Page 12 of Scorching Lies

Sick of this conversation and the headache pressing into my skull, I jump to my feet abandoning my cold coffee and the movie Ally selected. Ignoring West and Ally calling after me I head to the door, slipping on my Nike slides and make my way into the courtyard. She may be confused but he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Our fathers were brothers in their own right. They met in college, this college. Even back then it was prestigious, but not inthe same way it is now. Now there’s rules, families that run the school, students that control the staff, money that buys grades. Placements. Scholars. Back then it was built on fear, loyalty, hard work, and of course money.

Walking through campus, I let myself remember my dad. Both of them because the truth is Alec Stone is just as much my father as my real one. I think that’s what makes this so much harder for me. They met before my dad met my mom, both freshmen coming in wild and fighting every single rule given. The part that always made me smile was neither of them came from the kind of money our mothers did. No, they came from dirty money, but my mom was an heiress and so was Mrs. Stone.

Walking past the Opulent Mess Hall building thatshouldfeed thousands, but chooses to only supply food to the ones that line their pockets. Deciding against going inside, my pace doesn’t slow. Instead I turn right, heading towards the on campus gym. My mother’s family hated my father and what he stood for, so he decided to prove them all wrong. He and Alec came together to build an empire that grew into billions. Millions weren’t enough for them; they had to make sure my moms father knew what they were capable of.

My mom was beautiful, smart, strong, but she was deadly in her own way. She held so much power over the staff, the students, anyone who walked the halls of this place. Her charm and power extended past the campus and into her fathers company. That’s how she was able to take over for him at such a young age. Because she didn’t wait for things to come to her, she took them. Without question or moral. I was bred into a family of vicious intent. Alec and his wife were no different, they just hid it better. Showering the people around them with gifts instead of fear. That’s where my father went wrong.

Forcing the knee to bend will soon break the bones of those who kneel. He didn’t change until he married my mother and had me, but it was always there under the surface. The strength to take down the town they all held in their hands. Stores, shipping, warehouses, weapons, you name it and they owned it. What no one knew, what I wasn’t supposed to know, was that they owned banks strictly to launder money. That’s what I learned a week before the fire. The one secret I’ve kept since finding out.

Two families, four powerful and feared people, gave birth to four children who were destined to be intertwined in their families business. Now I’m left with blood money and jaded memories, while the brothers are left with all consuming power. But if my mom taught me anything, it’s that the Kingston women are unstoppable. I just hope we don’t find something that should have burned in that warehouse, left to die with the men who left us in this mess.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I spot a tall lean figure leaning against one of the many art buildings. Irritation creeps under my skin. I’m sick of being followed. So, instead of keeping on the path that heads to the gym, I find myself walking towards the asshole in front of me. When I come closer I notice how slender he is, more so than both of his older brothers. Cole’s head swings in my direction when my shoe crushes a twig beneath my foot. It’s instant, the way his form tightens, tensing with each step closer.

“Princess.” His voice sounds softer than the other two, but the vitriol is falling off his tongue in waves.

No one despises me more than Cole. His hatred is carved into his bones, buried under his skin, imprinted in the muscle of his heart.

Stuffing my hands in my jogger pockets, my shoulders tense under his stare. I stop walking when the toe of my shoes are only an inch from his.

My mouth opens with a smart remark, but before I’m able to speak he lunges off the wall. He grips my upper arms, spinning us both until my back is pressed into the brick.

“I don’t know what led you here and I care even less, but let me give you a little advice princess. Stay. The. Fuck. Away. From. Me.” Pushing me roughly, my head swims with the force.

I’ll never shake this migraine if they keep putting my head into walls. Watching him disappear between two buildings, I wait for my heart to slow back down before I head into the gym. Even with a headache I could use a way to clear my thoughts. Unload all things Stone brothers and family secrets. They may not see it, but I’d never betray them. They’re dead set on forcing my hand. The question is, when the time comes am I going to pick them or my dad? Or will I sacrifice myself to the devil instead.

CHAPTER SEVEN

KENNA

My ass slams into the chair next to Ally, the legs screeching against the tile floor in our physics class. She flashed me a quick “what the fuck” look before turning back to the professor. Unable to focus on the lecture, I zone out while pretending to take notes. Dragging my pen around the white paper, the black ink jagged and angry. Each curve, swirl, and sharp edge meeting the tip of my pen loosens my muscles. Sweat builds at the base of my neck, trickling down my spine.

There’s a dull ache around my fingers from the tight grip. Shaking my wrist and bending my fingers back and forth to make the pain dissipate, the feel of someone’s eyes on me makes my movements halt.

. It’s been like this all week. It started with a lighter that was left in the door of my car a few days ago. Yesterday, I found a burning incense hanging from my dorm door when I got home from class. But it’s the feeling of a heated gaze that makes my skin crawl. I gradually lean back against my chair. Trying to lookaround the room without moving, attempting to spot one of the Stone brothers.

“What’s been up with you?” Ally whisper shouts.

Flinching from the sudden sound my head whips towards her, “What?”

“You’ve been acting weird as shit lately. What’s going on with you?”

I shake my head, keeping my lips pressed together. I don’t have an answer to give her anyway, not with West being the main dick she sees lately. Not with him coming over every. Single. Night. Tonight was no different.

“Kens.” Her big hazel eyes bore into mine.

Looking down, my gaze catches on the scar peeking out the cuff of my joggers. I run my fingers through my hair, flipping it over my shoulders to hide their view, snapping my gaze back to her.

“I feel sick. I’m going to head back to the house.” I take a deep breath, “I'll see you later.”

“Wait Kens-”

I don’t hear the rest of what she had to say due to the door swinging closed behind me. My Converse squeak across the floor with each hurried step. A laugh startles me. My head snaps up searching out the sound, landing on a shadowed figure that lingers in the alcove where the fountain used to stand. The laugh tapered off as I stopped dead in my tracks. The hairs on my arms stood tall, but it wasn’t from the ominous figure in front of me.

I could still feel the gaze of someone behind me. My eyes strain to see through the dark to make out the figure in front of me but all I see is black.

“Princessa.”

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