“Alright,” he laughs, while his eyes beam with relief. “You have yourself a deal.”
I make my way into his small kitchen and start working on coffee while he quickly strips his bed and throws the sheets in his washer. I’m busily reaching for the mugs while shoving my phone under my ear and squishing it there with my shoulder.
The phone starts ringing and as I wait for Eli to hurry up and answer, Nic steps in behind me, placing both hands down on the counter on either side of my hips. “You have to know how sorry I am, O,” he murmurs. I hear Eli answer the call but I don't respond, instead listening to what Nic has to say. “I’ve done a lot of shit that I’m not proud of. I’ve been jealous, ruthless, and downright cold. I saw you and Colton getting closer and …”
“Saw?” I grunt. “What do you mean saw?”
“I … fuck,” he curses, pulling away.
I spin around, ignoring Eli’s soft curse in my ear. “You have two fucking seconds to tell me what you did, and I swear to you, Nic, if you even attempt to lie to me again, I will spend every day of my life making you regret it.”
He lets out a heavy sigh and his eyes drop to his hands in shame. “You’re going to fucking hate me.”
“Two fucking seconds,” I warn.
“During Charles’ wake when Kai disappeared …”
“He was stealing Charles’ Rolex.”
Nic shakes his head. “No, well, maybe. Who fucking knows when it comes to Kairo, but the reason he disappeared … I had him install cameras so I could keep watch over you. You’d already been raped in that fucking mansion, I wasn’t going to take any chances.”
“You did what?” I demand.
“I …”
“No. You’ve been watching me. You saw me and Colton …”
He nods and the shame radiating off him is so fucking thick that I could choke on it. He glances back up at me and the look in his eyes is crippling. “I’m so fucking sorry, O. I was so mad. I’ve never felt anything like it. I saw you and him first get together and I just … I snapped.”
“Wait,” I whisper, taking a step back as I feel a cold shiver run down my spine. “What did you do?” He shakes his head, his heart on his sleeve once again but this time, it’s fucking deflated. He doesn’t say the words, but he doesn't have to.
There’s only one thing that happened after Colton and I were first together and it was a direct attack on him. “The DeCarlo brothers,” I whisper. “We thought it was Vincent who sent his sons, but it wasn’t, was it?”
Nic presses his lips into a tight line and I see the truth in his eyes, but he refuses to respond.
“FUCKING ANSWER ME,” I yell. “I was in that fucking mansion. My mother was nearly caught and Maryne was fucking shot. My friend, Nic. They killed my friend. What if that had been me? Do not fucking tell me that you sent that hell to attack us.”
His face goes white and he takes a hesitant step back from me. “I’m sorry, Ocean,” he says, looking sick with himself and knowing damn well that whatever progress we had just made is now shattered into a million pieces. “The brothers owed me a favor and they paid up.”
Chapter 11
I sit in the Audi in Colton’s dark garage, just sitting and staring at the wall in front. I can’t find it within me to step out of this car and face reality.
I left Nic’s place three long hours ago and have been sitting here an absolute mess since I got back. I don’t even remember the drive home, all I seem to know is that Nic was supposed to be the one who protected me but he sent the DeCarlo’s here. He put us in danger, he put my mom in danger, and his actions are what lead to Maryne’s death.
What am I supposed to do with that information? If I tell Colton, he won’t hesitate to retaliate. All my boys will be gone and if Colton is the reason that I lose them … fuck. I don’t even know how I would react to that but I know for sure that things will never be the same. I don’t want to lose any of them. Who am I supposed to protect here?
The shrill ring of my phone tears through the silence and I jump before scrambling to answer it. Seeing Eli’s name across the screen, I slam it to my ear. “Did you know?” I demand.
“Babe…”
“Did. You. Know?”
He lets out a heavy sigh. “Yes. We didn’t know at the time, but after the attack, we put the pieces together.”
My heart shatters. “I can’t fucking believe this. Not only are you all sitting over there and watching me fuck my boyfriend like dirty perves, but you were keeping this from me too. How could you? You were supposed to have my back.”
“We do have your back, that’s why we put in surveillance in the first place.”
“Let me guess?” I say with a breathy scoff. “Keep me distracted in the ballroom during a fucking wake while you send Kairo upstairs to bug the whole fucking mansion. Fuck you. Fuck you all.”
“O …”
“No,” I snap, pushing my way out of the car and storming through the internal door into the mansion. “Where are they?”
“Babe, they’re for your protection.”
“Where the fuck are they, Elijah?”
I hear his grumbled cringe through the phone. I very rarely use his proper name but when I do, he knows that I’m not fucking around. “Everywhere,” he says. “Pool house, your bedroom, both the main pools, the mansion living areas, kitchens, bathrooms. Every room has been hit.”
Everything sinks within me knowing just how wild I allowed myself to be with Colton yesterday. I was vulnerable and I completely gave myself to him and to think that those douchebag Widows were sitting back and watching the fucking show makes me sick. How could they do that to me?
“I want a list and I want it right fucking now. Every last one, Eli.”
“Okay,” he finally says. “I’ll send you a list now.”
I end the call without a goodbye and find myself pacing the foyer, way too on edge to even begin calming myself. I wait all of two minutes before my phone dings with an incoming text and I glance down to find Eli’s text, but not only is there a text from Eli, there’s about twenty from Nic.
How the hell did I miss those coming in?
I delete every single one of them. I don’t need to read them because I know exactly what they’re going to say. Not one of them could make up for what he did. Maryne’s life is on his shoulders. He did that. The DeCarlo brothers pulled the trigger, but Nic gave the go-ahead and for that, he’s just as bad. How will we ever be okay?
I scan over Eli’s list and just as he had said, there’s a camera in nearly every single room of the house. I start looking over the foyer and find the tiny little camera hidden in the frame of one of Charles’ expensive artworks and realize that this is going to take all fucking day.
I grab the little camera and rip it off the frame before looking over it closely. These things look fucking expensive and for my sake, I hope they were. I hope they cost Nic a fucking bomb.
I mouth ‘fuck you,’ to the camera before dropping it to the ground and crushing it beneath my shoe, listening to the satisfying crunch as it smashes against the marble flooring.
One down, a million to go.
I get busy, going from room to room and tearing down every last one. They’re tiny and hard to find. On the downstairs level, they’re mostly hidden in plain sight—potted plants, photo frames, even a fucking fruit bowl. Upstairs and in rooms which don’t have a 20-foot ceiling, they’re generally hidden in the air conditioning vents.
I step into the private kitchen and instantly hear Colton with the boys in the adjoining den. From the sound of it, they must be chilling out with pizza and video games, so I leave them to it. It’s not as though I’m in such a great mood right now anyway. I still have a job to do.
I scurry around in the kitchen and after a minute of searching, I find the stupid camera at the top of a cabinet, giving the boys a wide view of the kitchen. I clench my jaw and start climbing up onto the counter, listening as Charlie lets out a confused laugh. “Bro, wha
t the fuck is your girl doing?”
There’s a short silence as they all stop what they’re doing and focus on me. “I, uhh … I’ve got no fucking idea. I wasn’t expecting her back for hours.”
Ignoring them, I stretch up onto my tippy-toes and reach the camera with a grunt before dropping it straight onto the counter and crushing it. A string of angered curses come flying out of my mouth but I continue on, moving into the living room.
“Babe?” I hear Charlie calling from the den. “What the fuck are you looking for? What was that?”
I ignore him and continue my search, finding another on the edge of the massive TV screen, a screen that I was staring at just this morning. How could I have missed this? This camera stares straight at the couch where Colton had spent the morning eating my pussy and then slowly fucking me to perfection and now all four of those fucked-up Widows have seen it.
I’ve never felt so fucking violated in my life.
With each camera that I tear off a wall, cabinet, or frame—my anger triples. How could they do this to me? How could they take away my privacy and claim it’s for protection? Yes, I was raped in this mansion, but it happened once by a guy who is now well and truly locked up. I’m safe. They might not know that but they’ve been searching for Jude everywhere they go. They know he’s not coming back to finish the job. The cameras should have been called off.
I make my way toward the den to find Colton standing in the doorway, watching me with curious eyes. “What are you doing, Jade?” he questions, clearly having watched me make my way from the kitchen to the living room.
I barge past him into the room and Spencer instantly hits pause on his video game to watch as I start searching the room. “What are you looking for?” he questions with a grunt.
My jaw is clenched and I sense Colton moving in closer, more than ready to grab me and force answers out of me, but I’m not having it, not until I find the stupid little thing.
I start with the TV and quickly move on until I find the camera in the top right corner of the room. “For fuck’s sake,” I grumble to myself, feeling the eyes of the boys heavily on my back.
I grab the small side table and drag it across the room before climbing onto it and tearing the camera off the wall. “Woah,” Charlie says. “What the fuck is that?”
I jump from the table and land on the floor with a thud. I hold the camera out, more than ready to drop it on the floor and crush it just like I’d done with the others, but Colton’s dominant demand stops me in my tracks. “Jade, stop,” he snaps, making my head whip up. “What the fuck are you doing?”
My teeth hurt from clenching my jaw so hard yet I can’t seem to stop. “Fucking cameras everywhere. Nic bugged the place, he’s been watching us.”
“The fuck?” he says, stepping into me and tearing the camera from my fingers as Spencer flies to his feet in alarm. Charlie just stares, unable to string together a protest of disgust.
“Where are they?” Spencer growls, his eyes heated as they flash to mine.
I see his deeper meaning. He wants to know if there’s one in Charles’ wine cellar and I instantly shake my head. That was the first place I looked for as I scanned over the list. I pull my phone out and open it to Eli’s text before tossing it to him. “They’re everywhere, every room, bathroom, living area, even the fucking pool house. But I wouldn’t trust this list. They’re nothing but fucking liars.”
“FUCK,” Colton growls, looking over the camera before dropping it to the ground and crushing it the same way I had. He glances across at Spencer. “Give me that fucking list.”
My phone is tossed across the room again and Colton snatches it out of the air as simply as if he was swatting a fly. He scans over it before throwing the phone to Charlie and looking between the two boys. “You two finish down here. I’ll head upstairs with Ocean.”
They nod and just like that, we all clear out of the den.
With the boys’ help, the house was cleared within an hour but it wasn’t exactly the easiest task. Colton took over searching his sisters’ and mom’s room and only ended up with arguments and white lies. Luckily they all quickly left after that and Colton was able to sweep through their rooms properly.
My mood hasn’t begun to calm down and sensing that, both Spencer and Charlie are quick to make excuses as to why they need to leave. They give hasty goodbyes and are out the door within mere seconds, knowing just how wicked I can be when needed.
I’m left with Colton in the kitchen as I sit upon the counter silently raging about my lack of privacy, but I can't deny the relief that pours through me knowing Nic no longer has eyes on us. Colton steps out of the secret bar behind the kitchen with a glass tumbler filled with who the hell knows what and instantly hands it over. “Here,” he says with a deep grumble. “This’ll help take the edge off.”
I take the glass from him and look down at the clear liquid before bringing it to my lips and throwing back the whole glass. My face scrunches with the burn and I choke back on it, having absolutely no idea what I just drank.
“Woah, Jade,” Colton chuckles. “You’re supposed to sip it. This shit will fuck you up.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Excellent. Hit me with another.”
Colton ignores my comment and moves into me with a hand on either side of my thighs, caging me in on the counter. “Are you alright?”
I shake my head, feeling his closeness somehow pulling that rage out of me. “No, I’m so freaking angry. I can’t understand how he could do that to me? He was supposed to be my best friend but every single step of the way, he’s done something to betray my trust.”
Colton’s arms wrap around me and he holds me tightly to his chest. “It’s okay,” he murmurs. “I’m going to get a security team to come through and sweep the property properly. You won't have to worry about it anymore.”
I nod into his chest, hating how much this has destroyed me. It’s like the final nail in the coffin. Maybe it hurts more because seconds before that, I thought I had my friend back. We were nearly there. I was so close to starting to forgive, but the guy just keeps fucking up. How can he expect me to ever move on from this?
“So, I take it things didn't go so well in Breakers Flats?”
I pull back and meet his eyes, quickly realizing that if there's going to be a right time to tell him about Nic being behind the DeCarlo attack, that it would be now, but I find myself hesitating. If I was to tell Colton, it would be a war. He vowed that he would get revenge for the attack and if he knew that Nic was behind it all, he’d act out against him and I have absolutely no idea how far he would go.
Do I lie to the man that I’m falling in love with?
If Colton knew and hurt Nic, or Nic retaliated and hurt Colton … I don’t know where that would leave me. Things would never be the same again. If I tell, I’m going to lose either one or both of them permanently and it’s not a risk I can take.
I shouldn’t want to protect Nic. I should be throwing him under the bus and making him pay for what he did, but I find myself holding back. Colton is my future. I know it with one hundred percent certainty, but I can't find it within myself to let go of Nic or the Widows, not yet at least.
I find myself shrugging, feeling the heaviest kind of guilt falling down on my shoulders and slowly tearing me apart from the inside. “See, that’s just the thing,” I tell him, deciding that I need to give him at least a little bit of truth. “It was going great. Nic and I talked things through and I thought we were just about to get back on track and find that common ground again when everything went south. We talked everything through and it was so freaking heavy but we needed it, and then I was ready to call the boys and make things right with them when Nic came with another apology and slipped up about the cameras. I just … it was the final straw.”
Colton pulls me in again and I find myself staring down at the ground. I’ve never felt so damn pathetic. I’ve always made a point of being honest, and although I didn't exactly lie, I evaded the trut
h and to me, that’s just as guilty.
“Come on,” he tells me, pulling me off the counter and dragging me out of the kitchen. “I found some things while going through my sister’s room that I think will cheer you up.” My brows furrow as I look up at him in confusion. “It’s their big plans to take you down this week at school. They’re not too skilled in the art of takedowns and actually wrote this shit out like a schedule.”
“Are you kidding? Everyone knows you keep that shit locked up tightly inside your head.”
“Yeah,” he laughs. “I never claimed they were smart.”
I shake my head as he pulls me up the stairs towards Cora’s bedroom and I laugh as he pushes open the door. They’ve only been home a week and already she’s transformed her old bedroom into a Cora shrine. There are selfie pictures covering the wall, everything pink and fluffy, there’s a whole wall dedicated to her jewelry with a rotating case for her diamonds. “This shit is insane,” I grumble. “These girls have too much money.”
“I know,” he grumbles.
“Like you’re one to talk. I’ve seen your Rolex rotisserie hiding in your closet.”
A smirk pulls at his lips as he walks deeper into her room and grabs the papers off her desk. He instantly hands them over and I look down at them with a laugh. The page is titled ‘Ocean Takedown’ in pretty cursive writing with dot points the whole way down the sheet. “You’ve got to be kidding,” I grumble. “Your sisters need a hobby.”
Colton scoffs his agreement and drops down onto the edge of Cora’s bed as I read over their ridiculous little plans, knowing damn well that I have an epic response for each and every one of them. I find myself glancing up at Colton with a small frown. “You really don’t care that I’m practically at war with your sisters?”
He shakes his head. “My sisters are bitches and they’re very quickly turning into my mom. They need to be knocked down a few steps and realize that they can’t keep getting away with this behavior. One day, it’s going to get them in big fucking trouble that money isn’t going to get them out of. So, I figure it’s best to learn their lesson now rather than end up in a women’s prison in ten years.”
Barbie B*tch: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 3) Page 11
