Page 24 of Such A Bad Girl

Chapter Eleven

THEO

I’d never uttered a word about that night to another soul. And I never would. I’d promised her that night that I wouldn’t and I’d meant it.

I’ll never forget how terrified we both were when all that shit went down.

But I’d never felt even a twinge of guilt for any of it, either.

As far as I was concerned, that prick was better off dead.

We’d lucked out big time, sure. Avett’s body was located a few days later. In some kind of gift from the cosmos, the cops had assumed Avett was one of the victims of a serial killer they’d captured a year later.

Our secret had always been just that — our secret.

The texts were weird, sure. The newspaper part was concerning. That told me that whoever was sending them maybe knew something we didn’t want them to.

I’d been so sure we were alone that night….

My head was lost in the fog of the past as I walked back into the club, wandering into my office and sitting behind my heavy wooden desk. For the next hour, I tried to focus on a list of possible investors I was vetting, but my thoughts kept circling back to that night that had haunted me for years.

I stared off into space as the events of that night replayed in my head for the millionth time.

It was so long ago…

I’d been so wrapped up in my feelings for Everleigh, trying like hell to hide it all from West. I knew he’d never forgive me if he knew I had feelings for his little sister.

If he’d found out that I’d kissed her that night, too? Hell, they would have found my body floating right next to Avett’s in Town Lake.

Unfortunately, some things never changed. A decade later, and here I was still doing my damnedest to keep my feelings a secret from West.

I’d gotten into UCLA’s business school and joined him in California and those first few years were a crazy ride. When it was just me and West here in the beginning, things seemed a lot easier when I didn’t have to see her every day.

And after all that, everything changed between us. There was an awkwardness that lingered in the air. That attraction was back with a vengeance, too, and once I knew it was easier to avoid her, I focused on doing just that to stave off the thoughts.

I’d compensated, of course, by trying to shake off those always present feelings between the legs of any beautiful, sexy and willing woman I could find, in or out of the temple, but that never really worked for long to keep all of it at bay.

Everleigh was always there to capture my attention the next day, showing up at the club, at West’s house, hanging out in the office during her spare time.

Eventually, I’d given up trying to fight those feelings, accepting they would always be a part of my life, forever forbidden; Everleigh remaining untouchable.

These days, I just tried to avoid her as much as possible and converse with her as little as possible. Not interacting was the best solution.

Until she started showing up at the club, and then I was just fucked completely.

This new development with the texts meant avoiding Everleigh would be a lot harder now. My resolve needed to stay up or I’d cave to all those feelings again and she’d see right through me. Kissing Everleigh, and more, might be on my mind each time I saw her, but that would never be a possibility.

That one kiss never should have happened, but it did. It was just a quick peck in the heat of the moment, at the worst possible time, in fact. Maybe I can’t forget about it, but I couldn’t do it again. No matter how much I wanted to. No matter how much her pouty little spoiled lips tempted me to open them up and slide my tongue between them every time a smart ass word popped out of her mouth.

“Fuck,” I muttered, trying to rip my thoughts away from her — and those fucking sexy lips and the sweet taste of her pussy — and concentrate on work.

Work had been kicking my ass lately. Now that West was all tangled up with being in love with Kaylee, I’d been the one left to pick up the slack. Not that I minded. I was glad to see West happy, of course. Especially after it was his creepy personal assistant that had been discovered as the murderer of all of those models a few months ago. The fact that they’d all been members of the temple had brought the cops down hard on us.

That shit had hit West the hardest of all.

I knew he felt responsible, even though it was ridiculous because it was not his fault at all.

Kaylee, Theo, Rian and Everleigh and I had been keeping a close eye on him all while still giving him as much space as he needed to heal. It was a delicate balance, but I was determined to do right by my friend and give him whatever he needed. West had always been like a brother to me, welcoming me into his family with open arms when my own family was cold and distant and neglectful.

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