Page 5 of Tormented Kings

“It sure as hell looks like you,” he sneers.

“It’s not!” I get in his face. “I have no fucking clue who the woman in these photos is or who the hell photoshopped me into them, but it’s not me.”

I move past him to go over to the car. I need Sadie to believe me. The devastation on her face when she handed them to me is something I never wanted to see on her.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” Preston reminds me, grabbing my arm and yanking me backward.

“Fuck off, Preston, or I swear to god, I’ll fucking kick your ass!”

“Leave her with us; let us get her home, and we will try and find out what is going on. But she doesn’t want to see you right now. It’s only going to make things worse.” He turns and rushes over to the driver's side of the car.

“Sadie!” I shout, running over to the car. I bang on the window. “Sadie, baby, please!” I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. “It’s not me. Please believe me. I love you, baby. I would never, ever fucking do this. Whoever gave these to you is lying. It’s not me.”

The car peels away, leaving me standing there, watching as the car goes.

I don’t move, staying still long after they’re gone. I think I’m in shock, my mind trying to process what just happened.

It’s only when my teeth start to chatter that I finally move. Every step feels like my feet are weighed down by cement.

Getting into the car, I close the door. The only sounds are my labored breathing and the beating of the rain against the hood of my car.

Laying the photos against my steering wheel, I turn the light on and look through them. Bile rises in my throat as I slowlyshift through the soggy paper, looking at photo after photo of what looks like me and another woman. But now that I get a closer look, it’s not just any other woman.

Connie. The woman my father is so dead set on me marrying.

I know for a fact these are all fake because I’ve never been with her before. I’ve never been with any other woman but Sadie. At least not since my feelings had shifted from wanting to protect her to wanting to own her, to love her, to consume her.

There's also the fact, that the guy in this photo is clearly me, my tattoos have changed since then

Did they think that Sadie would take one look at it and hope she believed it?

I mean, she did, and I don’t blame her. She doesn’t know my body well enough to know these small details. Yet. She will soon because I’m not giving up on her. I’ll never fucking give up on her.

I’ll leave her be for the night to calm down even though it fucking kills me not to follow after them and demand she hear me out. I could tell she’s at her breaking point, and I really don’t want to be the one to push her over.

I’m going to find out who gave these to her, who tried to set me up and take my girl away from me. And I’m going to fucking make them pay.

It’s one thing to fuck with me, but when you bring my girl into it— hurt her—so help me god, it’s not going to be pretty.

Chapter 2

Sadie

I’m shivering with Declan’s coat draped over me like a blanket as I stare mindlessly out the window. I watch as the raindrops trail from the top of the glass, racing down to the bottom.

My hand is laced with Declan’s, his thumb rubbing frantic circles on the back of my hand. I know he wants to talk to me, to ask me so many questions but he doesn’t. None of them have since I’ve gotten into the car, and I’m glad. I don’t want to talk right now.

Everything inside me hurts, my chest aching with a dull emptiness.

Preston and Grayson argue up front, speaking in soft, harsh tones as if I can’t hear them, but I can.

They’re arguing over the photos that Preston saw of Collin. Just the thought of it makes my stomach roll.

“Fuck it,” Preston growls, the car jolting as he swerves, taking a sharp right.

“What the fuck!” Grayson growls. “Are you trying to kill us?”

Blinking as I look out the window, I see that we’re in a gas station parking lot.

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