Page 5 of Scorching Lies

Cole sits behindme tapping away on his security app, running different codes on whatever the hell he works on for the foundation, while West scans Pandora for a song to blare on the radio. My grip on the wheel tightens with each turn we take that brings us closer to the Kappa house where the party is held.

Football punks always have to throw the biggest parties to fill the void of not being the prized possession of Hawthorne. That falls to the baseball team and with West as their pitcher we are set to go all the way to the championships. If it’s not money pulling in women, it's his status as the school pitcher that does the trick.

Music floods from the speakers blasting Post Malone’s new singleMourningblocking out the thoughts that try to take over. Tinted windows obscure our faces but everyone in Del Mar knows who drives the blacked out Chevy Tahoe with white rims. Spotting my boy standing at the edge of the lawn I swerve the SUV to the side, pulling partially on the sidewalk and putting it in park.

Rolling down the window, “G man.” I call out, nodding my head at the approaching figure, waiting for him to give me the breakdown.

“He’s here with her. They’re inside dancing, but she hasn’t had anything to drink yet.”

He keeps his brown eyes level with mine, his mask in place not showing any emotion to the girl who used to hold all of our hearts in her hands. Until she bled us all dry.

Licking my lips I motion for him to hop in. Walking to the passenger side, he slides in behind West. Never one to feel uneasy around us, G falls into conversation with Cole and West about bullshit while I think over my plan for tonight. He was warned to stay away from the princess but it looks like Romero never learned to follow the rules.

“Romero’s getting handsy with what doesn’t belong to him.”

“And she belongs to you, brother?” Cole says, voice void of any inflection.

My grip on the wheel tightens, “She belongs to us until I fucking say otherwise. I have plans for the little princess but for now, we need to put Romero in his place.”

West turns toward me, “Don’t we have bigger fish to fry than some bitch boy on the football team? We may be going to this school for the foundation's benefit but that doesn’t mean we have to act like them.”

“West is right. Bringing the Kingstons down is the only reason we came to this school, not to run off any dick that tries to enter her rancid cunt. Kenna is our target, not Romero.”

G looks between all of us but his stare lands on mine. He’s been my right hand since we met in grade school and that was solidified the night of the fire. I can still hear him screaming my name over the roar of the flames outside the building. It took him an hour to calm me down after we saw them drag out my dad’s charred body. His skin bubbled and blistered. I trust him almost as much as I trust my brothers.

“Handle him so I don’t have to but leave the princess to me.”

Jumping out of the SUV we head inside. West splits from us the moment he spots Ally in the doorway to the kitchen, Cole's gaze following him the whole way. Grumbling something about needing a drink, Cole slinks off to the backyard where a keg is parked outside the door. Catching the back of G’s head my eyes track him all the way to Romero where Kenna stands off to the side with a smile covering her face, her long blonde hair falling in waves down her back.

Dark blue jeans hug her thighs and hips like they were painted on. Paired with a deep red tank top, revealing the tan skin of her stomach when she laughs at something he says. I watch his handreach up to brush a strand of hair from her face, his knuckles grazing her skin pulling her eyes to his. He fucking touched what I own.

Venom fills my veins at the sight of her joy. The urge to snuff out her freedom and drag her back to hell with me almost takes over, but I stand back to watch the show. She sees G a split second before he snatches the punk off his feet. G is a good foot taller than him, drags him away from Kenna in one swift move.

“Gio!” She screams, her voice grates against my skin.

G ignores her, continuing to haul him out to the front lawn. With all the partiers watching, he tosses Romero on his ass. Jumping to his feet they come nose to nose but before Romero thinks to take a swing he sees me from the corner of his eye. Leaning against the frame of the house my eyes stay on his. I can feel the heat of her stare glaring into the side of my face but I don’t look away from the fucker in front of me.

“Looks like Romeo here doesn’t know how to follow the rules.” I announce.

No one moves. No one speaks or takes a drink of their alcohol. I have everyone’s attention on us. Not only are we going to humiliate her but I’m going to make sure she never forgets her place here. Hawthorne belongs to the Stone family now.

“He’s all yours G.” I nod, giving him what he craves.

My finger twitches with the sound of fist hitting flesh, wishing it was my hands beating the shit out of Romero but I have my sights set on punishing a killer. Pushing off the frame my legs eat up the distance between us bringing her mere inches from me.

“What, are you following me now?”

Without a word, my fist closes over her hair dragging her into me, I grip her thigh with my free hand lifting her over my right shoulder. No one stops me from hauling her back in the house and up the stairs to an empty room.

“Put me the hell down asshole!”

Screaming and punching my lower back, I wince when she hits a sore spot in the center of my spine. Kicking the door shut behind me, I drop her to the ground not concerned with how hard her ass slams into the hardwood flooring. She cries out in agony, but I don't give a single fuck. I yank her from the floor, slamming her chest into mine.

“Let me go!”

My hand closes around her throat, cutting off her next breath. My blood boils with the feel of controlling her, having power over the princess. The killer who ruined my fucking life. I promised him that I’d make her pay. This was my chance to taint her, just a little taste, before we bring her castle crumbling down.

Leaning in, my breath fans across her skin, “I promise to fuck your foul pussy while I watch you burn. I can see the way your body begs for my dick just like when we were kids.”

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