Page 8 of Tormented Kings

I’m pulling the car door open and pushing my way out in a flash, leaving everything behind. I don’t want the money, Preston can have it.

Whether I plan on taking his father’s advice and leaving here or not, I’d never do it on his dime. I’d never allow someone to own me like that. Least of all him.

Knowing I don’t have my phone, or my keys, I grab the spare out from under the potted plant and unlock the door.

Slamming the door shut, I lock it. As I head towards my room, I angrily pull at my dress, needing it off my body.

Once I’m naked and in my room, I throw myself down on my bed. It doesn’t hit me just how cold and tired I really am until my body starts to shake violently, my teeth chattering so hard I fear they might break.

Using what strength I have left, I climb to the top of my bed and crawl under the blankets, wrapping myself up nice and tight.

Rolling to my side, I stare at the photos on my bedside table. One of me and Declan that we took during our movie night and the other of me and Grayson from the race track.

A tear falls, and I close my eyes. I don’t want to want them, to love them, to crave them. I don’t want to wish that they would leave their fiancées and be with me. I don’t want to believe that everything between Collin and me was a lie.

But I do. All of it. Every single thing. Because this is reality, and a world I was never meant to be in.

The world of Kingston Academy is only going to bring me pain and sadness. And it’s up to me to decide just how much I’m willing to take before it ruins me.

Chapter 3

Preston

“I’m going to fucking kill your father, Preston,” Grayson growls. His gaze, which was once locked on Sadie’s house, snaps over to mine. “Is he fucking for real? He threatened Sadie’s life, tried to pay her off. What the fuck?!”

My chest rises and falls as slow, heavy, deep breaths fill my lungs. My hands tighten around the steering wheel while my eyes follow the lights as they flick on throughout the cottage.

Rage. Pure, unfiltered rage is flowing through my veins.

When Collin called me to tell me that Sadie was missing from the party, I was up on the roof, feeling sorry for myself and getting drunk like I always do. Just sitting in my own self-loathing.

In the time between finding out she was gone, and finding her standing on the side of the road, soaked from the rain, with no shoes on her damn feet, I felt a panic that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

What is with this girl being the only one who can make me feel anything other than hate? There‘s no one in this fucking world who makes me worry or fear for their safety, not even myself.

Yet watching Sadie blossom from this shy, insecure girl to this feisty, headstrong woman has been one of my time-consuming passions.

I’ve been in hardcore denial when it comes to her, but I can’t do that anymore. Not when my stubbornness could be the reason she gets hurt. She’s right, I’m one to talk. She called me out on my shit tonight, and I think it’s about fucking time I listen.

“You're not going to kill him,” I say in a low voice as I slowly turn to face him. “Because I am.”

Grayson’s eyes flick between mine, and I know he can tell that I mean it. If I have to end my father’s life to keep Sadie safe, I’ll do it—consequences be damned. I know Collin would be right by my side.

At least... I think he would be. There's this whole thing with the photos and Connie. Fucking hell, I hope he’s telling the truth.

“What are we going to do?” Declan asks, voice thick with emotion. I know he’s worried about Sadie. We all are.

But as much as we all want to barge in there and make sure she’s okay, we can’t. It would make everything worse.

“First, we need to find out what the fuck all of this is about,” I tell them. “We’re going to go to Collin’s and get his side of this fucked up story.”

The rain has stopped by the time we reach Collin’s house. The gate to the property is closed, but the lights inside his house are bright and alive. Rolling down the window, I press the button to the speaker box. It rings for a moment before someone answers. “Can I help you?”

“Preston Jones. I’m here to see Collin.”

Knowing who I am and who our father is, I don’t expect them to let me in, so I’m surprised when the gate opens.

Pulling up to the house, I park the car and stare at it through the front window.

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