by Erin Trejo
“No. I think I’ve had plenty of that. When are we leaving?” Aggravation seeps into my pores as I shove to my feet and move toward him. The way his eyes follow me causes a shiver to run down my spine.
“So quick to get away from me?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s not you. You’ve been such a joy to be around,” I add sarcastically.
“Do you know what bothers me about liars, Liz?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” I say.
“That they lie to the wrong people. They lie to the ones that could have helped them. Maybe they didn’t see that to begin with, or maybe they were just too stupid to realize what was in front of them.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. Why when he looks at me, does it feel like he’s talking about me? Why can I feel a cold invisible hand wrap around my throat? Knox brings his hand up to his face, running his thumb and forefinger along the scruff that lines his jaw as he stares at me.
“You’re a liar, Liz.”
“No, I’m not.” Yes, I am.
“Poor Danny. I mean, here he thought he was keeping his sweet little cousin safe. Putting his life at risk for you and the best you can do is lie to him,” he says, sounding sick to his stomach. The look in his eyes is anything but. They’re dark, menacing, and fuck, they pull me in.
“I haven’t lied to him about anything.” The smirk that tugs across his face is even more sinister than the look in his eyes.
“We both know that’s not true, Liz,” he says, stepping toward me. I step back. What the hell does he know?
“You don’t know shit,” I hiss.
“What if I do? What if I know all the little secrets that Danny doesn’t?” He cocks his head to the side and stares at me, waiting for me to say something more. I open my mouth but nothing comes out. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know the truth and if he did, what’s the point in hiding it?
“Your gaming skill is lacking, Knox.” What am I doing?
“Is it? I thought I was playing it pretty well.” Another step toward me and my heart hammers in my chest. Knox reaches up, his fingers running down my cheek as he stares into my eyes. It’s too much, he’s too much.
“You’re losing,” I inform him. No, I’m pushing him. I want him to break and tell me what this is all about. I want him to snap and if he knows anything, I want to hear what. I don’t like the impending feeling of doom that I got when he said that. His hand slowly slips around the back of my neck before knotting in my hair. He jerks hard, my head snapping back at the force. A loud gasp escapes me as he leans down into my space, licking his lips.
“I never lose, Liz. Ever. And this right here, this thing with you and me? I’m going to ruin you. Break you, and all that you’ll be able to do is cry for me.” His threat is clear as day. His lips crash into mine before I have the chance to respond to that, only this time, I don’t kiss him back. Not that he cares. He keeps moving his mouth over mine until my lips feel bruised and he pulls away.
“Get your shit.” With that, he turns and walks away leaving me breathless and unsatisfied.
11
Knox
Nine Inch Nails’ song Closer is playing loudly through the speakers. Leddy has her hands in the air, her body rolling to the beat. My eyes follow her moves as she spins and comes toward me slowly. I lick my lips watching her body move. If Leddy wasn’t such a good friend, I’d fuck her, especially with a body like that.
Sweat drips down my temples as she steps into my space. Gripping her around the back of her neck, I pull her closer. My hips jerk while her body sways, pressing against me. Our dance is sexy as hell. Practicing for our upcoming show has taken a lot out of me but I wouldn’t have it any other way. At first, I didn’t want to do this with her. I didn’t want the bullshit that comes along with Leddy and my brother. She has had feelings for Steele for a long time, but when she asked me to help her break him and Whisper up, I lost my shit a little. She apologized, which is the only reason I’m here right now.
With the flick of my wrist, her body tumbles to the floor and I move to fall on top of her. The music is thundering through my veins, heat coursing through me. I roll my hips while they’re between Leddy’s legs. She wraps them around my waist as I climb to my knees. Each time she moves her body, I move mine. We’re in sync right now. Through music, we both click and that’s something that has always amazed me. When I jump up, I release her and she spins away from me. Something must startle her because she stumbles and falls.
“You okay?” I ask, moving toward her.
“Yeah. Just pulled a muscle,” she says, rubbing her thigh. I kneel down in front of her and run my hands over her thigh. She sits back and gives me room to work, massaging the muscle. “Shit.”
“What?” I ask. She doesn’t speak, just nods her head behind me. I turn my head and peer over my shoulder, spotting Liz, Whisper, and Callan walking in. I don’t get it until my eyes meet Liz’s. Look at her, all pissed off because I’m touching Leddy. I give her a slow grin before turning back to Leddy.
“What’s that about?” she asks.
“Just a little fun,” I admit.
“Like with Whisper?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Something like that.” Leddy huffs as I shove away from her. “You have a problem with me, Leddy?” She shoves herself up off the floor, stretching her leg as she does.
“Yeah, I do. You Alder men and your games are ridiculous. Do you not care how much you hurt them?” she snaps. She’s never talked to me like this before. This is new, and it kind of pisses me off. Placing my hands on my hips, I glare at her.
“You forget who funds your bullshit?”
“My bullshit? Fuck you, Knox!”
“Fuck you back, Leddy! You think I need your drama queen act? Find a new partner!” I turn on my heel and storm toward the door, grabbing my bag as I go. I don’t see anyone as I throw the door open and walk out. The air is colder now and I welcome it as it hits my skin. That’s when I see her. Liz is standing across the street, gazing toward the sky. I don’t know what it is about her that pisses me off and screams at me to go to her. It’s messing with my head and I don’t like it. The last person to do that is dead. I walk toward her, ready to yell at her for no apparent reason when I hear her speak. I didn’t realize she was on her phone.
“I’m going home. This is all insane, Danny. I don’t need a bodyguard,” she says making me smirk. Danny has been on her ass since we came back from the cabin. Nothing panned out with the shooter, at least nothing related to her, but that doesn’t mean shit after the phone call I got. Speaking of, I check the time by pulling my own phone out. I have somewhere to be.
I head for my truck, pulling my shirt out of my bag as I walk. Once I reach my truck, I toss my bag in and pull my shirt on peering over at Liz once more. Her free hand flies through the air as she talks to her cousin. Shaking my head, I ignore the annoying urge to go to her and climb in the truck instead. I want to meet this asshole in person. I want to see what kind of information he has on Liz, and I want to see what he looks like.
I start up the truck and pull out onto the road and just as I drive past her, I rev the engine. Liz jumps, glancing over her shoulder, fear on her face. I know why it’s there too and it makes me wonder why shit happened the way it did. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.
The drive doesn’t take long, seeing how I opted to meet in our town. No way was I going to be stupid enough to step outside of Rolling Springs in the off chance that something could happen. Instead, I pull into the parking lot of the local bar and climb out. Strolling inside, I head for the bar and take a seat, ordering a drink while I wait. That wait isn’t long.
“I hear the Alder boys have quite the reputation,” a man’s voice says behind me. I don’t bother to look over, I wasn’t the one that called this meeting. I take a long pull from my beer when a guy sits next to me.
“I don’t know a
bout that,” I respond.
“I do. I didn’t come here without doing my homework first.” Slowly I turn my head to face the man, and I’m a little shocked when I do. Slightly wavy, dark brown hair sits in a mess on top of his head but the eyes? Those are her eyes.
“And what is this meeting for?” He smiles then, and damn, it’s exactly like hers.
“Ah, straight to the point. I want to offer you a job.” I snort a laugh and twirl my bottle around between my fingers.
“I don’t need a job in case you didn’t notice. I own it all,” I remind him. His smug smile pisses me off but after what he’d said to me on the phone, I’m interested in learning more about this little situation.
“Oh, I know. This seems to be your specialty though.”
“Which is?”
“My sister.”
“You said as much on the phone. Do you want to get on with the point of all this or what?” My nerves are wearing thin where this punk is concerned. If he hadn’t asked me to meet him personally, and who it was about, I might have blown him off.
“Fine. She saw what I did.”
“What?” My eyes find his and a slow grin creeps across his face.
“I assume you didn’t know that part,” he adds.
“No. That wasn’t what I was told.” He nods his head.
“I wouldn’t have told that part either. Who wants to come right out and say that their brother is a murderer?” he muses, a slight laugh in his words. Is he kidding me? Does he not know fully what we do?
“The point?” I ask once more.
“I need her out of the way, but first I need her to trust someone enough to sign over a few things.” Now I laugh.
“Trust? Yeah, you got the wrong guy,” I inform him as I bring my beer to my lips and take a long pull.
“Or fear. Isn’t that what you’re good at? Instilling fear in people?” I swallow thickly as I take him in. I could easily fuck his world up if I needed to.
“What are you gaining from this?”
“I told you, I need some papers signed.”
“Yeah, you’re going to have to do a little better than that.”
“Our mother, she had stocks, bonds, life insurance. That sort of thing.”
“A drug addict that had a life insurance policy doesn’t seem too legit if you ask me,” I tell him, keeping calm although I see the look on his face. He’s not liking the way I talk much at all.
“Some things are just better left unsaid.” I find his answer amusing and chuckle. Knocking on the bar, I motion for another beer before finishing off the one in my hand and turning to completely appraise him.
“Look, Jeremy. You are making this all more difficult than it needs to be. You want me to do something for you, you tell me what that thing is and don’t beat around the fucking bush. Spit it out or get the fuck out of my town,” I snarl.
“She didn’t use as much as Liz thought she did. I made sure she was high enough when Liz was around to believe that story.”
“Why?”
“The life insurance policy is nearly two million.”
“Let me guess, that money goes to Liz, right?” I lock eyes with him, wondering what kind of piece of shit he is to kill his own mom for money. I understand we aren’t much different in the killing of family, but at least we had a legitimate reason to do so. Jeremy nods his head.
“You’re right.”
“And you need sister out of the way so you can have it all. Doesn’t seem fair to me,” I tell him as the bartender sets another beer in front of me. Lifting that one to my lips, I eye Jeremy for his reaction. I like the fire I see now that I’ve gotten him all pissed off.
“She doesn’t deserve a dime!” he roars, pulling attention.
“And why not? Did she not share her toys with you as a kid? Huh?” There it is. That evilness that lurks in us all. Jeremy has it too, just like I thought he did. Hell, he’s trying to kill his own sister.
“She’s the reason our dad left.”
“Oh boohoo. So fucking what, man. Some people are better off without their fathers. You aren’t giving me one good reason to help you. You’re wasting my damn time,” I inform him as I stand, pull some cash from my pocket, and drop it onto the bar. I turn and walk back outside, but I know he’s behind me. If it’s a fight he wants, I’ll gladly give it to him.
“Half.”
“What?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder.
“I’ll give you half.” Now I full on laugh.
“Are you aware that I have more money than I know what to do with? That me and my brothers own this town and everything and everyone in it? I don’t need your money.”
“Fine. Then you can have her.” I bite my lip between my teeth because frankly, I already have her.
“What would this job entail exactly?” I ask just out of pure amusement. I finally turn to face him and see the look on his face. He’s just as sick in the head as we are.
“I either need her scared to death and ready to sign it all over, or I need her trusting and happy enough to do the same. Completely your choice on how you go about that,” he says. I nod my head and consider what he said to me. I was already playing games with her so why couldn’t I go a little deeper? Scare her a little more?
“How long?”
“Three months, tops. People will start sniffing around if they aren’t taken care of by then.” Running my thumb over my bottom lip, I mull this over in my head. Next week is the last week of school before our Thanksgiving break, then there’s Christmas. I suppose fucking her life up a little more wouldn’t hurt anything.
“Fine. You stay out of my way while I do it, and I will let you know when she’s ready to sign.”
12
Liz
I walk toward my next class, my head in a fog. I’m on edge and I don’t know why. I’ve been back at my apartment for a while now but things just seem off. I can’t place it and after seeing Knox with Leddy the other day, everything has shifted. Someone slams into me, causing me to drop my books before they are kicked across the hall.
“Pay attention, Liz. I don’t like when little girls get in my way.” When I look up, I see the darkness in Knox’s eyes.
“How high school of you to kick my books, Knox.” His eyes light up as he steps closer to me. I back against the wall, loving that I can evoke some kind of emotions in him, but hating myself at the same time knowing he could break me if he wanted to. His hand comes to rest on my stomach before slowly creeping into the top of my jeans. I move to try and stop him but he stops me first.
“Tell me why every time I do something mean and cruel to you it makes you wet, Liz.” I hate him. I want him but I still hate him. His fingers slowly slip into my panties before moving lower. Each caress of his finger against my wetness sends me a little higher. He works my clit, applying pressure as he does and I can’t help but arch into his touch. He laughs loudly as he keeps going.
“Finger fucked in the hall at school is a little inappropriate isn’t it?” he says loud enough to draw attention. A few guys walking past laugh, a few girls stare. I push at his hand but he doesn’t move. He just inches closer, pressing his chest against mine as he rubs harder, faster. Leaning down, he licks my lip. I turn my head trying to get him away from me but his free hand comes up, gripping my chin roughly before he bites down into my lip. A scream rips from my throat before he pulls back laughing even harder. As fast as his hand went into my pants, they are gone and I’m left flushed and horny, in need of a release. People are laughing and staring as embarrassment rips through me. Knox walks away, licking his fingers as he goes, looking as smug as always. I take a deep breath and will the anger and hurt to go away before class. At least I will have Whisper in dance.
Sucking in a lungful of air, I walk toward my books and gather them up before heading to class. Once inside, Whisper spots me and comes rushing toward me.
“Hey! I’ve missed you. Why haven’t you come by?” My eyes move from hers to Knox and back. She follo
ws and rolls her eyes. “Don’t let him get to you.”
“He’s not. I just need to find a new job and everything.”
“Oh that’s easy. You can work at the studio.”
“The dance studio?” I ask.
“Yeah. Why not? It’s fun and I’m usually there when I’m not here,” she says, grabbing me and pulling me across the floor. Music comes over the speakers and before I know what’s happening, Knox and Callan are in the middle of the room. They are standing facing each other, smirks on their perfect faces. I drop my books and backpack next to Whisper’s as I turn and watch them.
“What’s this?” I ask her as they both start to move.
“Teacher isn’t here. Instead of canceling class, those two thought it would be fun to take over. God, could it be any hotter?” I have to laugh at her. She’s with Steele but that doesn’t stop her from ogling those two. They both roll their hips and jerk to the sides when they reach over their shoulders and pull their shirts off. Tossing them to the side, Whisper screams. She isn’t the only one, either. The other girls in the class practically pant over them while the guys all look envious. I lick my lips as Knox drops to the floor and rocks his hips. Why does he have to look so damn sexy doing that? And in class at that?
“Shit, that’s hot,” Whisper says, causing me to laugh once more. Callan spins, motioning for Whisper to come to him. I’m almost shocked when she goes but then again, this is Whisper. Callan pulls her into the middle of the room and Knox moves in on one side. The dance is hot, sexy and erotic. Out of the corner of my eye, I see another girl start heading for the middle. My eyes follow her as she steps up next to Knox. She lifts her hand, resting it on his shoulder before he turns and looks at her. He says something that I can’t hear over the music before nodding and turning toward her. Except, his eyes don’t stay on hers. They stay on me.
Knox rotates his hips, his body pressing against hers. Think new age dirty dancing and that’s what’s happening right here in front of me. Heat coils inside of me as he thrusts his hips into her. Maybe it’s because I know exactly what that feels like that it bothers me. Something inside of me quivers and nearly snaps. What the hell is wrong with me? Surely, I can’t be jealous of something that isn’t mine to begin with. Can I? Instead of finding out, I walk toward the door with hurried steps. I don’t make it that far when hands wrap around my waist, pulling me back.
