Red: Fiery Finale (Spectrum Series Book 8)

by Allison White

  Thirty minutes into the movie Jurassic Park, I lean over to him and comment on the lack of her presence. “Dude, did she stand you up? This is so unlike her.”

  “She said she got held up helping Ian—he’s way hungover, and she doesn’t have the heart to just leave him,” he whispers, and I smile knowingly. “Now shut the hell up and watch the movie. He’s about to get eaten.” He points to the screen. I begrudgingly look toward the screen, partially upset that she’s actually taking care of that piece of shit. I don’t have any evidence whatsoever, but I swear he was there That Night—I just wish I could prove it…

  Another half an hour rolls by pretty slowly. A ginormous dinosaur is chasing the main character, and everyone’s screaming at him to run faster; everyone is having a jolly time…except me. I try not to let her overthrow me, but Red pops onto my mind, her hands on my thighs, touching me when we were on our movie date. We didn’t even watch the movie, just hooked up in the back of the theater like a couple of teenagers.

  A smile takes up my face as I remember eating her chocolate-infused popcorn, held her hand as we walked up to the theater. How she paid before I could even take out my wallet and teased about my slowness and stuck out her tongue. And when those memories aren’t enough to melt my heart, moments of us watching movies at home fill my head, and I have to talk to her.

  I want her to explain to me the whole secret brother, deal with my father thing. I need all of the details and reasons why she would risk destroying what we had. The look of pure heartbreak and guilt on her face as I backed out of my parents’ driveway elicits tears. I quickly text her, asking for her to come down to the media room. I need to see her.

  As I’m pressing send, I hear a phone pinging and realize she’s already here. The screen goes black. The room descends in booing and throwing popcorn at the screen, and professors scramble to fix the issue. But they apparently find none as they tap the computer furiously.

  “Ten bucks says a sex tape will come on instead,” Ty sneers with a smirk beside me. Even in the dark I can see his perverted mind preparing for the show. I smack the back of his head. “Um, ow!” he exclaims.

  Instead of making noises like my peers, I sit up, ready to find my Red. I peer into the middle section of the large room where I heard the ping, squinting and scoping for her in the dark. I know I won’t find her like this, I’ll have to text her to meet me outside, but I don’t have to. A bright white light splashes across the room, and I find her. But she’s facing the screen, cupping her mouth with wide, terrified eyes.

  What is she looking at?

  “Dude…you might wanna…” Ty tugs on my sleeve.

  “Look…” Mike finishes, his finger pointing up front.

  Finally, I turn in my seat and gasp. There’s a picture of mugshots flashing across the screen and reports of DUI’s and arrests—they’re all of Red. As if the image of her smirking as she holds up a black board with her name in bold letters isn’t enough, the words in massive red letters splash across her now x’ed-out eyes:

  STILL TRUST HER?

  The entire room buzzes with hushed whispers, and some even fucking laugh as if this is a comedy show! Eyes find their way to Red, who is standing up and looking around. Majesty stands up and is speaking to her, but I can’t hear over the noise and laughter.

  “Red,” I whisper, stumbling over Mike’s legs and the other ten people in this row.

  Her head snaps to me as if she heard me clear as day…and she runs. Runs right past my row and out the metal doors.

  “Red!” I scream after her and scramble out of the row. I nearly fall and bust my ass as I run up the incline toward the back doors. More hushed whispers and people throwing daggers at my back as I run after her.

  Light nearly blinds me as I burst out of the metal door. I look right then left for her and find her storming across the nearly empty quad. “Red!” I call out, and she picks up speed, tries to run away from me. I curse under my breath before sprinting. I reach her in a few seconds and pull her into my chest.

  “No! L-let go of me!” she cries and yanks away from me. Her eyes are glossy, and her cheeks are heating up with red. I shake my head and gently pull her into my chest. I rub her back and sway her side to side in an attempt to soothe her. “Who the fuck did that?”

  “I don’t know…but I promise you, I will not stop searching until I find that motherfucker, and I will ruin him,” I grit out. And I mean it—every syllable. I will hurt anyone who dares hurt her. She doesn’t deserve it. Even if she’s a vault with secrets slowly leaking out.

  We hug for a long time, but I don’t mind. Not even when my arms grow heavy and she hugs tighter. I enjoy her natural body warmth spreading through me in waves, the heavy scent of her filling my senses. I could stand here like this for an eternity and never get tired of her.

  “Your dad was supposed to help get Link off my back, money-wise,” she says so softly, I almost don’t hear her whisper against my chest.

  “What?” I pull back and look at her. She has her eyes screwed tightly shut, too afraid or ashamed to look me in the eyes.

  “Your dad and his associates have been working with Link’s crew and other gangs for years. That’s how I know—how I knew Ellis was your brother. And—and I went to your father, not just for the job, but to get him to pay off Link. He would have killed me if he didn’t get what he wanted. I’m sorry, but I didn’t want any of this to happen.”

  I gape for words, and she begins to cry in my chest, probably taking my shocked silence for anger. But I’m not angry; I’m just shocked. My father’s been working with Link this whole time? And other gangs? What the fuck? What for? Security or something? I don’t understand. He can go to jail if he’s as corrupt as she says he is. Why would he risk that if he cares about his businesses so much?

  “You probably think I just used you and that I’m a horrible fucking person. Well, I am.” She pulls back and nods furiously, licking away the tears on her lips. Pain and guilt and regret seep into her words as she shakily peels her arms from me. “I get it if you don’t want to be with me anymore. I’ll—I’ll leave you.”

  My heart is begging for me to think, but my brain’s through with the BS of lies and secrets and secret-siblings that I don’t think to do anything but grab her hands and pull her close to me, then cup her wet cheeks. They flush under my palms.

  I stare into her eyes for a long time. I don’t know what I’m looking for, or if I’m even searching for anything…but I just stare, and what stares back is so overwhelmingly passionate and warm, I want to burrow in it and wear it everywhere I go—it’s love. Undeniable, pure, riveting love.

  “No,” I say softly.

  “No?” Her voice is small; it makes me smile and repeat myself.

  “No.” I shake my head, and my heart quivers in anticipation as I lean down. “I’m not letting you get away so easily, Red Sylvetti. I understood what you did, and I’m not mad.”

  “You aren’t?” She stares at my lips.

  “No. I would have done the same to save you. I just wish you would have told me…” I trail off, and her eyes drop, filled with guilt. Too much that it pierces my heart. I tilt her head up to meet my eyes and slight smile. “But it’ll take a lot more to drive me away…I want you, Red. I want you bad.”

  She breaks into a beaming smile, and I can’t not mimic her. But instead of replying, she leans on her toes and brings our lips in the kiss of our lives. Biting, teasing, just pressing, and a whole lot of smiling, I push against that door that once shut me out and stumble inside. I find her, and she’s relieved as if she’s been waiting her whole life for me. Well, I say, taking her in my arms, I’ve been waiting too.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  One of the first things students do when the school year ends is go to the beach. Or go to an amusement park. Or both, all the fun activities they planned for summer vacation jam packed in one, too high on exhilaration from being free from the stress-prison that is college. Excitement radiates fro
m every girl showing skin and every guy showing muscles they trained all winter for.

  Me?

  Oh, I’m just sitting across from the brother I never knew I had. I never in a million years thought I’d be doing this, with him of all people. I would have been less shocked with Grey being my brother…actually, no thank you. I take that back. He’s a difficult enough guy to get around without him being related to me; I wouldn’t survive a day if he was my secret brother.

  I just never thought my father would be so stupid as to cheat with one of my mother’s friends. Ever the cold woman she is, she keeps a tight-knit group of friends. Friends that apparently have an affair with other friend’s husbands. I’m just praying he stopped at Marilyn. I wouldn’t be able to deal if Liv was my half-sister…no, no, he assured me Marilyn was the only affair he had. Unless he lied to me, which, looking at my brother looking as uncomfortable as me, wouldn’t be much of a surprise.

  “So,” we both say at the same time, then laugh. This is so weird, we both agree. I gesture for him to go first. I need a few moments to comprehend this. He’s more confident than I am, always has been.

  “Obviously this is going to take a while getting used to, but we were friends before. So maybe there won’t be much of a difference,” he says uncertainly with a raise of his shoulders.

  “No doubt about that, brother.” I smirk to annoy him, and his hand moves to his sandy brown hair, flushing bright pink. “Only thing I’m doubting are our parents. I mean, your mother. My father—our father—he is a douche.” It’s my turn to flush. It is too weird correcting myself to share my father; I grew up totally alone, seemingly alone with his devilish ways. At least I can share that part about him.

  “What do you mean?” He frowns and sits up in the woven wicker chair. I look around at the scenery around us: we’re on a boardwalk on the closest beach. I spot a few classmates and lacrosse teammates down on the white sand beach to my right, playing volleyball. Then, I revert my gaze to my half-brother.

  That sure won’t get easier to say…

  “He’s been dealing with some rather…dangerous people,” I whisper, but he doesn’t understand quite. I look around anxiously; I will not be arrested because I know something this illegal. “People in the gang, Ellis. Wouldn’t be surprised if it went even higher—to the mob.” My stomach rumbles and tightens at the thought. My father is a foolish man getting caught up in a world he doesn’t even understand. If he disrespects or insults anyone of higher power in either category, they won’t hesitate to kill him and his family, i.e.: me, my mother, and my half-brother, Ellis.

  He’s quiet, rubbing his angular jaw. A patch of dark hair runs along his cheeks, and his gray eyes glitter with stoic curiosity, planning. “That will obviously not end well. Have you tried talking sense into him?”

  I scoff and run a hand over my hair. “Talking to him is like talking to a brick wall, but more hard-headed. He’ll learn his lesson, though, and not in a way he can easily fix with money and persuasion.” I bet my father hasn’t stepped foot in a prison, but he will and much more if he continues to play with fire. “He’s already being sought by the FBI.” The news came to me not too long after the failed gala dinner.

  Ellis nods tentatively, steepling his hands on his stomach. “How do you feel about us being brothers, though? In all seriousness.”

  “All seriousness?” I raise my eyebrows.

  He nods, and his intense eyes shift, cracking his intense exterior. “Yes.”

  I lick my lips and lean forward in my chair, folding my hands under my chin. “I think my dad does a horrible job of pulling out…”

  It’s quiet for moments, just the warm wind caressing my exposed arms in my tropical button-down shirt popped open all the way down, cargo shorts hanging on my hips. I wiggle my toes and bite my lip. I hope he knows I’m joking, praying he got my sense of humor, even though it makes no sense for him to get that trait from me.

  Thankfully, his face splits into a smile, and he nudges my foot under the table. “You bastard,” he mutters against his long fingers. I nudge him back, and he drops his hand. His lengthy hair falls across his light gray eyes, and I bust into a huge fit of laughter.

  “I was just fucking with you. I’m totally fine with it, not that I have any say in it, of course. You’re already here, and as far as I know, there aren’t any receipts.” Again, I’m joking. And again, he grins but kicks me harder this time. “Ouch! Enough with the kicking, Christian Ronaldo.”

  “Who?” he says with furrowed brows.

  I laugh because he has to be totally joking. “Man, quit messing around, and let’s go. Our ladies are waiting for us down by the water.” I push back my chair, creating a soft screeching sound. A lady wearing a white floppy hat and holding a tiny pink baby smiles as she takes our spot.

  “I’m being serious,” he admits by my side as we jog down the steps toward the beach. There are tanned stomachs and beach-balls as far as the eye can see.

  I stop walking across the hot sand, and he looks back at me. “If there are any conditions to us being related, it’s that: you have to at least know five athletes. If you do not agree to the terms, it’s bye-bye, man.”

  “I’m not saying I don’t know athletes. I just don’t watch them religiously.” He shrugs.

  “All right, name me a few,” I say and look over at him. He tries to look away quickly and hide it, but I definitely saw the genuine soft smile on his lips. He’s as pumped to have a brother as me. I’ve always wanted someone to talk to about things, not just sports, but all the things. I’ve been so alone my whole life, I never knew how it really feels to have such a bonded relationship.

  On our leisure walk toward our girls—my Red, obvi, and his girlfriend Kate of one year—we spout off favorite athletes. My favorites include Jackie Robinson, Peyton Manning, Michael Jordan, and many more. If I listed them all, it would be sunset, and it’s only two in the afternoon.

  His are okay, not impressive taste if I say so myself, but he has an excuse: he got robbed of the athleticism gene. So I can’t really criticize the guy, until I asked him an either or question.

  “Lebron James or Michael Jordan?” I ask and lift my sunglasses to really get a look at him. This question just may make or break our relationship as brothers.

  His flitted gaze and crooked smile make my chest warm, and I breathe out a betrayed gasp.

  “Don’t you say it,” I warn.

  He cracks a smile and drawls, “Lebron James.”

  “Oh! Gosh!” I snap, pushing him away from me like a lover scorned. “I can’t—I just cannot look at you the same anymore. You have…you’ve really let me down, Ellis Archer—” My breath catches in my throat at his last name, and I look to the ground, shove my awkward hands into my swimming trunks.

  “Don’t stop shunning me.” He laughs. “Seriously. I’m keeping my father’s name.”

  “Even though he beat you up?” I regret my foot flying into my mouth. I begin to apologetically and frantically retract my insensitive words, but he smiles reassuringly and claps a hand on my shoulder.

  “Don’t feel bad. I dealt with him for my whole life—he has a temper—I always knew he did. But I managed through it then, and I will now. He may have been a douche, but he’s the only father I’ve ever known.” He pauses and stares at the ground contemplatively. I can almost see the words running through his mind. “But I can’t just abandon my mother.” He lifts his eyes and smiles softly. “And I’m staying an Archer. Gotta have the name to take over his company, anyway.”

  “You’re gonna do that…for him?” I swallow. Hard.

  “Yeah.” He nods, furrowing his brows, frowning at me. “You aren’t doing the same for your—” He pauses, and his fair cheeks grow red in color. I smile. He’s finding it hard to correct himself too. Ha. “Our father.”

  I shrug and flip my glasses down. “No, it’s not my thing.” I nudge his shoulder, smirking playfully. Hopefully. “Maybe you can take over for me? Run the two companies
.” Am I seriously suggesting this? Is it even possible? What about our father’s will and other important documents and stuff?

  He’s silent, so I look over at his thoughtful frown. “I don’t know if it’s possible.”

  “But if it is…” I inquire in a sorta sing-song tone. I even shimmy my shoulders. He laughs, and I feel a sense so strong, so brotherly, I break into a beaming grin.

  “We’ll see…” he says so vaguely, I want to punch him. But I don’t. I nudge him, and he stumbles into a girl holding an ice cream cone. Clad in tight shorts and a crop top, she twirls her blonde hair, and I’m a rolling stone of laughter as he shyly turns her down and runs after me.

  “Ah! Stop! Red, save me!” I break into a jog down the beach. I hurdle over coolers, almost run through a sand castle, and all but dodge a group of flirty girls dressed scantily in my pursuit of the one thing that makes every beat of my heart worth it—my Red. My girl. My love.

  She’s sun-bathing, with golden-kissed skin, and earplugs in her ears. I drop to my knees and lay on my stomach. God, she is a freaking goddess, I think hungrily with a swipe of my tongue as I take in the tiny red bikini I adore, spread over her round ass and showing off her soft skin.

  Ellis stops in front of me, panting like he lost every breath he had for his dying one. Again, he lacks the athleticism trait—poor guy. “Spare me,” I plead jokingly as he positions his foot in the sand, ready to spatter me with the grainy stuff.

  “Ellis,” Kate, his girlfriend, scolds, twirling her chestnut hair. Her brown skin seems to glitter as she stands from her yellow fold-out chair. A charming smile splashes across her skin as she cups his face and mutters, “Why don’t we go play in the ocean instead of playing like children, hmmm?”

  “But he started it!” he whines, pointing a finger at me.

  I laugh and stick my tongue out at him, and she catches me. I clear my throat and look away, feigning innocence. I hear her mutter something I shouldn’t be straining to hear. His eyes light up, and I smirk as he takes her hand and guides her down to the ocean. I watch them walk into it an appropriate amount then turn back to my girl.