Chapter Twenty-Five
XADEN
The moment she took off running to the girl, the disagreement was put on the backburner as we all watched Toren lead the girl from the beach.
Cas and I have been standing in the shadows of the parking lot watching her.
Before Kellan intercepted her I had planned to because there was no way I was letting her drink from that punch bowl.
The bowl might not be spiked but the cups they hand out all have GHB sprinkled inside them.
Somerset paints us in a bad light but the truth is, they are worse. At least when we come for you, we don’t hide behind money like they do. If you have enough of it, you can make any charges disappear.
“What are you doing here?” she asks her friend.
The girl is clearly not from around here, she wears jeans that have holes through them and a band shirt that has been cut to expose her flat stomach.
Her brown hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun thing.
Her green eyes are filled with remorse as she looks at Toren.
I narrow my eyes, why the fuck is she looking at her like that?
“I missed you.” Toren snorts out a laugh.
“Yeah, right. We should go before my brother comes and tries to strong arm me into going with him.”
“Baby girl, no one watches you harder than the man that lost you.”
Toren scrunches her face. “What?”
“I saw how the guy beside your brother was looking at you.”
“Kellan?” Hearing his name from her mouth has a growl tumbling from my lips. Cas shakes with quiet laughter beside me and it takes restraint on my part not to punch the fucker.
“Yep. I remember you telling me about him and, girl, the way he was watching you make out with that fucking fine piece of ass was like watching a toddler lose its favorite toy.”
Toren laughs and it’s the first time I have ever heard her laugh like that, no restraint just… joy. “Xaden would murder you for calling him a fine piece of ass.”
The friend just shrugs. “So, who is this Xaden and why didn’t you ever tell me about him?”
Toren nibbles on her bottom lip debating how to answer that question. “Honestly, Xaden is… He was someone I heard of and seen at my brother’s games but our paths never crossed until I came back and my dad dumped me at SU.”
“Wait, I thought that’s where you wanted to go?”
“I did, I wanted to go to Somerset with Mase, Kellan, Cas and… and…” She clamps her mouth closed and turns away from her friend.
Having had enough of lurking in the shadows, I nudge Cas, indicating for him to follow as I head toward the girls.
Toren is the first to spot me and when her eyes lock onto mine I can see apprehension and uncertainty.
I know why she kissed me, she wanted to say fuck you to her brother without uttering the words.
“Xaden,” she breathes my name out as I come to a stop in front of her. She cranes her neck back to hold my gaze.
“Oh, shit,” her friend mutters, drawing my attention to her but her gaze is laser focused on Caspian who is scowling at the girl. “I get why you love this place so much,” she adds, causing Toren to chuckle.
“Harper, meet Caspian and Xaden.” Her friend beams and steps forward until she’s plastered against my friend, causing him to turn stiff.
“The pleasure is all mine,” she purrs suggestively. My brows skyrocket at her brazen move. I’ve known a lot of chicks in my life but this one, she is clearly a loose unit and has no boundaries.
How the fuck is she friends with Toren?
“Unless you want me to snap you in half, back the fuck up,” Cas snarls.
“This is going to be fun,” Harper mutters as she shoots him a wink, then takes half a step back, drawing a growl from Cas.
“Uh, so, we’re gonna walk back,” Toren mutters.
“You’re not walking anywhere.” She opens her mouth to protest so I push on. “Get in the car, Tink. We need to talk.” I add the last part as an afterthought.
“I can’t leave Harper,” she argues.
I grip her arm and drag her toward my car.
“Cas will bring her home.” Toren calls out that she’ll see her friend soon.
I say nothing as I click the key fob to unlock my car.
Just as she reaches for the handle and I round the car, her brother calls out to her, forcing us both to freeze.
The second he moves toward us, I snap my gaze to her, surprised to find her already looking at me.
“You had a point to prove earlier, don’t back down. ”
Resolution shines in her eyes. “Okay,” she whispers a second before her brother reaches us. I remain where I am while Masen goes to her, stopping a foot away.
“Don’t leave with him.” I keep quiet, wanting to see if the bitch has a big enough backbone without a crowd around her like earlier.
“I live with him,” she throws back. He works his jaw from side to side, hating hearing the truth from her lips.
“You have no idea who he really is—”
“Does it matter?” she snaps.
“Of course it does. You know who his family is.” I grind my teeth, wanting to launch across the car and pummel his fucking face into the ground. I had to become who he says I am and it’s all their fucking fault!
“Who he shares blood with doesn’t make him a bad person.
I mean look at us.” Masen recoils at her words but she isn’t done.
“You were my rock, Mase. You weren’t just my brother, you were my step in dad when ours couldn’t be bothered to parent us.
You taught me how to ride a bike and braid my hair, but when I was shunned and I had no one or any memories of the tragedy that occurred, you left me.
You never tried to break me out, call or even write me a damn letter. You left me to rot in that place!”
Where the fuck was she?
“I didn’t have a choice!” he defends.
She shakes her head and smiles softly as she places her hand flat on her brother's chest. “We all have a choice, Mase. You chose the easy route and refused to fight for me.” A shuddering breath escapes him at the hurt in her tone. “I would have fought for you. I would have stood against the world and protected you from them, but you allowed my name to be dragged through the mud and for me to become the butt of every joke so it didn’t tarnish your chances of going pro.” My brows raise in surprise, I hadn’t realized she figured that part out on her own.
“You may not think about that night or the week leading up to it daily, but it is all I have thought about every second of every day since I woke up and you and Dad refused to give me answers.”
“Why do you need them?”
She withdraws her hand and looks at him like he is a stranger.
“The fact you have to ask that question shows you are part of the problem. My best friend died that night, Masen. Xaden lost his best friends that night as well.” He snaps his head toward me for a second before focusing back on his sister.
“I can’t explain it, but something isn’t right.
I know myself and I would never have gotten drunk and said I could drive.
” Before he can reply she looks to me and says, “Let’s go.
” Without a backward glance at her brother she climbs in the car.
“Let her go.”
I roll my eyes. “She isn’t my prisoner, Kellar. She’s coming with me by choice and that is what makes me your most deadly opponent."
“How so?”
I smile. “When the time comes for the truth to come out and you try to turn her against me, she won’t believe you because I was the one who was there when it mattered. I’ve already won, you just can’t see it yet.”