Page 58 of Deadly Little Games

Hazen shakes his head. “She won’t trust us now.”

“She never did,” Gage says.

Chapter Thirty-One

Freya

My lungs burn, begging me to stop, but I can’t. I have to follow him. This can’t be happening. My brother is dead. No, I don’t accept that. He can’t be. He’s my everything. Without him, without my best friend, what am I? Nothing.

I keep urging my legs to move faster, desperately trying to catch up to the van as it gradually slips farther out of reach. As the brake lights fade away, I tumble onto the road, the asphalt scraping my knees. The salty taste of tears on my lips matches the ache in my heart.

Images of his lifeless body hanging over the wire flash repeatedly in my mind, his vacant gaze haunting me. If he didn’t get involved with The Brotherhood, none of this would have happened. He would be going off to college soon and everything would be as it should.

Headlights illuminate the road, and the rumble of a car comes up behind me, but I don’t move off the road. I can’t. My body feels like cement. Car doors slam, hands wrap around me from behind, and I let them. I lean intoa warm chest as voices carry through the wind, but I can’t understand them. It’s all too much.

I want to yell and kick at them, but all the fight within me is gone. Warmth surrounds me, and we’re moving into the car. I’m positioned across two bodies in the backseat, with my head resting in Hazen’s lap and my feet in Lucas’s.

“Take her to mine,” Lucas says, pulling my feet closer to his lap.

“No,” I mumble into Hazen’s stomach, pushing slightly so I can look up. He stares down at me with a mixture of sorrow and something else that I can’t quite put my finger on.

“Where do you want to go?” Hazen asks, brushing my hair out of my face, then his fingers gently caress my cheek. Warmth fills my belly, and I lean into his touch for a second before remembering that this is his fault. Their fault.

“Your place,” I say, and he frowns, shaking his head.

I don’t want to be anywhere near them, but they have all the answers. The Brotherhood is involved in this, and I’m going to find out who killed my brother. Even if it gets me killed in the process.

“No fucking way.”

“Please. I have to find out what happened, and nothing goes on without your father knowing.” Hazen watches me intently before he curses.

“Fine, but you don’t leave my side. Got it?”

I nod, my attention drawn to the intricate patterns on the car’s ceiling above me. Repeatedly tracing the crisscross pattern with my eyes, I tune everything else out until we eventually come to a stop. With the sound of the door opening, I swiftly rise from Hazen’s lap and scramble out of the car. As I take one step forward, Gage grabs my hand,bringing me to an abrupt halt. I whirl around, my heart pounding, ready to swing, but freeze when I meet his glassy eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Freya,” he whispers before letting go and jumping into his car next to Lucas’s. He’s gone before I can process what just came out of his mouth.

Part of me wants to believe they did this—Hazen, Gage, and Lucas killed my brother—but it doesn’t make sense. They were looking and helping me find him. If they knew he was dead this whole time, thenfuck, they deserve an Oscar for that performance. I want to hate them, to blame them, but I can’t. My only hope of figuring this out lies with them. I know I can’t do this alone—even my stubborn self realizes that.

Hazen gently clasps my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. The front door opens, revealing darkness before us. I have no idea what the time is, but it’s late. We move up the stairs in silence, down the hallway, and into his room.

As he turns on the light, a king-sized bed captures my attention, as it’s placed prominently in the center of the room. My mind is racing a million miles per hour, but my body is begging for sleep to come. Sleep will be impossible for me.

“I’ll run you a bath,” Hazen says, letting go of my hand.

I instantly miss his touch. A bath is the last thing I want—I should be storming into Dominic’s bedroom and demanding answers, but that’s reckless and will result in a bullet to my head. I can’t avenge Alec if I’m dead too. Rest first, then come morning, I’m demanding answers.

I enter the spacious bathroom a minute or two later, following after Hazen. A large bubbling jacuzzi tub sits in the corner, overlooking the ocean. Without any hesitation, Ished my clothes and drop them on the cold tiled floor. His eyes leisurely scan my figure, growing more intense with every passing moment until they lock with mine. As his throat bobs, I ascend the steps. When I slip into the water, I let out a sigh as it embraces me, its warmth enveloping my body like a cozy blanket.

“I’m so—” Hazen starts, but I shake my head.

“Don’t, not tonight. I just want to forget,” I say, leaning back against the jets.

Hazen nods, then removes his T-shirt in one swift movement, followed by his pants. His thick, jutting cock stares back at me, and this time I’m the one swallowing hard. He hops in, the water swirling around his mesmerizing body. He sits down opposite me and my broken heart beats at a crazy stupid rate. I wanted a distraction, and he’s it.

My feet take me closer to him, then my hands find his knees, and they move higher and higher.

“Are you su—?” Hazen says, and I cover his mouth with my hand.

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