Chapter Forty
XADEN
When Harper finally breaches the surface of the water, Toren breaks down.
All that defiance and fight drains out of her at the sight of her friend gasping for air.
The bitch is alive because I ordered it.
I’m the one in control and now that she knows that, she will fall into place and play her part until it’s her time to die.
Make no fucking mistake, Toren Kellar will die, but it will be by my hand.
“Get up,” I snarl at the bitch. She sniffles and wipes her eyes but does as I say.
“Get the fuck in the car and wait for me.” She keeps her head down as she walks out of the shack, obeying my command.
Harper is still trembling and coughing but I ignore that shit as I say, “You live because I allowed it.” She lifts her head sluggishly and stares at me with a blank look on her face.
“She will fucking ruin you,” she rasps out.
I laugh but there’s no humor to it. “She’ll be dead before the idea ever enters her mind.
” Harper displays no shock at my words, just clamps her mouth closed and drops her chin to her chest. “Cut her ass down and bring her back. I want her with us as a reminder to that cunt that I can end her whenever I want if she steps out of line,” I bark at Cas before I make my way outside to find Toren sitting in the car like I instructed.
When I climb in beside her, she shrinks as far away from me as she can.
“Disgusted by me, are ya, Tink?” I taunt.
“No,” she whispers as I peel out of there, spraying gravel everywhere.
I scoff. “Lie to me again,” I warn in a harsh tone.
“I’m not.” Her meek tone is a balm to my battered fucking soul. Every second I have spent with her and being forced to stomach the sight of her daily is worth it, just to revel in this moment of her downfall.
“Bullshit,” I bite out.
“I don’t care what you believe.”
“Careful, Tink. We wouldn’t dare old Harper to take another dip, would we?”
I feel her glare burning into the side of my head but don’t acknowledge it. “I’ll do whatever you want. Say whatever you want me to, but the one thing I won’t do is lie to you.” I glance over at her and see the truth in her eyes. I purse my lips and nod.
“Are you wet?” My question has her gasping and her mouth snapping closed. “Answer me,” I seethe.
Disgust flashes across her face. “Not anymore,” she forces out through clenched teeth.
I laugh, I guess the bitch was telling the truth after all. “What changed?”
“You tried to murder my friend,” she hisses.
I wave her off like an asshole. “You had to be taught a lesson.”
“Fuck you, Xaden.”
I jerk the car to the side of the deserted road, then swivel in my seat to face her. The bitch matches my move with a fire swirling in her eyes.
“Go on, choke me, threaten me, hurt me, do whatever the fuck you want,” she screams. “I won’t fight you because you hold all the power!
” Her acknowledgment of me being in control soothes the beast inside me.
“I’m powerless, weak, nothing but a bargaining chip as you like to call me.
You won, Xaden. You fucked the frigid bitch that the Somerset Eagles couldn’t bag. ”
My features pull taut. “You wanted to fuck the team?”
She scoffs in disgust. “No, asshole. They wanted to be the ones with bragging rights that they banged Masen’s sister. As you know, I didn’t do shit with them. I dishonored myself by giving you that gift.”
“Awww, you regret fucking me?” I mock.
When the fire slowly drains from her eyes and all that remains is hurt, I frown at the sudden change.
“No, Xaden. I regret being tricked into it but no, I don’t regret the act itself,” she says in an earnest tone, then slouches back into her seat and crosses her arms over her chest, then gazes out the window.
I sit here staring at her in confusion, she’s a fucking puzzle.
She willingly gave me her body, yet she won’t fucking tell me where the hell she was for the past year. I know Harper knows and I’ll break every bone in that bitch’s body until she tells me where the fuck Toren was hiding.
I locked Toren in her room last night. I didn’t trust her not to try and run. Coach canceled practice this morning, he wanted us amped and ready for the game tonight. When my phone rings as I step out of the shower, I grind my teeth in annoyance when I see Lorenzo’s name.
I snatch the phone off my dresser and put it on speaker as I dry off. “Yeah?”
“Where the fuck have you been?” he roars.
“Busy,” I bite out.
“Last warning, Xaden—”
“I was keeping the fucking bitch in line. She needed reminding who the fuck she belonged to. I wasn’t gonna answer my phone while I was balls deep inside her cunt now, was I?” I wait for him to unleash his wrath on me for cutting him off.
“Tonight, be at the house at midnight. Bring the girl.” I draw back and stare down at my phone.
“Why?”
“Don’t fucking question me, boy. Get your fucking ass here,” he clips out, then ends the call.
“Motherfucker!” I roar, then cock my arm back ready to smash a hole into the wall with my fist, but manage to stop myself at the last second. I’m not fucking my hand up right before the biggest game of my life.
I get dressed, then stalk out of my room, only to come face to face with Cas as he steps out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He looks like he hasn’t slept.
“Where were you?”
“Chasing down that fucking cocksucker until dawn.” My brows raise and I roll my lips over my teeth to keep from smiling.
The big fucker growls and bares his teeth at me.
“Next time you decide not to finish a fucking job, you stay behind and deal with it.” When he shoulders past me I can’t contain my laughter.
“Fuck you, X. You’re a real prick,” he snaps, then slams his bedroom door closed, making me laugh harder.
It’s been a long fucking time since I laughed and it feels strange to find humor in something again.
The laughter dies out when a picture of her flashes through my mind.
I push the thought away as I pull my keys out and unlock Toren’s door, prepared to wake her ass up, but to my surprise, she’s awake, dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands clasped in her lap.
She slowly lifts her head and looks at me.
Her eyes are bloodshot, telling me she cried herself to sleep. She stands and holds her head high.
“I packed a bag because I figured I wouldn’t have time to come back here after my shift.
” I just raise a brow in answer. “I need to brush my teeth.” I step aside and motion for her to go about her business.
As she passes me, she makes every effort to stay as far away from me as she can.
I lean against the wall in her room and wait.
When she returns after a few minutes, she doesn’t glance over at me as she grabs her bag off the floor and pulls it on her back.
“I need your jersey,” she mumbles beneath her breath.
“Speak up, Tink,” I snarl.
She finally lifts her head and looks at me, a range of emotions flash through her eyes. “If you want me to wear your number at the game, I need your jersey.”
“We leave in five minutes. Be waiting at the front door,” I say.
The second I parked in front of SU, she took off toward her first class.
I could feel her wanting to ask me where her friend was the whole way there, but she’s smart enough to know that I would never tell her.
The school has been buzzing all day with excitement over the game tonight, this is what we look forward to all year.
Adrenaline has been riding me hard today, the thirst for the big win is at the forefront of my mind.
I’ve been running all the plays on repeat in my head all day, not focusing on anything else.
Even at lunch, I saw Brady sitting with Toren and ignored them both.
That fucker is about to get his after the season, he’ll learn real fast why the fuck he shouldn’t touch my toys. I don’t share what belongs to me.
When the final bell rings out, everyone roars with excitement as they rush out of the classroom. I can’t help but feel the infectious excitement of my peers. They are just as hungry as I am to take Somerset down.
I have big moves planned after this game. We'll be back on our turf soon and I’ll make sure Somerset scum never forget that we are better than they will ever be. I’ll rule them with an iron fucking fist.
“Xaden.” The way Cas says my name has me pausing mid step and everyone in the hallway falling silent. I turn around to see him standing there with a murderous look on his face.
“What?” I clip out as I stalk toward him, ignoring the stares of everyone gathered around.
“Outside, now,” is all he says before stalking off, leaving me no choice but to follow him.
It’s not fucking often Caspian barks orders at me but when he does, I know it’s for a damn good reason.
When we exit out the front of the school my blood boils at the sight of the Rolls Royce idling there.
I don’t need to see inside it to know who the fuck it belongs to.
I take two steps toward the car, ready to tell Steven to fuck off or I’ll rip his throat out, but then I hear her.
“Dad?” I whirl around and pin her with a warning glare, but she’s too focused on the car. She makes her way down the stairs and doesn’t stop until she is standing between me and Cas.
The both of us put our hatred for the bitch aside to form a united front, the aim here is to show Steven Kellar that his princess has been tainted by his enemy’s son.
All the dumb fucks standing around gawking gasp when the driver steps out and rounds the car, opens the back door, and the senator steps out.
Steven plays his part like a pompous prick and smiles and waves at his onlookers.
When he finally sets his sights on his daughter, his smile falters slightly.
He hones in on the bruise on her face but shows no worry for what happened to cause that.
To everyone else he looks like a loving dad coming to see his baby girl, who he’s forgiven for being a murderer.
At least when I kill, the motherfuckers deserve it.
When he’s three steps away, I feel her slip her hand into mine and interlock our fingers. Steven clocks her move. His upper lip twitches but he’s skilled in the art of hiding his sinister motives in public. The cunt is a fucking snake and deserve to burn in fucking hell.
He comes to a stop and looks at Cas and me with disdain.
I stare the bastard down, not giving a fuck who is watching.
When he finally looks at his daughter, I see the revulsion in his eyes.
He doesn’t even look concerned at the sight of the black eye.
She covered the damage as best she could with makeup, but nothing ever fully conceals a black eye.
“Toren,” he says in a clipped tone.
“Dad.” She matches his tone and subtly shifts closer to me. He notes her move and looks pissed.
“Could we have a chat in private?” It’s posed as a question but we all know it’s not.
I squeeze her hand in warning. She pulls her hand free.
I’m about to snap at her but then she lifts my arm and wraps it around her shoulders and snuggles into my side, making her father turn a dark shade of red.
I tighten my hold on her and poke the bear further by placing a kiss to the top of her head.
“Toren,” he grits her name out in warning.
“I would love to, Dad, but Xaden promised to walk me to the library before he went to the rink.” The lie slips so easily from her lips.
He keeps his fake ass smile in place, but the hard look in his eyes has her tensing in my hold. “It’s quite important we speak, sweetheart.” The threat is mixed in with the words, either she doesn’t notice or just doesn’t care as she answers.
“It was quite important that we spoke weeks ago before you dumped me here, but you had to work and now, so do I.” Steven looks furious.
She shifts out of my hold, grips my hand, then attempts to lead me away, but her father snaps his arm out and grips her other wrist. Without thinking, I yank her back and shove her behind me as I get right in her father’s face.