The dick.
Now, where I was the math prodigy and Maddox was the computer mastermind, Neo’s gift was observation. The fucking kid saw everything. It was uncanny how he could be looking you straight in the eye but tell you what was happening behind him. He was like a goddamn parrot or rabbit. Those animals could see behind them without turning their heads, and Neo had that same eerie ability.
Chance, on the other hand, was a wiz with computers, too. He wasn’t the hacking marvel that Maddox was, but he was pretty damn good. Chance was also able to take a computer apart and put it back together with no notes or before pictures. He could do that shit from memory, even though he didn’t have a photographic memory.
Stopping in the main hallway of Windsor, Neo took off, while the rest of us headed towards our lockers. However, Chance got sidetracked when a short, sexy blonde smiled at him. Shaking my head, me and Mad kept going.
“Hey,” Maddox said, “I’ll get to work on your shit when Mom and Dad leave tonight.”
I nodded. “Everything, Mad,” I replied. “I want everything.”
Chapter 4
Lake~
“Jesus, chick,” Eden drawled out, “you look like crap.”
Yeah, getting no sleep because you danced with Satan last night will do that to you.
Of course, that’s not what I told her, though. “I didn’t sleep well,” I semi-lied.
“Please, please, please don’t tell me you’re still upset about Curt,” she whined. “It’s been two months. Plus, he was a jerk.”
Eden Rudolph was my best friend. She’s held that title since we in the sixth grade and Mrs. Joyhill had paired us up as study buddies. Where I had brown hair and blue eyes, Eden had rich auburn hair, bright green eyes, and a smatter of freckles over her nose and cheeks. She was also five-foot-six-inches, making her three inches taller than me. She also had the perfect body. Like perfect. Everything body part was so well-proportioned, she could be a damn mannequin.
My best friend was beautiful.
“God, no,” I groaned, meaning it. “I am so over Curt, it’s actually pretty sad, considering we dated for six months.” And it was true.
Curt Metcalf was everything a girl should want in a guy, minus the unfaithfulness. He was eighteen, with light brown hair and light brown eyes to match. He was six-foot and had the body of an athlete. And he should since he was SC High’s reigning soccer star.
When he had asked me out last year, on Valentine’s Day, I had practically swooned. While Curt wasn’t the most popular boy at school, he was close, and he ran with the cool crowd; he always had. And I had been flattered that I had caught his attention.
Now, while I wasn’t what society might consider ugly, or nerdy, or whatever, I didn’t believe myself to be anything exciting enough to catch Curt’s eye. I’ve always just been a normal girl with normal looks and a normal life. My parents, Randal and Bethany Warren, were normal, too. Dad worked with computers as an IT tech and Mom ran a pet store. We were the normal within the surrounding hills and valleys of the obscenely wealthy.
The working town of Sands Cove was surrounded by mansions and prep academies and kids with no parents and too much money, but we were worlds apart. Windsor kids coming into town was like a small village being visited by their governed royalty. And, as far as I knew, us common folk didn’t venture past our designated living area. I’ve never heard of any SC High kids mingling with Windsor Academy kids.
Oil and Water.
So, when Curt had asked me out, I had been over the moon. He’d been the first guy to ever ask me out beyond casual dating, and he’d been the entire package.
Then, right before school began, I’d found out he had cheated on me with Erica Chambers, and the relief I had felt at not having slept with him or sending those picture had been so palpable, I realized I couldn’t have been in love with him if relief had been the first emotion I had experienced. Oh, rage came later, but relief had been the first emotion, and that had been telling.
So, I was over Curt, no doubt, but I wasn’t ready to tell Eden the truth of why I’d gotten no sleep last night.
Ramsey Reed Jr.
My mind had replayed the night over, and over again, trying to see if there had been another way out. Of course, even if there had been, it hardly mattered now. Ramsey had those pictures of me, and while I had my camera, I wondered how big a mistake I might have made. Had my camera really been worth the price I had paid for it? Sure, the pictures were more risqué than they were nude, but even Curt hadn’t ever seen me in just my bra and matching panties.
And then there was also the awful, awful, awful undeniable fact that Ramsey Reed was so gorgeous, it almost hurt to look at him. He had dark, rich brown hair that fell haphazardly on top with the side cut short. His eyes reminded you of chocolate and his face reminded you of Roman gladiators, strong, cut, and all male. From pictures and the internet, he looked so much like his father, some people said the only way you could tell them apart was that Ramsey Sr. had a scar that ran across one side of his face. Maddox Reed also looked like his brother and father. They were only a year apart, and they were often mistaken for twins from afar.
And to say that the Reed men were breathtaking in their domineering, powerful, and arrogant auras was the understatement of the century.
I also couldn’t deny that fear and anxiousness hadn’t been the only emotions I had felt last night when Ramsey had me pinned against the tree, and then my car. The rough warmth of his hand around my neck, and the way his other hand had dug into my hip, had created sensations deep inside my body that were dangerous to feel.
Ramsey Reed Jr. would chew me up and spit me out if he had the chance.
I needed a nice guy in my life. I needed a guy who was normal and liked to do normal things. I sure as hell didn’t need the likes of Ramsey Reed Jr. in my life. Hell, I didn’t need the likes of any Windsor Academy guy in my life.
However, I had an awful feeling that the choice wasn’t mine any longer.
Walking with Eden from the school bus drop off towards the school, I avoided any eye contact when I asked, “Have you ever sent a guy any nude selfies?”
Eden tripped.
I stopped, so she could right herself, and when she was steady on her feet again, she narrowed her eyes at me. “Please, please don’t tell me you sent that fucker any nudes.”
“No,” I exclaimed. “Of course, not.”
“Oh, thank God,” Eden mumbled.
“I was just asking if you’ve ever done it,” I semi-lied again. “I mean…would it bother you if someone shared a picture of you like that?”
We got to walking again, and after a few seconds of Eden thinking it over, she said, “I’ve never done it before. But, honestly, Lake, I’m not sure if I’d be embarrassed if someone shared it.”
“Really?” I asked surprised.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’d be pissed,” she clarified. “That kind of betrayal of privacy deserves an ass beating. But would I lock myself inside my house and never come out? Probably not.”
I glanced over at her. “You really wouldn’t be embarrassed?”
She rolled her eyes. “Lake, in a world of sex tapes, celebrity phone hacks, OnlyFans sites, and fame being more important than self-respect, I seriously doubt anyone would bat an eyelash if a nude of me got passed around.”
I choked out a laugh. She had a point, unfortunately. Social media was great for many things but erasing modesty and doing away with common sense were not among them. Eden was right when she said, these days, fame was trumping self-respect.
She also made me feel a little bit better about Ramsey having those pictures. Compared to a lot of what was out there on social media, the pictures were pretty tame. However, I had a pretty noticeable chest, and in just my bra and panties, the pictures looked provocative enough to make it look like I was asking for it. And by it, I mean penis.
When we reached the school’s building, Eden said, “Oh, hey, there’s a party this F
riday at Keri McDonald’s house.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Her parents are out of town or something, and so, she’s having a party. But…”
I stopped walking and eyed her. “But…?”
She grimaced. “Rumor is almost everyone is going to show up at some point or another.” Ah. “That means Curt will probably be there. Erica, too, probably.”
Whatever people had expected, I had never approached Erica about sleeping with Curt. A cheater wasn’t worth fighting over, in my opinion. So, she was more than welcomed to him. He had tried to tell me that Erica had been the one to go after him, but I hadn’t cared about that part. Curt never should have taken her up on her offer, plain and simple. Though a part of me didn’t blame him. Erica Chambers was, easily, the prettiest girl at SC High. I couldn’t imagine any guy turning her down. However, I had expected my boyfriend to be one of the few.
“That’s fine,” I told her. “I don’t care about Curt or Erica.” And it was the truth. I had more pressing matters, and that was wondering if Ramsey was going to do anything with those pictures or if he still believed I was a witness to what had gone down last night. And while I was, I wasn’t talking. No way would I snitch out Ramsey fucking Reed.
“Cool,” Eden replied. “Maybe a quick hookup will put a smile on your face.”
“Why don’t we wait until Halloween to dress up like hookers and troll for testosterone,” I drawled out sarcastically. “After all, Halloween is only three weeks away.”
“Good point,” she agreed, ignoring my sarcasm.
Chapter 5
Ramsey~
When I walked into the house, I heard chatter coming from the kitchen. I dropped my backpack on the table in the foyer and headed towards the voices. When I walked in, I saw my mother and father preparing pre-cooked meals.
I chuckled.
I was eighteen and Mad was seventeen, but Mom acted like we couldn’t work a stove. Granted, she once told us that, just because they might spend two or three nights a week in Port Lucia, that didn’t mean she couldn’t still take care of us while they were away from home. It was oddly sweet, considering my mother was about as ruthless as my father.
Though my father owned RMM equally with Uncle Deke and Uncle Liam, he had been the driving force behind its conception. While they’d still been in high school, Dad had helped Uncle Deke and Uncle Liam be smarter with their money, and by the time they had all graduated from high school, they’d had more than enough money for their first startup company. Dad wasn’t the boss, but he was. Uncle Deke and Uncle Liam trusted him unconditionally.
Mom was a social worker, and she was a scary one. With her last name, money, status, and the power her husband carried, all the children in her care were taken care of well. Good, ol’ Grandpa Andrews used to beat her when she’d been a kid, and so, she took the welfare of children everywhere seriously. She also made time for domestic abuse victims.
Mom was pretty awesome.
“Hey,” I greeted as I sat down at the kitchen island.
Mom smiled. “Hey,” she greeted back. “We were just packing some meals for you guys.”
Me, Mad, Chance, Neo, and Gideon were a rare commodity among Windsor in that we didn’t have absent parents like everyone else. While Dad worked long hours and Mom’s devotion to her other kids took up a lot of her time, they always made sure to be home at least four nights a week. They were headed back to Port Lucia tonight, and that meant they’d probably be back Thursday. Uncle Liam and Aunt Roselyn’s household worked the same way.
“We know how to cook, Mom,” I said, this conversation one we’ve had a million of times.
She smirked. “And I still know how to feed my kids,” she retorted.
“Speaking of feeding kids, where’s Mad?” Dad asked.
“Chance had to help Aunt Roselyn with something, so he stayed behind to wait for Neo, so he could give him a ride home from school.” Neo had been scheduled another afterschool meeting with one of Windsor’s many guidance counselors to talk to him again about his gifts and how to better apply himself. Neo might be only fifteen, but he was just as corrupt as the rest of us.
Satisfied with that answer, he asked, “You got a minute?”
I snorted. “Because if I didn’t?”
Mom tried to stifle her laughter, but it escaped, anyway. “Sorry,” she squeaked.
“Alright, smartass,” he replied, knowing we’d always make time for him. Dad was commanding and, son or not, he had my respect. Me and Maddox respected him above everyone else in the world, and he knew it. If he needed a minute with one of us, we gave it to him. Of course, there was also the fact that I was pretty sure he could still beat us within an inch of our lives if we ever got crazy with him. Hence, the joke about what if I didn’t have a minute.
I winked at Mom and followed Dad to his study. Her laughter trailed after us, and she had no idea of the smiles her laughter had put on our faces. If Dad was the fiery comet lighting up the sky, Mom was the Universe that made it all possible.
Once we entered his study, he shut the door, and that’s when I knew we were getting serious. I also knew whatever we were in here for, Mom already knew about it.
Dad leaned up against the edge of his desk, his arms crossing over his chest, as I pulled out one of the barstools and sat down. “So, is there anything you’d like to tell me about Ashton Childress?”
I told you.
The man knew fucking everything.
I cocked my head. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me about Ashton Childress?” I volleyed.
The man arched a brow, but I knew my dad well. He wasn’t mad. If he were, you’d be able to feel the arctic freeze of his wrath a mile away.
Except when it came to Mom.
The man was all fire and brimstone when Mom was mad at him.
“Your Uncle Ace showed up at my office this morning, and he wanted me to find out all I could on the kid,” he said, telling me what I already suspected. “I guess Delaney was acting odd, and when Ava questioned her, she came clean about a party she attended in Sands Cove Saturday night.”
“What else did she tell them?” It wasn’t that I was planning on keeping secrets, but D.J. had been attacked. I wasn’t going to pretend to understand what that might do to a girl, so I didn’t want to spill her emotional secrets. I also knew our parents respected the loyalty us kids had between us.
His lips lifted in a proud smile. “That she kicked his ass,” he said. “She also assured them that she was okay. The boy hadn’t had a chance to do much damage. But I guess D.J. was still pissed enough to be acting cagey, therefore, making Ava suspicious.”
“What else did Uncle Ace say?”
“He wanted everything on the kid, so he could kill him,” Dad replied, all calm and casual, as if murder was something fathers and sons discussed all the time. Dad’s arms fell to his side and gestured towards my knuckles. “However, it was quite the surprise when I discovered he was already in the hospital with a number of injuries.”
“Surprised? Really?” I mean, the man did raise me after all.
“Surprised that you hadn’t said anything,” he clarified.
I laughed. “Tell Uncle Ace and Aunt Ava that Ashton Childress has been taken care of, thoroughly.” I shrugged a shoulder. “But if they still want him dead, that can happen.”
Dad eyed me. “Is it all taken care of?”
I knew what he meant. He wanted to make sure we had covered our asses. “Yeah, it is,” I assured him. “Mad took care of any cameras.” Then that word brought me up short, and Dad must have seen it on my face.
“Ram?” Mom and Dad were the only ones who called me Ramsey or Ram, while the rest of the family called me R.J., sometimes Ram. Everyone else who didn’t matter called me Reed.
I stared at my dad and asked, “How did you know Mom was the one for you?”
His brows furrowed with the change of subject. “What?”
“How did you know she was the one fo
r you?” I asked again. “How were you so certain?” Thoughts of Lake Warren have been assaulting me all day, and it was more than thoughts about what she might have seen last night. I had this swirling feeling in my gut, and it was directly tied to her.
When I had come across those pictures on her camera and thought she had lied about having a boyfriend, I had felt sincere jealousy for the first time in all my life, and it had left me a bit unhinged. Blackmailing her for those pictures had been low, but I justified it by knowing that I’d never share those pictures with someone else.
The plain fact of it all was that, the second I had put my hands on Lake Warren, something had changed. And the desire to own her was growing with each passing minute of each passing day. And since my parents’ love was legendary, I needed some input.
“The second I saw her, I felt her,” he finally answered. “We were at a party, in a house full of people, but there was only her.”
I knew it was the truth, but I still asked. “You’re really telling me it was love at first sight?” There have always been jokes, and looking at the both of them, you’d believe it. But still.
“For me, it was,” he clarified. “Your mother…uh, she had different feelings about it.”
I laughed. “Made you work for it, did she?”
His face softened, and there was so much pride in his expression, it felt like I was intruding on something very personal. “Your mother made me fight for it, Ram,” he corrected. “She was the most magnificent thing I’d ever fucking seen. She still is.”
I felt what he was saying, and that was scary. “There was a witness,” I admitted.
His back straightened as his expression cleared. “And?”
“She’s the most magnificent thing I have ever fucking seen,” I told him.
He didn’t say anything for a bit, but when he finally did, I’d never felt more grateful to have a man like my father on my side. “Just let us know whatever it is you need, Ram.”
I let out the deep breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in. “Thanks, Dad.”
Resurrecting the Enemy: (Standalone) Page 3
