He slams his foot on the brakes, steering into the slide as the car turns perpendicular to the road. A touch on the accelerator gives him back control, and he draws the car to a stop just off the tarmac.
“He used up Tessa and threw her away. Same with Robbie. They didn’t deserve what came to them.”
“And what? Is this meant to be you rescuing me?”
“I’m just giving you all the facts. That’s what I’d want from someone if I walked into this situation.”
“Are there more? Or is this it?” I hold up the phone. “A couple of videos of my boyfriend indulging in a fetish and your precious mate Robbie raping my best friend.”
“He still watches them. Did you know that? Even Trent can’t bear to see them, and he’s the one they were made for. But Zach’s perfectly fine. The whole thing’s water off a duck’s back.”
We glare at each other. I don’t know what to say. My head buzzes and my stomach is tied in knots. “Thank you.”
I don’t understand what Caylon wanted from me after his outburst, but judging from the surprise in his eyes, it isn’t that.
He laughs. “You’re just going back to him, aren’t you? Is there anything I could tell you that would change your mind?”
“I don’t know, but this?” I hold up the phone again. “Some of this I knew, the rest I guessed. If you’re trying to shock me, you’ll have to do better.”
My statement isn’t true, but it should be. Perhaps if I’d been paying attention instead of wallowing in all the delightful sensations that Zach stirred inside me, I would have been one step ahead of the game.
Abby. Tessa. Robbie. The shapes fit together so well, it’s hard to understand how I couldn’t see the picture earlier.
Was I meant to ask Zach? Did he feed me these puzzle pieces, expecting me to understand and confront him? Should I have done something, anything, to ward off this attack?
Caylon shakes his head. “Fine.”
He puts the car into gear and takes off again, this time at a reasonable speed. “Where are we going?”
“Zach’s house, like I told you.”
I nod along, expecting him to fill me in, but when he doesn’t, I ask, “What for?”
His eyes cut to mine, then his attention goes back to the road. “My last request. If you’re happy to have a relationship with Zach, I’m happy to help you both along the way. Never say I’m not a team player.”
The words are spoken lightly, belied by the menace in his eyes. But it’s not his expression that makes my stomach clench like a fist. It’s what’s sheltering beyond.
Sadness.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
ZACH
Trent’s been lurkingin my room, glowering silently, for half an hour when Caylon and Lilac arrive.
I look at the three of them, but nobody’s talking. “What is this, an intervention?”
My girl looks wrung out. When I circle an arm around her waist, she leans into me so heavily that I’m almost carrying her, and she won’t meet Caylon’s eye. If he tried it on with her, she obviously shut him down, but I make a mental note to teach him exactly why doing that again is a bad idea.
“We’ve been having a movie night,” Caylon says lightly, smirking when Lilac turns pale.
Her hair’s down and I catch the long strands in back and pull it gently, tilting her head so I can more easily read her face. Not that she’s showing any expression. It’s close to the trance she went into once before, with none of the satisfaction, because I’m not the one who caused it.
“What the fuck’s going on?”
“Just a second.” Caylon buggers off out of the room, leaving Trent shrugging at me.
“I don’t know. He’s playing some weird game with Lily.”
