Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
RYE
“So, what the hell happened at Silver Lake?"
Mac starts the inquisition I expected.
He looks at me from behind his glass filled with dark liquor, the fireplace roaring in his office.
A lot happened at Silver Lake. A lot I’ve tried to wrap my head around. The problem is, whenever I do, all I remember is my hand wrapped around her throat.
“Last night was a mistake.”
It didn’t feel like a mistake.
“Yeah, what happened?” Ember presses. She tries to get Hannah’s attention from behind her canvas by the bay window.
Hannah avoids Ember’s eyes, sitting on the floor in front of the vintage fireplace. She cradles a mug of coffee held up to her face, still in a rawer state than I’m used to. Her hair hangs damp from her long shower, an oversized hoodie over her small frame.
It takes everything not to take her to one of the many empty rooms and ask her if my cock deep inside her still feels like a mistake.
“What are you two hiding?” Mac asks when neither of us answers.
Hannah finds my gaze. I arch a brow.
I don’t know if I should be the one to share what happened. I don’t know if she’s ready for everyone else to see that side of her. Before I can think it through, she nods, giving me the green light.
Turning my attention back to Mac, his eyes narrow, looking between us, like he's trying to read our cues.
“Daddy left her,” I answer, puffing another cigarette. “He saw a certain photo from a Crimson party.”
“Wait, your dad left you on an island?” Ember asks, sitting up on her stool, her overalls splattered with paint. “Alone?"
"Rye stayed," Hannah says. Then she groans. “I can’t believe a girl from The Valley is judging me.”
“It’s not your fault,” I remind her, eyeing the way she brings her knees to her chest. It's like she’s embarrassed for her father's actions when he should be the one ashamed of how he treats her. “Your father’s a prick.”
“Aren’t they all?” Mac tips his glass towards me as if to celebrate our fucked up existence. Taking a sip, his eyes move between Hannah and me again. “So, how did you guys end up passing the time? Alone. Just the two of you?”
“Why are you so intrigued?” I ask, biding time while I try to figure out if I should admit committing the forbidden sin. “You jealous?”
Ember’s head whips to Mac’s, and the shift in his face tells me he’s about to retaliate in the worst way.
“No, I have my girl, Rowen,” Mac says. “We’re solid, so don’t try that shit with me just because you won’t admit you two fucked last night.”
“Should’ve seen that coming.” My drink comes to my lips while Mac gives me an asshole grin.
He recently took over his father’s business.
And his office. It’s not what it used to be, a cold place for his father's shady practices.
It's now half office, half art studio, Ember's influence taking over. Books line the walls from the floor to the ceiling, easels and canvases littered throughout. SBU hockey memorabilia sits on some of the shelves. Dark wood mixes with brown leather furniture. It’s a perfect combination of Mac and Ember.
“You guys fucked, didn’t you?” Ember confirms, her gaze lingering on Hannah.
Hannah groans again, her cheeks reddening. Her words from this morning sweep through my head.
“Last night was a mistake.”
“Don’t be shy.” My abs tighten. “We’re all friends here. You can tell everyone how much you enjoyed being under the control of my cock."
Hannah winces at Ember as Ember’s gaze turns into a glare, something unsaid between them.
“If it helps, you guys aren’t hiding a thing,” Mac says. “The fucked up sexual energy between you says more than you think." That doesn’t help at all.
“Crowns!” Gray stumbles into the office in a wrinkled outfit that looks like it’s been through a lot.
Designer jeans, a red shirt with mismatched buttons rolled up to his elbows.
He drops into a tufted leather chair in the corner, settling in.
His eyes follow Mac’s to Hannah to mine.
“What happened?" He's known us long enough to read the room in seconds, despite clearly being on one from last night.
Mac doesn’t hesitate. "Hannah and Rowen spent the night on a private island."
“Mac!” Hannah yells.
Doing us both a favour, I shift the topic to the other thing stuck in my head. “Any eyes on Krystal?”
“She wasn’t on campus,” Gray responds, that ache in my head returning. “Checked around this morning when I left Kelly’s dorm.” He winks, proud of his conquests, but my fists clench as I rise to my feet. Gray’s still too fucked up to trust his efforts.
“I’ll find her.” That’s where I should’ve been last night. With her. Instead, I was busy with the She-Devil.
"She needs some time." Hannah’s voice stops me from walking out of the office. “She’s feeling super powerless right now. I wouldn't want to show my scarred face on campus either. Not for everyone to talk about.”
“Why is Hannah speaking as if she knows anything about hardship?” Gray looks around the room, chuckling.
“Why are you speaking as if you know anything besides the names of porn stars?” Hannah bites back.
“I heard you spent the night on a private island.” Gray laughs. “You wouldn’t know hardship if daddy stamped it on his credit card and slapped you across the face.”
“Fuck you, Gray!” Hannah’s knuckles whiten, her grip tight around her mug.
“You can’t fight your villains alone, Alfonso.” Yeah, I’m mad I spent the night with her instead of being with Krystal. But she can’t keep acting like her life is perfect.
Gray’s head whips to me. So does Mac’s. Even Ember peeks out from behind her canvas again.
"Oh." Gray sits up like he's about to watch his favourite team. "So, I really did miss something between you two.”
"It wasn’t a vacation on my private island, you idiot," Hannah says. "It was a teeny empty patch of land my father left me on because he saw a photo of me at Rye’s party.”
The room goes silent, but not for long, Gray whistling. “I guess I should be grateful my father only ever gave my uncle a black eye.”
“Oh, he gets physical, too,” Hannah says.
“Hannah.” Ember puts down her canvas, her eyes giving Hannah that look I know she’ll hate.
“I don’t need your pity,” Hannah says, holding up a hand as if to shield herself from it. “I guess now you know you’re not the only one with a sob story.”
Ember shakes her head, looking around at the faces in the room. “Are all your parents pieces of shit?”
"Yes." And that reminds me of Krystal as I turn to the office door. “And now I need to know my sister isn’t with our piece of shit.”
“Wait, we have some work to do.” Mac pipes up.
Looking over my shoulder, he puts his feet on the desk, leaning back in his giant office chair.
“We’re Crowns. We're not afraid of our fathers.” Then he looks between Hannah and me.
“Now that you guys are in the same room, you both can do something about it. Don't cower."
“Finding Krystal is my priority.”
Gray snorts. “That wasn’t your priority last night.” And that makes me throw a cigarette at his head.
“She can’t leave again.” Checking my phone, my texts still go unanswered.
Ryung: Where are you?
“Get your father out of the picture,” Hannah says. “That’ll bring her back.”
“You have a knack for making everything sound easy,” I scoff.
“I know it won’t be easy,” she says. “But I can help with that.”
I know Hannah, and I know her ‘help’ comes with conditions. “What’s the catch?”
“I shouldn’t be helping you since you’re the very person who knocked me off my throne.
But…” Hannah straightens up, and it’s hard not to hide the smirk poking at my lips.
That powerless girl I saw last night and this morning fades as she finds leverage.
“If I help you, you give me back my throne, and you’ll get yours back too.
” Silence takes over the room again. And it’s like she reads my mind.
“Krystal can join my posse. I’ll pardon her crimes, but I get my spot back. ”
I give her the floor. “What do you got, Alfonso?”
“A plan. I didn’t climb my way to the top without scheming and using what I know to get ahead.
” She leans closer, like she’s telling a ghost story.
“I’ve been sitting on something bigger than Prada's new collection.” Hannah commands the room as we all listen, my back leaning against the office wall.
“If Krystal tells your father what I know, you can get your spot on the team back. And, you can access your funds.”
“You want my sister to blackmail my father?” I clarify.
“This is still Paradise, isn’t it?” She flips her damp hair over her shoulder, proud of her expertise.
“What do you know? I won't put my sister in danger.”
“We only need them in the same room,” Hannah says. “I’ll send her an email. She’ll tell him what she has. With proof. Then, she’ll make him an offer. Do you think she’ll do it?”
“If it involves getting back at our father? One-hundred percent.” As long as we can find her.
Pacing in front of Mac’s office doors, I process her plan.
She’s right. Blackmail is how a lot of us pave the way in Paradise.
If what Hannah has is as good as she says, it’ll work.
If it doesn’t, Krystal will be the one to pay for it.
“But I’ll be the one talking to my father. ”
“You’re not in the position to make a deal with him,” Mac says, his hands clasped like some sort of mob boss. “Should have thought about that before you made headlines.”
My jaw tightens, those two weeks rolling back to my head. Two weeks of chaos. Drawn out lectures from my folks. Boring meetings with lawyers only to be off the team and out of cash.
“It’s funnier because Coach made you do it,” Gray laughs, but it isn’t funny. “And you still got the shit end of the stick.” He laughs, and he’s lucky he’s my best friend or he’d get the same treatment Vince got. “Speaking of deals, I thought that was a good one.”
“Wait, what?” Hannah leans forward, her brows furrowing. “What do you mean Coach made him?”
Gray answers before I can put it to rest, and whatever he’s on today gives him a big mouth. “Coach Winslow’s wife wanted Rye so bad, Coach threatened ice time if he didn’t—”
“Why didn’t you use this before, Alfonso?” I cut off Gray’s words, not wanting to relive it. He’s making it extra hard to trust what Hannah’s saying. She’s fucked me before. She’ll do it again. “If your parents are so bad, why now?”
“I’d be risking a lot on my own. This is a better use of my information,” Hannah says, her eyes narrowing like she knows I’m hiding something. “Coach blackmailed you?”
“He made you fuck his wife?” Ember chimes in again, and I wish she’d just focus on her art.
I ignore their questions, not ready to go down this road. Not with her. “What would you risk?”
“Everything,” Hannah responds, those eyes softening as they linger on me. “Rye, I thought you had sex with the Coach’s wife because you wanted to. I wouldn’t have leaked the story if I knew it was blackmail.”
The shock and worry on her face make my stomach churn some more. Not only that, she finally admitted what she did. And after last night, that only makes my headache worse.
“Why didn’t you just tell the press they took advantage of you?” Ember asks.
“Focus, ladies,” Mac says, my grip tightening around my glass so hard I think it might break. “Rowen, how soon can your father and Krystal be in the same room?”
His redirection pulls my mind out of the hell she put me into. “He’s never around.” Then it hits me, my pacing slowing. “But he will be this weekend. It’s the Mayor’s Ball.”
“So it’s a deal?” Hannah asks, putting on the pressure while I rack my brain for what to do. “I get my life back, and you get yours too.” She locks eyes with me, the ache in my stomach worsening.
There’s still pity in her eyes. Regret. Remorse. This isn’t how I wanted it to play out.
If I agree to this deal, I want to remind her what I’m capable of taking. I want her to scream for forgiveness while I control every inch of her. I need her to see me not as broken, but as the dangerous fuck hellbent on tearing her apart.
“Last night was a mistake.”
“Hannah.” Moving towards the door, my eyes gaze over that body. The one that was mine all night and is about to be again. “Can I have a word in private?”