Hearts Break: A Dark Stepbrother Bully Romance (Wicked Hearts At War Book 3)

by Mallory Fox

  It’s also freezing this close to the sea. I draw my capelet further around my shoulders as the salty air chills my bare arms. It’s nowhere near warm enough outside to go without a coat but no one who is anyone will be wearing one. All I have on is a blue V-neck jumpsuit and little else. Felicity in a white crop top with a full, flowing skirt, is not wearing much more.

  But as we walk up toward where the yachts are moored, I’m glad to see someone at least had the bright idea to line the marina with heaters.

  Students crowd port side and on each deck, drinking whatever they brought with them, gossiping about the latest scandal. Several yachts are lined up in a row, with gangways connecting them.

  I loosen my cape a little, feeling less edgy. I’m still not psyched Seth is hosting this year. It’s the student president’s job to select a marina and a host yacht. Usually, they choose a centrally located port so those who can sail to the host’s marina can do so easily for the start of term. It’s not lost on me that Claudia has picked Seth as this year’s host regardless of easy it is for everyone else.

  For those without a boat, there’s no quick or inexpensive way to get here either. You need money to charter a flight to Genoa airport and have a car awaiting to drive you to the coast. I can just about afford it on my budget.

  Music blares from the most central yacht and I immediately spot Claudia on the deck of it, talking to Charlie. Flick stiffens beside me, and her hand snakes under my cape to clutch at my arm.

  “Why is she fucking talking to my Charlie?” Her voice is strained. I see Hugo standing at the far end of the marina. He looks our way, eyes flitting nervously. Flick hasn’t even noticed him.

  I’m about to tell her to ignore Claudia when Seth steps out of the interior of the biggest yacht, an opulent floating palace that was like a second home to me growing up. My father’s bloody boat.

  On his arm is a beautiful blonde with striking cat-like eyes, dressed super casual in a pair of boyfriend jeans and metallic crop top.

  Lana Langfield, the princess of pop herself.

  I inhale sharply and falter mid-step.

  “Oh, fuck. Sorry, Pearl,” Flick says as she looks to where my gaze has strayed. “I didn’t want it to be true. She’s super old though. She must be in her mid-thirties by now, surely?”

  After jumping to the wrong conclusions about Flick and Seth, I don’t want to do the same here. “Until I see him kiss her, I’m not getting upset about it.”

  But I’ve already lost her, Flick’s attention is back on Charlie. “If you want to leave, we can,” Flick says as she fidgets with her crossover bag.

  I shake my head. “We’re here now so we’re staying.” I also have a yacht to sneak into. “Come on, let’s find Gabby. She said she was here already, inside the Yacht Club by the bar.”

  “You go, I’ll catch you up.” Flick releases my arm and moves off, heading toward the yacht Claudia and Charlie are on. I don’t try and stop her. It will be easier to do this if she’s not involved.

  I find Gabby exactly where she said she would be.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” she grumbles after we cheek kiss and hug.

  I look at her in annoyance. “All I’m asking is that you distract him. What’s the worst that can happen? If he catches me anyway, it’s my Daddy’s bloody yacht.”

  She arches both brows. “You think he’ll go easy on you if he catches you?”

  I cross my arms, shaking my head at the passing waiter who offers us drinks. Gabby takes one. I’m not in the mood to drink. “He will, if he wants me to settle out of court. If he just withdraws his claim without me agreeing to settle, I can counter sue and he doesn’t want that.”

  “Settle or don’t settle. I don’t understand why you don’t just ask him for whatever it is you’re looking for,” she breathes out with a sigh.

  “Because…” I trail off.

  I don’t have an answer for that. Not one I can tell Gabby. Asking Seth for it is like admitting the birth certificate exists. And as long as it doesn’t, I don’t have to tell him anything about Sophia yet.

  Or ever.

  She takes a sip of her drink. “I mean, Seth seems like a reasonable guy. Yes, he’s suing you, but he wasn’t the one who released the videos. I told you. I did that to you, not Seth.”

  I can’t help but glower at being reminded. “No, he did much worse. He released those awful business cards and those shitty news articles.”

  Gabby purses her lips. “About that, I found out who did it and it wasn’t Seth.”

  Biting my lower lip, I frown at her. It wasn’t Seth? “Who?”

  She rolls her eyes and flicks them at Claudia. “She was boasting about it to some first years in the campus bar. She didn’t know I was behind her.”

  Suddenly, I’m fuming. I grab a glass of champagne off a passing tray and knock it back. “Oh, I’m so going to destroy the bitch,” I say, burning holes into Claudia’s back. I’ve no idea how or when but I so will.

  I’m a little tipsy and a little angry by the time I send Gabby up to distract Seth and Lana. As soon as their backs have turned, I take myself onboard the newly christened Heartbreaker.

  How dare he just change the name. Am I supposed to be flattered or offended?

  I’m also pretty pissed off at finding out Claudia was involved in my suspension and it shows. I brush past the groups of students laughing and drinking on the main deck and the bar slash lounge area of my yacht with a sour look my face.

  The whole area is white. White sun beds with gold edging, white marble walls, and white leather curved sofas, as well as polished teak wood throughout. My father’s style obviously.

  Taking a deep breath, I move to the next room which is the dining room where we had dinner with my parents after they got married. I know beyond that are two guest cabins leading off from the walkway. I doubt Seth is bunking in one of those, so I keep going until I get to the stairs that take me to the upper deck and the master bedroom.

  There’s hardly anyone on this deck, which makes it easier to slip through the empty cinema room and head toward the biggest bedroom on the boat. By the time I get to the master bedroom, my stomach is in knots and the palms of my hands are ridiculously clammy. I scowl when I see door to the master is locked and I have to fiddle with the keys from my clutch bag. I even drop them a few times, I’m so wired.

  Finally, I get it open it to reveal a very tidy room. Luxurious cream carpets, paneled walls, and dark wood greet me inside. There’s nothing to say Seth has even been sleeping here. Only the faintest trace of his cologne, which does nothing to calm the flight of butterflies wreaking havoc in my stomach.

  Okay breathe, Pearl. This is a cinch. Nothing to it.

  I get to work, first checking the drawers in the desk and the beside tables. His laptop is switched off, so I open it up and turn it on, typing in the code to bypass login security using the software I installed the time I borrowed Seth’s laptop.

  I was getting an imprint of his laptop files delivered to me on a regular basis but recently they’ve stopped coming. I can only imagine that he’s wiped the tracking software from his device. When nothing happens, I try again.

  Nope. Nothing.

  Shit. He did have it cleaned.

  I want to kick myself for not having the flash drive Levi gave me to hand because I could have reinstalled it. Fuck. Fine. Lesson learned. Always be prepared.

  Noises from outside and downstairs float up, making me aware that I’m snooping and that I need to move faster. I glance quickly around the room wondering where to check next.

  Under the desk, there’s a safe that Daddy had installed. Now that I do remember the code to. I find it and open it. Inside is empty. It was a long shot that he would even keep important documents here. There’s a roll of Swiss franc notes which I consider pocketing. In the end, I leave it where it is. I should take it for child maintenance pay. Seth owes Sophia a lifetime of support, even if I haven’t told him, but I can’t bring myself t
o steal actual money. Even if I do desperately need it.

  I’m just putting the safe back the way it was when my phone vibrates with a message. It’s from Gabby.

  Get out now! Seth is coming.

  A thrill of panic slices through me. I stand up quickly and pad to the door, ready to leave, when I hear his voice just around the corner. He’s on the upper desk walkway already.

  Shit.

  Without thinking, I shut the door and lock it and then take a step back. He’ll be here any minute. Part of me wants to wait and have it out with him but the other part, the part that wins, forces me to walk to the ottoman at the end of the bed, spring open the lid, and squeeze myself inside.

  As it closes shut, I suddenly have a freak out that I can’t get back out again. I know that’s not true. I used to hide in here when I was little and I didn’t want to go to bed. I’d seclude myself here, away from the maids, knowing full well Daddy would shout at me if he caught me in his cabin. It was Mother who laughed whenever she found me hiding in here, hours later.

  Only, back then, it was much bigger.

  Or I was much smaller?

  Whatever, I’m jammed in here like a sardine, which is not how I remember it.

  Rising fear spikes through my body as I hear the lock jiggle and the door swing open. I tense up, slowing my breathing, looking through the little hole near the lock mechanism just as Seth and Lana walk through the door. As soon as I see them, I bite down on my lip and try not to make a sound.

  Lana, looking like a million dollars, strides in on her long legs. I hear her bounce on to the bed behind me.

  “Fuuuuck, I’m done in Seth. I don’t know how long I can take your friends,” she says, whining at him.

  Seth has already walked over to the bar area to the right of the bed. I can’t see him anymore, but I can hear him tinkering with the glassware there.

  “Drink?” he drawls, in that languid way of his.

  Lana laughs softly. “You didn’t bring me here for a drink now, did you?”

  There’s a pause. “I didn’t bring you here for anything, Lana. You said you were tired. Now, do you want a drink?”

  “Fine, I’ll have a beer.” I see him pass in front of the ottoman and around the other side of the bed. “God, Seth, lighten up. Are you going to chew my ear off about Pearl again because I’d rather you didn’t?”

  At the mention of my name, I all but stop breathing.

  “Are you going to be a bitch because I’d rather you didn’t…” Seth snaps. He sounds defeated and exhausted. My heart almost goes out to him. Almost.

  “What did she do this time? Come on talk to Auntie Lana. That’s why you asked me here, right? To listen to your woes?”

  “Fuck off, Lana.”

  She giggles again. She actually giggles a lot for a grown woman. Then, they sass each other a little more, reminding me of the days when Seth used to banter with me like that. I’ve no clue why they’re still here. Isn’t there a party happening on deck? Who sits in their bedroom during a social event?

  Why aren’t they bloody leaving already?

  Lana giggles again and there’s the sound of shifting on top the bed. I’m suddenly super uncomfortable, hot, and ready to leave. Only I can’t. I’m going to die in this bloody box. They’re not leaving. I’m going to be stuck here all night. I draw the line if they start having sex. I’m leaving if it goes there. I don’t care if they know I’ve been listening, I don’t think I can survive that.

  Finally, Lana changes the topic to something else. “Tell me what’s so important you had to drag me all the way out to the north of Italy?”

  “Marcel is why,” Seth says, sounding weary.

  Okay, maybe don’t leave just yet. This is getting interesting.

  There’s a pause, and then. “Shit. Why didn’t you say. I thought you had it under control? Didn’t you have some grand plan to steal Darlington away from him?”

  “Fucking Pearl is blocking me at every turn. She’s lawyered up, making the case drag on and because of that Marcel is getting restless. She wants to meet with him.”

  “You’re not going to let her, right?”

  “Of course not, it’ll be better all around if she stays out of it. Pearl thinks she can take on the world but she’s not invincible.” Now I’m annoyed that Seth is confiding in this woman. What does she have that I don’t?

  “Why do you care about her so much anyway? She cried rape on you, for crying out loud. Does she even know what they did to you at Blackheath? No, she doesn’t because she’s a selfish bitch who can’t see past her own asshole.” Okay, I officially hate her.

  “Lana…” Seth, says softly

  Lana huffs and carries on. “Deny what happened all you want, but one day I’m going to write her a letter describing every single fucking thing that happened to you at that place, and she’s going to break down crying when she reads it.”

  “Lana.” Louder this time.

  “What?”

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  I hear her scowl and there’s a long pause. “So are you going to tell me why you brought me here or do I have to drag it out of you?”

  “I need to talk to you about that weekend you borrowed my car, do you remember it? You had a gig at Wembley and wanted a place to duck down for a few days?”

  She makes an umm sound. “Maybe, it was a long time ago. Why?”

  “I need to know who was with you that weekend,” Seth asks her.

  “Jeez, I don’t know. I think maybe Romain came and dropped off some old records. He wanted me to sign one and then we went out for some beers. It might have been that weekend.” I’ve no idea who Romain is but Seth curses when Lana says his name. “I can’t say for sure.”

  Seth sighs again. “I suspected as much.”

  They talk for a while longer about old times, which is boring as hell to listen to when you’re not involved, until they get to the hard parts. And then it’s bloody painful.

  They talk about things I didn’t know.

  That Seth turned to Lana to loan him money after his family cut him off following what I accused him of. That he was bullied so badly at Blackheath that Charlie had to drive up there and bundle him into the back of a car to take him to the hospital. That he had his jaw broken twice, his eye socket fractured, and his ribs and limbs broken multiple times.

  I had no clue that they tortured him until he passed out, and that in order to stop it he had to become one of them.

  I’m beginning to realize that I don’t know anything.

  All of a sudden, my phone buzzes. Loudly. The bright light of the screen makes the inside of my temporary coffin glow just as Seth and Lana stop talking.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  Chapter 11

  Pearl

  My chest pounds as I try to switch it off. I manage to, just, as I hear them move. I close my eyes, trying not to bloody breathe. Praying they don’t hear me.

  “I thought that was my phone but it’s not. Is it yours?” Lana is speaking.

  Seth now. “Probably, I have a spare lying around here somewhere.” There’s a pause. “Ah, it’s getting dark. We should go back downstairs.”

  “Please tell me Charlie brought treats,” Lana pleads.

  Silence. And then, I hear Seth. “I believe he did. Why don’t you go and find him. I’ll follow you shortly.”

  There’s the sound of people moving around the room, the door opening and closing, and then someone walking closer and closer to me.

  Through the hole, I see Seth stop in front of the ottoman and look at it. I tense. It’s like he’s looking right at me. My mouth is dry and my chest is thudding so loud, I swear he can hear me too.

  He bends down, putting his hand on the lid.

  And then fucking sits down.

  “So you heard all of that?” he says out loud.

  I swallow painfully. I’m not even sure I can form the words to reply. Finally, I manage a “yes” my voice scratchy as I speak.

 
Seth exhales a long, drawn out sigh. “Pearl, why the fuck are you in my cabin?”

  “Can you let me out first?” I ask, pushing at the lid. I’ll go crazy if I stay in this box any longer. My legs are cramping and my back hurts. But the lid doesn’t move. He’s sitting on it, trapping me inside.

  “Not until you explain yourself.” When I don’t answer he fiddles with the lock. “Or I could just lock you in here and walk out. Continue this discussion after the party?”

  “You wouldn’t dare.” The words come out like I’m choking on them.

  “Oh, wouldn’t I?” He flips the lock and stands up.

  Fuck. “Okay, okay, I was trying to find what you stole from me,” I hiss at him.

  Nothing happens, and then, after a few seconds, he flips the lid open.

  His blue eyes are the molten fury, the most manic I’ve seen them in a long time. He hauls me out of the box, hurting me as he throws me onto the bed. He advances on me like a demon from hell. I squeal as he bears down, pinning me to the mattress with his body, holding me by my wrists, so I can’t move or escape. I struggle against him like a newborn kitten, ineffective and totally useless. I can’t even knee him in the groin from here.

  “Seth, get the hell off me.”

  “What I stole from you?” He exclaims, eyes penetrating and fierce. “What I fucking stole from you? I think you’ll find you stole everything from me, sweetheart.”

  I flinch away from his gaze, saying nothing because he has a point. That and his lips are so close, I could lift my head and kiss him if I wanted to, it’s distracting. Only I’m not going to because he’s being an asshole.

  I exert myself once more only to fall back on the bed panting. “Gabby told me. She said you asked her to steal some documents of mine. You had no right to take them.”

  “Oh, is that what you came for. They’re not here, sweetheart. You wasted your time.”

  “Don’t lie. Where else could they be.”

  He shrugs. “Not here.”

  “Are you even going to help me with Marcel or is that a lie too?” I snarl at him.