When I’m sure she’s alone, and I don’t have to get ready for a fight with Jade, I ask, “Still moving in?”
Everyone knows Jade hates me with a passion that has a nuclear capacity to blow up whenever we’re in the same room.
“Yeah.” She glances around, then asks, “Have you seen my lazy cousin?”
“Jase?” I shake my head. “Last I spoke with him, he said he’d be here in time for classes.”
Jase, my best friend and one of the crowned princes, will take over as CEO from his father in a couple of years. We grew up close and might as well be twins.
Fallon shakes her head, her hair falling over her shoulder from the movement. A loving smile takes the sting from her words as she says, “God help us and CRC when we start there. We’ll probably work our assess off to make up for Jase not doing his work.”
“Yeah.” I chuckle, but it fades when Jade comes out of the room that’s opposite mine.
Fuck.
Her ginger hair shimmers in the electric light. There are auburn strands I haven’t noticed before. Fewer freckles are sprinkled over her nose than she used to have. After the disastrous incident, I haven’t seen much of Jade. I heard she spent her summer breaks on her grandfather’s ranch, and I get a feeling she did it to avoid being around me.
We might not get along, but I’d be blind not to notice how fucking beautiful she’s become. There’s a pang of sadness and resentment when I remember how close we used to be.
After her boyfriend, Brady, committed suicide, I tried to find out why Jade blamed me, but after two years of this shit, I’ve given up. Now I just roll with the punches.
Jade’s brown eyes land on me, and they instantly darken to black with the anger that always bubbles to surface when we come face to face.
“This is going to be one hell of a long year,” she grumbles as she gives me a look I’ve grown accustomed to seeing on her face — a mixture between hatred and pain.
“We can call a truce. At least it will be a bearable year then,” I offer.
Jade stares at me until the air grows thick with the hostility she feels for me. Slowly shaking her head, she says, “There will never be a truce between us, Chargill. Not while you’re still breathing.”
“Jade.” Fallon’s voice is soft and cautious.
Jade glares at me for a moment longer, then she turns her face to Fallon. “Let me know when he’s either sleeping or out. I’ll finish unpacking then.”
Without another glance in my direction, Jade heads for the front door, and a moment later, it slams shut behind her.
“Hunter.” Fallon gives me a pleading look. “This needs to stop.”
I let out a sigh and go after Jade. Our friends are growing tired of the war between Jade and me.
Fuck, I’m tired of this shit. A person can only take so much, and the fact that I’m being blamed for something I didn’t do is grinding at my soul.
Yeah, I admit I might have overreacted at Jase’s party two years ago. But damn, Jade was only sixteen, and the thought of her and Brady having sex had me losing my mind.
I yank the front door open and shout after her, “Hold up, Little Bean.” I know using her childhood nickname will have her exploding.
“Are you looking to die today?” she growls as she swings back to face me.
The corner of my mouth lifts in a grin. “Love life too much. We need to talk and settle this thing once and for all.”
“You think it’s that easy to get away with murder?”
Not this again.
“Would it make you feel better if I let you beat me up?” I ask, reaching the end of my rope with this woman.
She doesn’t hesitate to answer, “It would.”
Hearing she’s dead serious, I shake my head. “Not gonna happen.”
“Pussy,” she chuckles darkly.
“Calling me names won’t help shit,” I bite out, aggravated that it’s so easy for Jade to disrespect me.
“Fight me, Chargill,” she snarls. Moving closer, she seems ten fucking feet tall even though she barely reaches my shoulder.
She stops when her body is only a couple of inches away from mine. All it would take for me to put her in her place is to lean down and claim her downturned lips.
What. The. Fuck?
Where did that come from?
All this fighting must be fucking with my head but not able to resist, I do lean down an inch, and I watch as her eyes narrow more. I stare into her simmering black gaze while a slow smirk pulls at the corner of my mouth.
“Never took you for the kinky kind, Little Bean.”
Her breathing begins to speed up, and it makes her chest brush against mine with every inhale. Her features set into hard lines, and then she lets out a cruel laugh.
Pretty sure my family jewels are in danger right about now.
Our past together has taught me when Jade laughs instead of cries, I’m in deep shit.
“Fucking coward,” she hisses.
Thank God for survival instincts. Just in time, I take a step to the side and closer to Jade. Her knee comes up and slams against the outside of my thigh. My hand shoots out, and I grab hold of the back of Jade’s neck, yanking her so close I can taste the lingering mint on her breath.
“Careful, Little Bean.” My voice is low, tainted with the loss of our friendship and my own rage because Jade keeps blaming me for something I didn’t do. “Your outbursts are growing tiresome. I’m only holding back because of our fathers.”
Not backing down, there’s murder in her glare. “I’m done caring what our fathers would think. Go to hell, Chargill.”
Shaking my head, I smirk at her. “You don’t seem to realize,” I tighten my grip on the back of her neck, and my eyes turn icy with a look I inherited from my father. Tilting my head, I lean so close her eyes widen. Just before our lips touch, I let my mouth skim over her cheek until I reach her ear and whisper, “I am hell.”
Her scent has changed.
Instead of the sweet-smelling deodorant she used two years ago, I get a lung full of something soft and fresh.
Staring down at Jade, I take in her features. How’s it possible she’s changed so much? There’s no sign of the sixteen-year-old who used to be my best friend.
In front of me stands a woman, devastatingly beautiful. She’s become coldhearted and vicious.
I have to admire Jade for her spirit as she reaches up and grabbing hold of my wrist, her nails sink into my skin. I let her pull my hand away from her neck as the familiar look of loathing settles on her face.
Hey, at least one thing hasn’t changed, right?
“I’ll never back down, so you better be prepared for war because I don’t intend to lose.”
I stare at Jade and slowly shake my head. “Little Bean, didn’t your grandfather teach you there are no winners in war?”
Deciding to abort the peace-seeking mission that turned to shit real fast, I yank my arm free from Jade’s hold and stalk back to the suite.
Slamming the door shut behind me, I glare at a wide-eyed Fallon. “Fuck knows why I still try.”
Fallon walks over to me and wraps her arms around my waist, pressing her cheek to my chest. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help.”
She’s one of the few people I allow to hug me freely. Fallon and Hana are the daughters of my parent’s best friends, the Cutlers and Reyes’. Our families are inseparable and loyal to a fault.