41. The Line Between Real and Fake
THE LINE BETWEEN REAL AND FAKE
Axel
My head jerked up as a shrill car horn shattered the hot moment in the Jeep, stopping me from burying my cock deep inside Lorelei. I’d been fantasizing about this for weeks now, and some douchebag had to ruin it.
But all thoughts of fucking Lorelei washed away when Cordelia staggered into the road outside the library parking lot.
A string of curses ripped from my mouth. “She’s going to get hit.”
Lorelei’s brow furrowed as she sat up and searched the street through the window. “Who?”
“Cordi.”
I scrambled inside the cramped backseat to yank my shorts back on. Warm, sticky air rushed over my sweaty skin when I shoved the door open and jumped out. As a black sedan sped down the road, cutting a path directly toward Cordi, my blood froze.
Oh, fuck.
I tore across the parking lot, Lorelei following my steps.
My heart crashed against my ribs in an angry drumbeat, and a line of cold sweat dripped down my nape. What the hell was Cordelia doing? And why hadn’t that black car stopped yet? The driver should have seen her or at least heard the other horns by now.
The car barreled toward her, grille flashing beneath the sunlight, close enough to steal the air from my lungs. I lunged, caught Cordi around the waist, and ripped her off her feet a second before the front end tore through the space where she’d been standing.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Her squeal of surprise echoed, and when laughter followed, I knew exactly what was wrong with her. She was wasted.
As Lorelei ran toward us, I set Cordi on her feet and whipped her around, her head bobbing on her neck as more giggles tumbled out. Her bloodshot green eyes were barely open enough to recognize me.
“Axel!” The inebriated girl threw herself into my arms, burying her face in my chest. “I missed you! Come to have some fun with me? I have a little stash of the Hug Drug. We can go to my room and—”
“Oh my god. Is she okay?”
At the sound of Lorelei’s voice, Cordelia tore away from me and groaned.
“I should have known you’d be here. You two are worse than Kill and Lexi. She ditched me early just to go see her boyfriend.” She carelessly dropped her purse and propped her hands on her hips, wrinkling her lilac sundress. “Why are you always with him?”
Lorelei fanned her flushed face and smoothed her blond strands that I’d messed up in the Jeep. “I’m his girlfriend, remember?”
“Why did you have to take him away?” Cordi pouted, shutting one eye as if having trouble focusing on the other girl. “He was my friend, and now I never see him because of you.”
A pang struck my chest at the sadness in her voice, but she’d still called me her friend.
The black sedan, a nondescript Mercedes, caught my attention as it idled in the middle of the road. I expected the driver to make sure the girl he almost ran over was okay. Dark tint covered the windows, obscuring the interior.
When no one emerged, prickles crawled over my scalp. Something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong, Ax?” Lorelei asked.
“Watch her.” I shoved Cordelia into Lorelei’s arms and marched toward the Mercedes, my fists clenching. “Open up.”
When the driver didn’t respond, I rapped my knuckles on the window, barely able to make out the faint outline of a man behind the wheel.
Hot anger bubbled through my veins, and instead of knocking on the window again, I gripped the handle and tried to open the door.
It was locked, of course.
So I resorted to brute force and slammed my fist into the window.
Pain burst across my knuckles as the glass cracked, deep lines spiderwebbing out. The engine suddenly revved, and the car peeled away, filling the air with the acrid scent of burnt rubber.
Before the Mercedes vanished around the corner, I yanked my phone out to capture a picture of the license plate. Something about this whole situation had my hackles raised.
Maybe I was just paranoid after Brock threatened to expose my secrets. Could he really know about Peter Dupont? That secret was locked and sealed with the brotherhood.
Unless, of course, Vaughn ran his mouth to Haversham.
A groan echoed, and I spun back to the parking lot as Cordi clung to Lorelei. “I think I’m going to pass out.”
Lorelei’s brown eyes widened. “Axel, get over here!”
I bolted toward them and caught Cordi just as she lost consciousness. Her head lolled to the side, purple locks falling into her face.
“I need to get her to the dorms, but I hate to leave her alone like this. I’ll have to call Lexi.” I lifted the unconscious girl, cradling her to my chest.
Lorelei scoffed and grabbed Cordi’s small sparkly purse from the ground. “The chances of Lexi leaving Kill’s side are slim to none.”
“Lexi’s the type of girl that’ll drop anything for a friend.” I started toward Davenport Dormitory. “Killian can bitch and moan all he wants, but it won’t stop Lexi from hurrying over if Cordi needs her.”
“So much for Lexi dropping everything,” Lorelei said as we entered the girls’ opulent dorm room after calling Lexi and Killian twice with no luck.
I gently laid Cordelia on her bed, the white covers rumpled as usual. “Maybe they just aren’t by their phones.”
Lorelei snorted. “Or they’re screwing and aren’t interested in answering.”
Crimson bloomed into her cheeks at the mention of sex. We’d be doing that very thing right now if the girl I was trying to win over hadn’t interrupted us.
I pulled Cordi’s sandals off and tossed them by her mahogany desk that was cluttered with nail polish and makeup instead of books. “They have to come up for air at some point. In the meantime, I’ll stay with her. You don’t have to stay...”
“Are you sure?” Lorelei curled a lock of blond hair around her finger, the light shining through the stained-glass windows casting rainbows across her sun-kissed skin. “I could keep you company. If you want.”
Before I could answer, Cordi groaned and threw her hand over her eyes. “Why is the room spinning?”
Lorelei grabbed the small waste basket in the corner, dropping it by the bed as Cordi rolled over. Instead of puking, her bloodshot eyes lifted to the blond.
“Can you get me some water?” She pointed to the mini fridge in the corner.
“Sure.” Lorelei crossed the room and opened the fridge, her short skirt almost revealing her underwear as she bent forward. “There’s no water.”
That underwear should be on the floor of my Jeep right now while I—
Stop thinking about it!
Cordi whimpered and buried her head in the pillow. “I’ll go to one of the vending machines down the hall.”
Lorelei sighed and grabbed Cordi’s purse. “I’ll get it, but you’re paying for it.”
I mouthed a thank you before she vanished out the door. Then I folded down onto the edge of Cordi’s bed. “How much did you drink?”
She peeked her head up from the pillow and rolled onto her back.
“After Lexi ditched me, I stayed at the Sigma Delta house and had a few shots with Slate.” Cordelia hiccupped. “And then I stopped by the Alpha Tau Omega house and had a few more shots. Those guys are such lightweights.”
My brows furrowed, and I brushed her hair back from her face. “I know you like to have fun, but getting this hammered in the middle of the afternoon isn’t like you. You almost got hit by a car.”
Her bottom lip trembled as moisture collected in her eyes. “I guess I’m just sad.”
“Why are you sad?”
“Because I did the stupidest thing ever.” She wiped at a stray tear, smearing her makeup. “I let you go.”
My pulse froze for a few seconds. “What do you mean?”
Cordi sniffled as more tears streaked her face. “I knew you wanted to be more than a casual hookup, and instead of just giving you—the best guy I’ve ever met—a chance, I tossed you aside. Now you’re with Lorelei, and I’m all alone.”
My throat tightened as the words I’d longed to hear finally tumbled out of Cordelia’s mouth. Could it be true? Did she really want to stop running and give us a shot?
“I didn’t think you felt that way about me,” I whispered.
“I guess losing you made me realize how much you meant to me.”
Could I trust her words when she was this obliterated? For all I knew, she’d claim to never remember this conversation once she sobered up.
And instead of jumping for joy that Cordi might be finally coming around, images of a certain blond beauty kept flashing through my mind. The thought of losing her gutted me.
At some point, the line between real and fake got so blurred that it disintegrated. Even as Cordi poured her heart out, I couldn’t help but wish I was back in my Jeep with Lorelei. I wanted to get lost in her and watch her fall apart beneath me.
Mother-fucking hell. I had feelings for Lorelei Battenberg. I didn’t just want to bang her once in my car. I wanted so much more. And, I wanted to protect her from that sadistic prick Brock.
If I ended our fake relationship, it would leave her vulnerable to Haversham. I’d rather cut off my own hand than let that bastard so much as lay one dirty finger on her.
“I want to be with you, Axel.” Cordelia’s slurred voice yanked me out of my dark thoughts, and her eyes closed just as she murmured one last thing. “Can’t you break up with Lorelei for me?”
A creak echoed, and Lorelei appeared, her hand trembling as she set the bottle of water by Cordi’s bedside table. “I should go.”
Shit. She’d heard Cordi’s confession.
An invisible fist punched a jagged hole through my chest.
“Lore, wait.” I bolted off the bed, followed her into the hall, and snatched her wrist before she could get too far. “I don’t know what—”
She jerked out of my hold and crossed her arms over her chest. That icy, aloof facade rebuilt around her again, but it didn’t mask the pain in her eyes.
“This is what you want. Our fake relationship worked.” She flicked her hand toward the door. “You got the girl of your dreams to admit she wants you.”
“But things are more complicated now.”
Lorelei scoffed. “Why? Because you suddenly feel some need to protect me against Brock?” She flicked her blond locks behind her shoulders. “I’m a big girl, Axel. I can handle him and anything else life throws my way. I don’t need you or anyone else.”
She stormed off as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I snatched it out, hoping it was Lexi or Killian. The supposed girl of my dreams, the one I worked my ass off to make jealous, was begging me to be with her, but my heart ached for someone else.
Frost suddenly crawled down my spine as I read the text from the same unknown number Brock had used.
Unknown: Your friends should be more careful when crossing the street.
Had that sick son of a bitch sent someone after Cordi, or had Lorelei been his intended target?