CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

COLE

She’s avoided me completely this week. Five whole days of not a single word. Not even a glance my way. And it’s not like I haven’t tried. She just acts like I don’t even exist. It’s taken all I have not to pin her up against a locker and choke her until she’s clawing at my arms and chest, silently begging me to let her breathe. But I know Austin Lowes. She would willingly pass out before she begged me for anything.

And I no longer want to hurt her.

“You okay, man?” Deke asks as we walk to our cars in the parking lot of the school after practice.

“Fine.”

He sighs. “Becky’s worried about Austin.”

I come to a stop and turn to face him. “Why? Did Austin say something to her?”

He shakes his head. “Just that she isn’t herself.”

I snort. “Of course not. She’s been blackmailed and lied to.”

“Hey, guys. Wait up.”

We look over at the door to see Shane and Bennett approaching. “What do you think it’s about?” Shane asks.

“Think what is about?” Deke asks him.

“The text Austin just sent us,” Bennett answers.

I dig in my pocket as Kellan joins us. Deke and I no longer speak to him either.

 

Austin: Clubhouse ten tonight.

 

Kellan smiles. “Maybe she’s finally pulling out.”

She wouldn’t do that. Not now. I’m not sure what she’s thinking but running isn’t something she does. He’s stupid to even think that.

“Guess we’ll find out at ten,” Bennett says.

_________________________________

I pull up to the clubhouse at ten on the dot. Her car is already parked outside along with Deke’s Range Rover and Bennett’s white Mercedes. I had every intention to be here early and try to talk to her, but I had a phone call that ran longer than planned.

I walk inside to see her sitting on the couch with her eyes looking down at her phone. She wears a pair of black shorts and a black top. Her hair is down and straight, and she looks absolutely amazing.

My chest tightens when I think about how I’ve hurt her. Lied to her.

Ever since she walked out of this door a week ago, she has consumed my thoughts. Fuck her dad for trying to kill me. He’ll pay for that in time. Right now, I gotta do whatever I can to get her back.

“Why are we here?” Kellan demands, walking in and not wasting a second of his time.

She places her phone on her lap and then stretches her arms out on the back of the couch, looking up. She smiles. “As you all know, Cole and I are no longer”—she pauses, thinking of the right word—“anything. But I’m not dropping out.” She looks at Kellan. “Thought I would get that out of the way since you were hoping for that.” His mouth sets in a hard line. Her smile widens. “And I know you are fucking Celeste, so you can stop having her scream out Cole’s name.” Shane starts to choke, and Deke chuckles. Her eyes meet mine for the first time in a week. And they look as cold as ice. “Plus, I no longer care who Cole fucks,” she says voice flat.

“Austin …”

“How did you find out?” Deke asks, interrupting me.

“I went home and demanded to speak to Bruce, but Celeste told me he had already left for Florida. I then told her that I knew. I was referring to Lilly being my sister, but she thought I meant her fucking Cole.” Kellan’s eyes narrow. He opens his mouth, but she continues. “But that is not why I called this meeting. There is something we need to take care of.”

“What?” Deke asks her.

“Jerrold.” Her eyes meet mine. “I think he’s earned his death.” Then she looks at all the guys.

Kellan walks over to the couch, and I take a step closer but both ignore me. He stops and looks down at her. “If we do this, you’re involved. One hundred percent.”

“Absolutely not—”

“I’m in,” she says, interrupting me.

“Austin!” I snap.

She continues to stare up at Kellan with a look of indifference. But he could be setting her up. Now that she knows he’s screwing Celeste, he could want her dead so she can’t tell Bruce.

“She’s not doing anything,” I add when no one else objects.

“I have a say, Cole. I’m part of this group.” She fucking smiles at me. “Isn’t that what you wanted?’

“She’s playing him.” We all hear Shane whisper to Deke.

Austin directs her attention to Shane. “The only thing I’m playing is the game,” she corrects him.

“It’s too risky,” I say, shaking my head.

“Since when do you care about my life?” she asks.

I run a hand through my hair. “Since I found out that your dad tried to kill me, and he is working with a guy who you stole that information from.”

“That didn’t stop you from putting your hands around my neck,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest.

My teeth grind. I wanna say I would never hurt her, but that would be a lie. That’s all I’ve done to her.

“Right!” She looks back up at Kellan at my silence. “So what’s it gonna be?” she asks him.

He looks down at her. “Tonight.”

She nods.

“Home invasion,” he tells her.

I go to open my mouth, but she snorts. “No.”

He raises a brow at her.

“The six of us are not doing a home invasion unless you want us to get caught. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not go to jail.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “Then what do you suggest?”

She gives him a big smile. “You guys are sharks. Time to act like it.”

I turn to Deke, and he’s already staring at me with a look of concern in his features. I walk outside for some fresh air, and he gets the hint, following me.

“What do you want me to do?” he asks the moment he gets outside.

“Austin and I will ride with you.” My jaw tightens. “But she never gets out of the car.”

“She’s gonna be pissed.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” I snap. At this point, her safety means more to me than her being mad at me. I can deal with her anger. Kellan setting her up or her getting hurt is a different story.

He nods once. “She never gets out of the car,” he agrees.

I spin around to see the door open to the clubhouse, and she walks out followed by Shane and Bennett. Kellan walks out with a smile on his face. And I fist my hands. There’s no way he should be happy right now. Not after she called him out about sleeping with Celeste.

“Austin, we’re riding with Deke.”

“No. I’m driving. I don’t wanna come back here …” I grab her upper arm. “Cole!” she snaps. “Stop!”

I ignore her and drag her over to Deke’s SUV and toss her in the back seat. She cusses me as I slam the door shut.

“You don’t know the plan,” Kellan says.

I ignore him. I go over to my car and retrieve my black bag out of the trunk, grab what I need out of my console, and then jump in the passenger seat of Deke’s Range Rover. I look in the back, and she sits by the door, looking out the window. Her eyes narrowed on nothing.

Deke gets in and looks at me.

“What’s the plan, Austin?” I ask.

She says nothing.

“I’m not gonna ask you again,” I growl.

Her head snaps over to look at me. Her green eyes burn with rage, and I smile at her. She’s so gorgeous. “Bennett said he likes to take late-night swims, so I suggested we drown him in his own pool,” she huffs.

I nod and turn back to face the front. “Head to his house.”

Deke starts the car and “With Me Now” by Blacklite District blares through the speakers.

I smile. Good plan, sweetheart.

_________________________________

We pull up to the house a block away. I remove my seat belt and turn to face her. “You’re staying in the car.”

“Cole …”

“This is not up for discussion, Austin!” I pick up my bag at my feet and unzip it. I pull out my gun and place it in the back of my waistband of my jeans. Just in case. Then I place my rope and set of handcuffs on the center console.

“What do you need those for?” she growls. “You have to make this look like a freak accident. If he has marks around his wrists and ankles, then they will know he was murdered.”

“Those are for you,” Deke tells her as he eyes her in the rearview mirror.

“What?” she snaps. She’s no longer scared of him, and that has me worried. A part of me knows that if he puts her in a situation that she needs to get out of, she would do anything to get free. That’s why I’m glad Deke is stronger than she is.

He nods. “You try to leave, and I have permission to do whatever is necessary to keep you in the car.” He gives her a big threatening smile.

She looks at me, her eyes narrowed. “He’s bullshitting me, right?”

I shake my head. “No.”

Her jaw tightens, and she looks over at the door. She lunges for it. “Fuck this …”

Deke reaches out and grabs her hair, yanking her back into the seat while he leans over into the back. She doesn’t cry out. Instead, she lets out a growl of frustration.

“Your ass is staying in this car,” I snap, grabbing my hoodie out of my bag. “And that is all there is to it.” I get out, slamming the door shut.

I pull on my hoodie and zip it up, before putting the hood over my head.

“Where’s Austin?” Kellan asks as we meet up.

“Not coming,” I state without looking over at him.

He snorts. “Knew she’d back out.”

I say nothing. Kellan underestimates her way too much. And that is what will get him in trouble with her.

We come up to Jerrold’s back gate. “What are we gonna do?” Shane asks.

“I’m gonna kill the bastard,” I state.

“We could just shoot him,” Kellan offers.

“No!” I snap. Austin was right. This can’t look like a murder. His wife is dead, and his brother is missing. If he is murdered, then this will look too suspicious. I turn to Bennett. “Are the cameras still in the house?”

He nods. “I never removed them.”

“Where is his laptop?” I ask.

“At my house. Want me to go get it and plant it here?”

I shake my head. It will have Austin’s fingerprints on it. And cameras from his work may place her there. Even if she wasn’t the one who actually took it from his office. Too risky. “No. We stick with the plan. I’ll drown him in his pool.”

“What if he’s not in it?” Kellan offers.

“He’s there,” Bennett says. “Or I wouldn’t have mentioned it as an option.”

“How do we plan on getting in?” Shane asks.

I used to spend a lot of time at this house. Eli and Aimee’s parents died when he was young, so when Aimee got married, he moved in with them. “There’s a side gate that Eli used to sneak out of to do his dares. It’s on the north side,” I say and start walking in that direction. They follow me.

I check my phone to see if I’ve got anything from Deke, and there’s nothing. It worries me. I know he would never hurt her on purpose, but I told him to do whatever it takes to keep her in the car. And I’m not sure how much fight she has in her. At what point will she back down from him? At what point will he stop hurting her and just let her go? Guess I’ll find out when I get back.

“Something wrong?” Kellan asks.

I don’t answer him and put my phone away. Not like he cares anyway.

We get through the gate and into the backyard. We round the pool house and come to a stop when we see the bastard in his pool just like Bennett had predicted. Doing laps.

“How we doing this exactly?” Shane asks.

“I’m doing it.” I turn to face them. “Alone.”

They all nod. All but Kellan. He eyes me skeptically. “Why you?”

“Because I said so,” I growl. He didn’t want to be involved with Jeff, yet now he wants to be part of Jerrold’s death? He isn’t making sense.

He crosses his arms over his chest and nods once. “Fine. We’ll stay back unless you need us.”

I snort. “I won’t need you.”

Turning back around, I readjust my hood and make my way over to the rectangular swimming pool. I come to a stop, watching him swim away from me. I place my hands in my pockets and wait. He comes up for a breath and then goes under, pushing off the far wall, and shoots toward me.

As I watch him swim underwater, I think of every reason this fucker is going to die.

 

“Please, Cole,” Eli cries as we sit in the ditch.

“You’re gonna be okay,” I reassure him, knowing that I’m lying. There’s nothing I can do for him.

“No.” He swallows “You have to save Aimee …”

He won’t let this go. “She’ll be fine.”

He shakes his head quickly and coughs. “He beats her.”

“Who?”

“Jerrold.” I tighten my hold on him. “I hear him … her cries … He won’t stop.”

“Eli …”

“I have cameras in the house …” His eyes plead with mine. “They go to my computer … You have to help her …”

I nod. “I will. Promise.” My voice cracks as his fists loosen on my shirt.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

“Eli?” I ask as panic bubbles up inside me.

His eyes meet mine, a calmness brushing over his face. “I love you, brother,” he whispers.

“I love you …” His eyes gloss over, and his body falls limp on the ground. “Eli?” I shout. “No …” I grab his shirt and yank his lifeless body into my lap. “Eli?” I shout. “Please … no.!”

 

I failed him. I broke into their house and stole his computer, but it wasn’t enough. We didn’t move fast enough. Eli’s death had put Aimee into a deep depression. The cameras showed her crying, and I couldn’t watch it anymore. I couldn’t take the pain. The reminder. I shut those cameras out for four months. Then when I was ready, it was too late. She was already dead. The bastard had killed her. We sat and watched Jerrold tell Jeff what he did to Aimee and where he hid her body.

That’s why it’s time for this bastard to die. One, for killing Aimee. Two, for working with Bruce to try to kill me. Successfully killing my friends. And three, what he would do to Austin if he knew she was the one to take his laptop. I feel a calmness fall over me. Not my usual anger and need to break something. Instead, it’s the need to protect something—Austin. She’s my last chance at saving someone, and I won’t fail this time. I’ll die trying.

He’s getting closer. I remove my hands from my pockets and kneel. I smile as he comes up for air. “Hello, Jerrold. It’s been a while.”

“What …?”

I grab his head and slam it down on the edge of the pool. Blood covers the concrete instantly, and his body goes limp. I pull him away from the ledge and see I’ve knocked him out. Blood pours from the side of his head into the pool. “You deserved far worse,” I say before pushing him underwater.

AUSTIN

Deke starts the SUV, headlights off, and I cross my arms over my chest as I look out the back passenger window. I can make out a dark object coming toward the Range Rover.

It’s Cole.

He jumps in the front passenger seat and immediately looks back at me. I refuse to acknowledge him or give him any sign that I care he made me stay in the car. That he allowed Deke to do whatever was necessary to stop me.

I didn’t want to fight Deke because I understand that he is not my problem. Cole is.

And I’m not sure what to do about it at the moment. I went from something he can torture and lie to, to something he has to protect.

Fuck that! I don’t need protecting.

“Is it done?” Deke ask him as he pulls away.

“Yes,” he says simply.

“How did you do it?” he asks.

“I slammed his head down on the concrete …”

“It was supposed to be an accidental drowning,” I snap.

He turns around in his seat. “I made it look like he slipped and fell into the pool,” he states, eyes narrowed on mine. “Then I held him underwater.” He turns back to face the front. “It’s done. He’s dead. The end.”

_________________________________

We pull back up to the clubhouse, and the guys pull up behind us. I go to my car, but Kellan hollers that we need to have a meeting. So I turn and march my way inside. I stand by the door with my back against the wall. Ready to get the hell out of here and away from Cole.

“What is this about?” Deke asks, checking his phone. It’s after midnight on a Friday. I’m sure he’s going to go meet up with Becky if she’s not already waiting for him at his house.

Kellan looks at me. “Cole’s dare. I say we move on.”

Deke raises a brow, and Cole stiffens as he stands by the table. “I can redraw—”

“No,” Kellan interrupts him. “We can move on to the next person.” He shrugs carelessly. “I don’t mind. Does anyone else have a problem with that?”

No one says a thing. The room falls silent, and even I can tell Kellan is setting someone up for something. I get my answer a moment later.

He rubs his hands together. “Okay, so we’ll move on, and come Sunday, Austin will draw.”

Cole spins around to face me. “Absolutely not. She’s out of the group.”

“What?” I snap.

Kellan looks at me. “If you don’t leave willingly, then we all have to vote you out. Do you choose to leave willingly?”

“No,” I say without looking at Cole. He brought me into this; I’m not gonna let him throw me out. Not after all I’ve done. All he’s put me through.

“Then we will vote you out.” Cole growls. “Who says she’s gone?”

Deke is the first one to say I’m out. I ignore him. He made it very clear tonight when he yanked hair out of my head that he will do whatever the fuck Cole says.

Shane comes next. Bennett sighs as if he doesn’t want to but folds anyway.

Everyone looks at Kellan, and he smiles. “I say she stays.”

The air in the room changes, and Cole takes a step toward him. “What the fuck?” he barks. “You’ve wanted her gone since day one, and now all of a sudden you want her to stay?”

I could argue that Kellan may think if he votes me out, that I’ll tell my dad he’s fucking my stepmom, but I’m not sure that is the reason.

He shrugs. “She wants to stay.”

“I don’t give a fuck what she wants,” Cole shouts.

“That’s obvious,” I say.

Cole spins around to face me. His eyes narrowed in anger, and I square my shoulders. “Everyone, get the fuck out!” he barks.

Kellan smirks at me as he walks by. Shane and Bennett hang their heads as they walk to the exit. Deke is the last one, and his eyes shoot from me to Cole as if he’s waiting for one of us to tell him to stay. We don’t.

The moment the door closes, Cole turns on me. “You’re not doing this.”

“You no longer control me, Cole,” I reply flatly.

“Cut the shit, Austin!” he snaps.

“No! You should have cut the shit, Cole!” I shout. “Long ago. You should have told me about Lilly. About Kellan and Celeste.” His eyes narrow on me. “Fuck!” I shout frustrated. “I did so much. I let you take so much.” I shake my head. “But not anymore. You brought me into this.”

His jaw sharpens.

“I let you use me,” I growl. “I let you fucking take and take because you needed something. Someone. But not again, Cole. Find someone else to fuck with. Because I’m done.”

I turn and go to walk out the door, but he grabs my arm and yanks me back. “Don’t touch me,” I shout. Spinning around, I go to slap him, but he was ready for it. He grabs my hands and pushes me onto the couch, pinning my hands above my head.

“Cole,” I say, my heart pounding.

“Guess not much has changed since that night in the cemetery, huh, sweetheart?” he asks with an arch of his brow and a cocky smirk on his face, referring to how easily he was able to pin me down.

“What? Gonna stab me this time?” I ask, fisting my hands. “Gonna let Deke just kill me?”

His cockiness fades, and he loosens his grip on my wrists but doesn’t let go. “I don’t want to hurt you, Austin.”

I narrow me eyes. “Quit trying to mind fuck me. It’s not gonna work.”

“I’m not …”

“Bullshit!” I shout.

I want to break you. His agenda hasn’t changed.

He lets go of my wrists, and I shove him off me. He falls onto the couch, and I scramble to get up. I straighten my top that rode up, grab my phone that fell onto the floor, and head to the door. This time, he doesn’t stop me.