“Not good enough.” I turn my stink eye on Jackson and Sawyer too. “And that goes for you two as well.”
“They deserve a knee in the junk too,” Xavier says, draping his arms around my shoulders. “We can tag team them. I claim Hunt.”
Jackson smirks. “Took you long enough.”
Sawyer elbows Jackson. “Go smoke a joint or jump off the roof or something.”
“Touchy subject, dude?” Jackson slaps him on the back.
“Is anyone serious about taking my father down or we’re just here to joke around?” Drew says, impatience bleeding into the air.
“No need to get your panties in a bunch.” Xavier drops his arms, taking my hand in his.
“He needs to get laid,” Jackson, unhelpfully, supplies. It’s his standard response when someone is grouchy, but my brother does not appreciate it.
If looks could kill, Drew would have him buried alive right now.
He storms off toward Xavier’s office, and I glare at Jackson. “That was mean.”
“Never pretended to be nice,” Jackson says, shrugging.
My arm almost wrenches out of its socket as Kai yanks me away from Xavier. “I should put you over my lap and redden your ass for that stunt.”
“You’d be too late,” Drew says, shouting over his shoulder. I pin him with a “shut the fuck up” glare. “Charlie already beat you to it.”
Deathly silence greets his statement, and I sigh. “How’d you even know about that?”
Drew shoots me an apologetic look. “I was watching the camera feed. But I turned it off before he delivered your punishment.”
“Jeez, that makes me feel so much better.”
Kai grabs my shoulders and we slam to a halt. “What happened?” I give him the cliff notes version. “That’s it. He’s fucking dead, and he’s mine.”
When the time comes, he’ll have a fight on his hands.
“Shit,” Drew says, approaching me and looking as pale as a ghost. “Dad perved on you?” I nod. “You need to stay away from the house, and from him, A. I mean it. You have no clue how fucked in the head he truly is.”
“And you do?”
He squeezes his eyes shut momentarily. “Just avoid him, Abby. Promise me.”
“That’s an easy promise. You know how much I despise him.”
“What happened after that?” Kai asks, threading his fingers in mine as he struggles to contain his anger and frustration.
“Let’s head into my office,” Xavier says. “It’s secure, and I’d feel more comfortable there.”
We all traipse in after him, taking seats at the round table while Xavier locks the door, securing us in his impenetrable lair. The row of high-tech monitors and screens on the front wall are powered off, except for the screens hooked up to the security system. They broadcast different images of the exterior of the warehouse on a rotational loop.
“Okay, let’s hear it. And hold nothing back,” Kai says, leaning his elbows on the table and warning me with his eyes.
“First, you’re all complete fucktards for working with Charlie and his dad and not telling me.” Sawyer opens his mouth to speak, but I raise my palm to halt him. “I’m not interested in hearing more lies or the usual bullshit excuses. You’re still on my shit list,” I say, glancing from one to the other, “but I’m choosing to forget about this, because the more we dwell on stuff that’s happened, stuff we can’t change, the less we are discussing what to do about my father, and I don’t want to lose focus.”
They all bob their heads.
“And all the secrecy ends here.” I level them with a deadly look. “No more secrets. No more lies. No more shielding me from the truth. We’re in this together, and I’m on an equal footing or you’re all dead to me.” I let my gaze dance between them, pausing on Kai’s face. “I’m not joking. I’ll take off, and none of you will ever find me.”
Kai’s face hosts a multitude of competing emotions. He likes I’m standing up for myself, hates that I still don’t fully trust him, and he’s afraid I’ll carry out my threat.
“We’re a team,” Kai says, eyeballing me. “And no one is keeping anything from you again. I give you my word.”
I stare at him, before dragging my attention away and looking at each one of them to ensure I see the same commitment staring back at me.
“Good.” Some of my stress lifts, but there’s still a long way to go. They’ve all betrayed me, and they need to win back my trust. But, for now, I’m satisfied we’re on the same page.
“What exactly did Charlie say?” Sawyer asks, helping to redirect the conversation where it needs to go.
I repeat it verbatim, noticing how Kai’s hands grip the armrests when I relay how he told me he loves me.
“And he said he’d let you go if Kai was your choice?” Drew asks, his brows climbing to his hairline.
“He did.”
“I’m not buying it,” Jackson says. “It’s obvious he’s hot for you, and no guy just gives up like that.”
Kai drills him with a freakishly scary look, and they face off for a few seconds.
“I’m not buying it either,” Drew supplies, cutting in to avoid another confrontation. “And I don’t trust him anymore. He is planning something.”
“Agreed,” Sawyer says. “But I don’t think he’s giving up. I think this is all part of his strategy.”
“At least this way, Abby can keep a close eye on him and try to determine what he’s up to,” Drew says.
“I don’t like you being there with him.” Kai peers deep into my eyes. “Who knows what he might do to you?”
“He won’t hurt me.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Kai grips the edge of the table as a muscle pops in his jaw.
“Kaiden.” Drew pierces Kai with a knowing look, conveying some hidden message.
“No.” Kai’s voice is so sharp it could cut glass. “Fuck this shit. She deserves to know, and I’m done keeping secrets.” He laces his fingers in mine. “Abby can handle herself.”
“I know she can, but this will make her task more difficult,” Drew argues.
“Or easier,” Xavier interjects.
“Just tell me.” I sigh, screaming inside.
I get to a point where I think there are no more secrets and lies only to discover I’ve scarcely begun peeling back the layers.
“Babe.” Kai squeezes my hand tighter, tilting my face with his finger and keeping my gaze fixed on his. “Charlie was the one who let it slip about your virginity. He’s the reason they assaulted you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I’m gobsmacked. Pissed. Hurt. Confused. Shocked. And about a hundred other different emotions. “How? Why?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“It wasn’t deliberate,” Drew explains.
“That you know of,” Kai retorts.
“I’ve known him my whole life.”
“No one knows who he is. You’ve just admitted that!” Kai argues back.