“Oopsie,” Jace says as Michael howls in pain. “Did I do that?” He yanks the blade out and wipes it on Michael’s arm to cleanit. “That’s what happens when you insult one of my friends and insinuate that he’s a predator. Got anything else to say about him? Or are you going to stop testing us and answer his questions?”
Michael’s pale and panting from pain, but he just stares at me defiantly.
“Was it for the money?” I ask. “Did you do it because you wanted my money?”
He doesn’t answer, but given the flicker of regret in his eyes, he doesn’t have to.
“Are you bored yet?” Jax asks, using the code phrase he came up with to ask if I want him and Jace to finish taking care of things.
I nod, and it feels like all the fight leaves me in a rush. “Take him out back. We don’t have any neighbors close enough for anyone to hear him scream.”
“Roger that,” Jax says.
“You got it, boss,” Jace adds, and the two of them haul Michael up and drag him out of the media room.
“I’ll go make sure things don’t go too off the rails,” Killian tells us. “Stay here, okay?” he says to Felix.
Felix nods, and Killian leaves the way the twins did.
“You really had no idea?” I ask Kait.
She shakes her head as tears stream down her face. She looks like she’s been through the wringer, and I feel a pang of sympathy for her.
Who knows if Michael actually loved her or if he was just using her, but it has to be traumatizing to not just find out her boyfriend tried to kill her stepson, but to watch him be brutalized like that.
“You’re not sending the girls to Hendrix next year,” I tell her.
She lifts her eyes to mine. “What?”
“Izzy called and told me you were talking about sending her and the girls to Hendrix Academy. That’s not happening. They need to be here with you. And I don’t know if you actually know anything about Hendrix, but they’re never setting foot on that campus. Not while I’m alive.”
She blinks a few times. “Okay.”
“Do you have someone you can call?” I ask, my tone gentler. “It’s probably best if you weren’t around for the rest of the night.”
“What are those boys going to do to him?” she asks in a small voice.
“Kill him,” Xave says simply.
“And you’re sure he did all those things?” she asks.
I nod.
“No one will ever know he was here,” Xave continues. “We’ll take care of things and make sure to keep you out of it.”
“I had no idea,” she says as she stands. “I didn’t know anything.”
“I believe you,” I tell her. “But I need you to promise not to tell anyone about this. You might not have done anything, but you were here, and you’re the reason he did what he did. You’re involved, even if you did nothing. We’ll make sure this doesn’t come back on you, but you need to promise that you’ll make sure it doesn’t come back on us.”
“I promise,” she whispers, and even though it’s clear she’s in shock, I believe her. “I’m going to get freshened up and call Jacqueline,” she says, her voice wooden. “I’m so sorry.”
I nod to tell her I understand. “Me too.”
Without warning, she launches herself into my arms and gives me a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, and I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I hug her back, and I can feel tears pricking at my eyes when she pulls away.
With a quick look at the couch where Michael was sitting, she hurries out of the room.
