Page 36 of Scorching Lies

Dropping the stack of photos in my left hand, my right covers my mouth, running from the room I barrel into the bathroom. Sweat pools at the base of my neck, I barely make it to the toilet in time to puke. My stomach heaves, emptying everything I’ve had today, leaving me feeling cold and empty. My arms shake on each side of the toilet almost too weak to hold me up. No matter how strong I try to be, I'd never be prepared for what’s in that box.

“Ahhhhh!” I scream, throwing my head back with tears falling down my face.

My fingers itch to pull my hair out. It feels like fire and ice cover my body fighting for dominance. This morning Ryker left me flowers and a finger as a threat that I belonged to him, but this? This is fucking sick. Slamming down on my ass the cold tile helps to cool off my heated skin through my jeans. Leaning my head on the bathroom door I let my eyes fall closed, my breathing erratic, but I count to ten in my head to calm myself.

It’s all a game, Kenna. He said they would be the safest place for me, but how could they when they try so hard to break me. Trust no one? Never. How do I know who Shadow is if they refuse to show their face? Thudding my head against the door I tryto force myself to see something, anything, I could be missing. That’s when it hits me. The black SUV that sped past the parking lot this morning. Kicking the bottom of the toilet, I yell one more time before I swallow down my feelings and block it all out. Pushing off the floor I move to stand at the sink, looking at the woman in the mirror.

Hair a mess, eyes red, tears staining my cheeks. Nodding at myself, my hands move automatically. Fixing my hair into a messy bun, my eyes track each movement with no emotion. I’ve blocked it all out, drinking down everything that’s been thrown at me until I feel nothing but numbness in my veins. Washing out my mouth I use my foot to flush the puke down and head back into my room. It’s time for me to make a delivery of my own before Ally gets home and has a fucking fit.

Cleaning the flowers off the floor and dresser, I shove them all into a trash bag and toss them in the corner of the room. Keeping the last item in the box I grab the pictures that I dropped and place them on top of the offending item with tears still trying to break through. Placing the lid back on the box, I work to tie the bow as perfect as it was before, but my fingers are still trembling a little from shock I give up and just put the ribbon around it in a knot. Snatching my keys and the box from the bed I storm out of my dorm to my car.

The brown box sits in my passenger seat, my windows down to air out the car, I floor it to the one spot I knew I’d find Ryker. He thinks he knows all my moves, but what he doesn’t know is I have my own secrets. His fucked up obsession with beating on people turned into underground fighting, using houses that our families own through business. That turned into building what they call “the basement”, but that’s not as much of a secret as they’d like to think. Thinking your dad betrayed the only peopleyou’ve ever loved teaches you to know everyone in your life like the back of your hand. Cole may use tracking software, trackers on cars, and cameras, but I have my ways.

Letting them think they have the upper hand is what’s best for them while they deal with the Foundation. With my father out of the picture and theirs dead, the Foundation has to be breathing down their back. Knowing them, they are fighting every move they want to make. Me included. The Foundation has reached out to me a time or two, but I’ve turned them down.

Turning down the street I glance at the box, making sure it’s still in the center of the seat. Shaking my head, I try to understand how they think I’m so blind. They claim my father is the culprit who started the fire, but then why was their dad there? Why was their dad refusing to let mine out of the business? I heard them fighting a few weeks before that meeting about how he wanted me to have a normal life where I could be safe. They were getting their hands too dirty for my father and he wanted out. None of it made sense and some of it still doesn’t, but this? The box in my seat? It’s all starting to fall into place right in front of me.

They have shown me exactly who they are and I still keep trying to prove them wrong. He said they were my safe place and now I see why. I’m only as safe as I can be when I’m surrounded by the devil himself. It can’t hurt me if I can see it coming. That’s what my dad was trying to tell me this entire time. Stay close to the Stone brothers so I can see it coming. Stopping at the curb outside a plain tan and brick house, I push my sunglasses up my head and unbuckle. Lifting the little gift they left me, I slide out of the driver's seat. I breathe through my mouth, taking small quick breaths to keep the smell escaping the box from overwhelming me.

It takes effort to calm the raging storm that’s building with each step closer. Climbing the stairs to the small house, I kick the door three times, determined to grab their attention.

“Yo girl, what the hell are you doing?”

Some random guy walks around from the side of the house with a cigarette hanging from his lips. Rolling my eyes at him, I turn back to the door, lifting my leg to kick it again. Sighing, his hand lashes out grabbing me. Thick fingers curl around my calf, halting my next move and throwing me off balance. Using my free hand I lean on the rail to keep from falling backwards when my head turns to him slowly.

“Get your fucking hands off me before you lose it.” I snap.

Jerking my leg from his hold I slam my foot into the door one last time. It swings open to reveal G standing there with a smirk.

Batting my lashes with a flirty smile I nod my head in the randoms direction, “Tell boss man if his little bitch touches me again he’ll be missing some fingers.”

Blowing G a kiss I move past him with the box in hand. I can see the moment he smells it because he spins around slinging the door shut and rushes after me.

“He’s not downstairs!” He shouts after me.

Stopping on my heel I turn, almost running into him. His throat tattoo bobs with a swallow, a war wages in his eyes. Another whiff floats from the box so he turns with a follow me look. G may be their right hand man, but he’s a boss in his own right. They keep him on a short leash because they know he’d run his own if they let him.

“What the hell did you do Princess?” He laughs.

Elbowing him in the ass on the way up a set of stairs, I scoff. “What makes you think this is my doing?”

Peeking at me over his shoulder he shakes his head, “Because they only make a move like this when it comes to you, but I can tell you right now, if you think this was them then you’re wrong. It’s my job to know what moves around Del Mar.”

“Yeah, well I know for a fact I saw the Tahoe following me this morning so maybe they make moves even you don’t know about.” I quip.

Reaching the top of the stairs I see a door slightly open with voices floating out into the hallway. Ignoring the men's voices I keep walking, stopping short when a raspy female voice reaches my ears. G looks back at me when he grabs the door-knob, his eyes darken when he sees my face.

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

But it’s too late. I’m already shoving the box in his hands and storming into the room only to stop short at the sight before me. West and Cole stand at the back of the room leaning against the window while three masked men surround a little blue haired bitch standing between Rykers legs working on a cut covering his face.

“What the hell?” Cole says, his voice venom.

West lets out an, “Oh shit.”

But Ryker just looks at me with a shit eating grin.

Storming over to him I shove blue bitch from between his legs and spin, placing myself between the two coming face to face with emerald green eyes filled with laughter? I step forward and at the same time the air in the room gets sucked out by the threemassive bodies that move at once toward the girl in front of me. A low grunt comes from the middle one, setting off the man behind me, his large tattooed arm wrapping around my waist tugging me into his chest.

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