Page 166 of Malice and Surrender
My heart jumped in my chest, but I forced myself to keep the surprise off my face. “I will admit that I’m strategic, but not to be harmful. I know what Raine wants, and that is all three of us. I’m simply trying to make sure that happens.”
“Come now, Avro. You’re being modest,” Kai said, and I gulped down the rest of the beer as I thought about what Kai might be referring to.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Kai stood and slowly walked down the stairs. There was something far more lethal about the stroll than if he ran at me. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he stopped a few feet away. My body tensed as I readied myself for a physical or verbal attack.
“I have to say, Alex, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you had it in you to kill someone, let alone cover it up and get away with it for this long,” Kai said, his voice low, yet I sucked in a breath like he’d punched me in the gut. He knew my real name, and how he found out about something that Jace and I refused to speak about to anyone was beyond me, but the pounding in my ears made it hard to hear his next words.
“You and Jace did a great job covering your tracks. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, or it will be if you can make sure that Jace doesn’t play dirty,” Kai said, his eyes filled with dark humor that only he found amusing. “You’d get bonus points if you walked away and took Jace with you, but I’m not going to push that button…yet.”
“So you’re threatening me?” I shook my head and glared at Kai.
“I wouldn’t say I’m threatening. I’d say I’m being strategic,” Kai said.
“You’re an asshole.” I didn’t care if he hit me. Let him attack me at this point. He was digging at the wound I’d tried to heal from for most of my life. “Do you even know what happened or why?”
Kai smiled, and there in his eyes was the man that had attacked us at my house. The man that wanted to rip me in two and would happily do it if it wasn’t for Raine. A cold shiver raced down my spine as I stared into his cold, blue eyes.
“I don’t care about the why—the exact how is also lost on me. I just know that your uncle is dead and that you and Jace are the prime suspects. It was so long ago, and you were both minors, that it has gotten swept under the rug. But I’m sure some poking around would cause a new stir, especially with your other uncle being a general. How long do you think it would remain buried what the two of you did? How do you think that would affect Jace’s singing career? You might even do jail time since you’re now adults.”
“Why are you doing this to me? I’ve done nothing to you, Kai. I’m the one trying to make sure we all get along for Raine’s sake.”
Kai stepped forward, but I didn’t flinch. At this point, I’d rather him kill me than force me to relive what happened in a court, or worse, drag Jace down for his part.
“I’m doing this for that exact reason, Avro or Alex, whatever you want to call yourself. You are the lynchpin to this fucked up relationship. Raine loves you, although I’m still baffled as to why. You obviously love her, or you would be helping Jace undermine me, but I don’t see you doing that. At least, I don’t unless Jace wants you to, and I’m stopping it before it ever happens. I will keep your secret, but in return, you keep your rock star boy toy in line. I need you to understand that Raine was mine. If it hadn’t been for a tragic situation that drove us apart, we’d be living our life without the two of you. I need her and will do whatever is necessary to keep her.”
I could feel the anger radiating off his body. “If Jace tries to sweep her off her feet and whisk her away, then I’ll make sure you’re the collateral damage. Before you ask, I don’t care about what happens to you. You and Jace are not in my bubble of give-a-shit, but Raine is my heart. If you or Jace try to rip it out of my chest, I will take you down with me. Do I make myself clear?”
Swallowing, I nodded. “Crystal.”
“Excellent. I’m so happy we had this little chat to clear the air between us.” The sarcasm was obvious and dripped off every word.
Kai stepped back, and I pushed away from the car to walk around to the other side. Opening the driver’s door, I stopped and glared at Kai.
“You know, I didn’t need to be threatened to keep Raine happy, but thank you for showing me your true nature. It’s eye-opening to what a fucking piece of shit you really are. Too bad Raine didn’t see this side of you, maybe she’d think twice, and it would have nothing to do with Jace or me if she ran in the other direction. Sleep well, Kai.”
His face darkened, and his hands clenched into fists, but nothing was worse than what he’d already threatened.
Slipping into the car, I quickly started it and drove out of the driveway, caught between fuming mad and terrified. My hands squeezed the steering wheel, and it complained with a squeak.
“Fuck,” I swore and slammed my hand off the top of the wheel as if that would somehow help.
“Dude, for fucks sake, what the hell happened,” Jace asked as he gripped my arm and yanked me into an empty classroom.
I jerked my arm away. “Nothing is wrong.”
“Yeah, not buying it. You’ve been weird ever since you got home from that camping trip. You won’t look me in the eye, you refuse to hangout, and you’re dodging my texts and calls. Now you refuse to turn around when I call your name in the hall? What the fuck?”
“Nothing happened. I’m fine. You’re just imagining it.” I went to walk around Jace and out the door, but he grabbed my arm again, and this time when I tried to jerk away, he wouldn’t let go.
“Let go.”
“No.” He closed the door and leaned against it before letting go of my arm.
“Fuck off, Jace, just let me leave. This has nothing to do with you,” I said, anger and fear bubbling to the surface. I couldn’t sleep, and I had to have the lights on all the time. The sound of light rain sent me into a panic attack that I couldn’t explain to my mother, and the last thing I needed was to share what had happened with Jace.
“Alex, you’re my best friend. You know you mean more to me than that.” His voice softened. “If you met someone else and you know…don’t wanna…hangout anymore, then just tell me.”
