Their Dark Victory, Untouched Vol 4 of 6

Chapter 1

Regroup

Harper

The guys are quiet on the car ride to Caden’s. I’m in the back of Eli’s car with Luke in the front seat. I told Kenz we weren’t going to the party tonight when Coach Turner dropped us off at the school.

The guys seem preoccupied, so I keep quiet too. I haven’t told them about what their teammate Ethan said to me in the hallway. It seemed too provocative, too much like a tease to get them to show their cards. I don’t want them to get hurt getting back at Ethan.

Besides, we need to talk about everything that happened.

Ethan is the last thing on the list. They set up this elaborate trap to figure out which of the guys they trusted was stabbing them in the back.

Decoys of me at different locations where the players knew I would be and sent someone to help protect me.

Obviously, whatever went down on the cameras wasn’t what they were hoping. It’s time to regroup and figure out a strategy.

I just hope Brandon is off the hook, because that might exonerate Kenz. Which my best friend should just be off the list by default, but not according to my boyfriends.

Eli pulls up to Caden’s and shuts off the car. “We have a lot to discuss tonight.”

His dark eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror.

“Then let’s go.” I open the back door and step out as the others arrive in Caden’s car. We’re silent as we round to the back. The house looms dark in the night.

Caden taps something on his phone and lights turn on inside the house, making it feel less ominous. It’s still huge though. He opens the door and we all file in, but no one stops in the rec room.

I follow them into the house and through the corridors to Caden’s room. Jack breaks off with Nico and they head toward the kitchen. When we reach Caden’s room, Luke collapses into one of the chairs. His dark expression makes him feel closed off.

Caden sets down his keys and pulls out his wallet to put on the dresser. His green eyes flick over me, but no one moves to touch me. I wrap my arms around my waist and sink onto the couch, kicking off my shoes.

Eli sits beside me, but it’s almost like his mind is fully focused on whatever plan he’s concocting. I don’t want to interrupt any of them. They’re processing something. They’ll let me in on it when they finish. Right?

The door opens and Jack carries a couple bottles of alcohol while Nico carries in food. Fuck, I don’t know when I last ate today. Jack sets the bottles down on the coffee table and pulls out some shot glasses from his pockets.

There are six of them.

My hands tighten as I clasp them together. The energy isn’t good. It’s heavy and weighs me down. I’m not afraid, but they’re angry. I don’t want to add to that with what I have to tell them. Ethan knows something though, so I have to tell them.

Jack pours the shots and hands one to each of the guys as they sit around the coffee table. Jack sits next to me and gives me a shot glass of vodka.

“That bad?” I whisper, afraid to break whatever thing they have going on.

“That bad.” He taps my glass with his and downs the shot. I do the same, feeling it burn down my throat.

“They’re all fucking traitors.” Luke puts his empty shot glass on the table. His blue eyes lift to mine. “Every last one of them.”

I swallow. I don’t know what to do here. Am I supposed to comfort them? Go sit on his lap? Who do I go to first? Because right now, everyone looks a little broken.

“We don’t know that.” Eli spreads his arms on the back of the couch.

“What do we know?” I ask, trying to see who will be the one that will clue me in.

“The man in black showed up at your house.” Caden tips the bottle to refill the shot glasses. He hands me mine. “The girl is safe. Tanner showed up at Crusty’s. And Zach and Sidney showed up at the diner.”

I hold my glass out and then pause. “Sidney was cheering at the game.”

“We had to get dressed and talk with the coach. The bus doesn’t go as fast as a car can go.” Eli taps my shot glass with his before downing it.

I down the second shot and flip my cup over. That one feels different moving down to my stomach. Not bad, but I have a feeling I could get trashed long before any of them.

“We know nothing.” Nico runs a hand through his hair.

“We know we’re fucked.” Jack fills the shot glasses this time.

I lean back and consider what they’re saying.

The guy in black showed up at my house when I was supposed to be alone.

We kind of assumed he was Zach after he trapped me in the girls’ locker room the next night.

But Zach showed up at the diner at the same time as the guy in black struck again.

My second choice for the guy in black was Tanner.

He threatened me that he’d use me for revenge against my guys. But he showed up at Crusty’s.

“You guys don’t think it’s odd that everyone showed up at the places you had a fake me stationed?” When I sit up, my head spins a little. And things feel a little weird and slippery. I touch the leather collar around my neck.

Nico hands me a plate of meat, cheese, and crackers. “Like either they didn’t know the other locations, or they knew and wanted to fuck with us.”

“What if the guy in black wasn’t the same one that tried to attack me?” I mean, it’s not unreasonable to assume it’s the same guy, but how hard would it be to find someone about the same size—especially on video.

They all pause, lost in their own thoughts. No one’s trying to distract me from this conversation like they used to do. It’s a little intimidating to be part of them now.

“We need a new plan.” Luke runs his hand through his hair, making it stick up. He leans back and his icy eyes focus on me.

Oh, I need to tell them. “Ethan Parker thinks I have great tits.”

“Did he talk to you, little nympho?” Caden sits on the coffee table in front of me. I reach out and hold on to his knee to hold him still.

“He came out looking for a signal at halftime.” Oof, my brain is not playing nice right now. “He said I’d need him when you guys fell. Because protection or something.”

“Who thought it was a good idea to give Harper shots?” Nico shakes his head, but I just smile at him.

Caden tips my chin up and I put my hands on his jaw. It feels all scratchy and rough beneath my hands. Fuck, this is much easier with the alcohol. I’m not worried they’ll turn me away or worried about anything really.

Caden shakes his head, but there’s amusement in his eyes now. “Careful, she’s a handsy drunk.”

Eli

Harper giggles a little. It might be better that she’s a little more pliable. Everyone is in a dark mood, but right now, she’s here with us and safe. The guys need to burn off some of this excess energy. We can’t make plans until we fully understand the situation.

She’s a better option than us going off half-cocked after Ethan. Though he will get his.

I grab the remote for the entertainment system and put on some music. My head is still spinning with plans for how to work out who gave shit away. We can’t trust our usual sources and the girls, who want to befriend Harper, are a crapshoot.

Ethan might be the lynchpin we need to stress to figure out everything. When Harper is sober, I’ll find out exactly what he said.

Luke sits back and watches Harper with hooded eyes. He’s been softer with her than most girls. Hell, all of us have. Even on our worst days, we take it easy on her. Comparatively.

Caden draws Harper onto his lap. She straddles him, staying up on her knees, and kisses him. He cups her ass as he pulls her against him. The games we like to play make it easier than having her choose who to go to. Who to fuck.

She tries to keep it equal, but it’s difficult. Especially with Luke and Caden sleeping with her every night. Caden drags her shirt off over her head before reclaiming her mouth. I lean forward and unhook her bra. Caden grins as he leans back and takes his shirt off with one hand.

Her bra falls to the floor.

“Kitten.”

She pulls away from Caden to look at me with her dilated pupils. I hold out my hand to her and Caden growls. When I arch my eyebrow at him, he releases her. She sways on standing, and he puts his hands on her hips to steady her. She covers his hands with hers.

“Thanks.” She leans down and kisses him, but he resists pulling her down on him.

His gaze on me lets me know I better have something spectacular in mind. Harper turns toward me, topless. Fuck, whoever did that hack job of a photo hasn’t seen our girl, because she’s perfect the way she is.

“Come here, kitten.”

Her dark eyes lock on mine as she lowers herself to straddle me. I brush her hair behind her ear. “Are you ready to play a game?”

She leans into my hand. “Yes, sir.”

Fuck, she’s perfect like she was just waiting all this time for us to unleash all that banked desire inside her. I trail my hand down from her collar to her jeans. When I undo the button and pull down the zipper, she watches my hands. Her lips part, making me crave to lean in and kiss them.

“Stand up, kitten.”

She backs off my lap and shimmies out of her jeans until she’s only in her collar and a pair of panties.

We all watch her with ravenous eyes. She stands there waiting for me to tell her what to do next. Power surges through me. They’re all waiting for me. Standing, I hook my finger through her collar. She sucks in a breath.

“If you’ll excuse us, gentlemen, she needs her costume for this evening’s game.”

Her eyes widen and she wets her lips. “Costume?”

Chuckling, I lead her by her collar to Caden’s closet. Once we’re inside, I release her.

“I’ll explain the game in a minute.” I shuffle through the clothes on the hanger and then open a drawer. Bingo. The lingerie is expensive and innocent looking. Perfect for prey.

I draw out a white babydoll negligee that barely covers her breasts and ass, but flows into a skirt from her breasts down.

“Take your panties off, kitten.” I turn and watch her almost fall over to remove her panties. She giggles. “You’re going to be easy pickings for the first part of the game.”