CHAPTER TWELVE

COLE

I stand in the locker room after our meeting with Coach about our upcoming season. My phone beeps, and I pull it out of my pocket to find a text from Austin, and my heart starts to pound. I shouldn’t have let her pick up Lilly. I don’t want them getting close because I don’t want to hurt Lilly when I push Austin away after I’m done with her. But Celeste wasn’t answering, and Lilly and I haven’t gone over the procedures for her to ride a bus yet. It’s second semester of my senior year. Even last semester when I had after-school meetings or meets, I always had someone lined up when I couldn’t make it. Either the nanny, Blanche, or Celeste helped me out.

I open it, thinking something is wrong, but it’s a picture of Lilly sitting at a round red table eating a cup of ice cream. A big smile on her face and a text from Austin.

 

She said she had a great first day back, and she made a new friend. His name is George. I hope you don’t mind. I took her for ice cream.

 

I smile. I’m glad she had a good day, but this George shit won’t work.

“What the fuck are you doing, man?” Kellan asks from behind me.

I close out of the text and place my phone back in my pocket.

“Drop it,” Deke warns.

“No! This shit is getting out of hand,” he snaps. “He’s in way over his head.”

I whirl around on him. “You doubting me?”

“Yes.”

I grind my teeth.

“You’re not thinking clearly. I understand you wanna fuck her over, but this is too far. She is gonna burn you. And I’m not gonna go down ’cause you wanna get your dick wet.”

I step into him, but Bennett grabs Kellan’s shoulder and pulls him out of my reach. “Watch it,” I warn.

“I’m gonna watch it all right. From the sidelines when she blows everything up in your face,” he shouts. “You think she’s any better than he is? You think she’s not gonna find out that you’re using her? That you want to fuck her dad over?” He shakes his head.

“I have it handled,” I growl.

He snorts. “She’s out with Lilly, for fuck’s sake, Cole. When she takes everything you have, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”

I step into him and punch him in the face. His head snaps to the side, and he stumbles back, running into Bennett. I punch him again before he can recover, and then I’m yanked back.

“Calm down, Cole,” Deke says as he holds me back.

My heart pounds in my chest as it rises and falls fast. I fist my hands, that feeling of split knuckles calming me. That familiar throb in my shoulder returns.

He rights himself and wipes the blood off his chin. “She needs to disappear.”

“You stay the fuck away from her, Kellan!” I growl.

He shakes his head, letting out a chuckle. “You’re already fucked up enough, Cole. You don’t need some whore making you worse.”

I go for Kellan, but Bennett grabs him, yanking him back. “Enough!” he demands. “Get the fuck out of here, Kellan.” Then he shoves him toward the door.

Kellan throws his hands up and walks out backward, making sure he can see me the whole time. Letting me know that he no longer trusts me. I could say the same about him. He’s keeping a very big secret from us. That only I know. What he doesn’t know is that I plan on using it against him. Very soon.

Once the door closes, Deke releases me. I let out a long breath.

“Maybe we should reconsider,” Shane says.

“No.” Bennett beats me to it. “We stick with the plan.” He looks at me.

I turn around and storm out, ready to get the fuck out of this school.

“Cole?” Deke calls out as I walk out the parking lot.

“I’m not in the mood, Deke,” I tell him, coming to a stop by his Range Rover. He is taking me to Austin’s house to get Lilly and my car.

He comes to a stop in front of me. “I just wanted you to know that I got your back.”

“Thanks.”

_________________________________

I walk into the Lowes house without even bothering to knock. I take the stairs two at a time to the second floor, but I don’t find the girls in Austin’s room.

“Austin?”

“In the kitchen,” she calls out.

I make my way down the stairs slower and walk into the kitchen. Lilly is sitting on the counter, and Austin stands next to her with a tray of cookies in front of her.

“Hey, Cole,” Lilly says, smiling brightly.

I walk over to her and kiss her hair. “How was school?”

“Good. I made a new friend. He’s new. Just like Austin.”

I look at Austin, and she is dipping a butter knife into a tub of pink icing—Lilly’s favorite color. “That’s great.”

“Can he come over and swim with us?” she asks excitedly.

Hell no. “We’ll talk about it later,” I tell her.

“Here you go.” Austin turns to face her and hands her a cookie that she just finished icing.

Lilly bites into it. “So good,” she says with a nod. Then holds it up to me. “Try it, Cole.”

I lean down and take a bite. Austin goes back to frosting another cookie, and I swallow. “You’re right. Those are good.” I pick her up and set her on her feet. “Go get your backpack. We’re gonna leave soon.”

She bounces out of the kitchen. Once she is gone, I position myself behind Austin, pressing my hips into her back. She stiffens against me. “Cole.”

I reach up and pull her hair from her shoulder, wrapping it around my fist. I yank her head back, and she sucks in a breath. That anger I have for her rises because she’s causing problems for me. Big ones. She was supposed to be a toy—something fun to use—but I haven’t even got to play with her yet. Not how I imagine anyway.

I lean down to her ear. “Still mad at me, sweetheart?” I don’t care how mad at me she is over the video. It got the job done. Everyone fucking knows she belongs to me. She surprised me with her actions. I knew she wanted me, but I didn’t expect her to be so forward with an audience.

“Yes.” She breathes.

“That was a weak answer.” I chuckle. “But I like your fight, Austin. Your anger. It shows me that you haven’t given up yet. And you’re gonna need that.”

She picks up the knife that sits next to the tub of icing. Her hand grips it like her life depends on it. She’s not far off. “Are you gonna stab me?”

“It crossed my mind,” she growls, but her ass pushes into my already hard dick. God, this woman drives me mad.

I smile. “You better make sure you kill me, sweetheart. Because you won’t get a second chance.”

“I’ll only need one,” she assures me.

I have no doubt.

I bring my free hand up and wrap it around her throat, and like always when I touch her, her pulse races. “I figured you for the type of girl to grab a gun over a knife.”

“I’d go for whatever is in reach.” She pants.

I let go of her neck and yank the knife from her hand and hold it up to her throat. She whimpers. “The thing about a knife is that you have to get up close and personal, sweetheart. And you have one chance to do the most damage.” I run the knife down over her black shirt, between her breasts, and her chest rises and falls quickly with each breath. I wanna cut the annoying fabric off. “But we both know that you don’t have a problem with letting me get close to you, do we?”

She shoves my hand away and spins around in my arms. My one hand still fists her hair. “You son of a …”

I cut her off, slamming my lips to hers. She tries to push me away, but I tighten my hand in her hair, and it causes her to cry out. I slide my tongue into her mouth and kiss her aggressively. Her legs buckle, and her hands grip my shirt just like they did in the hallway at school. I drop the knife, and it hits the floor with a clank. My now free hand goes underneath her shirt, and she doesn’t try to stop me as I slide it up and cup her breast.

She whimpers.

“I guess you still want me to fuck you,” I whisper against her lips.

“Why do you do this?” She pants.

“Do what, sweetheart?” I play dumb.

She groans. “Like you have to prove to yourself that I want you. When you don’t want me.”

I can’t help it, I laugh. “Feel that?” I press my hard dick into her lower stomach. Her green eyes stare up into mine. “That’s for you. You do that to me. Now tell me that I don’t want you,” I demand. I grab the top of her bra and yank it down, exposing her breast to my hand. I run my thumb over her nipple, and it hardens. I want my lips on it.

“You don’t want me,” she whispers hoarsely.

I remove my hand from her breast and out from underneath her shirt. I take a step back. “You’re right. I don’t.”

Her eyes narrow on me as she fixes her shirt. “Got it,” Lilly says, running in, and my eyes go to hers.

“Thank Austin for picking you up,” I tell her because I refuse to say it. I didn’t ask her to; she offered.

“Thank you, Austin,” she says, walking over to her and hugs her hips.

Austin smiles down at her, our conversation no longer on her mind. “You’re welcome, Lilly.”

“Can she pick me up tomorrow?” she asks, looking at me.

I refrain from growling. This is why I didn’t want Austin’s help. “I’ll be able to pick you up tomorrow,” I tell her. She pouts, and her brown eyes look at the floor. “And Austin will be with me,” I add, making her smile.

Fuck!

AUSTIN

Friday went as well as Thursday did. Cole showed up, and we dropped off Lilly. Then we went to school, and he walked me to first period. He kissed me in class and at lunch, and every time, I found myself leaning into him. And I have to remind myself that I still have stitches in my arm because of him.

We’ve just picked up Lilly, and I’m looking down at my phone, responding to a message I got from Becky. We finally exchanged numbers today. And she hasn’t stopped texting me since third period.

I just happen to look up to see he missed the exit to my father’s house. “Where are we going?” I ask, glancing at Lilly in the back seat. She has her headphones on as she watches videos on her phone.

“My house,” he responds brusquely. He’s been in a mood today, and I noticed the tension between him and Kellan at lunch. And I didn’t miss the cut on Kellan’s face either. Something is going on.

“Why aren’t you taking me home?”

“We have plans.”

My knees start to bounce. We have plans. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Cole Reynolds, it’s that I never like his plans. “Will you quit with the cryptic answers. Why didn’t you take me home?”

He doesn’t respond, and my anger for him grows like it always does. “Cole—”

“Later,” he snaps, interrupting me before looking in his rearview mirror at Lilly. And I get it. He doesn’t wanna say it with her in the car even if she has her headphones on. That makes me even more nervous.

“You’ll already be asleep by the time I get home, okay?” he tells Lilly as we stand in the foyer of his father’s house.

“Okay,” she says, nodding her head.

“Be good for Blanche.”

I’m not sure who the hell Blanche is, but if I had to guess, I would say a nanny.

“Always,” she tells him, and then he hugs her. Before I can say anything, he’s grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the house and back to his car.

“Now are you gonna tell me where we are going?” I ask.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

I bite my bottom lip, wanting to demand he tell me what the hell we are doing, but I know fighting with him won’t get me anywhere.

“Can you at least tell me how long we will be?”

“Why?”

“Really?” He can ask me questions, but I can’t ask him any? When he doesn’t say anything, I roll my eyes. “Becky is going to a party tonight and asked me to go.”

“No,” he says immediately.

“Excuse me?” I snap.

He looks in his side mirror and changes lanes. “No,” he repeats as if I’m hard of hearing.

“You can’t tell me what to do, Cole.”

“Wanna bet?”

I grind my teeth in frustration. “I can go out if I want.”

“Not without me and I’m not going out tonight,” he says matter-of-factly.

“What the fuck, Cole? You’re not my boyfriend,” I grind out, tightening my hand on my phone. Even if he was, he still wouldn’t have a say in what I do.

“The entire school thinks otherwise.”

“That’s because you told them that,” I snap.

He glances over at me. “No. That was all you, sweetheart. And wanting my cock.”

I suck in a breath through gritted teeth. I want to scream at him. Slam his head into his steering wheel and jump out of this moving car. Instead, I pick up my phone and text her.

 

Me: I’m down. Doing something right now. Will let you know when I’m done.

 

Then I lock my phone.

We sit in silence, and I stare out the passenger window, ignoring him as he flies down the highway.

Fifteen minutes later, he pulls off onto a dirt road, and I immediately know where we are. The barn. The same place he had me come to when he stole that car.

My back straightens when I see Deke’s black Range Rover and a white Mercedes SUV parked on the side. He parks in front of them and then shuts the car off, getting out.

I take a deep breath and follow him inside.

It’s one big open area. The ceiling comes to a high point with dark wooden rafters. There’s a set of stairs to the right that leads up to what looks like a loft. A punching bag dangles from the ceiling. A dart board hangs on the wall to the right along with a shuffleboard and a pool table to the left. Three gaming chairs face a big screen TV. A small mini bar is over in the right corner.

It’s a man cave.

It has to belong to one of their fathers. And they party here.

Deke is on his phone but nods his head at Cole when he sees us enter. Shane is sitting on a couch drinking a beer, and Bennett is sitting in a chair texting on his phone. I look around for Kellan but don’t spot him anywhere.

I come to a stop and stand awkwardly, not really knowing what I’m doing here with four guys. One wants to destroy me, and one wants me dead. Not sure how the other two feel at the moment.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to see it’s a text.

 

Becky: Okay. Sounds good.

 

I look up when I hear Deke finishing his call. He walks over to me, and I take a step back. He smiles. “Still afraid of me, baby?”

I pull my lip back in disgust and mumble, “Something like that.”

Cole snaps his fingers at him. “Did you get it?”

Deke nods. “I sure did.” He walks over to a table and picks up a black drawstring backpack. “Here you go, baby.”

I roll my eyes, and Cole snatches the bag from his hands. “Is it all here?”

Deke snorts, offended by Cole’s lack of trust. “Of course.”

Cole grabs my arm and pulls me over to the table and hands me the bag. “Holy crap. This thing weighs a ton. What’s in it? Bricks?” Maybe I can use one to knock out Deke.

Cole snatches it from me and holds it upside down, shaking it. Things start to hit the table with a thud. The first to fall out is a roll of duct tape. And then a small knife. Followed by a pair of handcuffs. A cell phone. Something that resembles a black box. The last thing is a driver’s license. Serial killer starter kit.

I pick up the black box ’cause it looks the least threatening and take a step back from the table. “What is all this?” My voice shakes as the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

“It’s all yours,” Deke says with a wicked smile.

“Mine?” I ask wide-eyed. Why would I need these?

Cole picks up the handcuffs, and I take another step away from him at the sound of the metal clanking together. His eyes stay on mine, void of emotion.

“Remember that initiation we talked about?” Deke asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

My heart pounds in my chest, and my palms are sweaty. I tighten my grip on the black box.

Deke takes a step toward me. “I think it’s time you give me that show, baby.” He takes the handcuffs from Cole.

I grip the black box, and my eyes shoot to Cole, waiting for him to stop Deke. To tell me that this is another sick joke. But his eyes run up and down my body before meeting mine once again. This time, there’s a coldness to them that I remember from outside the church, and my breathing picks up. Fear creeping up my spine.

I hear a door open behind me, and Deke reaches out for me. I spin around to run but hit a human wall. I squeal as my thumb presses a button on the black box. A buzzing noise has me jumping back. I then look down to see Kellan on the ground tensed up into a ball.