Chapter 33
Hawk
Olivia straightens like she’s going to say something else to Annie, but Annie hits her again. Annie’s face is twisted with hate. Fuck, this was worth it. Watching Annie claim us is fucking perfection. Olivia snarls as she straightens.
Before Olivia can gain her bearings, Damon steps between the two of them, facing Annie, and backs her up a few steps. He tips her flushed face up.
“That’s enough, little devil. Go with Cam and take care of your friend.” Damon glances over his shoulder at Olivia. “I’ll make sure this goes away. For good.”
Annie looks like she wants to protest, like maybe she just wants to fight Olivia and be done with it. But we wouldn’t let Olivia touch Annie.
“It’s okay. Let me do this for you.” Damon lowers his forehead to Annie’s and closes his eyes. She releases her breath and closes her eyes, resting her hands on his waist. They stay like that for several heartbeats until she draws in a breath.
When he opens his eyes, she whispers, “I love you.”
His smile is softer than I’ve ever seen it. “I love you.”
Annie steps back, and as tempted as I am to go with her and Cam, I’m needed here. No one trusts Olivia, and I’m not sure she won’t provoke Damon. As much as I hate her, Olivia can’t have a way to bring Damon down.
“I’ll stay here with Damon.” I take Annie’s hand and want to say so much, but my throat closes up. She said she loves me, but now isn’t the time for me to figure out how she makes me feel. I clear the lump from my throat and say, “Keep me posted, Annie.”
She nods and turns with those worried eyes to Cam. He jerks his head, and she follows him without a glance back. Tears are drying on Olivia’s face as Damon turns to her. Her face is red on the cheek Annie struck.
He nods at me. I close the door so there won’t be any more interruptions.
What Olivia has said so far might not be enough for the police to get her on drugging a minor, but we’re close.
Olivia’s parents will pay off Keira, and Olivia will likely get a slap on her wrist. Maybe even do a stint at a rehab center.
Rich kids rarely go to jail, and Olivia’s father is a well-connected, powerful lawyer.
“Keira’s sixteen,” I offer.
Olivia’s angry eyes lift to mine. “So?”
Damon walks to the desk and sits in the chair facing Olivia. “You can do time for drugging a minor with the intent to sexually assault her.”
“Bullshit.” Olivia straightens and wipes at her cheeks. “There’s no proof it was me. She was at a party drinking. It could have been anyone.”
“Except you admitted it to us.” I lean against the wall.
“Yeah, but it’s not like anyone would believe you guys over me.
It would be your word against mine. Even if I did put a drug in a drink, there’s no proof I was the one who gave her the drink.
Besides, this is all posturing on your part.
” Olivia looks at Damon like he’s contracted a deadly disease.
“Maybe your reputation has been oversold.”
“How’s that?” Damon cocks his head to the side.
“You want me to believe that you…” She gestures to him, waving her hand up and down.
“Are in love with an ant? I mean, I believe her when she says it. Fuck, she dated Chase, who is a known manwhore, for months. She’s pretty desperate, and you’re hot.
But you loving her? I don’t believe it. I assume this is some sort of revenge plot?
Because that’s the only thing that makes sense. ”
She’s a little too close to the truth. We may have started out with revenge on our minds, but that seems so long ago. Annie’s become more to all of us. If she weren’t on board with bringing Chase down, we’d have ended this farce of her trying to get back together with him.
“You just can’t let go of the fact I chose Evan over you.” Damon smirks and shakes his head like she’s so far beneath him.
Olivia narrows her eyes at him. “Everything I’ve done has been for you. I even stooped low enough to find an ant to entice you with. Another little director nerd. Used my scarce supply of pills on her so you’d both have a good time. How was I supposed to know she couldn’t handle it?”
“You drugged her. What did you expect to happen?” I ask.
Olivia turns to me. “I’ve taken it before. I was fine. Maybe her destitute body couldn’t handle designer drugs? That’s not on me.”
“Except she didn’t know you were giving her a drink with drugs in it.” I relax my hands on my legs when I really want to throttle this girl. Drugging Keira is bad enough, but she wanted to pull that shit with Annie. Not on my watch. Not ever.
“Whatever.” She folds her arms across her chest and turns to Damon. “You’ve got nothing but your word. My father would crush you in court, so that’s not going to help you. Maybe I’ll go find a real man to fuck me since you only seem to want to slum it. I hope she’s worth it.”
Damon’s smile tells her everything. “She is.”
Olivia’s eyes narrow and she heads to the door. Before she can touch the doorknob, Damon clears his throat. I smile because this is when he shuts the trap.
She stops and huffs, “What else can you possibly have to say?”
“Did I forget to mention this whole thing has been recorded?” Damon leans back with his legs spread and his hands threaded together over his stomach. “Video and audio.”
Olivia glances around.
“Don’t worry. I’m not poor. I can afford the high-quality stuff. You’ll never find them.”
She glares with a glint in her eyes. “You’re bluffing.”
I hold out my phone with the video playback from when she came into the room. “Definitely not bluffing.”
Olivia goes still as she watches herself help Keira into the room. She pales and the martyred look drops from her face.
“I’m betting the police will be real interested to find out what happened in this room when a sixteen-year-old turns up at the hospital with alcohol and a date rape drug in her system.
” Damon glances my way. “How long is the federal jail time for drugging a minor with the intent to sexually assault them? Up to twenty years?”
“Sounds right.” I’m not confident in my answer, but it seems legit. “State and federal would both want a piece of you, plus they’d want to know your supplier. Drug dealers get pretty twitchy when someone like you might turn on them. Especially for a reduced sentence.”
Olivia staggers like I hit her. “What? But Tanner—”
“Is probably a dealer.” Damon stands but doesn’t approach her. “I mean, why else would he willingly give a chick like you drugs? The first time is always free. He probably wanted you to spread it around so he’d make bank selling party favors.”
Real fear plays across her face. “What will it take?”
“What will what take?” I stand and lean against the wall like I have all day. “You drugged my girl’s friend. Once the cops get involved, there’s not much we can do.”
Damon smirks. “Except be law-abiding citizens and turn the video in.”
“You must need something, or you wouldn’t be here talking to me. You would already be showing the police that video.” Olivia glares at both of us. “What do you want from me?”
“Leave Damon alone.”
“Oh, that ship has already sailed.” She shakes her head. “I’ve already worked too fucking hard for low results.”
“I need to hear you say it.” Damon straightens off the wall and takes a step toward her. “You won’t come near me or Evan again.”
“Fine, I won’t come near you or EvanAnn again.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Anything else?”
“You’re going to make sure Keira gets a generous scholarship to the college of her choice.” I make sure to meet her eyes. “A full ride, tuition and living expenses.”
“And how am I supposed to pull that off?” She throws her hands up.
“Tell daddy the truth. I’m sure he’ll pay whatever it takes to keep Keira and us quiet.” I know we all come from privilege, but Keira is a scholarship kid just like Annie. And tonight could have fucked up Keira’s future. So I’m going to make sure she gets what she needs for the future.
“Fine.” Olivia turns like she’s going to leave.
“Not so fast.” Damon’s words make her pause and flinch a little. “I still have one more thing I need from you.”
She drags in an impatient breath. “What?”
“Did Chase hit something while you were giving him road head?” Damon leans against the wall like this isn’t that important. Like this isn’t the whole purpose of everything we’ve done this year. This bitch and Chase Chadwick ruined Damon’s future. But it also gave us Annie.
“He swerved and it sounded like he might have hit an animal. I’m just that good,” she snaps with attitude. “Not that you’ll ever find out now.”
“Don’t worry.” I give her a mean smile and glance at Damon. “You aren’t missing anything.”
We fucked a while ago. A party hookup I barely remember. She glares at me.
“You said you laughed with him about dating Evan. Why is Chase so desperate to keep dating her?” Damon asks. It’s what we’ve all been wondering. She’s not giving him sex. Yes, he uses her for an alibi, but when she broke up with him, why not find another girl? Why keep trying to get Annie back?
Olivia smirks. Her eyes dart to the healed scar on Damon’s face as if she’s beginning to put things together based on our questions. She laughs, but it’s abrupt and bitter.
“I was right, wasn’t I?” Olivia gets this look like she thinks it’s precious. “You want revenge on Chase Chadwick, so you stole his girl. I tried to warn you she was a prude.”
“Tick tock, Olivia,” I say with my hand on my phone. “I can just send this to the police, and they can take care of you. Or you can tell us what we want to know.”
She glares. “That’s the question everyone asks, why the little nerd?”
I’m tempted to send the file and fuck this bitch over. Honestly, we might send it anyway. I don’t trust her.
“If you don’t have the answer…” Damon shrugs. “It’s not like you know everything.”
“Oh, I know some of it.” She’s smug now.
“Fuck it. Let’s just send it to the police and let them sort it out.” I press a few things on my phone.
“No!” Olivia’s facade drops. “But I don’t know all of it.
His dad wanted him to date someone like EvanAnn.
Someone smart and going places. A good influence.
Chase figured he’d use her this year. Daddy wasn’t going to introduce his whore son with a drug problem to his friends who could make him a star.
” She chuckles. “Chase isn’t that bright, but he knows how to use people to get what he wants.
He gave EvanAnn what she wanted. A boyfriend.
And in return, she polished his reputation with his father.
She may be a scholarship kid, but there’s a reason she’s at Anteros and why they’ll splash her name over any future recruitment efforts. ”
She gives a cold smile. “And Chase wants to attach his career to her rising star. In his father’s eyes, EvanAnn can do no wrong. And with Chase dating her, Chase gets a shiny new respectability with his father. And the connections his father wanted to withhold.”