Page 16 of Wicked Heiress

He looked as if he’d aged a few years in a matter of days. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and his hair was all over the place, sticking up in different directions as if he’d been tugging on it. He wasn’t built for so much stress and hadn’t been sleeping much. Alcohol and sleeping pills could only get him so far.

The Knights were under a lot of pressure. We’d been on high alert for months without getting much of a break. Even before Colonel Hale left for his mission, Grace was in danger.

Fitzy wouldn’t have left her in my family’s care if he wasn’t worried. The old man couldn’t bear to lose his heir, even though he hated Grace. Her cousin Bastian should have been the heir to the Adams fortune. So, there must have been a reason Fitzy kept her around. My guess was it had something to do with money.

“Drake Battle,” a female voice boomed through a speaker. “If you don’t get your brilliant behind upstairs in the next five minutes, I’m calling your mom.”

I laughed, and so did Drake.

“All the women in my life are so controlling.” Drake tapped the cushion between us. “You should get back to Fort Marshall and look after Grace. I’ll probably spend my night getting a lecture from Liv.” He smiled. “That woman drives me crazy.”

I bobbed my head. “I know the feeling.”

Drake had been in love with Olivia for years but made a deal with Tate not to touch her. I knew how much it sucked to want someone I couldn’t have. It was the worst pain imaginable.

Chapter Nine

COLE

I was an asshole for walking out on Grace, but I didn’t know what else to do. Following rules was coded into my DNA. She didn’t come downstairs for breakfast, and I couldn’t blame her. At least she wasn’t in the dining room when my dad dropped a bomb on me, hitting me like a punch to the kidney. It was better she wasn’t here to see my reaction.

“Rhys Vanderbilt is staying with us for the rest of the summer,” he announced as if it were something I wanted to hear this early in the morning. “The Knights need extra help protecting Grace and Alex. And he needs a place to stay until his parents are settled in California.”

My heart nearly stopped at his confession. Of all The Devil’s Knights, I hated Rhys the most. He was an unbearable, competitive piece of shit who thought the world revolved around him.

I dropped my fork onto the plate, fixing a stern glare at my dad. “Rhys is not staying here with Grace. We can’t trust him.”

My dad dismissed me with a head shake. “Rhys isn’t a problem, Cole. I know you competed over everything at the academy, but it won’t be that way while he’s living here.”

“Of course, it will, Commandant,” I shot back since I never called him Dad. He was my commanding officer at York Military Academy, but not my father for most of my life. “I had to deal with that asshole for nine months every year since I was twelve. He can find somewhere else to live for the next month.”

It was always tit-for-tat.

Rhys hated to lose.

Grace would be a shiny new toy for him to play with. It was like dangling a banana before a monkey and not expecting it to take a bite. Even though all Knights swore not to touch Grace, Rhys would make it his mission to defy Fitzy’s rules.

His family was on the verge of losing their standing with The Founders Society, so I didn’t understand why my dad would want to be associated with the Vanderbilts.

“Get over your hatred, put aside your differences, and welcome Rhys into our home.” Dad bit a slice of toast and chewed before adding, “He’s a Knight. Same as us. And he needs a place to live. We can’t turn him away when he needs help.”

I shoved the plate across the table, sick to my stomach. “Well, maybe if his dad weren’t such a shit human being, the Vanderbilts wouldn’t be broke. We shouldn’t even associate ourselves with people like them.”

My dad frowned. “That’s beside the point, Cole. Rhys is living here. End of story.” He lifted the newspaper from the table and avoided my gaze. “My decision is final.”

I shot up from the dining chair as if it were on fire. “If he does anything to hurt Grace, I will kill him.”

“As usual, you’re overreacting,” he said without looking away from the paper. “Grace will be better protected with you and Rhys working together.”

He didn’t know Rhys the way I did. That sneaky fuck would do anything to win, anything to get what he wanted. Anyone could see I had feelings for Grace. And I couldn’t let her be his next target.

Chapter Ten

COLE

When Rhys Vanderbilt arrived at Fort Marshall, everyone except the twins greeted the person I hated most. Ten years of competing with Rhys at York Military Academy created a lot of hatred between us.

My mom fussed over every detail of his stay. Rhys could have slept on the cold floor for all I cared. After some of the shady shit he’d pulled our final semester at the academy, he was dead to me.

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