Dirty Lie: A High School Bully Romance (Forrest Grove Academy Book 1)

by K. Walker

  Looking in the rearview mirror, I could see Todd blushing. While he was clearly okay with me knowing about their relationship, I guessed he wasn't as comfortable about sharing the more personal details as Sebastian was.

  The two of them started bickering in the backseat, and I tuned most of it out, too busy thinking about the party. Should I have taken Wes up on his offer? Or had it not really been an actual offer? Had he just been screwing with me, another way for him to be an asshole?

  By the time I got back to the house, my head was a mess. Sebastian and Todd went up to his room, but I went to the library instead, wanting to spend some time along, trying to get my head on straight again.

  There was no denying the attraction I'd had for all three of the guys, no matter how badly I wanted to pretend it didn't exist. But, Christ, they were so freaking hot it was hard not to want them, specifically Wes.

  I considered calling Zack, seeing if he wanted to do something tonight. That would certainly be one way to get back at Wes. He had been annoyed at me just for talking to the guy. I could only imagine how pissed he would have been if I went on an actual date with him.

  But no, I’d had enough drama for one night. I would save Zack for another time when I wasn’t so tired of everything.

  I was wandering around the library, looking at everything, when I noticed a photo on the wall. It was easy to spot Lucas, front and center. He still looked much the same, though a good few years younger. The woman next to him was definitely his ex-wife, Alice. She had a toddler in her arms, and something about the broad grin on his face told me it was definitely Sebastian, maybe two years old? On either side of her were two other boys, Chuck and Wes, wearing matching smirks.

  But as adorable as it was seeing the Cabot brothers as little kids, it was the man standing on the other side of Lucas that caught my attention. Tall, with dark tanned skin and jet black hair, he looked to be maybe ten years older than Lucas.

  I pulled the picture off the wall, getting a closer look at it as my heart raced. Was that him? Was that my father? He matched the way Mom had described him, though I had always chalked up her claims of him being "tall, dark, and handsome" as artistic liberty. Apparently not though.

  I flipped the frame over and undid the small clasps holding it together. When I slid the photo out, just as I had expected, there was writing on the back. Neat flowing script listed everyone's names, including the ages of the boys. As I had guessed, Sebastian was two, Wes five, and Chuck seven. Which meant this photo was from thirteen years ago.

  But that didn't make sense. Lucas had said my father had died not long after I was born. If that'd been true, there was no way he would have been alive in this photo.

  The name Carter King was right there on it, though. Lucas had never told me my father's last name, but I knew Carter was his first name. This had to be him.

  So why had Lucas lied to me about when he had died? If this really was him in the photo, then I would have been at least five or so when he died, which is a far cry from having just been born.

  As if my head wasn't already a mess, now I had more crap spinning around inside it. With a sigh, I put the photo back into the frame and went to put it where I had found it. I froze though, curiosity getting the better of me.

  Instead of putting it back, I headed downstairs to Lucas's office. If he was home, that was where he would be. Maybe it was because I was still riding the high from the party, but I wanted to know the truth. I wanted to know why he felt the need to lie to me about when my father died.

  Before I got to the office, though, Kathy walked out of it. She froze and stared at me, frowning. "Oh, it's you. I was hoping Lucas was home."

  "He's not here?" I asked, feeling my heart sink. If he wasn't home, then I wasn't going to be able to get the answers I needed. Damn it!

  Kathy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Isn't that what I just said? No, some big emergency came up at work and he rushed off, leaving me here all alone."

  Boo fucking hoo, I thought sarcastically. Like it was the end of the world for her boyfriend to have to go into work late one night and not spend it doting over her. Never mind that his job paid for the lavish lifestyle she seemed keen on living up.

  But if Lucas wasn't home, why was she down here? Normally she would have been out by the pool, having a glass of wine. Or she'd have gone out with her allusive girlfriends that I had heard so much about but never once seen.

  "Then what were you doing in his office?" Hands-on my hips, I fixed her with a gaze. I knew Wes and Chuck didn't trust her, even if Lucas did. What reason could she have for snooping around his office when he wasn't around?

  "If you must know, I was double-checking the dates on the tickets he got us to go to Paris next month." She smirked at me, standing with her shoulders a bit straighter. "Just me and him on a romantic trip in the sexiest city in the world."

  "Lucky you," I said dryly. Did she really think I was interested in Lucas that way? Sure, he was handsome and all, but I was not the kind of girl who wanted an older guy in bed. Just because I didn't have a real father growing up didn't mean I had a daddy kink.

  Kathy batted her eyes at me, then brushed passed me as if I was worth less than the dirt on her shoes. I really had no idea what her problem was. I'd shown literally no romantic interest in Lucas, and I didn't plan to. But if she was going to be that insecure, that was her problem.

  I stepped into Lucas's office, looking around. Part of me wanted to plop down in the chair in front of his desk and wait for him to get back, but that seemed silly. It was better to go back to my room and just wait to talk to him another time. If he was still out this late, God only knew what time he'd end up getting back.

  Then I noticed something odd. There was a family portrait behind his desk that was hanging awkwardly. When I walked over to it, I could see why. It was there to hide a wall safe behind it. It was askew because the safe it was covering was open.

  That didn't seem like something Lucas would've done. After all, what's the point in having a safe hidden if you're not even going to close it?

  I pulled the door open and peered into it. The first thing I noticed was the manilla folder right on top, the name Carter King written as a label. My heart pounded, and I pulled the folder out. I knew it wasn't any of my business, but damn it, I wanted to know more about my father.

  And since he wasn't around to tell me the truth, I would just have to find it out myself.

  The first thing in the folder was a piece of paper folded over. When I opened it, I saw it was a letter to Lucas, telling him about my mother and me. Telling him where to find me and asking him to keep an eye on me for him. The date on the letter was a couple of months after I was born.

  If Lucas's lie at dinner the other night was to be believed, this would've been right around the time he had died, but that was contradicted by the photo of him I'd found.

  Underneath the letter was a document that made my heart pound. It was a copy of Carter King's will, dated almost eleven years ago. Five years after Lucas had told me he had died.

  I flipped through the will, scanning over it. Most of it was written in legal mumbo jumbo that my brain was too fried to decipher. But I did see my name mentioned multiple times, despite Lucas telling me my father hadn't left me anything.

  He was definitely lying to me. I just didn't know why.

  Chapter 28

  The sound of the front door closing made me jump. I froze in place for a moment as my heart threatened to explode. Then, I quickly stuffed all the papers back into the folder and slid it into the safe. I snagged the picture from the library, and walked toward the office door, peering out into the hall.

  "Seriously, man, why do you have to be such a freaking douche to her?" Chuck's deep voice carried easily through the house.

  "Whatever. Why are you playing the nice fucking guy?” Wes retorted.

  “Just because you've got a stick up your ass doesn't mean I have to. I'm tired of Seb asking me what's going on with you.
Can't you be nice to her for five freaking seconds? Christ. I can only keep lying to Seb for so long. He's not stupid, you know."

  Whatever was said after that, I didn't hear. They were heading upstairs, their voices getting quieter. Knowing full well they were talking about me, I rushed down the hall as quickly as I could, being careful not to make any sounds.

  "You sure about going out tonight?" Chuck asked. His voice was still low compared to earlier, but as I followed them upstairs, I could still make out their conversation.

  "Yeah. I need to let off some steam."

  "That wasn't what you were doing at the party?" The sarcasm in Chuck's voice almost made me snicker since I knew that was exactly what Wes had been doing at the party before I had left. I'm sure that room had gotten quite steamy before I'd even made it back downstairs!

  "Fuck off," Wes said in a teasing voice. Whatever they'd been arguing about before seemed to have faded away. "You got the cash or what? You don't have to go if you're too chicken."

  "Fuck you, man. I'm in. And just for that, I'm gonna take every damned penny from your bitch ass tonight."

  Frowning, I wondered what they were going on about. Thankfully, when they got to the third floor, they continued down the hall into Chuck's room, and I was able to slip into mine. I stashed the photo under the bed, deciding not to put it back in the library. I didn't want to let it get very far out of my sight until I knew what the hell was going on with Lucas and my father.

  Sneaking back down the hall, I peeked into Chuck's room. They were standing in front of his desk, one of the top drawers open. Chuck had a stash of cash in his hand and seemed to be counting it. My eyes went wide as I stared at the money.

  Christ, the only time I had seen that much money in one place was at JPs when he'd been counting each day's take. And he never kept it on hand for long. Once it was all counted, either him or Chrissi took it off sight to be kept somewhere safe.

  Did Chuck really just have all that cash stuffed in his desk drawer?

  "Can't wait to clean you out tonight," Wes said with a grin. "It's just not the same when you're not there."

  Gambling, I realized. They were planning on going out gambling. Slowly, the gears in my mind started to click into place. I had no idea what was going on with Lucas, nor what might happen in the future. If I was going to be prepared, then I'd have to have some cash on hand.

  What better way to get cash quickly than win it from a bunch of dumb rich kids with more money than they know what do with?

  "Going somewhere?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe.

  Both of them jumped. When they turned to face me, Chuck at least had the grace to look slightly embarrassed for being caught. Wes, however, just glared at me. "What do you want?" he asked. Then, he smirked. "If you're here about the offer from earlier, you're a bit late for that."

  I rolled my eyes, pretending to gag. "Sorry, I don't go for man-whores like you and your buddies. However, if you guys are planning on going out gambling. I want in."

  They exchanged looks, some kind of silent communication going on between the two of them. When they faced me again, they were both frowning. "Seriously?" Wes asked. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, doing his best to look intimidating. Unfortunately for him, even with his size, it was hard to be intimidated after spending so long with JP and his boys. "Do you even know how to play poker?"

  Now, I really grinned. If all the guys at this little secret game of theirs were bringing in as much cash as Chuck was, then I was going to have more than enough for an emergency fund by the end of the night. "I think I remember the rules. Why, you afraid you might get beaten by a girl?"

  Wes opened his mouth to say something, but Chuck put a hand on his shoulder. Surprisingly, that was enough to silence the middle brother. "Buy in's a minimum of five hundred. You got that much in cash?"

  It would take pretty much every penny I had from the bit Mom had in her purse the night she died and the money I'd earned working with JP, but it was doable. When I nodded, Chuck smirked.

  "Then, let's go play some cards."

  We pulled up outside of a club, the music from inside the building loud enough to be heard from the parking lot. I followed the guys inside, not sure why we would be at a club to play poker. They must’ve been well known here since the bouncer had just nodded at them and let them through.

  They led me through the crowd of people to a door near the back. Another bouncer stood there. He nodded at Wes and Chuck, then eyed me. It wasn’t until Chuck put a hand on my shoulder that he nodded at me as well, and then opened the door, showing a stairwell leading down to a basement.

  “Invite only,” Chuck whispered into my ear as we headed down the stairs. “No one gets in without being vouched for by at least one other member, usually two. I’d be careful, though. Everyone here is serious about their poker.”

  “Thanks for the warning.” I looked over my shoulder and winked at him. I had at least one advantage over these rich kids. Money was disposable to them. To me, it was the difference between life and death.

  I wasn’t going down easily.

  The music from the club faded away by the time we reached another door. When Wes opened it, there was already a group of guys in there. I recognized most of them from school, but there were a few others I hadn’t seen before.

  I should've known Hunter and Jaxson would be there. Wherever Wes went, those two usually weren't far behind, as evidenced by their little orgy earlier. I'd known about them all sleeping around, but no one had ever mentioned them all getting in on it together, which made me wonder how much that happened.

  I forced myself not to think about it, though. If I wanted to win some money tonight, I had to stay focused on the task at hand. No doubt, they'd all look down on me for being a woman, which was a point in my favor. Plus, I was just some poor girl from the ghetto. I couldn't possibly be any good at poker—another point in my favor.

  If I was careful, I would soon be playing these guys like fiddles.

  Everyone had drinks, a couple already a bit buzzed. That was just fine with me, though. The more they had to drink, the easier it would be to win every penny they had.

  Jaxson and Hunter insisted I sit between the two of them, which earned all three of us a glare from Wes. Honestly, I'd have rather sat somewhere else, but I liked annoying Wes and wasn't gonna pass up a chance to drive him bonkers again.

  There were a half dozen other guys around the large table, including Jesse, who grinned when I sat down. Everyone else looked at me with raised eyebrows. They all looked over at Wes, who just shrugged. That must’ve been good enough for them as they all turned back to me and smirked, no doubt assuming I would be an easy mark.

  Their smirks went away after the first round when I raked the small starting pot my way. Hunter and Jaxson laughed, though, clearly enjoying the sight of everyone getting their asses kicked by the tiny girl at the table.

  Chuck and Jesse didn't seem to mind either, no more than they'd have minded losing to anyone else anyway.

  Wes, on the other hand, looked like he might have an aneurysm at any moment. Each time I won another hand, he'd grit his teeth even harder. I just kept smiling at him and batting my eyelashes. No doubt, he was thoroughly regretting letting me come along with them as I raked in more and more of the money the guys kept throwing out onto the table.

  That or he was just annoyed at the way Hunter and Jaxson kept flirting with me. Either way, I was having more fun than I’d had in a very long time.

  I lost a couple of rounds here and there, but I always knew when to fold to keep myself from blowing more than I had to. But, by the end of the night, an overwhelming amount of the money was stacked up in front of me, and I grinned at the guys as they collected what little they had left.

  Jaxson and Hunter helped me count up my winnings, and even I was surprised how much was there. I'd won over ten grand in the two hours we were there. "Damn, girl, I didn't know you were that good at poker," Hunter said, noddin
g in approval as he grinned at me.

  "Beginners luck," Wes grumbled, still looking like I'd pissed in his Cheerios.

  I batted my eyes at him, then shrugged. "We'll find out the next time we play, won't we?" I teased, which earned hoots from the other guys still around.

  Wes looked like he wanted to strangle me right then. Chuck patted him on the back and grinned. "She did warn you, I believe. Maybe next time you'll listen." Looking over at me, he winked. "Want me to help you carry your winnings to the car?"

  Hunter and Jaxson immediately jumped up, offering the same thing, but I turned them down, letting Chuck help. At least he wasn't trying to get into my pants, as far as I could tell.

  Besides, it was fun watching them all suffer.

  Chapter 29

  "Thanks for driving us," Sebastian said from the back seat, Todd nodding his agreement. Ever since I had gotten my own car, I'd become their personal driver. I wasn't sure if they liked riding with me because of the kickass car, because I didn't mind them cuddling, or just because Sebastian needed a break from his older brother.

  Either way, I couldn't say no to the kid. He was like a little lost puppy, just begging for affection. Never mind that he had the mind of a perverted dog whenever the wrestling team was down at the pool and he could ogle them from the windows upstairs, which I had caught him doing a couple more times.

  It had been almost a month since I'd come to stay with Lucas and the Cabots. Things had settled into a mostly normal routine between us. Even Wes had seemingly gotten used to having me around. He didn't mind making a piggish comment when Lucas or Chuck wasn't around to overhear, but he didn't go out of his way to be a dickbag anymore, at least.

  I still hadn't gotten up the courage to ask Lucas about my father again. The picture of him was still stashed under my bed in the old backpack from JP, along with all the cash I'd been winning at Wes's little poker nights. I was pretty sure those poker nights had gone a long way in Wes's changing behavior since it'd become pretty obvious I was just damned good at poker and it wasn't just beginners' luck.