I grit my teeth and shake my head. “No. That was the lie my family told the world.” All three of them have poker faces, but none of them look shocked by my admission. I grind my teeth in anger. “You already know I wasn’t the one driving,” I grit out through clenched teeth.
“What is it you want, Toren?” Tatum sounds annoyed now and I know I have mere seconds to make my point because I won’t get another opportunity like this again.
“I’m asking you to help me take down my father and stop the war happening between Stormsend and Somerset.” Just as I finish speaking the door opens and I tense at the sight of Vox Hatchett and Hayze Draven. The moment they spot me talking to the girls their eyes narrow and irritation rolls off them in waves. It’s clear now that they have known exactly who I am from the moment I started school here three months ago. I was a fool to think they aren’t well connected and had the same type of resources as my family and Xaden.
“What’s going on here, Vivi baby?” Hayze asks as he throws his arm around Vivian’s shoulders and pulls her into his side, placing a kiss to the top of her head. Vox moves to stand behind Nova and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her back into his chest. A pang hits me in the chest but I snuff that feeling out before it has a chance to fester inside me. What they have is different from what I shared with him. Their relationship wasn’t built on a lie of manipulation.
“Toren was asking us to dinner,” she answers. Shock ripples through me.
“Was she just?” Vox says in a gravelly tone that has me tensing further. I can see in his eyes he doesn’t believe a word out of his sister’s mouth.
When Vivian said I asked them to dinner I expected to go to a restaurant or cafe not to her house she shares with her husbandand two boyfriends. Being in a confined space with the four guys and three girls isn’t my idea of a good time. The tension is suffocating. I can feel their eyes on me constantly, watching, assessing, trying to find a weakness. I stand out like a beacon. The girls wear skin-tight clothes that show off their lithe bodies while I am wearing loose fitting clothes to try and conceal my own.
“Take a walk with us,” Tatum says, then flicks her head toward the back door. Vivian’s house is right on the beach. Jealousy rears inside me, I would love to live in a place like this. Under all the tension you can feel the love in that house, not only between the couples but between the rest of them. They not only have a profound love for each other but they respect one another.
Nova and Vivian follow Tatum and me outside, none of us saying a word as we walk along the beach with the moon as our only source of light. For the first time in months I feel like I can breathe. There is a weight that has been crushing down on my chest. I know it’s because of the secret I’m keeping and the guilt is eating me alive daily.
Nova comes to a stop. The rest of us follow her lead and stand there, staring out at the ocean. The sound of the waves hitting the shore is oddly soothing and calms the growing anxiety inside me.
“Why do you have files on us, Toren?” Tatum asks. I whirl around to look at her in shock. She continues to stare ahead without even looking at me.
“How the hell do you know that?” I hiss.
She flicks her eyes to the side and shoots me a glare before looking back out at the ocean. “Nothing happens in this place without us knowing. The moment your name came up on the school registration we knew you weren’t here by chance. I hadOmen break into your dorm room and Halo hack your phone,” she states like it isn’t a big deal.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snap. She whirls around and faces me, her anger wafting off her in waves. Nova and Vivian turn their focus to me but don’t dare to interfere or stop their friend from stepping into me.
“I never kid when it concerns someone trying to snoop into our lives. I won’t allow some girl with a chip on her shoulder and grudge against her daddy threaten the freedom of those I love. My man isn’t someone who takes kindly to people trying to fuck him over.”
“I’m not trying to fuck anyone over, Tatum,” I defend. “All I am trying to do is even the fucking playing field. My father and… Xaden…” I force his name past my lips, hating that a sting of betrayal rears inside me. I owe him nothing. “They are in a turf war. They have tried to expand into Hollow Hills but haven’t been able to because of the Saints. Once they were shut down, they tried again only for the Denver Kings to push them out. I’m not asking you to sell off real estate or anything like that.”
“What are you asking?” Nova snaps.
“I’m asking you to allow me toborrowit.” All three of them share a loaded look. I see confusion in each of their features so I push on. “I have been wronged, lied to and lied about. I’ve been used by those who were supposed to care about me. All I want is to take them both down and walk out of this the winner.”
“You can’t take down a Cosa Nostra or Cartel,” Vivian states.
“Why not?” I press.
“Because if you cut off the head of one snake, another will grow in its place. It doesn’t matter if you hate them both, one of them has to be the winner of this war and claim the other’s territory. It can never go unclaimed. Pick a side, Toren, and make sure you pick the right one.” Tatum’s words slam into me, my carefully crafted plan blowing up in my face.
“Find peace in the choice you make. Loss is something we have all experienced through the war that took place in our town. None of us walked out of it unscathed. We still carry the scars of the battle we faced inside us everyday. If you have a chance to walk away from this, take it.” I appreciate Nova’s concern, I really do, but I can’t do as she suggests.
“I can’t walk away. I have lost everything. All I have is my hunger for vengeance,” I admit.
Tatum smiles and a glimmer flashes in her eyes but quickly vanishes before I can get a read on it. “Good choice,” she says smugly.
“Really?” I mutter.
“Us girls have to stick together. Alex won’t help you in this fight unless your war crosses into our home town. But, I can offer you some help that doesn’t have ties to the FBI.” My breath stills inside me. They really do know everything. I keep my mouth shut and wait for Tatum to continue. “When you go home, you won’t be going alone.”
“I won’t?” I press in confusion.
Tatum shakes her head. “No, allow me to introduce you to my dear friends, Omen, Halo, Vatican, Pope and Carnage. It’s time you got to know the Denver Kings.”
CHAPTER THREE
TOREN
