“It’s the truth.” Air whooshes out of my mouth as I level him with a solemn look. “I didn’t tell you this last week because I didn’t want to frighten you, but this world, these men, our brothers, they are dangerous, Ro. Hamilton believes Kaiden and his friends murdered Denton last year.”
His face pales. “What?”
“Our brother is a murderer. All of them probably are. Think about it. They’ve grown up in this world. In that respect, we were lucky. And it’s why we need to stay away from them now. I need you to promise me, Ro. Promise me you won’t contact them or go to Rydeville. I can’t protect you if you go behind my back, and you could cause issues for me if the elite discover my involvement in what went down at Techxet last year.”
Ro wraps his arms around his waist. “Okay, now you’re scaring me.”
“I didn’t want that, but you need to understand the danger. I won’t let anything happen to you, but you have got to trust me.”
“I do, and I promise I won’t go near them.”
A layer of stress lifts from my shoulders.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I think you should stop,” he adds. “I don’t want anything happening to you either.”
“I know how to cover my tracks. I’ll keep us safe. That’s my promise to you.”
Silence descends, and I wish I could tap into his head to know what he’s thinking. Roman is impulsive at times, and I hope to fuck he doesn’t break his promise to me.
His eyes pop wide as something occurs to him. A string of expletives bleeds into the air. “She’s Winston’s daughter and Lindsay’s cousin!” He jabs his finger in my direction. “The girl from the party. She’s Emery Copeland.” His stool scrapes across the tile floor as he jumps up. “Don’t tell me you’re planning to dosomething to her! She has nothing to do with what happened to me.”
“Getting close to her will help me to find something to nail that bitch.” I’m fudging the truth, but it’s in his best interests.
He grabs fistfuls of his hair, pacing the kitchen floor. “You promised me you’d let it go!” Panic lingers in his tone. “I don’t want anyone to know. No one can know.” He pins me with pleading eyes. “Please, Zayn. This can’t come out.” He almost chokes on the words, and his fear is palpable.
I go to him, clasping his shoulders. “No one will know about you. I give you my word, but don’t ask me to drop this. That bitch needs to be stopped.” I deliberately soften my tone. “I know you don’t want her doing it to other boys. I have a way of making her pay without your name coming into it.” I have already wiped all records of Roman and me from Wakefield’s system, and I paid a guy to steal our physical files. Officially, there is no evidence we were ever residents.
“You promise?” he whispers, as tears pool in his eyes.
“I promise. You can trust me. I’ve always got your back.”
“Your place is gorgeous,” Emery says as I lead her into the living room. Roman is staying with Everett tonight. He knows I’m entertaining Emery, but he knows nothing of my plans to take her virginity. He’s trusting me, and I feel shitty I’m abusing his faith, but this needs to happen how I’ve planned it. It’s the best way of achieving my goals.
Truth is, Emery is super sweet, and under different circumstances, I could fall for her. She’s nothing I expected, and I’m carrying a hefty dose of guilt for using her like this. But there’s a bigger picture at stake here. I wasn’t lying when I toldRoman that bitch needs to be stopped. It isn’t just about what she did to my brother. It’s about stopping her from doing it to others. Whenever guilt slaps me in the face, I remind myself this is why Emery is crucial to my plan.
We’ve been hanging out every day since our movie date, and things are heating up nicely, but I need to move this along as we only have one more week left of summer school and I want to wrap this up.
“Come with me.” I offer her my hand and my most seductive smile, smothering a chuckle as her eyes glaze over. It hasn’t been difficult getting her to fall for me, or to trust me, and I hope she learns a valuable lesson from this experience. Her ex is a piece of shit who hurt her, but she seems to have forgotten that lesson already. I’m sure by the time I’m through with her she won’t be so naïve in the future.
She gasps as we step out onto the terrace. New York nightlife is a steady hum in the background, barely audible over the soft music filtering out from my speakers. The table is set, and a multitude of flickering candles are dotted around the space. “For you,” I say, handing her the flowers and chocolates.
“What is all this?” Her eyes widen as she drinks it all in.
“Dinner. Like I promised.”
Her pretty green dress shimmers around her hips as she turns around, throwing herself at me. “You never fail to surprise me, Zayn.”
I set the flowers and chocolates back down on the table, pulling her into my arms.
“Who are you?” She runs her fingers through my hair and it feels so fucking good.
“I’m whoever you want me to be,” I purr, really laying it on thick.
She frowns as she scrutinizes my face. “I just want you to be yourself.”
I kiss her, wanting to deflect this conversation. Emptying my mind of all the shit that usually lingers there, I indulge myself, letting the taste of her warm soft lips and the feel of her gorgeous curves comfort me. Holding Emery in my arms is as natural as breathing sometimes. Her tongue strokes mine sensually, and I’ve never been as content to just kiss a girl as I am with her.
But I’m on a mission, and just kissing isn’t it.
