Page 72 of Wicked Games

He looks at me like I’m worse than a cockroach. His nose wrinkles. His eyebrows pull down, and his lips twist. “You have five minutes.”

And then he walks out.

Consequences.

I knew they were coming. I didn’t expect them to all happen at once.

I grab a duffle bag I use for away games and shove clothes into it. My running shoes. A jacket and hat. It doesn’t take me long, so I linger for a moment with one of my shirts in my hand. Margo wore it once, and it still smells faintly of her.

I thumb out a message to her.

Me: Something came up. I’ll see you Monday.

I shut my phone off and leave it on the table, then jog up the stairs and out the door. I lock it behind me, wondering only briefly at how my uncle was able to get in. I imagine the housekeeper let him in, or the Blacks gave him a key when I first came to live here.

Either way, I wish he couldn’t find me so easily.

The car idles in the driveway. He never drives—just part of his fucking persona—and his chauffeur opens the back door for me. I hand him my bag and slide in, and he gently shuts the door behind me.

Uncle David scowls in my direction. “Were you raised in a barn, Caleb? Your disrespect has reached new heights.”

“I—”

His backhand comes out of nowhere. My head whips to the side, the pain spreading from my cheek down my jaw. My face heats, but I don’t move except to once again look forward. I watch him out of my peripherals.

He’s breathing hard. He hasn’t hit me in the face… which means he, too, is losing control. Either that, or he knows I won’t be showing my face in public until the bruises heal.

I press my lips together, keeping my hands in my lap.

Only a few more months until I’m free of him. My birthday is in December, and then… no more chains holding me down. No more dealing with my family’s bullshit. It’s right around the corner.

“I washopingCoach Marzden would be a good influence on you. Guide you the way we couldn’t, since your mother was against our methods.” His jaw tics. “It’s only by your mother’s grace that we didn’t transfer you to Lion’s Head after theincident.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him, if only to ward off his anger for a little while.

Uncle grunts, pulling out his phone. It’s clear enough. For now, the conversation is over.

But I’m in for one hell of a weekend.

Chapter 18

Margo

“Where’s Lenora?” Riley asks.

She’s sleeping over tonight, which is a first for me. She came over a little while ago with her own pillow and a bag slung over her shoulder, grinning like a fool. Robert welcomed her in, told her to make herself comfortable, and has so far left us alone in my room.

“There was some work emergency,” I tell her. “They asked her to come in today, but I think she’s coming back tonight.”

“What does she do again?” Riley pulls books from her bag. Not textbooks—romance novels. I stare at them, but she doesn’t seem to notice until she has four spread out around her.

“What?” she questions.

I just shake my head at her. “She’s some sort of corporate liaison for merging companies. She explained it once, but it kind of went over my head. There’s a lot of legal stuff she deals with, but also I think she acts like a therapist for the CEOs losing their jobs.”

Or, as Robert once said, a rich adult’s mother.

“Did she work with Caleb’s dad’s company?”

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