Chapter 31
“Tell me you got something. Please.”I am pacing back and forth in Seven’s room and at this point wearing out a patch of his rug on his floor.
“There was a flight that leaves at six from Dallas and one that leaves at seven in Houston. Both are straight shots to Las Vegas. But we will never make those. We are going to be a couple hours behind her no matter what.” Seven shakes his head, a grimace twisting his lips.
“What the hell are we waiting for?” I run out of the room and immediately head to my room. I grab a bag and stuff anything I can find to wear inside along with things I know I’ll need. In my bathroom, I grab my travel kit and my hairbrush.
When I come out, I find Dekker inside the room with his bag too.
“We will find her.” He throws the duffle on my bed. “Have your ID and shit?”
I pat down my pockets and nod. “You?”
“Yup.” He hits his back pocket to double check.
“Let’s go see if Seven is ready, and let’s get the hell out of here.” I grab my phone and bag and head into Seven’s room, with Dekker hot on my heels.
“Okay, I think I got everything,” Seven says as he looks up from his desk. His bag is packed to the brim with his stuff. “I have my laptop, so I can see if she pops up, and we can go from there.”
“How are we even going to be able to if she ditched the cell?” Dekker asks, brows furrowed.
“Remember the money from her dad’s accident? That’s how. She used it to get the ticket to Vegas and she’s gonna use it when she lands to get a room at a hotel or something.” Seven snatches up his phone and wallet and throws them in his pocket.
“Well, then let’s get—” A sudden high-pitched alarm sounds and stops us all dead in our tracks.
“That’s the fire alarm. What the fuck?” Seven walks into the hall as other brothers are coming out of their rooms.
“Fire! The house is on fire!” someone yells from downstairs.
“Get everyone out now!” I yell at those around me. “Seven, make sure everyone is out of their rooms and do a head count once outside. Dekker, get on the phone and call 9-1-1. And help usher everyone out.”
They both nod, and I run down the stairs and see the whole back of the house engulfed in flames.
What the fucking hell?
“Get out! Let’s go!” I yell to those standing around watching the flames take over the room. I run into the game room next and thankfully find it empty. I check the bathroom and the garage, all empty.
When I come back out, I see the entire kitchen blazing.
“Dekker! Seven!” I yell at the top of the stairs. “Get the fuck out now!” The two of them are running down the stairs with two of our brothers in front of them.
“Fire team is on their way. We’re clear up there.” Dekker pushes me out the door.
All of us run across the street and turn to watch the house burning. I run a hand down my face in complete shock. How the hell could this happen?
Sirens in the distance tell me that the fire department is getting closer. People from the houses next to ours come running over to gawk as well. Whispers and voices surround me, but all I can think is what the hell. That completely came out of nowhere.
“Xay!” Monica’s screech is heard over the popping and creaking of the burning house in front of us. “Oh, my God! Sweetie! What happened?” Her arms latch around my neck, and I instantly feel grossed out and pull them off me.
“Well, the house is on fire, Mon. It’s obvious, right?” I don’t even look at her as I answer her, my lips curled in disgust.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Seven starts freaking out. “The computers!” He starts to take off toward the house, but I grab him and hold him back.
“Not important. Stop, Sev! You can’t go back in there!” I yank him back into me.
“How will we find her now? Rory is out there, Xay! Fuck!” Seven puts his face in his hands.
“Oh, dear. I do hope your sister isn’t in that fire! Oh no!” Monica feigns concern.
I let go of Seven and immediately turn on her, my blood boiling. “It was you.”
“What? What was me?” She places a hand on her chest, and her mouth drops open.
“You sent her those videos. You are the reason she’s gone.” I take a step toward her, and she instinctively backs away.
“I-I don’t know what you mean, Xay, baby.” She laughs nervously. She continues to back up until she is met by a wall. That wall being Dekker, who she doesn’t see get behind her.
“You know exactly what I mean. You sent her that video of us in the parking lot of the diner. Come clean, Mon.” My hands curls into fists because it’s all that is keeping me from wrapping them around her neck.
Her eyes dart around as she contemplates her next move. “Look, it was harmless fun.”
“Harmless fun? Are you that fucking stupid? She ran out of the house and took off! She left the fucking state!” I yell into her face.
“Well, she wasn’t in that! So you can thank me that she’s safe! And thank God she left. Now you can be mine again.” She takes a step forward, but Dekker yanks her back by her hair.
“Let me make one thing perfectly clear, Mon. I was never fucking yours. Never. You were a place for me to keep my dick warm when I couldn’t get one of your other slut friends to.” I step forward again, and her eyes widen in fear. “And I will make sure you pay for chasing her away. If anything happens to her, it will come back on you ten-fold. So you better hope and pray that she is okay and that nothing happens to her, or you are a dead man walking.”
She opens and closes her mouth like she’s a fish, but nothing comes out. Dekker pushes her off to the side and stalks over to me. I turn back around to watch as the fire department works to put the fire out. The flames are shooting through the roof as the firefighters try to battle them. We can hear the sound of shattering glass and the popping of the wood from where we stand over the sounds of the chaos in front of us.
“He made me do it!” Monica yells next to us. “He made me! Said that was the only way I could get you back!”
My head snaps to her. “Who? Who made you?” I start to take steps toward her, but her next words have me coming to a halt.
“Your dad.” Tears start to fall down her cheeks. “I’m sorry! He had the video. He gave it to me to send!”
A pain slices through my heart. My stomach drops when the words she’s saying catch up to me.
My own father did this? There’s no way.
“He needed her to leave,” she continues. “He needed her to be away from you three. He needed her to leave her mother on her own. When it didn’t work with Damien, he had to try something else.”
Turning to Seven, I command, “Stay here.” Then I grab her by the arm and lead her away from the crowd of people.
“Stop, Xay, baby, please,” she begs.
“It’s Xayden. I’m not your baby.” I stop about twenty feet away from the crowd. “Spill your bullshit now. What do you mean when it didn’t work with Damien?”
“I’ve already said too much. They will kill me if I say anymore.” She runs her hands anxiously through her hair.
“Monica, I want you to hear me when I say this. I will kill you if you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on.” My voice is low, and I don’t even blink as I say the words.
Our eyes are locked in on each other, and I can see her trembling.
She wrings her hands in front of her for a minute before she speaks. “I-I don’t know everything. But I know your dad was working to get Dekker’s dad out of prison. They needed Rory for something. They sent Damien to try and work his way into her life, thinking that would get them what they needed. Damien fucked that up.”
“What did they need Rory for?” I demand.
She shakes her head. “I have no idea. But they wanted her off this campus. Everything has been planned to get her to leave. Her mom and your dad had fought about bringing Rory here, but her mom won out. Your dad said he needed them separated. That he had to play the part of loving stepdad. She wasn’t supposed to still be here. But she’s stubborn.”
“She didn’t even want to be here! She wanted to be back in Vegas, going to school there!” I yell.
“Xayden! I don’t know why they did what they did. I was just given instructions and told to do it. But if she did leave, then the video did what they wanted it to do.” She frowns.
“None of this makes any fucking sense, Mon. My father? My own father hurting his stepdaughter? Do you know where they are? Where Rory’s mom is?”
She bites her lip and looks out behind me. After a few, her eyes meet mine. “I only know they said they had unfinished business out West. They didn’t say where, and I didn’t stick around to find out.”
My blood runs cold. She could be headed right for them. Which, if this was all planned, that’s exactly what they wanted to happen.
I run over to Seven and Dekker who are talking to a couple officers. Steeling my facial expressions, I come up behind them.
“Sorry, girl drama.” I shrug at the officers, plastering on a fake smile I hope works. “Hi, I’m Xayden Brooks. I’m the president of Sigma Xi Delta.”
“Mr. Brooks, I was just telling these two that the fire chief thinks based on preliminary evidence that this was a case of arson. There will be an investigation that will be opened for this matter. Do you know of anyone that would do such a thing? Have any enemies? Bad blood between frats?” The officer narrows his eyes at me.
“Officer, we were just up in our rooms when the smoke detectors went off. I have no idea who would have done this.” I place my hands on my hips and keep eye contact with him.
After a beat, he hands me his card. “Call me if you can think of anyone that may have a beef with you and do something like this.”
I nod and take his cards. He waits for a moment but then turns and walks away. I let out a sigh and turn toward the other two.
“We need to get to Vegas and fast.” I pat down my back pocket for my wallet.
“Agreed. We can get the stuff we need when we get there,” Dekker adds.
“Let’s go. We can walk around the corner and get a Lyft. Houston’s closer to fly out of. And we still need to figure out where she is or where they are.”
“What did Monica say?” Seven starts walking away from the scene, and we all follow.
“Well, in short, my dad was working to get Ledger out of prison. Damien was a distraction to help push Rory out of this school. He never wanted her out here with June, but played the part once she was here in Texas. My father is calculating, smart, so paying for her school, the car, it was all a part of the charade. Something bigger is at play, and we have no idea what it is,” I say as I pull out my phone to call a Lyft.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Your dad helped put him away. Why would your dad want to help get mine out of prison?” Dekker stops dead in his tracks.
“No idea. All I know is we need to get to Vegas and find her before they do.” I turn to Seven. “Can you still track her with your phone?”
Seven nods. “Yeah. It would be easier with my laptop, but that’s gone to hell.” He looks back at the house grimly. “But I can still see if she uses her card.”
Our Lyft pulls up minutes later, and we hop in. I can see Seven typing away on his phone, no doubt trying to already figure out where my father is. I look at my watch and see that it’s nearly five in the morning.
We have a good three-hour drive to the Houston airport and then who knows when we will be able to get on a flight and get to Vegas.
But make no mistake, we will get to Vegas. And we will get Rory back.
And my father is a dead man for ever hurting her.