He has a cut on the right cheek. His bottom lip is bleeding, and he’s got a big smile on his face as he looks up at me. It’s the first real smile I’ve ever seen from him. And even though I know how evil he can be, he looks absolutely gorgeous.
“You think you’ve got me?” The amusement in his voice lets me know he’s indulging me.
I lick my lips. “I’m the one on top.”
He chuckles softly. He pushes his arms out wide, and it forces me to release his wrists. Before I can plant them by his head and catch myself from falling, his hands are on my face, and he flips us over and pins me down.
“We need to work on your speed.”
“We need to work on your attitude,” I tell him.
“Oh, yeah?” he asks, arching a dark brow. That smile still on his face. It’s so bright it’s blinding. It almost makes me forget all the shit he’s done to me. “Why do you say that?”
“’Cause I’ve known you for three weeks, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen you really smile.”
It drops off his face like he didn’t know it was there. And just like all the other times, he places that mask on that hides him from the world. I knew he’d do that. But I wanted him to know that I noticed it.
I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips. Letting him know his fuck you look doesn’t intimidate me anymore.
I’ve got you, Cole Reynolds.
His hands are on the grass on either side of my head, holding himself up. “I’ll fight you, Cole. I’ll play this game even though I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. But I dare you to smile for me. I dare you to show me something that nobody else sees.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
COLE
I STAND AT the clubhouse with my arms crossed over my chest and wearing a scowl on my face. Her words from earlier in the cemetery gnaw at me. She fought. She showed me she has a little more in her. But then she had to go and ruin it by pointing out that I was smiling. That I, for once, was genuinely happy for a second. Nothing else mattered. It instantly pissed me off.
She’s getting to me. Not good.
I shouldn’t care. Actually, I should call the whole thing off. Call Bruce and tell him to send her ass back to her mom’s. That would be the smart thing to do. She’s clouding my head, and I need to think clearly. One fucking sentence was all it took to twist my mind. I dare you to show me something that nobody else sees.
What the fuck is that? What does she want to see? There’s only me. The hate. The rage. The fuckups. I’ve got nothing else to show.
Shane walks in and sits down on the couch next to Austin. She is texting on her phone. We haven’t spoken since that moment in the cemetery three hours ago. After she dared me, I got up and walked back to the house, leaving her lying on the ground. Then I got in my car and left. Shane sent a mass text an hour later that we all needed to meet. I sent her a text to drive yourself. She didn’t respond, but I knew she read it.
“Where the fuck is Deke?” I snap. The time he is spending with Becky is really getting annoying.
“On his way,” Kellan answers. I don’t miss his eyes gliding over Austin. She avoids looking in his direction.
“Fuck! That man gets some pussy, and everything else goes to shit,” I snap.
Just then, the door opens and in he walks. A smile on his face and licking his lips as if they were just between Becky’s legs. “Let’s get this over with.” He rubs his hands together. “I’ve got plans.”
Shane stands up and walks over to the table, not wasting another second. He places a laptop on it.
“Whose is this?” Bennett asks.
Shane smiles like a fucking idiot. “Jerrold’s.”
I stiffen. “What?”
He looks at me. “It was pretty awesome.” He turns and looks at Austin who still sits on the couch. She’s smiling as if proud of herself. “We walked in. And no one even questioned us …” I fist my hands. “She pushed her tits out and went into his office, asking about the bathroom. I’ve never seen a guy move so fast. He took her down to the lower level to show her the nicest restrooms they had.” He rolls his eyes. “And I slipped inside and stole his laptop. Then on the way out, I pulled the fire alarm so it would take longer for him to notice it was missing …” He trails off. “Told you she’d be perfect,” Shane says, looking over at Kellan. That smile still on his face. Those reservations he had last night about her, long gone.
“Seriously?” Deke asks surprised “But how did you …?”
“How did she even know who he was? Or where he was?” Kellan snaps, interrupting him. “How much have you fucking told her?”
I cross my arms over my chest.
He growls. “Cole …”
I look at her, and she throws me a smile. Like I just got caught in some big lie. “That night we killed Jeff. Remember when we heard something? It was her. She was there, and she watched us.” I haven’t told them because they never asked about where she came from or how I found her.
“Jesus!”
“I blackmailed her.” I glare at Austin. “Had Deke call my cell with hers. I took the knife and cut her arm.”
“Stitches …” Shane whispers to himself, starting to put two and two together.
“Then I took the knife and stabbed Jeff with it. Told her if she went to the cops, they could link her to the body and she’d be a suspect.”
Bennett looks amused. Shane runs his hand through his hair nervously. Kellan looks pissed, and Deke, he’s texting on his phone. “She sent me a video later that night of her burning the body.”
“What the fuck?” Kellan barks.
“Told me there was no evidence to pin her with. The following day, I took her to his work and explained why we killed him.”
Deke smiles down at his phone but speaks to me. “Good one.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us all this?” Kellan demands.
“I haven’t told anyone,” she snaps at him.
He turns to face her, and I bow my chest, ready for a fight. If he goes for her, I’m going to take him down. “You need to leave,” he snaps.
She stands from the couch, her green eyes full of rage. She gives him a sinister smile, like this was her plan all along, and then her eyes meet mine. “Gladly.” She turns and heads toward the door.
“Don’t you dare walk out that door!” I shout, and she stops. I look at the guys. “Everyone out except Austin and Shane.”
“Cole …”
“Get the fuck out!”
They all look at one another for a long moment, and then their eyes go to her. She’s got her chin lifted and a fuck you look in her eyes. One by one, they start to walk out, no one speaking.
Austin stays where she is at, and Shane comes to stand in front of me. “I didn’t know what she had planned, man.”
She rolls her eyes at him ratting her out. But all of them will do that. They owe her no loyalty.
“Why did you go to him?” I ask her.
She doesn’t answer.
I turn to Shane again. He speaks without me having to ask twice. “She said she knew what it was like to have a man put his hands on her and not be able to stop it …”