Page 9 of Hers To Keep
“Same goes for you. You do anything out of turn, which compromises me, I will make her work for me. I’m a man of my word, and we both know her last visit to The Gallows was not a pleasant one. You keep that in mind, nephew.” We were taught to never show weakness, to never share a glimpse of what we’re truly feeling inside. As I look up into his eyes, I see absolutely nothing.
I stare at him, not at all taken aback by his threats, and bring the glass of bourbon to my lips, swiftly taking a drink. Like fuel it ignites a fire in my throat as it burns down my throat. Once I’m finished, I slam the glass upon his desk, shattering it with the force. He grins as he stares at the broken glass in my palm, my blood delicately coating the shards. I grab his suit coat from atop his desk using it to wipe the blood off my palm before throwing it back on the desk. Without another word, I quickly exit the office slamming the door behind me.
He fucking had the nerve to threaten me.
I can’t believe the shit show that has been these last couple of days. From finding out my uncle’s being blackmailed, to running into Drake at The Gallows, to Scarlett finding out about her mother, to Chaz being murdered before her eyes, thinking it was me. She wakes up not only to find out she’s been drugged, but that we have her little pet tied up to a chair near death. And then he threatens her once again, all the while I look like the bad guy for not stepping in.
If only she knew it would be more dangerous to her if I get involved. If he finds out the true reason I’m protecting her, the only reason I’m still obeying his orders, he’d without hesitation destroy her.
I am falling for Scarlett Steele.
Hell, I’ve fallen harder than I ever thought possible. Like an angel plummeting to my death, like a devil rising from the shallows only to be resurrected by her innocence.
The sultry vixen takes over my every thought and has brought every emotion out of me. The angelic goddess in her gives me hope, makes me believe there is more to this world than what I have seen, what I’ve endured. She’s the light at the end of my dark tunnel, the silver lining amidst this hellish grave I find myself in, and to think I could have lost her. I’ll never accept it. I need to find a way to make her see that this is all an illusion. I wear this disguise to fool those around me, to make him believe I’m still the valiant soldier, the devoted warrior, the obedient beast.
I’ve found a new divine being to worship, and her name is Scarlett Steele.
I walk down the hall, heading toward the room she is in about to open the door when Bass places his hand upon mine. I look up at him, furious he’s stopping me, but he slowly shakes his head, motioning for me to follow.
He leads me to the back house I usually occupy, where Scarlett and I slept together for the first time, my body instantly remembering, as it aches to have her near me. He opens the door, motioning for me to step in, where I know the rest of the guys are waiting for me. And like expected, inside I find Alek and Beck sitting comfortably on the sofa watching some tacky porn film on my big screen TV. I head over to my closet, quickly changing out of the clothes I’m in and throwing on a pair of black boxers and another black V-neck shirt. Bass heads over to the bar at the end of the room, pouring us each a drink, before coming over to the couches.
“What the fuck are you guys watching? Are we in middle school again?” I ask, moving over to sit on the couch beside Bass.
“What, you mean to tell me you don’t watch porn anymore, Ace?” asks Alek, stunned by my reaction.
“He’s got no need to. Can’t you see he has a fucking porn star looking babe for a girlfriend,” Beck says, making me throw the cushion beside me at him, but he blocks me and starts laughing. “Piss off, man, I was only joking. We all know she’s much hotter.”
“Fuck off. Why are we watching this?” I ask, frustrated by their behavior. I guess it’s normal to act as if the world isn’t falling apart around us.
Beck turns to me and starts explaining. “You see, ever since we ran into the Spencer twins at The Gallows, and that it’s been days since Alek’s had his dick sucked, he thought it would be prudent to watch a critically acclaimed porn film with two lesser versions of the sexy twins.” A loud moan makes us all turn to the screen just as one girl starts sucking off the dude laying on the bed, while her twin sister sits on his face. Their resemblance to Remi and Lexi is clear.
“Wow, Alek, didn’t think you’d slum it up with some tramps,” Bass says, turning to me as we clink our glasses together, laughing. Looks like the pretentious dick has a crush on the dirt-poor trailer girls. I guess they’re not dirt poor anymore.
“Fuck you, that’s not why we’re watching,” Alek shouts angrily, gulping down his drink.
“Gosh, can you imagine, Alek, your mum would have a fucking aneurysm. My son with a lowly trailer trash whore,” Beck says, mocking Alek’s mother, Ariana Smoak.
“Fuck you, Beck, at least I show interest in a girl. You haven’t fucked anyone in months. Pining for another dude, are we?”
“Fuck you, you arse. Just because I’m not fucking every girl in sight or am stuck here watching porn trying to get over the girl I’ll never have, doesn’t mean I’m batting for the other team,” Beck shouts back and I’ve had enough of these fucking morons.
“Enough, all of you!” I shout, irritated. “We’ve got bigger problems to deal with. Now, I’m leaving in twenty minutes, with or without you.” I get up and head over to my bathroom for a much-needed cold shower.
After my shower, I come back out to find the room empty, as I change into a pair of dark jeans and the same V-neck shirt I was wearing earlier, but throw a black, long sleeve flannel shirt over it.I head over to the bar and find Bass sitting on a stool, drinking straight out of a bottle of bourbon.
“Fuck, you good to drive?” I ask, grabbing the bottle from him.
“You know I never drive sober, Ace,” he answers, trying to grab the bottle back from me. I set it down on the counter, moving over to grab two bottled waters out of the fridge. I open one, handing it to him, before opening the other and drinking it all in one go.
“You good, man?” I ask, looking up at him. He wears a distraught look on his face, one I’ve noticed he wears daily now.
“Aren’t I always?” he answers mockingly. “I don’t feel anything, therefore I shouldn’t ever be anything but content.”
“All right, man, just asking.”
“You ever wonder what we did in our past life, for this life to treat us so horribly?” he asks solemnly.
I can see the somber haze in his gray eyes, clouding whatever it is he truly means to feel. “For someone who feels nothing, that was pretty deep, Bass.”