Present
GOD, WHAT WAS SHE DOING TO ME?
Did she really think she was just a stupid kid? Did she really not see how every fucking person in Thunder Bay adored her?
I breathed hard, pulling my open collar away from the heat on my neck. Hell, I’d even caught my piece of shit father looking at her once or twice over the years. Everyone thought the world of Rika, so why did she act like mine was the only opinion that mattered to her?
I marched into Realm, a dark nightclub downtown and glanced upward, seeing my teammates hanging around the balcony of the VIP lounge above. There was a press event tonight, but it was the last thing I could focus on even though I should. I needed my brain on something else.
Heading for the bar, I placed my hands on the marble counter, jerking my chin at the bartender. He nodded, knowing what to get. Damon, Will, and Kai were already here, Realm being a favorite of ours.
I bowed my head, closing my eyes and trying to calm down.
I was losing. When she was around, she made everything small, and all I could see was her. All the years of misery she caused my friends suddenly didn’t matter, my focus blurred, and I lost sight of what she’d done and how my friends had suffered.
And how she needed to pay.
I hated her.
I had to hate her.
I didn’t have to force her in the car today. I didn’t care about the tears in her eyes or the way she couldn’t look at me before she climbed out.
I didn’t want to wipe away the hurt, I didn’t want to touch her, and I didn’t want to get her to scream at me again, because I’d never been so turned on.
She got out of the car, left me behind, and according to the doorman, hadn’t left Delcour since getting home that afternoon.
Good. Let her get used to that cage.
The bartender stepped over, carrying a fresh bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label and a rocks glass, setting it down in front of me. I poured a double shot and tipped back the glass, taking down the whole damn thing.
“Where the hell have you been?”
I tensed, hearing Kai’s voice at my side.
But I just poured another double, not answering him.
I’m just a stupid kid. My chest rose and fell faster, and I shot back the drink, taking all of it down again.
I set the glass down, blinking long and hard.
“Jesus. Are you okay?” he asked, sounding more worried than angry now.
“I’m fine.”
He placed both hands on the bar, leaning in as he peered over at me. “What was she doing there today?”
I downed a third shot, starting to feel the burn in my stomach blanket my veins in a warm buzz. The edges were blurring, and the tips of my fingers hummed.
I shook my head, setting the glass down. Out of everyone in my life—my father, my brother, my friends—it ended up being her that drove me to drink. Her fucking eyes, going from defiant to mischievous to hurt to on fire, and then finally, to broken.
Don’t be alone with her.
“Michael?” Kai prompted.
I let out a hard sigh, running my fingers over the top of my head. “Could you just…” I gritted out, “fucking shut up for five minutes and let me get my head straight?”
“Why isn’t your head straight already?” he demanded. “Because you know, we had a plan. Take everything and then take her, but all I see you doing is dicking around.”
I immediately straightened and darted my hand out, grabbing his collar.
He shoved my arm to the side, shaking his head and sneering, “Don’t go there. I want our little monster, with her big doe eyes, kneeling at my feet, and I’m not waiting anymore. I’d like you in on this, but I don’t need you.”
Not waiting anymore. She just got here! She was in Meridian City because of me. At Delcour because of me. Isolated because of me.
And there were only a couple of more things to take from her. They hadn’t waited that long.
But then I looked away. Yeah, they had. They’d waited far too long.
I pushed the bottle and glass away. “Where are they?” I asked him.
Kai stayed silent, still looking pissed but turned around and led the way.
I followed, the hard bass of the music vibrating under my feet as we walked through the club toward the private areas in back.
Kai and I never fought in the past. I shouldn’t have taken that shot at him.
But for some reason, he kept challenging me, and I felt further away from him now than when he was in prison. What the hell was going on? I expected Damon and Will in my face. Not Kai.
In many ways, he was the same as he’d always been. The thinker, the reasonable one, the brother that always looked out for the rest of us…But in many ways he had changed beyond recognition. He never smiled anymore, he took courses of action he wouldn’t have in high school, even knowing the consequences, and not once did I see him do one thing for pleasure since he’d gotten out. Damon and Will partied, drank, smoked, and buried themselves in pussy the first two weeks they were free.
Kai, on the other hand, hadn’t had a single drink or a woman in his bed. Not that I knew of anyway. Hell, I didn’t even think he listened to music anymore.
He needed to lose control, because I was starting to get concerned about whatever he was bottling up.
Following him into a semi-private area with an L-shaped sofa and a table, I spotted the back of Will’s head, slouched against the couch, and Damon relaxing across the table from him with his hand resting between some girl’s thighs.
Damon was the exact opposite of Kai. He rarely thought about anything he did, and if someone put a wall in his way—justified or not—he came in swinging without hesitation or regret. This had been a useful quality on our high school basketball team. His reputation spread, and just the sight of him by the opposite team got them pissing themselves.
He also more than made up for all the vices Kai wasn’t indulging in.
I stopped next to the couch, jerking my chin at Damon to get rid of the girl. He shifted, taking his hand out from between her legs and nudged her thigh, sending her off.
Kai took a seat and Will sat up, all of them turning their eyes on me. Impatience and agitation were clear in their expressions, and I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling like there was a wall between them and me.
Because, after three years, they now had a bond that didn’t include me. Everything was fucked because of her.
I narrowed my eyes on Kai. “You okay to drive?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
I nodded, reaching into my pocket and taking out my keys. “Let’s do this then.” I told them. “You guys ready?”
Will perked up, looking at me, surprised. “The mother?”
I nodded again.
He shot Damon a look, smiling.
“How gone do we want her?” Kai inquired, standing up, suddenly back in the game.
“Buried,” I replied. “I want no Fanes for Rika to run to. We’ll go to Thunder Bay tonight.”
“You guys go,” Damon teased, leaning back and putting an arm behind his head. “I’ll stay and keep an eye on Rika. She’s more fun to look at.”
“Have you seen her mother?” I raised my eyebrows, amusement lifting the corners of my mouth. Christiane Fane was still young and fairly fucking gorgeous. She wasn’t Rika, but still beautiful. “You’re coming with us.”
There’s no way I trusted him alone here with Rika.
Reaching into the breast pocket of my black suit jacket and pulling out a small baggy, I tossed it to Damon. He shot up his free hand and caught the bag, glancing around to see if anyone was looking.
He then held it up, examining the contents, as Kai and Will took interest as well.
Suddenly, Damon’s lips spread in a wide smile and he looked over at me like I just made his night.
Yeah, I suspected Damon would know what that was. Sick fuck.
Rohypnol was known as a date rape drug, used to make its victims pliable and weak in no less than fifteen minutes. Surprisingly, I had little trouble getting ahold of it, too. A few of my teammates were on something or other illegal, be it recreational or body enhancing, and all I’d needed was to get in contact with their dealer to get the pills.
If we didn’t find Rika’s mother drunk as usual, one of those pills would help make her very agreeable.
“Give it to me.” Kai looked pointedly at Damon, holding out his hand for the baggy.
Damon arched an eyebrow, doing nothing.
“Now,” Kai insisted, still holding out his hand.
Damon smirked and opened the bag, tapping out a pill into Kai’s hand. “You only need one for the mom. These things are pretty effective.”
Will breathed out a laugh, shaking his head but not sounding the least bit amused with the joke. Even he had limits.
Not that Damon didn’t. We just didn’t know for sure. If we’d ever seen him use anything like that, we would’ve killed him, but he also never gave us the impression that he wasn’t just that fucked up.
For now, we’d adopted an “if we don’t see it, it’s not a problem” attitude.
Kai sat with the pill in his hand, staring at Damon, and then darted out, snatching the bag out of his hand.
Damon laughed, standing up and smoothing down his black jacket. “It was a joke,” he grumbled. “You really think I need to rape women?”
Kai stood up, slipping the bag into his breast pocket. “Well, you were in jail.”
“Oh, Jesus,” I breathed out, running my hand through my hair. “What the fuck is the matter with you?” I stared hard at Kai as Damon turned on him, as well, his jaw flexing and his black eyes ready to rip him apart.
But Kai didn’t back down. They stood head to head, both of them the same height, as they glared at each other.
“I didn’t rape her,” Damon gritted out.
I shook my head. Why the hell would Kai take a shot like that?
“We know that,” I answered for Kai, pushing Damon back.
The girl had been underage, and Damon had been nineteen. He shouldn’t have done it, but he hadn’t forced her, either.
Unfortunately, the law believed differently. Minors couldn’t consent to anything, and Damon had simply fucked up. But it wasn’t rape.
Kai stared at Damon and then faltered, dropping his eyes and taking shallow breaths. “Sorry,” he said under his breath. “I’m just on edge.”
I was glad he’d noticed.
“Good. Use it tonight,” I said, hooking an arm around his neck and bringing him in. “Your nightmare is over. Hers is just starting.”
THE HOT SPRAY OF THE SHOWER cascaded over my shoulders and back, and I closed my eyes, trying to drown out all the noise of the other players in the locker room.
I last few days had sucked. I’d done everything I could to stay away from Delcour, unless it was to sleep, but it had been hard. I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
The mother was taken care of, and it wouldn’t be long before Rika noticed, but the run-in at Hunter-Bailey earlier that day had thrown me off. I knew I needed to keep my distance for now.
The one thing I’d learned about what it took to be strong was recognizing and acknowledging any weakness and then making adjustments. I couldn’t be near her.
Not yet.
When I went off to college, it wasn’t that hard. Out of sight, out of mind. Or, at least, out of the forefront of my mind.
But knowing I could run into her at any time now, look down and see her in her apartment, catch her eyes as we passed in the lobby…I didn’t plan on what that would be like to see her every day. Having her close was entirely too tempting.
She wasn’t sixteen anymore, and the fight I put up then to restrain myself was no longer necessary. She was a woman, no matter the nervous eyes, trembling lips, and tough little act she displayed. I could barely wait.
She was only a floor a way, and I had the key to her apartment burning a hole in my pocket. I needed her on her hands and knees as I took whatever I wanted, whenever and however hard I wanted it. I was going crazy.
“Shit.”
I could feel my dick hardening, and I dropped my eyes, seeing it standing straight out and ready.
Goddammit. I blew out a sigh and shut the shower off, thankful that I was in here alone.
There were several players loitering around the locker room, one of the assistant coaches having scheduled special drills with a few of us today, but I’d taken my time in the shower, in no hurry to get home.
Wrapping a towel around my waist, I grabbed a second one and dried off my chest and arms as I walked for my locker. Seeing a few other players standing around and still feeling my dick hard, I placed the towel in front me, not wanting any sideways glances.
Digging into my shelves, I pulled out my phone, seeing a few texts from the guys. Since Rika’s mother was gone, they were ready for stage two.
I tossed my towel down and slipped on my boxer briefs and jeans and then grabbed my watch, fastening it to my wrist.
My phone started ringing. I picked it up, seeing the name on the screen.
I steeled my jaw, annoyed. Talking to my brother always pissed me off. However, he rarely called, so curiosity nipped at me. I slid my finger over the screen, answering it.
“Trevor,” I said, holding the phone to my ear.
“You know, Michael…” he started, not even saying “hello.” “I always thought this brotherly connection you and I were supposed to have would eventually form.”
I narrowed my eyes, staring ahead at nothing as I listened.
“I thought, maybe when I grew up, we’d have more in common or we’d speak to each other in more than two word sentences,” he went on. “I used to try to blame it on you. You were cold and distant, and you never gave us a chance to be brothers.”
I gripped the phone in my hand, standing frozen. The voices of the players around me faded.
“But then you know what?” he asked, a sharp edge to his voice. “When I was about sixteen I realized something. It wasn’t your fault. I honestly hated you as much as you hated me. For the same…single…reason.”
I clenched my teeth, lifting my chin.
“Her.”
“Her?” I fished.
“You know who I’m talking about,” he stated. “She always had her eyes on you, wanting you.”
I sneered, shaking my head. “Trevor, your girlfriend is your issue.”
Not that she was his girlfriend anymore—I’d heard about the break-up—but I liked thinking of her as his. It would make all of this so much sweeter.
“But that’s not true, is it?” he replied. “Because when I was a teenager I realized it wasn’t just her. It was you, too.”
I glared ahead.
“You wanted her,” he insisted, “and you hated that I was always around, and you definitely hated that she was meant for me. You couldn’t be my brother, because I had the one thing you wanted,” he paused and then continued, “And I hated you, because the one thing I had, wanted you instead.”
My heart started drumming harder.
“So when did it start?” he asked, his tone causal while my stomach knotted. “When we were kids? When her body filled out, and you saw how fucking hot she was? Or maybe…it was when I told you last year how her cunt was the tightest thing I’d ever felt?”
I squeezed the phone in my hand.
“No matter what…” he taunted, “I’ll always have that on you.”
I curled my fist, every bone in my hand aching.
“So now that you got her to Delcour,” he went on, “finally all to yourself, and you do to her whatever it is you have planned, remember that I will get her back, and it will be me who puts a ring on her finger and keeps her forever.”
“You think that hurts me?” I bit out.
“It won’t be you I’m trying to hurt,” he threw back. “If that slut spreads her legs for you, I will make sure marrying me will be the nightmare of her life.”
