Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
CALLUM/CASH
Then
The Devil’s Twist & No Bent Knee
Every breath tastes like fire, and I don’t know if it’s fury or the poison he left behind.
My mouth is as dry as chalk. I try to swallow and open my eyes. Livianna’s in a ball and I’m curled around her. We’re both fully dressed.
Where the fuck are we?
I scan the room. We’re lying on Leon’s couch in his home office.
The TV is on, but the sound is off. Soft, haunting music plays in the background. A weird flash of having sex with Livianna strikes through my memories of last night.
I shake her. “Lily, wake up.”
She stretches out and opens her eyes. “Hi, love.”
“Hi.” I push up.
A burning sensation shoots through my asshole and goes straight to my heart, causing it to ache. I grimace.
What the fuck?
A sinking feeling settles in my gut. Something awful has happened. Acid crawls up my throat and I gag.
“Callum, what’s wrong?”
“I’m gonna be sick.” I shove off the couch, sprint to the bathroom, and heave up all the contents in my stomach.
“Can I do anything to help?” She runs her hand over my back.
“No, but I need a minute alone. Wait for me in the other room.”
“Okay. Call for me if you change your mind.”
“Yeah.” My insides cramp. “Shut the door on your way out.”
She leaves and closes me inside. I rest my forehead in my palm and balance my elbow on the rim of the toilet with my face hovering over the bowl.
What the fuck happened last night?
I can’t pluck any concrete memories out of my brain. Everything is convoluted and confusing.
Images and strange sensations float around in my thoughts. A flicker of Zara and Sebastian flares through the pictures trying to burn their correct place in my mind.
They were with us. My blood goes cold and a wave of nausea takes over.
I throw up again. This time when I do, a huge gas bubble passes from my scorched hole.
Fuck! I’m gonna shit my pants.
I hurry to pull down my pants and get on the seat. I make it just in time. Diarrhea comes out of me. Sweat trickles down my back and beads on the top of my lip.
I lower my head. The sight before me has me wishing this were a nightmare.
Small streaks of blood cover the insides of my gray boxer briefs. My chest caves in, my limbs go numb, and my world takes a turn of the worst kind.
Even though I can’t pull up the event, I know with a sickness in my veins and a jarring pain in my ass what occurred. My entire soul empties. I can’t breathe.
How did I let this happen?
My heart flatlines and I go into survival mode. I get cleaned up and get ready to meet Livianna in the other room.
I have my hand on the doorknob, but I can’t find the courage to open it.
How can I look her in the eye? How could I do this to her?
My intestines knot. Someone knocks, causing me to jump.
“Callum, do you need anything?” she asks.
I open the door in a cold sweat. “Yeah. I need to get home.”
“You’re pale.” She places her palm on my forehead. “You don’t have a fever, so that’s good.”
“I’m fine. Let’s find Guns and get out of here.”
“It’s eight in the morning. He might not be here anymore.”
“He’s our ride.” I glance at the clock. “He wouldn’t leave us. Not without telling us.”
“You’re right. He’s probably in a room fucking someone.” She strolls toward the door.
My insides wrench down with the thought of sex. I trudge behind her as bile churns in my guts.
She stops mid-stride. “What is that?”
“What?”
“That.” She points to something.
I follow her trail and a shiny object is lying on the floor beneath the table near the couch. “I don’t know. Does it matter?”
She doesn’t answer. She just marches to it and picks it up.
From her fingers dangles a necklace made of white gold with a pendant of an Irish trinity knot and a black onyx placed in the center of it.
A sliver of a memory of it hitting my chin as Livianna bounced up and down on my dick flashes on the screen of my mind.
Before I know what I’m doing, I repeat it. “You were wearing that last night.”
“No, I wasn’t.” She cups it in her hand. “How did this get in here?”
The muscles over my ribs tighten. “I don’t know. I swear you had it on.”
“Callum, this is the necklace you gave that bitch, Zara.” Livianna stomps over to me. “Was she in here before I found you?”
“No! I was with Leon. Nobody else was with us.”
“Then explain how this got here. I saw it on her last night when I was talking to her.”
“Why were you speaking to her? You hate her.”
“She got in my face and was taunting me about you.”
I hook onto that information and do something I never thought I’d do. I formulate my lie.
“That explains everything, Lily.”
“How?”
“We passed out last night. She must have come in here and planted it.”
“Why would she do that?”
“You just said she was goading you on. Maybe she came in here to get a rise out of us. When she saw we were out of it, she probably put it there so you would question it.”
Livianna’s face grows red. “That makes no sense, Callum.”
“Fine. Don’t believe me.” I toss my hands up. “Think what you want, but I’m fucking sick and need to get home.”
“I’m sorry.” Her shoulders fall. “I know you wouldn’t lie to me. She just gets me fired up.”
“Can we drop it? I want out of here.”
“Sure. We can find Bren and get you back to your house. I’ll even tuck you in.” She rises on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine.
I flinch back and a shiver creeps up my spine. I’m not sure it’s really her. It is, but when I close my eyes, all I see is mangled images of Zara and Livianna blending together.
Her face bunches up. “Wow, you’ve never reacted to me like that before.”
“Fucking hell, Livianna. I’ve been in the bathroom throwing up.”
“I know, love. God, I’m being overly sensitive today. I’m sorry.” She grabs my hand and leads us out of the room of haunted memories.
We work our way through Leon’s house, searching for Bren. The cleaning crew is already here, picking up empty bottles and trash scattered throughout the home. We get to the kitchen and I freeze.
Leon pours himself a cup of coffee. “Good morning, love birds. How did you sleep?”
My breathing shallows. My face heats until it’s white hot.
I wanna kill the motherfucker but can’t move. I’m literally frozen as I stare at him and battle to control the rage building in my core.
Livianna answers Leon by telling him how rested she is. They discuss the evening and have a ridiculously delightful conversation about how great his party was.
All the while, he keeps beaming me knowing smiles like the cat that ate the canary. She tells him we need to leave because I’ve got some kind of stomach bug.
He apologizes for giving us too much Floating V and explains we passed out right after we took it. He laughs it off, saying it happens sometimes and not to worry about it.
Fucking liar.
I hate him with every fiber of my being. I tremble as I try to contain my hostility. He needs to get his ass kicked, but I can’t do that without explaining everything to Livianna.
She’d never understand, much less forgive me. My back’s against the wall and this prick knows he’s got me by the balls.
Livianna glances around the room. “Do you know if my brother is still here? He’s supposed to drive us home.”
“Yeah. I set him up in the guest room on the third level.” Leon tips his chin in that direction. “Livianna, since Cash is ill, why don’t you go get Guns?”
“Good idea.” She strides away. “Which door am I looking for?”
“It’s all the way upstairs on the left side at the end of the hallway.” Leon’s darkened gaze comes to mine. Once she’s out of view, he stalks over to me. “You don’t appear to be doing well, Cash.”
“Fuck off, Leon.”
“No, thanks. I already did that last night. I’ve had more than my fill.” He raises an eyebrow. “But if you need more, that can be arranged.”
My stomach roils. “The second I leave here—”
“What? You think you’re going to run and tell the world you fucked Zara against your will?” He releases a wicked guffaw. “How does it feel, Cash?”
“What?”
“You stuck a dagger in my back. In return, I fucked you with one in your ass.”
My insides twist and I vomit all over his kitchen floor. It splashes on his bare feet.
He gazes down at it, unfazed. “Stupid boy. You could’ve picked the easy way, but just like your father, you fought it.”
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “My pops must have known what a sick fuck you are.”
Leon takes a rag off the counter and cleans off his feet.
He keeps his steely glare on me. “You know nothing about your dad, but I could teach you a few things about him if you ask nicely.”
My chest heaves and my body shakes. I should strangle Leon Baker and make the universe a better place, but I’m frozen in pure loathing.
He puts the towel down and lifts his phone. “You see, Cash. Last night Livianna was given the same thing you were last year. You remember when you got roofied and passed out with Zara. That’s what your little vixen got.”
“What? You were part of what happened to me last year?”
“Of course. Where do you think your uncle got it from?”
I almost pass out, but Leon keeps shedding light on my history lesson.
“Anyway, let’s get back to the present time. Your drink was spiked with the real Floating V. Watch for yourself and you’ll get the picture.” He punches his finger against the screen and turns it to me.
A video starts streaming at triple speed. The sound is off, but it’s clear what’s going on.
Zara and I are fucking like wild animals on his couch. We’re nipping and clawing at each other like we’ve been starving and just caught our prey, and now we’re feasting on its carcass. The expression on my face is nothing but crazed pleasure.
There’s even a moment where Sebastian sits next to a sleeping Livianna and rubs her back like he’s gonna have his way with her and I peek over without trying to stop him. I turn, bring Zara’s mouth to mine, and give her a forcible kiss.