I back up and connect with Slater. His hand coming to my waist, he pins me to his body with the simple press of his hand, his warmth enveloping me as Kasen and River watch on. His lips lower to my ear. “Should we try this the easy way, sunshine?” Delight dances in his voice.
No chance in hell, asshole. I bring my heel down and stomp on his foot as heavily as I can in sneakers. It must shock him because he releases me instantly, and I run like the fucking wind. I might be tipsy and injured and fucked up in the head over that kiss, but I can still move. Music rings in my ears as I dart through the sea of partygoers, heading for the way I came in that leads onto the beach, but as I go to push through the crowd, that same damn bodyguard from earlier stands in my way blocking the opening, arms crossed over his chest, deadly serious expression on his face that makes him look deranged.
Shit. I break into a cold sweat. There is no way out. My pulse races like crazy. Frantically I turn, searching every wall for another exit, but I can’t find one.
Bodhi’s assessing eyes lock with mine. “You know hard is my favorite, Dove.”
He let me go on purpose to see what I would do? I can see it in the way he watches me. What the hell is wrong with them?
The three of them team up and move in on all sides of me, caging me in and taking way too much delight in my terror. I can see it in the wicked smiles on their lips and twisted satisfaction in their eyes. They are predators. I fucking hate them, all of them.
“There is nowhere left to run, birdie.” Kasen’s hands clamp down on my arms in a way that makes me jump out of my skin. Or is it the controlled way he stares at me as he makes contact, all power and self-righteousness. “You’ve caused enough trouble for tonight.”
I glare up at him, my body so tense it feels like I’m going to snap something. “You can’t make me leave with you.”
“Wanna make a bet?” His hand moves under my ass, and before I know it, I’m being scooped up in his arms and carried through the bar like a baby.
What the fuck. I shove at him, fresh pain rocketing through me with every movement, but I don’t care. Pain I can deal with; whatever this controlling shit is, no way. “Put me down, asshole,” I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping someone in this bar will come to my aid.
Instead of anyone asking why I’m being manhandled or why I’m screaming like a woman possessed, the crowd parts for us, giving him a clear path to the front entry. If I wasn’t a part of it, I wouldn’t be able to believe what I was witnessing. Kasen could literally do anything he wants to me, and the crowd would always cheer him on.It’s horrifying. He could be carrying me out of here to murder me and no one would bat an eyelid. How are they all that scared of him?
He carries me effortlessly to the car park, and Slater is one step ahead of us, opening the door to his Ute so Kasen can shove me in the front. “What the fuck is your problem?” I cry back at him as soon as he releases me into the car.
“Myproblem! You’re the one who broke my French doors, destroyed my curtains, then stole my Astin Martin and burnt down one ofmyproperties.” His voice booms through the car, I think I’m supposed to fear him, but all his anger does is enrage me more.
I meet his furious glare. If he wants a showdown, he’s going to get it. “Your property! That was my parents’ house, and you know it. And your shit wouldn’t have gotten destroyed if you didn’t lock me up in your stupid house like your prisoner.”
He leans into the car, his face just an inch from mine, his scent wafting all around me, consuming me. “One I acquired after your mother died and you and your dad vanished,” he spits back, just as mad.
My eyes narrow to slits, my chest heaving with all the things I want to yell at him, all the pain I have suffered because of his family. “She. Was. Murdered.” The words tremble out of my lips. “She didn’t just die. Your dad killed her.”
His dark eyes lock with mine in a way that sends a shiver down my spine, cold and calculating. What the fuck is that look? “That was never proven.”
Tears blur in my eyes, I can’t stop them. This is too much, he’s too much. Of course it was never proven, because his fucking family own this town, not because Keller Throne didn’t do it. “What, so you just took our home so you could knock it down and build another of your luxury apartments in its place?”
With a disappointed shake of his head, he slams the door, trapping me in the car. The truth must be all too much to handle now I’m here and he’s forced to confess his actions to his once friend. Admit that he only cares about his dad’s stupid company. That people are just commodities to him, nothing more.
Turning his back on me, he mutters something to Bodhi and River. River claps him on the back, their closeness a chilling reminder of how the Deadwater Crew will always stick together. Nothing has changed for them. When their little chitchat is over, Kasen stomps around the front of the car.
I lunge for the driver’s door handle, but he’s faster, swinging it open before I can make my getaway. “Move,” he utters, his voice calm, but the way his chest heaves gives him away; I have him rattled.
My heart racing wildly, I glare back at him, not ready to give up so easily. “No.”
With one hand, he shoves me back into the passenger seat and takes his place in the driver’s side.
Damn it. I cross my arms protectively across my chest, adrenaline surging through me, not because he hurt me, he didn’t, but because I’m so out of control. I’m trapped, and it doesn’t matter how I fight him, he won’t let me free. I should have run while I had the chance, taken River’s keys, and got the hell out of town before he found me. But I never had the chance, not really if River was watching me for him anyway. And a stupid part of me had to see River. “You can’t keep me locked up with you forever,” I seethe.
“Watch me,” he growls.
The scowl on my face deepens. “I’ll get out again, and next time I won’t hang around.”
He huffs out a bitter laugh. “You should have taken that chance while you could. The only way you’re leaving my protection is if I let you.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are, God?”
He doesn’t justify my bitchy question with an answer, but the smug-as-shit grin on his face tells me that’s exactly what he thinks.
With a frustrated huff, I stare out into the night sky, wondering why he hasn’t started the engine and the two of us are sitting in the car park. “Thought this was Slater’s car?” I snip, not really for conversation, more just thinking out loud because the fresh silence between us is suffocating.
