Bound to Break: Books one in the Bound to series

by Tonks, Rachael

  “I saved you, I took a chance on you, Leo. And this is how you repay me?”

  “I’m grateful, you know that. But I don’t want to be forced and manipulated into having sex with you. I’m not interested.”

  She glares at me with cold eyes but doesn’t say a word. With a step back, I turn and make my way to the office.

  Once inside, I drop down heavily on the bed. I’m in way over my head. Caught in Liza’s ultimate web of lies and deceit.

  I pull out her phone and my eyes light up when the screen unlocks. How did she not have a password?

  I quickly scroll through her photos until I find the video. I have to delete it. Completely erase it from existence. Hitting play, I start to watch the video. I barely recognize myself, but gasp when I watch as she pushes a pill into my mouth, bringing a glass up as she makes me gulp it down.

  Bitch drugged me.

  The rest I can’t watch. I hit the off button and drop the phone down on the bed. My breathing is labored and my body shakes as anger inside me reaches the point of being explosive. I let out a growl of frustration, my clenched fists slam down against the bed.

  This video has the potential to hurt the one person I care about the most—Cassie. And I won’t allow that to happen. I’ll keep the video as evidence. Not because I ever want to be reminded of what happened, but in case I ever need the proof.

  Cassie

  “How is it possible for the day to feel sooooo long?” I ask as I drive Sasha home. Today feels like the longest seven hours of my life. I don’t know if that’s because I just want to get home and see Leo, or whether this business degree is utter bullshit.

  Sasha’s chuckle fills the car. “Just a means to an end, that’s all, Cass.”

  “I’m sick of being on autopilot, you know?”

  “Cassie, one thing that I’ve come to realize after Mom’s accident is that life is short. Too short. If you really are miserable, you need to speak to Erika. I know that she has offered to help you with finding the right BFA program. I overheard her telling you that they can also offer you classes or degrees in choreography. This is what you were born to be, Cassie. You are so talented. I watch you dance and wish I was as good as you—”

  “You’re good, Sasha. No, scrap that. You’re a phenomenal dancer.”

  She tilts her head to the side. “Now, I know that you know this, Cassie…but I’ve trained to be the dancer I am today. I work hard to remember the routine and to kill the moves. But you, you’re a natural dancer. It isn’t taught, or learned, it’s something that comes from deep within your soul. I don’t know how many times you have to be told before you believe your potential.”

  My chest feels heavy as I open what has been a closed wound. “It’s too late.”

  “No, no, it’s not. The semester has barely begun. I’m sure that Erika could get you a place somewhere.”

  “But my dad, he’ll never go for it.”

  “It’s not what he wants for you, but you need to think about what you want. This is your life, Cassie, not his. You need to do this. Even if it means working to pay your tuition. It will be worth it. Sometimes, the things in life that will make you happy are worth fighting for.”

  I bite down on my lip. Damn, she’s right. “Bitch, why are you right about everything?”

  “You’re going to talk to Erika?” She speaks so fast it comes out as a squeak. Her eyes light up and I let out a little giggle.

  “I’ll talk with her. No promises, but it’s time I forgot about everyone else and I started following my own dreams.”

  “Arggh.” She throws her arms around my shoulders, almost making me lose my grip on the steering wheel.

  “Shit,” I mumble. “Save the cuddles until I’m not in charge of this vehicle, huh?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m just excited and surprised you’ve actually listened to me. Like, that never happens.”

  I give her a scornful look. “I always listen. But sometimes it’s easier said than done.”

  “It won’t be easy, honey. But it will be worth it.”

  “I hope you’re right. Besides, Mom left me some money. Only it doesn’t mature until I’m twenty-one.”

  “Shit,” she hisses. “Is there no way of getting the money sooner? Considering it’s for such a good cause.”

  “Not according to Dad,” I let her know, shaking my head.

  “Maybe worth checking. There may be a way around it.” She shrugs.

  “Maybe,” I say as I pull up outside her house. Letting out a huge sigh, I notice that yard work still hasn’t been done.

  “I should get Leo to come take care of that for you.” I nod toward the overgrown mess at the front of her house.

  “That would be great, actually.”

  “Gets us away from the eyes of Liza. One day soon, after school, okay?”

  “You’re the best,” she says leaning in and placing a soft kiss against my cheek.

  “Bye, honey.”

  Getting out of the car, she pauses before leaning through the open window. “I’m meeting Jase tonight,” she informs me with a flash of a wink.

  “Be careful,” I warn, pointing my finger at her.

  She offers me a mock salute before removing her head from the window and skipping up toward the house.

  I watch as she makes her way inside and realize that I have the best friend a girl could ever ask for.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Leo

  Seconds turn into minutes, and minutes turn into hours. Before I know it I’ve slept the afternoon away. A loud knock startles me, and I realize the phone is still on the bed beside me. I jerk up, pushing the phone under my mattress before heading over to the door.

  Slowly opening it, I expect to see Liza, only to be surprised with Cassie’s breathtaking beauty. I grip the frame in one hand and the door in the other.

  “Can I come in?” she asks, quickly checking over her shoulder.

  Reaching for her hand, I pull her into me and she stumbles, only stopping when she hits my chest. I thrust out my leg, closing the door before dipping my head and sealing my lips over hers. I growl into her lips, needing this kiss like I need the oxygen in my lungs. She relaxes, melting into me, and the kiss.

  Moving quickly, I swoop around, placing my hands on her ass and lifting her from the floor, stepping until her back hits the wall. Her legs wrap around me, holding herself in place. Cassie is all I need to forget all the fucked-up shit happening right now. And hell, I want to forget.

  She strokes her tongue against mine and I grip her ass tighter.

  “Jesus,” she mumbles against my lips, both of us panting with need and desire for one another. Slowing the kiss, I pull back to look her in the eye.

  “Missed you too,” she says coyly. A small, heart-warming giggle escapes her and I reach around, pulling her against me. I hold her tightly, dread fills my chest and I know I have to tell her about Liza before this gets too deep.

  “Are you okay?” she asks after a short while.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  I wasn’t sure what I would say, but I had to tell her something. No more secrets, no more lies.

  She relaxes her hold around me and lowers her feet to the floor. “What is it?”

  Taking her hand, I lead her over to the bed. “I want to be completely honest with you, Cassie. About everything. I need you to know that I never wanted this…any of this.”

  She swallows over and over, her eyes full of worry.

  “Since I arrived here, Liza has been playing games. I got caught up, I made mistakes and I need you to know.”

  “Go on,” she prompts.

  “At first, I just thought she was being tactile, a little flirtatious maybe, but it soon became more. She backed me into a corner, using her power to change my life as a bargaining chip.”

  Cassie’s shoulders slump.

  “I know this is going to be hard to hear, but she’s been coming onto me for weeks.”

  She gives me a dazed look, her
jaw slackening. “I knew it,” she mumbles.

  “You’ve got to understand that I never, ever wanted her. But at every turn she has blackmailed me. Made me believe that she would ruin me if I didn’t go along with her demands.”

  Her eyes bulge and she pushes away from me a little. “What are you saying?” she gasps. “You’ve actually done something with her. Here? Under my father’s roof?”

  “Cassie, please, let me explain…”

  “Explain what? Did you fuck her, Leo? Or is it Luke, I’m not sure now.”

  My heart hammers against my chest as I feel like I’m losing control. Jumping down from the bed, I kneel in front of her. “Please,” I say with a raised voice. “Listen to me.” I look her directly in the eyes before quickly continuing. “After the party at Alison’s, Jase brought me home. I don’t even remember getting home, that’s how drunk I was.”

  “Oh God,” she cries out, pressing her hand to her chest, her breathing all over the place.

  “I had no memory of that night. Not until she mentioned something had happened between us. But I didn’t know how it could have. I was so drunk, there’s no way I could’ve had sex with someone. Then she showed me a video on her phone. She’d recorded it, Cassie. The video also shows her drugging me. What I did with her wasn’t my choice.”

  “She…she…drugged you?” she asks, her forehead creasing as she screws up her face. “You mean she raped you?”

  Rape? I hadn’t thought about it like that.

  “Whatever she gave me, enabled her to take advantage of me. I need you to believe me, Cassie.”

  “This is fucked up.” She exhales loudly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why? Why would she do this to you?”

  “She’s batshit crazy. Keeps telling me I need to repay her for all she has done for me.”

  “This makes no sense. If she wanted to have an affair, she could go out there and have her pick of men that are interested. Why would she need to go to such great lengths to sleep with you?”

  “Maybe she likes the control. I honestly don’t know. All I know is that I need you to believe me. I’m not interested in Liza. You’re the only person I’m interested in. I’m attracted to you. Only you.”

  Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she looks up at me through her lashes. “I just don’t know how to feel. On one hand, I know how manipulative and twisted Liza can be. But on the other hand, I can’t believe that she’d do something like this. Then there’s a part of me that wants to believe you. Because of the way I feel about you. And that part of me feels sick to the stomach at the thought that she could drug you and rape you. I’m just so confused.”

  My mind races as I try and dispel the confusion in my mind. Never once did I want to show Cassie the video. But I have to get her to believe me. To see the evidence with her own two eyes.

  Reaching up to the back of my neck, I rub and squeeze, trying to relieve some of the tension. My head pounds and I try to find the words.

  “I, uh, I have proof.”

  My throat tightens and I swallow down hard. Standing from my crouched position, I grab the edge of the mattress and reach under, feeling for the phone.

  “What is it?” she chokes.

  “Liza’s phone.” I unlock the screen and skip through until I find the video. Selecting it, I hand her the phone, but she doesn’t take it.

  She squeezes her eyes shut, she shakes her head from side to side. “So fucked up,” she exhales. Her hand comes to rest at the side of her face, her head hung as she looks at the screen. A few seconds pass, and Cassie gasps, tears fill her eyes. Thrusting the phone back toward me, she slides off the bed.

  “I can’t watch anymore.” She chokes on her sob, her hand covering her mouth. She races over to the bathroom. I fling the phone onto the bed and follow after her. As I step inside I see Cassie on her knees, her back heaves as she vomits into the toilet. She retches violently as she empties the contents of her stomach and my chest tightens as guilt spears through me. I’m hurting her. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen.

  “Cassie, baby, I’m so sorry.”

  “No,” she splutters, tilting her head and looking up at me. Her eyes are red and her hand rests against her mouth. “That bitch. That fucking bitch,” she growls, resting her hands on the toilet and pushing herself up from the floor. “How could she do this to you?”

  Stepping forward, I rest my hands on the top of her arms. “She’s evil.”

  “She’s a fucking rapist. I have to do something.” She storms out of the bathroom and heads over to the door.

  “Stop,” I yell after her.

  “No,” she yells back, her whole body shaking as she holds her arms against her chest. “What she has done to you is no better than what Vinny did to me. We can’t let her get away with this. I’m going to rip her to shreds, starting with telling my father exactly what he’s married to.”

  There’s an anger and hurt in her eyes that I’ve never seen before. I have to defuse this before it escalates.

  “Honey, believe me when I say I want her to pay. But there’s a lot at stake for me. This roof over my head, the money in my pocket. We will expose her for exactly who she is, just not yet. All I’m asking for is a little time.”

  She lets out an almighty cry, her leg flying out as she kicks the door repeatedly.

  “Baby, shhh, I got you.” I wrap one arm around her and pull her close, while the other caresses over her hair. My chest aches, not for what happened to me, but for how this is affecting her.

  “Leo, I can’t believe she did this to you. I could kill her for what she’s done. I want her to feel pain like she’s never felt before.”

  “Don’t…don’t let her get under your skin. You’re better than this, Cassie.”

  She starts to fan her face. “I think I need some air.” She parts from me, spins on the spot, and her shaky hand grabs the handle. Yanking it open, she slides down on to the step, leaning forward, holding her head in her hands.

  Kneeling behind her, my hand caresses her back. “I’m not trying to confuse or hurt you, that’s the last thing I want. But I couldn’t keep this from you.”

  “So, now what?” She looks up at me, taking in a huge shaky breath. Scooting over, she allows enough space for me to sit beside her.

  Dropping down beside her, I let my arm touch hers. “I wish I knew. I’m on the run. Liza knows why and if I cause trouble for her, tell your father exactly what she’s been up to, then my whole life is going to come crashing down on me. She has my balls to the wall, Cassie.”

  She looks up with sadness in her eyes. This look encapsulates the exact reason why I fought how I felt for Cassie. Because she’s hurting, and it’s all because of me.

  “Please don’t be sad,” I whisper, turning her face until our eyes meet. “I believe in us enough to know we can overcome all of this.”

  The sound of someone clearing their throat snaps my attention from Cassie. I look up to see Liza glaring down at us. Without a word, Cassie leaps up from the step, launching for Liza. I manage to grab her hand in time, pulling her back.

  “Whoa,” Liza exclaims, stepping back with her hands in the air. “What’s gotten into you?” she asks.

  I stand in front of Cassie, trying to catch her eye.

  “Don’t do this,” I whisper. “Please. We’ll deal with it, but not like this.”

  Her hollow eyes meet with mine and I feel her relax a little. Her lashes flutter shut and I sense her pain.

  “Would someone like to tell me what the hell is going on here?” Liza growls.

  Cassie gives me a nod, calmly stepping toward Liza. “Stay out of my way and leave Leo alone. You got that?” Venom laces Cassie’s tone and I see the shock on Liza’s face.

  Liza starts laughing manically. “Sure, little girl. Whatever you say. I’m only here because I can’t seem to find my phone.” She shrugs nonchalantly.

  “It’s not here,” I blurt out, my eyes widen as my gaze flickers to Cassie.


  Liza’s eyes dart between me and Cassie and she lets out a sudden bark of laughter. “Her?” she snarls, her eyes burning into mine.

  “Who, what, where, when…it’s none of your business, Liza.”

  “The hell it isn’t.”

  “Run along and play your games with some other unfortunate soul. I’m done.” I throw my hands in the air before taking Cassie’s hand and guiding her back inside. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her against my chest for what feels like hours.

  After a little while, Cassie breaks my hold, looking up at me, tears stream down her reddened face. “This won’t be the end of it. You know that, right?”

  I force down the lump that has grown in my throat. I need to make the most of the time I have with Cassie. “Let’s get out of here. Go somewhere, make some memories.”

  “I have dance class tonight.”

  I place my lips against hers, kissing her lightly. “Miss it. Just this once.”

  “I can’t.” She pulls back, shaking her head from side to side. “I’ve decided to pursue my dancing career. My coach is going to help me make some applications.”

  “Baby, I’m so happy for you. Really, I am.”

  “Come with me, we’ll go somewhere afterward to celebrate. Get away from here. I can’t face that bitch right now.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Reaching down, I place my finger under her chin, lifting it until our lips meet.

  “I hate that I know what a bitch she is, but I can’t say or do anything. Jesus.” She shakes her head. “My dad. My poor dad. He needs to know, Leo.”

  “He will find out, Cass. We just have to play her at her own game. We go out there, tell him what we know, she’s going to twist it and make us look like the ones in the wrong. It’s what she does. It’s how she gets away with all the shit she does.”

  “We have evidence. We have undeniable proof,” she sighs. “I can’t live under the same roof as that woman, knowing what I know.”