Page 6 of Destroyed

I’m sitting in our conference room at Bolt Corporation while Jonathan, Jamison, and Sebastian are around me. Andre is currently on a conference call with us and they are all filling me in on what has happened in the past couple of months. The further back they go, the more I can tell they are treading lightly.

“I am fairly positive,” Jamison says, “that Ethan Lockhart was behind the accident.”

Jonathan chimes in right afterward. “I agree. It just seems way too convenient that you guys leave Sebastian and Riley‘s wedding in a remote area and suddenly someone rams into you out of nowhere.”

Suddenly, I have a quick flashback of staring into frightened green eyes. Then, as quickly as it came, it’s gone. My heart starts beating faster. It's a tell-tale sign of the regular panic attacks I’ve been having, ready to hit me again. I pull out the small bottle of Xanax the doctor prescribed me and pop one into my mouth. Sebastian cocks an eyebrow at me but doesn’t say a word. He knows that I am not one to partake in drugs, especially prescription drugs, but I’m also pretty sure he will be keeping a closer eye on me now that he’s seen me.

Xanax became my escape of choice after my first accident. “I just need something to take the edge off,” I say.

He doesn’t respond, just grunts.

My memory flashes back to that set of wide green eyes. That's weird… Amy had blue eyes.

I must be remembering the accident with Riley’s sister.

I keep thinking about her, sitting next to me in the hospital room. She looked so beautiful and broken. If I were any other guy, I would jump at the opportunity to have a woman like that on my arm. I’m not, though, and I won’t be somebody’s charity case. Besides, I can't endanger anyone if I’m on Lockhart’s radar.

“What do you think about going out, Xavier?” Jonathan’s voice interrupts my thoughts.

Sebastian cuts in before I can respond, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, guys.”

Jonathan scoffs, causing me to turn back towards him.

“I’m not sure we should be taking advice from the retired playboy… no offense, brother.”

“Stop calling me that,” Sebastian growls out. “I am not a retired Playboy. What the fuck does that even mean? You sound like a child.”

Jonathan ignores the insult, piping back, “The handcuff on your finger says otherwise.”

Before Sebastian can retort, I hear Andre speak over the video chat, “You know what, guys, maybe taking Xavier out isn’t such a bad thing. It might jog some of his memory and we could use more details. If he could remember anything about the accident, it might help point us in the right direction. Also, we can’t just all stay holed up. We should still investigate Lockhart, especially now that we know he has a history with Riley‘s family. He could be going after Corrine instead.”

My eyes widen in surprise. I hadn’t thought about that. Maybe this had nothing to do with me and more to do with Riley's sister.

“If that’s the case,” Sebastian replies, “We need to make sure we don’t let her out of our sight. She will need to have one of us with her 24/7.”

My stomach drops. He looks at me expectantly and I narrow my eyes back. “Not me,” I say.

“Jamison and I can take turns,” Jonathan says, smirking. “We are pretty good at that anyway.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I reply before pushing away from the table and heading towards the door.

“I never said you couldn't watch,” Jonathan yells, laughing.

I hear Sebastian’s “Enough!” before the door slams behind me.

Chapter 4

Corrine

“What do you think, Jamison?” Kaz twirls in the dressing room in a silk lingerie set, making sure to wiggle her ass when she’s got her back to us. Riley and I are still grabbing our own things to try on and I catch the eye roll that Riley gives at Kaz’s booty shake.

“I think,” Jamison starts, shifting in his seat, “you better plan to buy that one.”

Kaz smiles, clearly pleased with Jamison's reaction. Normally, the other isn't far away when I’ve been around one of the twins. Jonathan and Jamison seem to go everywhere and do everything together, so I was surprised when only one showed up with Kaz today.

We’d decided to have a girls' shopping day because, as I’d explained to Riley the night before, I still hadn’t heard from Xavier since the hospital day. No texts. No calls. Not even a “Hey, I hear we’ve been fucking sorry I didn’t know who you were” text.

It’s not like I hadn’t given him the opportunity. I had tried to visit him in the hospital again, but the nurses had said he was resting. I assumed this meant he didn’t want to see me. Then, once he was released, I offered to bring dinner by. He had simply said, “No thanks, I’m good.”

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