XXIX
Tori
S yn takes half a step back, his eyes wide with shock. “What?”
“She was local trash. Reynolds brought her a few times, and she was always acting like she was too good to be there, all while flirting with all of us. That night, JP said he was tired of the games and took her into the Crypt.” The words seem to spill out of Preston’s mouth. “He must have given her something, because after he fucked her, she didn’t get up. JP called me and begged me to help, so I got her out of there.”
Syn stares at him, his face betraying nothing. “How did Cole murder my brother?”
“I went back to the Crypt to help JP clean up, only I found Cole standing over his body, freaking out. He said it was an accident. They’d fought, and JP tripped and hit his head. Damn it, Syn. He was dead!” Preston exclaims.
“Then why didn’t you call the police? How did JP end up on the other side of campus?”
Preston snorts. “Are you kidding? If the cops went in the Crypt, they’d find everything. Not just the evidence of what just happened, but everything. The cameras, the videos— everything . You know the organization would have cleaned it up eventually, but the mess…”
Syn just nods.
“I told Reynolds to confess, and if he didn’t, I’d kill everyone he cared about, starting with the girlfriend.” Preston lets out an evil laugh. “He asked for a lawyer, but I showed him a picture of her dead body. He’s played ball.”
“Until now,” Syn says, quietly.
Time feels like it’s stopped.
All this time, I’ve played out so many scenarios in my head, trying to figure out what happened.
Not once did I imagine anything like this.
But this would be manslaughter, not murder?
“You see?” Preston asks. “I have to make sure Reynolds keeps quiet. JP may be dead, but I won’t let his name be ruined.”
“Thank you.” Syn draws in a long, deep breath before exhaling just as slowly.
Preston laughs, but it sounds more like he’s relieved than amused. “I knew you’d understand.”
Slowly, Syn drags his gaze to me, staring me in the eyes. “Then let’s get this message sent.”
Everything feels like it’s spinning. I’m not sure if that’s because Preston’s hand is still clamped over my mouth and it’s hard to breathe, or because my world feels like it’s imploding on itself.
Nothing makes sense anymore.
Even Preston’s story doesn’t seem right…
Because… it can’t be…
JP was gay.
My eyes go wide, but as I try to pull Preston’s hand off my mouth and tell Syn, he catches my eye and shakes his head.
“You don’t trust me,” he says before he looks at Preston. He raises his hands, showing his palms, then slowly, he pulls his tuxedo jacket open to reveal the gun.
“What are you doing?” Preston asks him. The gun moves from my head, and then he’s pointing it at Syn.
“Don’t do anything stupid. I’m just getting rid of this.” With his finger and thumb, Syn eases the gun out of his waistband and then, still holding it like it’s a dirty rag, he tosses it into the water.
“What are you doing?” Preston yells.
“I told you: I came here because I wanted to make sure the job’s done properly. You’ve already done so much to protect my brother’s name. You can keep your gun if you don’t trust me, but I want to be the one to push her in.”
“Try anything, and I will shoot you first.” Preston lets go of me and steps to the side, the gun still pointed at me.
“Syn, plea—”
“Shut up. If you want to beg for your life, you can get on your knees.”
The last thing I’m going to do is beg. If he wants me dead, he’s damn well going to have to push me in himself. I’ll fight him every step of the way, and then I’m going to make sure I bring him into the water with me.
When I don’t move, he tilts his head and looks at me. “What’s the matter, Tori? I thought you enjoyed getting on your knees for anyone with a dick?”
My lips part.
Tori ?
This is not the first time he’s said something like that to me, but for some reason, his words don’t feel like they’re laced with the same venom. Given how Preston doesn’t seem to react, he doesn’t think anything of it.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it…
I sink down towards the ground, but before my knees touch anything, there’s a loud bang.
At the same time as I cover my head, Preston lets out a scream and falls to the ground.
The next thing I know, Syn is rushing past me, diving onto Preston’s body before he can grab the gun, that’s now just out of his reach. Syn punches Preston’s shoulder, making him shriek in pain again, instantly stopping Preston from fighting back.
“You killed my brother, didn’t you?” Syn screams at him.
“Syn! Don’t kill him!” Royal appears out of the shadows, running towards us. In his hands, he’s also carrying a gun. Just behind him is Gemini. As the pair joins us, Royal aims the weapon at Preston.
His fist hovers just above Preston’s face, but then Syn shoves Preston and stands up. “I ought to toss you into the river.” His expression is dark and murderous, but when he turns to me, he softens. “Are you okay?”
Okay feels relative at this point...
Whether it’s the shock, adrenaline, or the arctic air, I can’t feel anything. “I think so.”
Syn helps me to my feet, giving me the once over. Seemingly satisfied, he takes his jacket off and drapes it over my shoulders. The fabric holds the heat from his body like I’m being embraced in a warm hug.
From the ground, Preston groans. His lips contort in a grimace as he clutches his shoulder, trying to sit upright. “You shot me. Are you fucking insane?”
As he attempts to stand, there’s another loud bang as Royal shoots the ground, inches from Preston’s leg. “Just because I don’t want to kill you, doesn’t mean I won’t shoot you again.”
“What the fuck do you three think you’re doing?” Preston asks. “I’m bleeding. I need to get to a hospital.”
“Not enough,” Gemini mutters.
“Press harder. The quicker you answer our questions, the quicker we can put a Band-Aid on that for you,” Syn tells him. “Did you kill JP?”
Preston looks at Syn like he’s crazy. “Me? I told you; Cole Reynolds killed JP.”
“And you were just protecting my brother?” Syn scoffs.
“Your brother and you. You think you’re going to end up in the White House if the public finds out you’re the brother of a rapist an—”
Syn lurches forward and punches Preston. “All this time, you’ve been acting like you were JP’s best friend, but you didn’t even know he was gay, did you?”
Preston frowns as he seems to process what Syn’s said. “Gay?” He shakes his head. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t fuck that bitch.”
I've seen and experienced enough over the last few months that it’s entirely possibly JP may have had sex with a woman—there may even be video evidence of it somewhere. I didn’t know JP, but it’s equally possibly that he was enough of an asshole to do this.
But I don’t believe Preston.
"If my brother killed JP, like you say he did, he would have at least tried to say it was an accident,” I tell him.
“How fucking stupid are you, you dumb bit—”
Syn punches him again, sending his body slamming back down as he lands on his side.
Spitting blood out of his mouth, Preston sits up and glowers up at us. “You want to know what happened? Fine. That loser brother of yours invited his trashy townie girlfriend to an Elite event, and she was like a kid in a candy store. The slightest bit of attention, and she would have let me fuck her in front of everyone. I did the decent thing of taking her downstairs and showed her what it was like to ride first class. Not only was she disappointing, but when I climbed off her, she started throwing up. I was leaving her to sort herself out.”
My stomach turns ,and I make no effort to hide my disgust.
“You look at me like that, but she was the one who couldn’t handle the alcohol and choked on her own vomit.” Preston sneers. “I moved her body, and when I got back to make sure I didn’t miss anything, JP turns up with Reynolds, accusing me of taking advantage of her. He didn’t like it when I told him his girlfriend was a whore who would spread her legs for anyone.”
“Get on with it,” Syn snaps.
Preston rolls his eyes. “Reynolds couldn’t handle the truth and went to hit me. He attacks me, and when I try to defend myself, JP decides that’s when he wants to do the right thing and get in the middle of us.”
“You should have called for an ambulance.” Syn’s body is tense.
I’m not sure if he’s trying not to cry or not to hit Preston again.
“He was already dead,” Preston says coldly.
“JP was found by the university gates,” Royal points out.
Preston turns and gives him a look of contempt. “The girl was a nobody. JP was going to be president; he couldn’t just disappear. People would look for him. You know I couldn’t risk anything leading back to the Elite, or the XXXVII. So we moved JP to where he would be found, and then I convinced Cole it was in his best interest to confess. He’s a nobody too.”
“You killed my brother, and you had someone else take the blame?” Syn flings himself at Preston, punching him several times before Gemini tries to pull him off.
It takes Royal’s help for the pair of them to get Syn clear. “You’re going to kill him if you don’t stop,” Royal says as Syn struggles against him.
“I don’t care. I want him dead.”