Chapter 14 Everett #2
“They can do whatever the fuck they want,” Adam snaps before lowering his voice.
“I’ve been there. They can make the innocent look guilty, and once you’re locked away, you won’t have a fucking voice to argue your side.
The media alone will make sure you are painted as the villain they want you to be. ”
“What do you suggest?” Bill asks him, and I roll my eyes.
This Lord is his new favorite toy. Bill hangs on his every word. But even I know it’s for his own gain. I am very thankful for Bill, but at the end of the day, he’s just another Lord who is out for himself and world domination. No amount of money or power will ever be enough for them.
“I suggest you get the hell out of town and hide.”
“No. That makes me look guilty as fuck,” I argue. “I’m not going anywhere.” He’s only suggesting that because he’s hiding. Has been for four years now. That’s how we met. I’m not calling him a coward, but I refuse to live that life. I’m already a nobody. I don’t need to hide. No one knows I exist.
“Eve—”
“No.” I get to my feet, interrupting Bill.
“I’m not going to run. I did nothing wrong.
” Not to the woman anyway. If I believed in an afterlife, then I’d one day have to answer for everything I’ve done, but I helped that woman in the only way I could.
I returned her to her family, where she belonged.
“Let them take me in again and ask me as many questions as they want. I’ll—”
“The Lords will fuck you over,” Adam shouts.
He throws his glass against the wall, and it shatters.
He steps into me, and I brace myself to knock his fucking lights out if he places his hands on me.
“The police start hanging out around the cathedral and your house, the Lords will see that, and they will throw you under the bus so fast to keep the police from sniffing around.”
“You make it sound like she has no choice.” Bill sighs.
He looks over at Bill for a quick second. “There’s another option…” Adam’s eyes meet mine when he speaks again. “Carnage…”
“Fuck no.” I shake my head, giving a rough laugh. “I’m not going near there.” The thought alone makes me break out in hives.
“I can make a call. My brothers can protect you.”
I give a manic laugh. “They don’t give two shits about me.” At least they won’t when they find out who I really am. “The answer is no.” Shoving my finger into Adam’s chest, I add, “The only way I go to Carnage is if someone drags me against my will.”
Bill stands, buttoning his suit jacket, and looks at me. “We don’t have to make a decision right now.”
“Time isn’t on her side,” Adam growls at him. “I’d say maybe three weeks. A month at the most.” He looks at me. “When they come for you—and they will—they will already have everything they need to set you up to take the fall. There will be nothing left to argue on their end.”
I ignore him and look at my dad. “This isn’t a we situation. This is me…my life, and I say no.” With that, I turn and exit the study, slamming the doors shut on my way out.
Storming out to my car, I start it up and squeal my tires. I drive, not sure where I’m going or what I’m doing.
Why the fuck should I have to hide?
What do you know about Dollhouse? Kashton’s words come to mind.
I know things about that place that would give grown men nightmares. I know adults and kids of all ages are run in and out of there. They do not discriminate against race, age, or gender. Everyone has a price. Some are worth more than others, but it’s all about their check, nonetheless.
I made them money. My body was sold to the highest bidder because that’s all I was good for. A hole to fuck. Bill saved me from that. But he can only save me from so much.
Carnage is not the answer. It is the problem.
I’ve come too far to allow someone to make me feel helpless…though I was naked and cuffed just an hour ago.
Kashton is going to be a problem. He’s made that very clear. My only thing is, do I let him in? He’ll want something in return. I don’t doubt Adam. The cops can pin whatever they want on whoever they want to take the fall, and the Lords won’t have my back.
Does that mean Kashton is my only hope? Fuck, I hope not.
What choice do I have? Life in jail or life on the run?
I refuse to run. Look at what happened to Ashtyn. I know more about her than her husband does. It’s easy to watch when no one sees you there. I know everyone’s secrets. But that makes me wonder…who knows mine?
Have I paid enough attention to my surroundings, or have I gotten too comfortable thinking I don’t exist?
No. I’m jumping the gun. I just need to sit back and look at it from all angles. There’s always another way. Placing my life in Kashton’s hands is like willingly walking into the lion’s den.
That sour taste burns my throat, and I pull my car over, slamming on my brakes. I open my driver’s side door just in time to vomit onto the gravel. Once I’m done, I sit back in my seat and wipe my chin with my hand.
I could go to the police on my own. Speak to them again before they reach out to me. Innocent people don’t volunteer to give information, right?
They probably wouldn’t see it that way. Bill is an attorney, and he was hanging on Adam’s every word. Which tells me Bill thinks I have no chance of fighting this.
I’m fucked.
KASHTON
Senior year at Barrington
I groan, rolling onto my back. There’s something cold and hard underneath me. My heavy eyes open, and it takes a few seconds for my vision to focus on nothing but darkness. Then my memory starts to return.
Alarms sounding at Carnage woke me up…our fathers dead…Ashtyn broke my nose and kneed me in the balls…then she shot Saint…a woman arrived at Carnage…her minions threw Haidyn and me into the arena…we fought eight prisoners who were all on adrenaline…I collapsed afterward…
I grunt and instantly regret it. That’s why I’m so sore.
Sitting up, I run a bloody hand down my face. “Fuck.” My tongue is swollen. I must have bitten it, because the taste of blood still lingers.
“What the…” I trail off when a light shines from my left.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
I look over to see the fucking bitch standing on the other side of the prison door.
My chest rises when I take a deep breath. “Who the fuck are you and why are you here?” I demand.
She laughs, and the irritating sound makes my skin crawl. “I’m here to teach you all a lesson.”
“Fucking bitch.” I get to my feet but stumble back into the wall, my legs are wobbly and feet unsteady. Placing my head in my hands, I grip my hair. Fuck, did she drug me? Or am I just that weak from the fight?
Her laughter grows. “I bet when you woke up this morning you didn’t think you’d be the only Spade brother left.”
My head snaps up and my pulse quickens. “No—”
“Funny how one annoying cunt can ruin everything.”
Ashtyn? She must be talking about Ashtyn. Because she’s the reason all this is happening. What the fuck is she into that she would shoot Saint? All we’ve done is protect her. Saint has done things to her that I don’t agree with, but she’s not my wife.
Pushing myself off the wall, I drag my left leg as I hobble to the door. I wrap my hands around the bars. “I’m going to kill you, you fucking bitch.”
She just smiles at me. “Promises. Promises.”
“Haidyn?” I call out into the hallway, hoping he responds.
I just need to know he’s not dead. “HAIDYN?” And Saint?
Ashtyn shot him. Did he not survive surgery?
If he’s dead, I’ll make it my life’s mission to hunt Ashtyn down and kill her with my bare hands.
I will gladly watch the life drain out of her eyes with no remorse.
Fucking bitch.
“Hai-dyn?” My voice cracks, and I start to cough.
The woman reaches through the bars and pushes something up against my sweat-covered chest, and it knocks me on my back.
“Christ,” I say through gritted teeth. Every muscle in my body is tight. Did she tase me?
“Get used to this room, Kashton. It’s your home until I say otherwise.”
A bright light turns on, and I place my hands over my face to shield my eyes. “Goddammit.” I scramble to the nearest wall and push my back against it.
Opening my eyes, I hold up my hand like a visor and blink rapidly in order to get my vision to adjust.
I wish I was blind.
My hand falls to my side, and I swallow the knot in my throat when I take in my home. I’m not surprised to see that I’m in the basement of Carnage, locked in a cell. That was a given.
What does surprise me is that all the walls and floor are covered in tallies. This is my punishment. A reminder that I’m all alone.
I don’t know how long I was in there. At least a couple of weeks. The light never turned off, and the silence was deafening. All I had was my imagination, and that’s never a good thing.
Isabella let me believe Saint and Haidyn were both dead. Adam had left us. I had no one.
I convinced myself I was going insane when I could see Eve in there with me. My mind always wandered back to her and that night on the Isabella. But it ended differently.
She didn’t run from me. I wasn’t a Lord, and she wasn’t a woman who’d almost been raped by one. We were husband and wife, and the Isabella was our home. We stayed out in the middle of the ocean where no one could harm us. The world didn’t even know we existed.
It was perfect.
Just when I’d get to the good part, one of Isabella’s guards would come to feed me. I refused for a while, but then remembered I didn’t want to die.
I needed to stay healthy. I was the only Spade brother left. It was up to me to catch Ashtyn and make her pay for what she caused. What she cost me. My family.
The only people I ever cared about. A life for a life. And that bitch owed me several.