28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Noah
L eaving the bathroom after Ana, I reach for her, straightening her clothes, relishing the way she stumbles toward the door, wrecked, spent, utterly undone by what I just did to her.
But fuck, I needed that.
I needed to feel her, to taste her, to remind her just how desperate I am to have her close again. To make her understand that she’s not just something I want. She’s something I need.
The words I love you were never meant for me. Never something I thought I’d say to anyone.
But Ana, God, Ana.
For two months, she was all I thought about. Her smile, the way her hands felt against my skin, the sound of her voice in the dark. I never knew what it meant to feel true pain until I was forced to endure her absence, a hollow ache that never fucking left.
Loving her came fast, violent, all at once.
I know she was scared she was just a quick fuck, and maybe... maybe at first she was. But somewhere along the way, I lost sight of anything and anyone else. My focus narrowed, locked onto her, and before I could stop myself, I was already falling.
The first night I crashed at Jake’s, he made his power known. He showed me pictures of Ana, ones taken when she wasn’t looking. His way of proving he had his eyes on her long before I did. Then came the cigarette burns, pressed against the back of my neck, just like Dad used to do. A reminder. A lesson. That at any moment, at any time, he could shatter my world.
He could ruin her.
But tonight, seeing his hands on her, his hands where only mine should ever be, there was no fucking way I was walking away.
I was ready to kill him right there.
And I would have faced the consequences with a fucking smile.
Catching the eyes of Elijah and Megan, I see the way they glance at my brother, then back at me, their brows raised in quiet curiosity.
Yeah. I’m the last person they wanted to see here.
Keeping her back to me, Ana subtly urges her friends away from Jake, her fingers gripping Megan’s wrist in a silent plea.
"Big brother!" Jake grins, his voice dripping with amusement. "There you are. Ana dear was just introducing me to her lovely friends."
Cautiously, I move toward them, watching Elijah and Megan’s expressions shift from wary to sickened.
"Brother?" Elijah quips, crossing his arms. "Is he also a teacher who doesn’t know boundaries?" His scoff is sharp, biting.
Ana kicks Elijah in the leg, glaring.
There’s my girl.
"Not as yummy as Ackerman," Megan slurs, narrowing her eyes at Jake. "But something tells me you have a much more… interesting job." Her fingers trail over the scar on his cheek, a slow, drunken touch meant to provoke.
My dad did that to him.
A drug deal gone wrong, one that cost my father more money than he could stomach losing. Jake got the reminder carved into his skin. Maybe that’s why he leaned into the more torturous tactics when it came to control.
"My brother has learned from his mistakes," Jake smiles, the words smooth, practiced. His gaze flicks to Ana. "Isn’t that right, Ana?" he purrs, testing her.
He’s waiting to see if she cracks, pushing her to slip up. Jake isn’t an idiot. Even with the pounding music and the constant hum of bar chatter, he knows where I just was.
"Noah's affairs do not concern me," Ana says sweetly, offering Jake a saccharine smile. "Thank you for the drink."
With that, she turns, rallying her friends, tossing me one last look as she pulls them away from Jake and me. They’re talking her ear off, clearly confused, asking questions she doesn’t seem in the mood to answer.
Jake watches her go, then leans in, his voice venomous. "Pretty sure your cum was still running down her leg."
I smile, slow and sharp. "Maybe."
His eyes narrow, sensing the shift in me.
"But you know what?" I whisper, grabbing him by the collar. "I’m done fucking listening to you."
The adrenaline from Ana’s touch still courses through me, fueling every movement. "I can play your guard dog. I can step into Dad’s affairs. But what I won’t do is let you hold her over me. You’re a fucking child playing dress-up. I let you wear the crown, Jake."
Then, with one violent motion, I slam his head against the bar.
His chair topples, sending him crashing to the floor.
Gasps echo around us. The bar shifts, tense and watchful, eyes snapping toward the scene I just created.
When I glance up, Ana and her friends are frozen mid-conversation, their wide eyes locked onto me.
Scrambling to his feet, Jake barely gets the chance before I slam my boot against his chest, pinning him to the floor.
"But remember," I murmur, leaning in just enough so only he can hear me, "I can take it back whenever I want."
Jake glares up at me, his forehead reddened from the impact. His breaths are sharp, but he doesn’t struggle. He just watches. Calculating.
"That used to be true," he whispers, barely audible over the noise of the bar. Then, with a slow, deliberate tilt of his head, he gestures toward Ana.
My jaw clenches.
"The difference between you and me, Noah, is that I have nothing to lose. Nothing to hold onto." His voice is eerily calm. "But you? You’ll regret what you just did-"
"Breaking news," an announcer bellows from the TV, cutting him off.
The bar falls into a hush. Every screen, once broadcasting football, suddenly shifts to a live news report. The words brEAKING NEWS flash in bold, red letters.
"New developments in the hit-and-run of Levi Trace, the young boy mercilessly killed last summer, have surfaced. An anonymous source has linked one suspect to that night. Investigators are actively pursuing the tip. While no one has been convicted yet, authorities believe the source is credible and could be tied to one of the students currently attending Spokehaven University-"
My blood runs cold.
Across the room, Ana freezes, her eyes locked onto the screen. Her entire body goes rigid, her breathing shallow.
Jake’s laughter rumbles beneath me, low and triumphant.
"Checkmate," he sneers, smirking up at me. "Told you to play nice."
And just like that, my fear skyrockets.
Anastasia
Meg and Elijah keep talking, their voices buzzing around me, throwing question after question about Noah.
But I can't think.
Can't process.
All I see is Levi’s face plastered across the screen, his smile wide, his hands gripping his diploma, eyes full of life–life that Cole stole.
Life that maybe, just maybe, I could have saved.
My hands tremble, my breath shallow as the announcer’s voice distorts, turning into static in my ears.
"While no one has been convicted yet, authorities believe the source is credible and could be tied to one of the students currently attending Spokane University-"
Cole.
It has to be Cole.
There’s no way in hell he’d let anyone rat him out. Erica, Walker, his newest lapdog, they’d know better.
But me?
Fuck. I’m the perfect scapegoat.
"Ana?" Megan hisses, shaking my shoulders. "Are you even listening?"
From the corner of my eye, I catch Jake’s smirk. His focus isn’t on Noah anymore, it’s on me.
An unsettling urge coils in my gut, pressing me forward. My fingers move before I can stop them, pulling out my phone, dialing a number I swore I’d never call again.
The line rings.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then-
"I figured I’d hear from you," Cole murmurs, his voice a slow, sinister drawl. "Pity. They could’ve at least used a better picture of the kid-"
"What did you do?" I whisper, my throat tightening.
"You made some very powerful enemies, Anastasia," he purrs, amusement dripping from every syllable. "So did your little fuck buddy. You know, I always pegged you for a kinky whore, but screwing a professor? That was unexpected."
"What the fuck did you do, Cole?" I snap, my teeth grinding together.
He sighs, like this entire conversation is beneath him. "The Antonovs had business with Walker’s family. I needed money. Walker knew that. And after Noah’s little stunt in the classroom, well… he was motivated to help my little problem go away."
My stomach churns.
"Noah said Walker’s family and his were competitors-"
"Joint interest has a funny way of making people see eye to eye. Especially when interested in taking down a common enemy. You... the Briars." Cole muses.
The Briars?
Glancing back at Jake and Noah, the realization slams into me like a freight train.
That’s why Jake sought me out.
That’s why he dangled me in front of Noah, why he pushed him.
He knew this was coming.
He knew this would happen tonight.
"The police are one tip away from pinning this all on you," Cole whispers, his voice a razor-sharp promise. "So long as Noah plays nice and listens to Jake, everything should be fine."
A cold wave of dread washes over me as my grip tightens around the phone. Across the room, Jake’s forehead is still red from where Noah slammed him into the bar, but it’s his smile that fills me with something far worse than fear.
"You killed that boy," I rasp.
Cole laughs. "Yeah? You should be grateful I didn’t kill you, too. Keep your mouth shut about this conversation or Walker will have someone pay your dear old dad a visit the next time he’s in the hospital."
My pulse pounds in my ears.
"That’s it, then?" I whisper. "You win?"
"Win?" Cole chuckles, dark and cruel. "I’ll win when you’re ten feet under, just like Levi. Enjoy your night, Anastasia. Too bad Jake couldn’t get a taste of you before your professor ruined it all."
The line goes dead.
Slowly, I lower the phone, my fingers barely able to grip it. My gaze locks onto Jake’s, his malicious grin stretching wider, his victory carved into every inch of his expression.
"Ana," Elijah murmurs, his voice cautious. "Who was that?"
I glance between Jake and Noah.
Noah looks as miserable as I feel.
"I-I have to go," I whisper, my voice barely holding steady. A million thoughts crash into me at once, each one louder than the last. "Right fucking now."
Backing away from my friends, I push through the bar’s exit, spilling into the cold night air. My breaths come fast, uneven, my hands shaking as I fumble with my phone, trying and failing, to order an Uber through the blur of tears clouding my vision.
Then, my screen lights up with a single message.
I ordered you an Uber. My place. I'll see you there shortly.
Noah.
My pulse stutters. My body feels like it’s about to collapse, the weight of everything pressing down so hard I can barely stand.
I have no way out.
No escape.
All I have now is Noah.
The problem is, we’re both staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.