stronger.

Alex’s hands ran up and down Rika’s legs, and she started pulling down her shorts, nibbling the skin over Rika’s hip bone.

“Ah,” Rika groaned, her eyes closed. “Michael…”

I lost my breath, shaking my head and my heart in a thousand knots.

She was winning. I was playing her game, and I was fucking losing. God, I wanted her so goddamn much.

But this wasn’t over.

I circled the bed and grabbed Alex by the arm, yanking her up.

“Leave,” I ordered.

“What?” she blurted out, her eyes desperate. “Are you kidding me?”

I guessed she was getting turned on and probably hoped I’d let it continue and enjoy the show.

But I shoved her away, not caring how disappointed she was. Will, Kai, and dozens of other guys—and girls—were out there. Let her take her pick.

Alex snatched up her dress, huffing as she walked out and slamming the door behind her. When I turned back, Rika stood next to the bed, a slight smirk on her face. “Your move.”

I breathed out a laugh, towering over her as I hardened my tone. “Did you like that?” I asked. “How far were you willing to go with her?”

She licked her lips. “Maybe further,” she admitted. “Or maybe I knew I wouldn’t have to go far at all. Maybe I know you better than you think I do.”

Reaching up, I trailed a finger across her jaw. “Do you?”

She held my eyes, her chest rising and falling faster, and I could tell she wanted to lean into my hand. She wanted me to say sweet things and to give into her, and she wanted my heart. That’s why she was pushing me.

But I wanted to play.

“The thing is…” I stated, narrowing my eyes on her. “We have a problem. You weren’t invited into my bed, and you came in here without permission.”

Taking her hand, I pulled her across the room, feeling her stumble behind me as I forced her toward the door.

“Michael!” she cried out, seeing me open it. “What are you doing?”

I dragged her to the opposite side of the empty hallway, two doors down, and hauled her into a bedroom, throwing her forward and closing the door behind me.

“Now that’s a bed you’re more familiar with.” I gestured to my brother’s bed. “Get in it.”

She faced me, fisting her hands at her sides and breathing hard, all composure lost. She shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears.

Why was I doing this? I could’ve told her how much I wanted her, how much I needed her, and how, after nearly a week, I could still taste her. She could be underneath me in my bed right now, and I could be inside of her, listening to her pant and getting lost in the sheets and the feel of her the rest of the night.

“Michael,” she begged, her voice brittle. “Why are you doing this? After today and everything you put me through? Why are trying to hurt me more?”

“Are you tapping out?”

Her face cracked, and she dropped her head, her body shaking with sobs. “You’re sick, Michael. You’re sick.”

I ground my teeth together, approaching her. “When I found out last year that you were dating Trevor, I hated it. I hated you, but I hated that even more. I wanted to come in here and see you in his bed and how you would’ve looked—”

“Why?” she cut in.

I stared into her eyes, knowing that I barely understood the answer to that question myself. Ever since I was little, I remember being angry. Angry that my father tried to mold me into someone I wasn’t. Angry that he took her out of my arms. Angry that she and Trevor were always pushed together. Angry that I had to leave for college and leave her alone with my family.

And then I was angry that she’d betrayed me. Or so I thought.

But for some reason, the anger didn’t break me. It made me my own person, someone who was defiant and knew their own mind. I stood up to my father, I made my own decisions, and I was invincible. And I became very good at finding my amusement in other ways.

Growing up, every time she walked into a room and looked at me, wanting me to look back so badly, I felt powerful when I refused to indulge her. When I left the room as if she hadn’t been there at all.

I loved that I dominated her pretty little head more than my brother ever could.

And indulging in a little self-torture, like picturing her in here with him, kept me hot and on edge. I liked that, because I liked who I was. It made me strong. Would giving in to her change me?

“I like to hurt myself,” I told her. “I need this. Now take off your clothes and get in his bed.”

“Michael,” she breathed out, trying to argue.

But I just stood there like a wall, unbending.

Her chest rose and fell hard, but she calmed her features and squared her shoulders, looking back up at me.

Her mouth twisted in anger, but her eyes turned bold as she tore off her clothes and pulled down her panties, stepping out of them and walking to the bed.

My heart started to beat faster, and I folded my arms over my chest, trying to stay hard.

She pulled back the covers, her long, blonde hair flowing down her back, and climbed in. She laid down, pulling the forest green sheet up to her waist and leaving her breasts uncovered.

Resting a hand behind her head, she looked at me, her big eyes taunting me as her other hand rested on her bare stomach. She looked so fucking soft and warm and perfect.

He’d seen her like this. He’d laid next to her like this, and regret wracked though me, not because of the picture before me, but because it should never have been him. I could’ve had her—her first time, everything—and I let her go three years ago.

If it weren’t for me, she would never have turned to him.

What the hell was the matter with me? Was all the power I felt pretending like she didn’t exist greater than how fucking good she felt when I had her in my arms?

No. Not even close.

She cocked her head, her eyes pooling with tears. “I’m in his bed,” she pointed out. “You’re not going to do anything about it this time? I can moan his name or….maybe tell you about the four times in our months together that I let him have me, and how I tried so hard not to picture it being you.”

The blue of her eyes glistened and shook as tears started to spill down her temples into her hair.

“Maybe you’d like more of a visual instead?” she asked.

She sat up, pulling the pillow down, and swinging her leg over it, straddling it.

Rolling her hips, she began to ride the pillow like it was Trevor underneath her, tilting her head back and moaning.

Her beautiful, round ass grinded into the fabric, her back arching as she picked up pace, while her hair swayed against her back.

Pain shot through my chest, and my fists clenched.

“Rika,” I murmured, feeling like I’d lost her.

But then she groaned and whispered, “Michael.”

And I narrowed my eyes, inching up the bed to see her face.

Her eyes were closed, and she let out a hard breath, a small smile crossing her face as she rode the pillow. “Michael.”

She picked up the pace, grinding harder and faster, her tight stomach waving in and out, and her full breasts swaying with her movements.

She grunted as her dry-fucking grew more rigorous, and her face tightened in pain as she rode harder and harder. “Oh, God. Oh, fuck.”

And Trevor was gone. He wasn’t in the room anymore.

She was mine.

I unfastened my belt and dropped my jeans to the floor, kneeling behind her on the bed.

I lost track of what the score was, whose move it was, or what game we were even

playing anymore.

We want what we want.

I wrapped a hand around the front of her neck and pulled her against me. Her head fell back on my shoulder, and my cock stood straight up, brushing against her ass.

“What are you doing to me?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

She was tearing me up, and I wasn’t sure I cared. I just wanted to burn.

Dipping a hand down to her pussy, I slid two fingers inside her and pumped them in and out, bringing out her wetness and rubbing it over her clit.

She moaned, turning her head toward me as she reached around with her hand and held the back of my neck.

“I’m not tough, Michael,” she whispered. “Not really. I can play, and I can let you fuck me in your brother’s bed or on your father’s desk and use me as an object to get back at them, but in the end—” She paused and then continued, “In the end I’m still here, Michael. I’m still here. It’s still just you and me.”

She breathed hard against my skin, and I dropped my head, caving. I wrapped both of my arms around her and held her warm body tight as I buried my face in her neck. I couldn’t ever let her go.

“Just you and me,” she repeated.

“Promise me,” I demanded against the silky skin of neck.

But promise me what? What did I want from her?

Promise you’ll never leave me? Promise you belong to me? Promise you’re mine?

I raised my head, turning her lips toward me and kissing her deep and fast, her taste sending a rush of pleasure to my cock.

I pulled away, breathing against her lips. “Promise you’ll never say no to me. Promise you’ll never keep yourself from me.”

She grabbed my bottom lip between her teeth, sucking and kissing. “I’ll never say no,” she answered but then added with a smile in her voice, “as long as you keep me screaming yes.”

I groaned, pushing her down on her hands and knees and grabbing her hips, yanking them back as her legs willingly spread for me.

“Only as long as you need me then, huh?” I said playfully, taking my cock in my hand and gliding the tip up and down her warm pussy. “Only as long as you need this?”

Finding her wet heat, I pushed the head inside, forcing it into her tight body, and then pulled it back out, seeing her shake.

“Michael,” she moaned, looking over her shoulder.

And I slid the head back in, her pussy wrapping around me so hot that I just wanted to plunge inside of her. “You’ll never say no to me. You know it.”

And then I pulled back out, hearing her whine in frustration.

“Michael!” She slammed a fist into the comforter and then shot up, spinning around and pushing me back on to the bed.

My spine hit the footboard, keeping me halfway upright, and my heart throbbed in my chest, seeing her crawl on top of me like a little an animal, completely out of control.

She straddled my waist, and I grabbed her hips, smiling and gloating as she dug her nails into my shoulder with one hand and positioned my cock underneath her with the other.

She sunk her body down on me, and I slid inside of her, squeezing her ass in my hands as I pulled her forward to catch her nipple in my mouth. I darted out my tongue, flicking the pebbled flesh and wanting to take a bite out of her. She tasted so fucking good.

She rolled her hips, clutching the footboard behind me in one hand and my shoulder in the other as she let her head fall back, moaning and grinding and fucking.

“That’s it.” I gripped her ass, pulling her into me again and again. “That’s it, baby. This is what you were built for. Me.”

I grunted, my cock so fucking hard for her. Taking one of her tits in my hand, I held it to my mouth, playing with her nipple again, licking and biting as she ground faster and faster, fucking me so good.

“Ah, ah,” she cried out.

And then she dived down, plastering her chest to my body and kissing me, the feel of her breath against my mouth covering my skin with heat.

God, I was addicted.

“Don’t look to anyone else to give you this,” I growled in a whisper, kissing her again.

“Michael,” she panted softly. “I never wanted anyone else. Don’t you see that?”

She pulled back, sitting upright, and I watched her close her eyes and her glowing skin move in front of me as her breasts bounced with her movements. Her hair fell over her shoulders and down her back, revealing her scar, and I reached up, running my thumb down its length.

“So beautiful,” I whispered.

She gasped, moving faster and faster. “Oh, God,” she whimpered.

And I felt my cock rush with heat, and I tensed up, squeezing my eyes shut. “Christ,” I groaned. “Baby, you better slow down or be ready to come.”

“I’m coming,” she breathed out. “I’m coming.”

And then she pumped harder and faster, a light layer of sweat on her neck, and then she locked up, stilling as she dug her nails into my shoulders.

“Oh, God!” she cried out, jerking into me again and again.

And I grunted, pumping my hips up into her and spilling inside of her as my abs tightened and every muscle in my body strained and burned.

She collapsed on top of me, burying her lips in my neck, and for several seconds it was just us breathing. The rise and fall of my chest with hers, and I never wanted to move from this spot.

Rika. Little Monster.

“I don’t forgive you for what you’ve done to me,” she whispered, her voice still shaking from the orgasm. “But you’re right. I don’t think I can say no to you.”

I closed my eyes, threading a hand through her hair and holding her close.

I don’t think I can say no to you, either.

I RUB MY HANDS UP AND DOWN my face, groaning with the weight on my eyes and the ache in my head.

“Shit,” I grumble, turning my head slowly and seeing that I’m in the media room.

“Did we finish that whole bottle?” I hear Kai ask.

I tilt my head back, spotting him on the other couch with his face buried in his hands. I glance at the table in front of him, seeing an empty bottle of Johnnie Walker.

Peeling myself off the sofa, I sit up, my stomach rolling and a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Goddamn,” he says, pulling out his phone. “She must be pretty damn sweet to get you to drink like that.”

“Fuck you,” I growl under my breath.

I hear him give a weak laugh as I try to steady myself. The room is spinning, and I blow out a breath, feeling bile rise in my throat as last night comes flooding back.

The warehouse. Rika.

I had her in my arms. Finally. Why did I fuck it up?

But then I hear Kai’s ragged breath, and I look up to see him staring wide-eyed at his phone.

“Michael,” he says, looking scared. “Get your fuckin’ phone out, man.”

I reach over to my hoodie that I tore off last night and dig into the pocket, pulling out my cell. Swiping the screen, I see a list of notifications, messages, and tweets a mile long.

What the hell? My heart starts pounding, and I start clicking, catching words like ‘cop’, ‘statutory rape’, and ‘Horsemen’.

What?

My mouth goes dry as I see images of Kai, Will, and Damon, and I don’t know what the fuck is happening. Why are these pictures online?

“The phone,” Kai breathes out, looking up at me like the wind had been knocked out of him.

I click on the videos, my stomach dropping when I see Kai and Will with the cop, him hanging on by a thread as they hit him again and again. When I get to Damon’s video, the girl’s face is as clear as day, and I scan the comments, seeing words like ‘rapist’ and ‘jail’, as well as other girls claiming he’d done the same thing to them.

It’s everywhere. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter…there’s even a news article going on about us as if we’re a gang. A fucking gang?

“What the fuck happened?” I yell. “How did this shit get online?”

“I don’t know!” Kai bursts out, breathing a mile a minute. “Will…”

We both think the same thing. He has the phone, but he wouldn’t do this! To us or himself.

Ignoring my notifications, I dial him to see where the phone is. He doesn’t answer, but when I glance back at my screen, I see missed texts from Damon.

We’re so fucked! The first one says.

And then another one a few minutes later. Rika has the phone! She had Will’s sweatshirt last night!

I shake my head, meeting Kai’s eyes, knowing he got the same texts. No. She wouldn’t do that. She would never hurt me.

Throwing down my phone, I charge out of the room, hearing loud knocks on the front door as I rush through the house.

Excited voices fill the downstairs, and I feel like the walls are getting closer and closer, and I can’t turn anywhere.

Coming up outside the kitchen, I stop, hearing Trevor’s voice.

“So those are the guys you want to be around?” he snarls. “Rapists and criminals?”

I know he’s talking to Rika, but I don’t hear her say anything. The vein in my neck throbs, and I hear feet storming though the house. I don’t have to look to know it’s the cops. They might be looking for me, but they are definitely looking for Kai.

“Michael’s nothing, and if you want to be around him so much, you’ll end up just like his friends,” Trevor goes on.

“I have no interest in being around him,” Rika replies, a bite to her voice. “And his friends got what they deserved.”

My lungs empty, and I step into the doorway, glaring at her back. Trevor looks up at me, and Rika spins around, hurt and sorrow in her blood-shot eyes. She can barely look at me.

And then my gaze drops to her hand, spotting Will’s black hoodie with the tear in the sleeve from the fight with Miles last night.

Clenching my teeth so hard my jaw aches, I back away, holding her eyes. Kai is shouting down the hall, the cops having found him, no doubt, and I stare at her, rage wrapping around every inch of my body like steel armor.

This is my fault.

I’ll never be able to make this right.

They’ll suffer, because I trusted her.

Opening my eyes, I threw the sheets off, sweat covering my chest and neck.

The memory of that day was like a sickness I couldn’t shake. Seeing Kai in handcuffs, my friends splashed all over the local news, and knowing that none of it would’ve happened if I hadn’t brought her with us the night before.

That Sunday, they would’ve gone back to school and carried on, building their lives and looking forward to the next time we could all wreak a little havoc together. Nothing would’ve ended.

If only I hadn’t brought her with us.

I turned my head, seeing her fast asleep next to me, and my arms hummed with the need to hold her. Her lashes were dark against her alabaster skin, and there was the smallest little space between her lips as she breathed in and out calmly.

Shifting onto my side and propping myself up on my elbow, I ran a light hand down her face, tracing the scar on her neck, and continuing down her body.

I leaned in and kissed her hair, breathing her in.

Nothing was her fault.

She was one of us—she was ours—and not only did I have a mountain of shit to do to make this right, but I almost feared that nothing would be enough. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted from her, but I knew I didn’t want to lose her.

And she’d grown very good at having a mind of her own.

Leaving her to sleep, I showered and dressed in black pants and a white dress shirt, knowing I’d have to take care of some business today.