Chapter 11
SEPTEMBER 11 – THURSDAY 12:15 PM
R en
Myles burst into the cafeteria, his face shifting from sweet and loving to murderous when he saw me.
“What in the ever-lovin’ fuck? Blake said to prepare myself, but he didn’t tell me that I’d be wantin’ to kill someone.”
He sat down beside me and softly brushed my cheek. I always wanted to press myself into him like a cat. Myles could comfort me with the smallest of touches.
“I’ll be fine. It looks a lot worse than it is,” I said, grabbing his hand and linking our fingers.
“I’m gonna kill Vicky. I swear it,” he snarled.
“You’re going to have to get in line,” Theo said as he walked up, looking as perfectly put together and in control as that first day I met him.
You’d never know that anything was going on between him and Liam. Well…other than the fact that he didn’t look at Liam or sit down in his usual spot.
“Yer not gettin’ first crack at the bitch,” Myles growled.
Theo crossed his arms.
“Not what I meant. No one is killing her…at least not in the near future.”
“Why,” Blake asked.
“Because Mr. Genovese just walked into the office, and he did not look pleased,” Theo said.
Nash spit his coffee out on the table, choking. What the hell?
“You okay down there?” Theo gave Nash a questioning look.
“Yup, just went down the wrong way,” he said, wiping up the coffee.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen Nash nervous, but it was there in his eyes.
“You’re serious? Mr. Genovese is here,” Liam asked, and even I shivered as Theo turned his gaze down to Liam.
“Yes, I saw him myself. He looked livid. I’m going to go back out to the foyer and watch the drama unfold. Anyone else interested?”
“Count me in. Anything that humiliates Vicky makes me happy.” Blake stood, and we gathered our things before finding a spot to watch the show.
Vicky’s screaming echoed around the foyer before they even left the office. Ivy was the first to emerge, and I met her halfway, hugging her.
“What happened? What did Dean Henry decide,” I asked as we walked back to the guys.
“I have detention for going after Vicky. But I will happily take the ten days punishment.” Ivy crossed her arms. “Mr. Genovese is so calm it’s scary.”
“What do you mean?”
“When he walked in, Vicky folded in on herself. He didn’t even say a word. She looked like a little kid. It was freaky.”
“So why is she in there screamin’ like a banshee,” Myles asked as more yelling filled the hall. “Is she getting expelled for good this time?”
“No, Dean Henry was going to expel her, but Mr. Genovese asked him not to. He told the dean that he would be staying in town until graduation and would keep his daughter from causing any more trouble.” Ivy pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “The freakout started when he told her that he was taking away all of her credit cards, her car, and that she had to do community service for the remainder of the year.”
“No, shit…Vicky without her credit cards?” Blake laughed hard. “No wonder she is losing her mind.”
“This isn’t fair!” Vicky yanked open the door, and we all watched as she threw a tantrum to rival any two-year-old.
Vicky turned her eyes in my direction and snarled. “This is all your fault. I’m being punished because you’re pathetic,” she said, taking a step in my direction.
“Victoria Gabriella Genovese!” Even I swallowed as the man who had to be her father stepped out of the office. Vicky froze. “Do I need to repeat myself?”
Mr. Genovese held an air of authority that Lawrence would pay to pull off. With his midnight black hair and impressive height, he looked like he had just stepped out of a mafia movie or off the cover of one of my novels. Tattoos lined hands that held large silver rings, and his eyes unusual gray eyes were cool as steel as he glared at his daughter’s back.
“You are acting like a spoiled child,” he said, and I couldn’t agree more.
Vicky turned—her hands balled into fists as she stomped her foot.
“But Papa, it’s her fault, not mine. She’s always pushing my buttons on purpose. All I did was spike the ball. She didn’t get her hands up. This is not fair.”
His intense gaze shifted in my direction, paralyzing me to the spot. Just as quickly, he snapped back to Vicky.
“Do you want me to continue taking your things away? Treat you like the child you’re acting? I’m disgusted by your conduct. Had I known that your mother was allowing you to act like this unchecked, I would’ve forced you home last year.”
“But Papa….”
He lifted one finger, and Vicky’s mouth snapped shut.
“Not another word, or the next thing to go will be your phone, then every piece of designer clothing you own, followed by your trust fund.” Her mouth fell open. “I will not tolerate this behavior. You will not throw my name around that way and shame me. You’ll learn humility starting right now.”
He stepped into her personal space, forcing her to look up at him.
“One more call from Dean Henry…about anything other than how well you’re doing in classes, and you’ll regret the consequences of your actions. Do not test me, mia figlia.”
Vicky looked around at the dozens of people holding their collective breath. No one moved or blinked.
“Now, you will apologize for what you’ve done, and I better be satisfied with your performance, or you will do it again and again until I am.”
Vicky looked like she’d rather chew glass as she walked toward me. Mr. Genovese followed like a dangerous shadow. Vicky’s mouth moved, but no words came out. Sighing, she cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry for hitting you in the face with the volleyball,” she said.
“And…” Mr. Genovese prompted. That one word held so much weight, and even though it wasn’t directed at me, my heart pounded harder.
Vicky’s misery was bringing me untold joy. She was in full meltdown mode, and if her father wasn’t standing behind her, something very different would come out of her mouth. He was delusional if he believed that Vicky would ever learn to be humble or kind.
“I’m sorry that I’ve bullied you since you arrived. It was wrong of me, and it won’t happen again.” She held out her hand, and I stared at it like it was a snake ready to strike. “Can we call a truce and try to start over?”
My eyes ping-ponged between Vicky and her father, who was extremely imposing up close. His square jaw and unwavering gaze were as if the covers of Serial Killers Are Among Us and GQ magazine had merged into a person.
I held out my unbandaged hand and she shook it, but I felt like I’d just made a deal with a shark. At some point, she would get hungry and wouldn’t be able to resist biting it off.
“Good, now go wait in the car for me,” he ordered.
It was the first time I realized that there were a dozen massive guards with him. I’d been so hypnotized that I hadn’t even noticed the army of black suits.
“Papa….” She started, but with one arch of his brow, Vicky pressed her lips together.
Damn, I needed to learn that trick. Vicky sulked and walked away, with guards following.
As soon as she was gone, Mr. Genovese gazed down at me. It felt like he was analyzing me or searching my face for something. Then again, he could’ve just been taking in the black and blue raccoon mask I was sporting. I was not looking my finest.
“I would like to personally extend an apology for my daughter’s treatment of you. I was unaware of the escalation, and I do not condone her behavior. If you need anything, please let Dean Henry know, and it will be handled.”
Before I could think of a reply, he looked at Nash, nodded, and walked away. His entourage followed in his wake.
“That right there is who we all aspire to become. He is the youngest recorded Don of Dons, who didn’t kill his father to take the throne. I think he’s like forty…if that.” That was more than impressive. It was scary. “They also say that only one student in every five generations at Wayward will accomplish what Mr. Genovese has. Makes me wonder what he was like at our age,” Theo said.
The foyer was quiet. It felt as if everyone was waiting to be told they could speak again. Just like that, another layer of blinders was ripped away.
Wayward allowed us to be teens, but outside the gates, we were the next heads of families. Whether that was in a political ring or the darker underground organizations, knowing it and seeing it were very different things. Lawrence was no example. Everyone, including his son, wanted him dead, and no one trusted him. But the hushed respect around the room was loud and clear.
Mr. Genovese was not just a leader. He was a man who had found a way to live in both the criminal and common world. More impressively than that, he was who other men strived to be, which could easily be seen in the guy’s eyes. That made him a bigger target than anyone else but also more powerful.
The iron fist that Lawrence ruled by would only last so long, and at some point, he would fall—most likely in a Machiavellian manner. But from what Theo said, Mr. Genovese lived by a different set of rules.
“Why did he nod at you,” Liam asked Nash.
“No clue,” Nash said, shrugging, his face completely blank.
I couldn’t help thinking he knew more than he was letting on. That was the problem with Nash. No matter how much you learned, he played his cards close to the vest.
SEPTEMBER 11 – THURSDAY 10:11 PM
Nash
Fucking Vicky.
Ren had disappeared with Ivy after Mr. Genovese left, but that didn’t stop me from seeing the bruising and swelling in my mind. Despite the show Vicky put on in the foyer, I knew she’d try something again, and part of my deal with her father was to keep her in line. Apparently, going more than forty-eight hours after the start of school before acting out was too difficult. She was going to get me killed, and there was no way in hell that was happening.
Chantry was staying with Ren and Ivy for the night, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to have a private conversation with the thorn in my side. From my position by the window, I watched her car pull up to the front doors. Vicky exited the vehicle, not waiting for her driver to open the door, and solemnly climbed the stairs. The conversation with her father clearly hadn’t been enjoyable.
Pulling my knife, I got into position and waited. The shadows gave away her arrival before she unlocked the door. I silently stepped from my spot as she entered her room. Vicky managed a small scream as I fisted her hair and slammed her up against the wall. The tip of my knife was pressed to the side of her neck.
“You just can’t keep from being a bitch,” I said.
“Nash,” her voice came out terrified, which matched her trembling body.
“I warned you. I told you not to go near Ren, and yet, here we are.”
“I swear, I didn’t mean to break her nose.” My blade pushed a little deeper into her skin. “I’m serious. I’m not lying. Yes, I meant to spike it at her, but how was I to know she wouldn’t block it like a normal person or get the hell out of the way?”
“I really don’t give a fuck what your intentions were. What matters is the result. So this is what’s going to happen. You’re going to stop fucking my father before he kills you. You’re going to leave Ren alone, so I don’t kill you. When the school year is done you won’t have to see either one of them ever again. Understand?”
She pushed her ass back into my crotch and wiggled.
“Why don’t you just say you want me back? I know you do.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. Nash, my mother told me that my Papa signed a contract for me. I know that you visited him this summer.”
“You know all of that, do you?”
“Yes,” she said huskily and rubbed against me again. “I told you that I don’t want your father. I’ve only ever wanted you. I was only with him to piss you off.”
“Well, at least you can admit that you were acting like a cunt. Good for you. Do you remember me walking in on the two of you? Fucking disgusting. Did you really think that stunt would work?”
Moving the knife, I folded it up and stuffed it back in my pocket. Vicky turned and faced me, stupidly throwing her arms around my neck.
“I’m sorry. I’ve missed you so much,” she said and kissed the side of my throat. “Please fuck me. Complete the contract, and I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll be as sweet as pie to Ren. I’ll even bring her breakfast in bed if you want.” Vicky nipped at my lip and wrapped her leg around my waist.
Pulling her arms off me so she wasn’t touching me and pushing her back, I stared into her eyes.
“Nash…please….”
“No. The contract I signed with your father has very strict instructions that I must follow.”
She crossed her arms and shook her head at me.
“That means no sex?”
“Among other things, yes.”
“But it’s just us. He’ll never find out.” She stepped toward me, and I grabbed her arms, forcing her to keep her distance.
“But I would, and I have too much respect for your father to break his trust. So, no. Not unless you want your contract to disappear. You’ll stay away from both my father and Ren. I fucking mean it. Keep your shit in line, Vicky. Find some self-control. You’re like a bitch in heat. It’s not attractive.”
“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’ll do what you say because I know that I won, and that’s all that matters. Everyone else will know it soon enough.”
She was right. Everyone would know the details soon enough, and that was what I was worried about. I’d painted myself into a complicated corner.
Grabbing the handle, I opened the door.
“Nash?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for choosing me.”
“Just follow the fucking rules, Vicky, or the entire contract will fall apart,” I said.
“I will…for you. I promise.”
“Fuck my life,” I growled under my breath, walking down the hallway.