Page 43 of Ruthless Blade

A memory I’d pushed to the very back of my mind was trying to get through, and as much as I wanted to ignore it, Jake’s words were ringing in my ears...

“Can I be honest with you?” he asked, as we sat in his parents’ basement, playing video games on winter break.

“What’s up?”

“I know you like my sister.”

My body stilled; all movement on the controller ceased. Play it off, Kayden. Play it off.

I scoffed, “You’re delusional, man.”

He stopped playing and turned to face me, his brow raising a hair. His blue eyes held a warning. “I’m not stupid. I’ve known about it for years. You claim to hate her, yet you can’t date anyone else. When you do find a girl to talk to, they end up leaving because you hang out with us all the time.”

I shook my head and stood up. “You’re off base. Get your head in check, Jake.”

He stood up as well, and there was a different kind of energy coming from him. It wasn’t a best friend energy; it was a big brother type of energy. Threatening. Dangerous. “I’m not off base. You’re my best friend, have been for years. But you’re going to make a deal with me, right here and now.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, my gaze narrowed. I didn’t say a word, but I knew where he was headed with this. He wanted me to stay away from her.

He took a step toward me, his hand going to my shoulder. "Promise me,” his fingers dug in, his claws like iron burning into my shoulder. "Swear to me on everything we’ve got, Kayden. You'll keep an eye on her, protect her but nothing more."

I kept my eyes glued to his, not backing down. "I know the rules."

"Not when I'm around," he snapped. "When I’m not around. If I die in a crash tomorrow or when I’m fifty, you’ll step in and be her brother.”

Brother? Why the fuck was he asking me to do this? I don’t want to be her brother.

“You’re serious?”

"Yes, it’s the only thing I want. She’s my sister...I can’t handle knowing if I leave this Earth that she’ll be all alone," he whispered, his eyes lost in thought. "Make the deal."

I shook my head. The fact that I was putting blind faith in my best friend, swearing off the only girl who ever sparked fire in my veins, was some fucked off bullshit.

“Deal.” I gave him my word, not knowing that soon after, he would be gone.

“Daniel, you good dude?” Kellan’s voice brought me back to the present. He wasn’t the only one standing in the room with me this time, Dylan and Torin had made their way in.

I didn’t know how long I’d been there, but all music from the party had stopped, and everyone that was making the living room jump had disappeared.

I cleared my throat, “I’m fine. Where did everyone go?”

Torin grabbed a beer from the fridge and tossed it to me. “We sent everyone home. Saw your little tiff with Garcia and knew we needed a guys’ night. Pizza is on the way.”

“I’m really not in the mood...”

“I don’t give a fuck if you’re in the mood or not. You’ve been off lately, you need to re-center. Get your head back in the game, and let whatever shit that’s bothering you go.”

It was easier said than done. He didn’t know that I’d made my dead best friend a deal that broke me from the inside out. I shook my head, opened the beer and chugged. There was no practice tomorrow, and no classes. Sleeping the day away would be a thing, and getting fucked up was a necessity.

Jake was an asshole for making that deal with me, but wasn’t I one for having Lexi make a deal with me?

It didn’t matter what my intentions were, by the end of this, one of us would end up suffering.

Chapter Twenty-Two

LEXI

One week later...