Grey: The Reconnection (Spectrum Series Book 4)
Page 32
“I am so sorry,” is all he can murmur.
“You better be.” I take off the stupid bracelet and throw it at his chest. He catches it with a fallen expression. “I am fucking through with you! I’m done!”
“Liv,” he whines and reaches a hand out to me.
I walk away from him and feel everything crash down on my chest. I feel like I’m going to implode on the spot. I have never felt so much betrayal in my life. I feel like I’ve been chewed up but never spat out. I just keep tumbling and getting speared by spiky teeth by a monster that goes by the name of Mason.
“Grey!” I scream his name as loud as I can. I rush to where I last saw him but come up empty. “Grey, where are you? Please, where are you? Grey—?”
“Looking for someone?” a familiar sweet voice drawls behind me.
I whirl around and find Rose smirking at me, arms crossed. “How could you?” My voice is low, and fresh tears are now falling down my face.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. You were just in the way—a casualty.” She shrugs her shoulders and looks me up and down. “I got what I wanted, though. Grey’s all wrecked and pissed at you for cheating. Must suck to be you guys.” She winks at me. She taps my nose before brushing past me, and something inside of me unleashes. I have only dealt with the force in me with one other person. One other bitch.
“Hey, Rose,” I say before I slowly turn around.
“What?” She sounds annoyed as she spins on her heels.
“I didn’t get what I wanted,” I say with a sarcastic smile.
Then I throw my balled-up fist into her nose. She screams and scrambles back. But before she can go down, I drag her by her dress, hear the cheap red fabric rip, and pull her back up. Her mouth meets my fist. I kick her in the chin before throwing my fist across her jaw, hearing a sickening crunch. I let her go and finally hear the yelling and cheering behind me.
She’s unconscious, bloody, and bruised.
“Now I got it,” I hiss through gritted teeth. I watch as Mason runs to her side and stares up at me, regret and despair sprawled across his face. “You two deserve each other.”
“Wait,” Mason pleads.
“What!” I snap.
He holds out his hand, and I recoil. “No, look…” He opens his fist and cries, “I took it—as a little kick to hurt you…Rose’s idea.” My charm. Grey’s charm!
“You are such a puppet, I can’t believe it.” I snatch the charm from him, and he cries more.
I walk away and look for Grey but come up empty once again. My fist is stinging like a bitch, but it doesn’t matter. I can handle the pain. But what I can’t handle is Grey thinking that something actually went down between Noah and me. I may have been extremely drugged and don’t remember much from that night, but I do know that I would never do something with Noah. I like him as a friend, but that’s it.
I find Jake leaving the party and run up to him.
“Jake!” I scream his name, pulling him from entering a car with two other guys.
“Yeah?” He faces me with a relaxed smile, but he sees my bloody fist and looks shocked. “What the hell—?”
“Are you going to the tournament?” I am out of breath since I’ve been running around like a chicken without a head.
“Yes…”
“Take me, please.” I swallow the lump in my throat.
He nods to the car. “Get in.” His normally playful tone is switched out for a more serious one. I nod and slide into the backseat, giving an acknowledged nod to the tall guys next to me.
Hang on, Grey. I’m coming for you.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Grey
I don’t believe a fucking word Rose says. Liv would never betray me like that. She told me she never liked the prick, never felt anything when they…kissed. Ugh, I rather be bashing his fucking head in…anyway, I don’t believe her. But then she shows me the clear photo of her stumbling upon the bodies. They are both naked under a thin sheet. Her hair is messy, and her lips are red. She looks like she does after we have sex…my blood boils as I stare at the way she’s latched onto him, afraid to let him go.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I felt my hand begin to clam up as I analyzed the picture. I felt such anger and betrayal, all I could see was fucking red. My eyes scanned over the charm laying between her cleavage, his arm just under her breasts…I had to take a deep breath from smashing Rose’s fucking phone. That damn charm. She was wearing his charm yet doesn’t have mine anymore. She probably threw it away right after he fucked her for the first time.
I couldn’t fucking believe it. My angel, my princess, my fucking girl fucked another guy. I thought she was fucking it for me. I had just tattooed how much she meant to me on my fucking skin. Talk about fucking karma and timing, huh? If Rose had gotten there earlier, I could have avoided marring a fucking mistake into my skin. She fucking fucked him! That prick, that Barbie doll. That asshole didn’t fucking deserve her!
But why? Why do it? Why fuck him then come to me and convince me you love me? My mad mind went crazy with thoughts and possibilities of how she could have been such a fucking master manipulator. I mean, she’s betrayed me before. Played me like no one has ever before. Maybe she’s writing a sequel. Maybe she’s never loved me, ever. And my entire life is just for her fucking pleasure—her gain.
How could I have allowed it to happen again? Her twisting my heart around like it was a fucking toy she could play with freely. I promised myself and my heart that I would not let her or anyone hurt me the way she did the first time. Yet here I am. Hurt, broken-hearted, and pissed the fuck off. I let her in again. I let her fool me again. I fucking fell for the girl with the brightest smile and devious big blue eyes…again!
I roar as I throw my fist into the metal locker, then lay my forehead against the cool surface. I grind my teeth hard against each other as I try to cool myself down, catch my breath. But I can’t even hear over the loud thumping inside my chest. I punch the locker again and again and just keep punching until my knuckles are numb. I finally kick it and watch it slam to the ground. I grip my hands and shake my head, letting out another roar as I stomp on it, denting the green metal. I want to fucking tear the door off its hinges and throw it at that prick’s fucking face until there is absolutely nothing left.
“Grey, you’re up,” a voice booms behind me. I didn’t even hear the door croak open.
I turn around and face a short guy holding a clipboard. He looks scared as he eyes me and the fallen locker.
“Finally.” I crack my neck and knuckles, and he gulps and backs out.
I get to take my anger out the old-fashioned way. Beating fuckers’ faces in, literally.
Chapter Forty-Nine
“Come on!” I scream in frustration, pulling at my hair. I stare at the blaring red headlights through the windshield window. We have been stuck in stupid traffic for over fifty minutes. If I’m not quick enough, the tournament will be over, and I’ll miss Grey before he goes off the grid again. He did just that after I betrayed him the first time. But this time I really didn’t. I was framed, and he has to know that. But he won’t know if I am here for the rest of my life.
“Fuck!” I curse and kick the seat in front of me.
“Hey.” Jake peers over the passenger seat, and I mutter an apology, crossing my arms. “I’m sorry about this, and what happened…”
“Yeah…” the guys agree in a low mutter.
I sigh and bounce my legs and run a hand through my hair. I bite my lip and peer around his head. We move an inch, then that’s it. More red lights. “Thanks for the ride, but I’ve got it from here,” I thank the driver, and he nods at me.
“You sure?” Jake frowns at me.
“Yeah, I have to fix this. Now.” I unbuckle my seatbelt and am opening the door when a hand touches my knee. I look back and find him unlatching his belt.
“I’ll go with you,” he says, and I flush.
“You don’t have to.” I rather do this alone.
He and I exit the car and say a brief goodbye to the other guys. We zig-zag through the basically parked cars. We run along the sidelines, and all I can think about is what I am going to say to Grey. He has to believe me when I tell him I never did anything with Noah. God! I still can’t believe this. I did not see it coming. And Mason…fuck! I truly thought he was my best friend. I could have never seen him betraying me like this, in the worst way possible. Destroying the relationship between Grey and me. We have only just begun to glue the jagged pieces of our last disaster back together. But then this had to happen.
I am too late. We arrive about fifteen minutes later, and the large stadium is being cleared out with hundreds of people. Fuck! I really wanted to see him fight. It’s the biggest time of his career, and I had to miss it because of…ugh!
“I’ll go see if he’s still inside,” Jake tells me, rubbing my shoulders.
“Thanks,” I mumble and give him a small smile. I watch him nod and rush past the mounds of people into the stadium. I groan and pull out my phone. I wish I had discreetly recorded Mason, but like I said, I did not see it coming.
Even though he has not answered any of my hundred calls and texts, I call Grey. I pray and hope he hasn’t turned it off or has already left the venue. Because I know that when I go back to the beach house, he won’t be there. He’ll be gone…
“Please answer—” I close my eyes.
A loud ringing bursts my bubble of hope with my granted wish.
“Fuck!” I hear a familiar voice curse.
I look up, and my eyes fall on Grey. He’s standing tall about ten feet away from me, glaring down at his phone. The call is ended by him, and he looks up. His eyes lock on mine and they roll. He curses again, but I can’t hear him this time.
I make my way through the crowd to him, my eyes focused on him. I bump into a few people, but I can’t find my voice to apologize. He scowls down at me as I finally reach him.
“Grey, I…” I gulp and shrug, smiling softly. “D-did you win?”
“Yes, not that you should care.” He rolls his eyes and looks away from me.
I bite my lip and sigh. I have to fix us, I have to fix this. “Grey, I didn’t do what you think I did.”
He turns away from me and begins walking away. “Fuck off, Olivia.”
That stings. He’s said that to me many times before we reconnected, and it hurts ten times worse, if possible.
“Please, you have to listen to me.” I push through people and grab his hand, pulling him to face me.
He snatches his hand away and balls it into a fist. “I don’t have to do anything you say!” he snaps.
“Let me speak!” I snap too, angry he won’t even let me speak. He clamps his mouth shut and crooks his head to the side. Finally. “I did not have sex with Noah.”
He laughs dryly. “The photo says otherwise.”
“Rose took it! But it was staged,” I tell him, but he doesn’t look like he believes me. “I swear! Mason confessed to me and everything. I was drugged, Rose put something in that shot she gave me, but not in yours. Or, yes, in yours. I don’t know.” I grip my hair, frustrated, as I watch his blank expression. “I swear it, Grey! She said she had this plan to hurt you worse than you hurt her all those years ago. I would never ever sleep with anyone other than you. I l-love you.” I begin tearing up and take a cautious step forward, watching for his reaction.
He doesn’t move back, which is a good thing.
“Please tell me you believe me. Please, Grey. I didn’t know what was going on. If I did, I would have come running to you, never from you. Remember when I said that?” I risk it by taking his hand and pressing my lips to his bruised knuckles. I close my eyes and whimper, “Don’t you believe me? I love you so much it hurts. You can’t believe her. Please, please don’t believe her.”
“Liv,” he breathes. I cry hard as I wait for him to finish what he has to say.
A familiar voice screaming his name cuts us off. I sniffle and we both look behind him. Lots of cars are rolling up, honking people out of the way. Men hang out the window with bandanas around their mouths and glasses covering their eyes.
I feel my heart drop as one of the men scream, “No one leaves the gang, pussy! Have some fireworks to celebrate your victory!” Dean. His voice is indistinguishable, his words haunting.
The world freezes as he raises a huge gun in the air.
Suddenly, the world resumes and goes crashing through space. Shots are fired into the air and all around. People begin screaming, and a stampede ensues. The men in the cars are driving everywhere, mowing people over and shouting crude remarks. My heart is pounding dangerously fast. The men begin viciously shooting people and hitting the glass building just behind us.
I feel my eyes widen as I am frozen, unsure of what to do. I think I’m screaming and gripping Grey. He’s pushing me behind him to protect me, but a woman rushing my way pushes me away from his arm wrapped around my waist, pushing me to the ground. The shooting is so loud, it crackles in my ear, and I can feel the air grow tense.
I try to stand, but someone steps on me. I scream in pain as I hear something crack. I push myself up but am kneed in the face. I yell in utter and sheer pain before I finally grab a man’s pant leg, and he helps me up. He pushes past me, running in fear. I whirl around and run back over to Grey but stop when I feel a prickle sensation crawl through my skin.
The shooting has finally stopped, and I can clearly hear the ambulance and police sirens. Screaming people everywhere, dead people littering the ground. A massacre.
Grey is a few feet in front of me, clothes messy and eyes bloodshot, tears running down his face.
“Liv,” he croaks, voice shattered. He’s gawking at me. And his eyes are wide, and he looks like he’s seen a ghost. I don’t get it—what’s wrong? Was he shot? God, I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s hurt. “Liv!” He launches forward and grabs me into his chest. I was fainting, but I don’t remember feeling light-headed.
I don’t understand until I am saying, “What?” and I feel a thick, gooey substance that tastes like metal on my tongue. I bring my fingers up and gently touch my mouth, then bring my hand out. My eyes widen when I see blood and a lot of it. “What?” My voice is hollow. I look down at a crimson red spreading through my shirt, near my heart.
And then I understand.
I’ve been shot.
The realization hits me, and I begin to panic. I look up at the beautiful man cradling me. He’s calling, screaming, barking—nearly letting out his wrath—for an ambulance, for help. I smile as he faces me, but frown when tears leave his eyes.
“Grey, I—” I mutter. “I…love…G-grey…”
And then, darkness.
Acknowledgements
I can’t believe the end is almost here. Just two more books to go. I wish I could write this couple forever and ever. They have such a special place in my heart.
First, I want to thank my family for continuing to believe in me and my writing. And for the unrelenting predictions of these books turning into movies. It may never happen, but we’ll see.
Next, I have to thank the readers who have been with me way before I ventured into the publishing world. I still cherish every comment, edit of our #ley, and overall love for our complicated but lovable couple.
Thank you, Toni, my editor, for turning this messy story into something legible to read. If it weren’t for you, I’d be blind to many errors and inconsistencies.
Limitless, you already know you have my gratitude for supporting me and getting this story out there.
About the Author
Allison White is a writer spending most of her days creating stories when most people are asleep. She has always been a lover of stories, especially romance. From the very first word she typed, she knew writing was her passion and never stopped. And when she isn’t creating stories that tend to break and mend reader�
��s hearts, she’s either listening to music or getting way too involved with fictional characters.
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