XXX
Syn
U ntil Victoria had given me a reason to doubt her brother, I’d never once questioned his guilt. When she forced me to dig deeper, I tried to guess the truth about what really happened that night.
At no point had I ever considered the murderer would be Preston du Pont.
The guy is an asshole, and I can’t stand him. But he was also supposed to be JP’s best friend.
He’d made it sound like his death was an accident, and maybe it really was. Except everything else still sounds like he was trying to make the whole situation seem like he wasn’t the bad guy.
Nothing has ever come close to the pain of losing JP.
No fight I’ve ever been in.
Not even any punishment my father has given me.
I could forgive an accident.
I really could.
But covering it up and lying about it, so that everyone—me... my family... the world... doesn’t know the truth? All that pain—and more than—comes rushing back. And with it comes blinding anger.
I don’t even want to hear an apology from this asshole.
Two good hits are all I manage before Royal and Gemini rip me off du Pont. The rage has me feeling like a feral beast let loose, and it won’t be long until I’m free of their hold.
Then Tori steps in front of me.
She doesn’t seem the slightest bit scared of me. In fact, it’s the opposite. She’s as angry as I am, only it looks like she’s ready to punch me instead of du Pont.
"My brother is in prison because of him,” she tells me.
“And my brother is dead because of him,” I retort.
“And if you kill him, my brother is never getting out of prison,” she yells. “You’re the one who told me getting Cole released is going to be nearly impossible without any evidence.” She closes her eyes as she sucks in a deep breath. When she looks at me again, she’s calmer. “You just heard Preston tell you that JP was trying to do the right thing. Don’t you think he’d want you to do the same?”
Everything I’ve done, I've done because I believed that if roles had been reversed, JP would have done the same thing. But that was based on Cole Reynolds being guilty. He’s not. Much as I think prison is too good for du Pont, JP would want me to help get Reynolds.
I’ve also hurt Tori enough.
The anger and energy leave me like a balloon deflating. As I calm down, Royal and Gemini release me and step back.
Only then does Tori step back and look at du Pont. He’s lying unconscious on the ground. “Should we call an ambulance?”
“We’re taking him back to my father,” I tell her.
She looks at me and arches an eyebrow.
“Du Pont is a member of the VII. He has connections. We don’t want to risk him getting out of this if we take him to a hospital or to the police. Once we tell my father the truth, he’ll make sure du Pont is dealt with properly.”
“We should find something to tie him up with. And check that he’s not going to die of blood loss from that bullet wound,” she adds as an afterthought.
How much he hurts is the last thing I care about. If the wound was life-threatening, du Pont wouldn’t have been able to sit around and confess like he had. However, we do need to keep him alive, and he has been losing blood.
Gemini whirls around, grinning like a fucking idiot. “Tying someone up is my specialty.”
He proceeds to pull a roll of duct tape from his pocket and saunters over to du Pont. After kicking him in the side and getting little more than a groan in response, he kneels down beside him.
“Royal, you’re a shit shot. A couple of millimeters to the right, and you’d have missed him altogether. And this fucker is the biggest fucking melodramatic baby. You literally grazed the top of his arm.”
Royal cocks his head, staring incredulously at Gemini. “Like you could have done any better, dickhead. I was fifty feet away, using a Glock, not a rifle. I didn’t hit Tori, and I didn’t kill him. I’d say that was pretty fucking amazing.”
After we finally got our shit together, we spent the last five minutes of the drive coming up with a plan. We had no idea if du Pont was going to be here. I’d assumed he’d leave someone else to do the job instead of getting his hands dirty, so the priority was keeping Tori alive.
We realized it was just du Pont and amended the plan at the last minute. I’d distract du Pont alone, because he would never lower his guard if Royal and Gemini were with me.
I thought he’d done everything because he wanted revenge for his friend.
Right up until I started to walk over, and I heard what he was saying.
After that, Royal and Gemini must have been improvising, too. Royal’s right: it was an amazing shot.
I glance over at Tori. Royal’s standing beside her, his arm wrapped around her, as they both watch Gemini work. Her hair is disheveled, her dress is torn, and she’s covered in mud.
Yet I’ve never seen anyone look as incredible.
Gemini makes short work of wrapping du Pont up in tape, then he stands back, looking pleased with himself. “It’s going to sting like a bitch when they take the tape off that bullet graze.” He frowns. “And it’s going to take two of us to drag him to the car.”
“Fuck that.” I walk over and crouch down beside du Pont. “Wake up, asshole,” I say, loudly, before slapping his face a few times.
Groaning, du Pont opens his eyes, trying to sit up. It takes a couple of seconds before he realizes he’s tied up. “What the fuck are you doing, Keyingham?” He hisses at me. “Release me at once.”
"Sure.” I stand up and make no effort to do as he’s requested. Instead, I reach down and haul him to his feet. “Before you think of doing anything stupid, Royal still has a gun.”
“What do you think you’re going to?” Preston asks. He looks over at Tori, his eyes narrowing before he snorts. “You think you can swap me for her brother? You think that will work?”
"It’s either that, or the Hudson.” I shrug and nod at the water behind us.
This time, Preston laughs. “You really think anyone’s going to let that happen? Do you realize what happens to you if Reynolds goes free? Do you—”
Gemini smacks a piece of tape over du Pont’s mouth. “I knew I should have bought the ball gag with me,” he mutters, actually sounding disappointed.
I grab du Pont’s arm, squeezing just below the tape Gemini used to dress the wound. Smiling in satisfaction at his mumbled moan, I start pulling him. “Either walk yourself or we’ll drag you.”
“Here,” Royal says.
As I glance back, my friend scoops Tori up into his arms.
“What are you doing?” she squeals at him. “Put me down. I can walk.”
“I know you can, but the ground is half frozen dirt and puddles, and you’ve got dainty shoes on.” He glances at the black shoes poking out from under her dress. “Much as I’m impressed, you’re still wearing both of them.”
“Fine.” Tori doesn’t fight him. Instead, she rests her head against his shoulder.
It feels like hours have passed since we left the gala, and yet the night is as dark as it was when we arrived. We make our way back to the car at a slow pace—not for du Pont’s benefit, but so Royal doesn’t stumble.
When we arrive back at Royal’s Mercedes, he gently sets Tori down to unlock the car. I push du Pont to the back and open the door, but Tori appears next to me.
“Wait,” she says before ripping the tape off du Pont’s mouth. “The girl you killed; was she named Lucy? Lucy Barnes?”
Du Pont sneers. “Why would I know what that whore’s name was?”
“You left JP at the front of the campus. What did you do with her?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, you—”
Gemini lunges, shoving du Pont into the back of the vehicle. Before du Pont can recover, Gemini punches him as hard as he can in the temple. As his body slumps to the side, Gemini steps back and shrugs. “I have wanted to do that since he was Elite President.”
“I was talking to him,” Tori objects.
“He’s not going to tell you anything. He won’t lead us to any evidence that will incriminate him further anyway.” Gemini leans past her and puts some more tape over du Pont’s mouth. “Just in case he wakes up.”
“Let’s head back.” I wait for Tori and Gemini to move out of the way before slamming the door shut. I lead Tori to the side of the car. After a moment’s hesitation, I open the front passenger door and gesture for her to get in.
She looks at me in surprise, but gets in. “Thank you.”
After making sure she’s clear, I shut the door and go to get in behind her. Gemini’s leaning against the door, grinning at me like an idiot. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“You seem to like your teeth, Gemini. If you want to keep them, I suggest you get in,” I tell him when he doesn’t move.
Like he’s a toddler, he sticks his tongue out at me. Then he pulls open the door and jumps in behind Tori, shutting and locking the door. I can’t see him through the tint, but I’m sure he’s sticking his tongue out at me again.
I swear, there is no one more infuriating than this dipshit.
Grumbling to myself, I head around to the other side. By the time I get in, Royal’s already got the engine running and is turning on the heated seats for Tori. The door has a fresh bottle of water in it, so I pull it out and lean forward to offer it to her. “Here.”
She glances over her shoulder, the surprise returning. “Thank you.” She takes the bottle from me but doesn’t open it.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to point out that I’ve not poisoned it, but instead, I settle back into my seat.