Page 68 of The Puck Chase

“Then let’s go,” Josh snaps, slipping his hand into hers and pulling her away from his father, and finally, I let my gaze meet Hugo’s.

He looks at me knowingly, smiling as if the world is his fucking chessboard, and he just called fucking checkmate, and as I turn to leave, he purrs, “Give your father my regards.”

My mind is racing as I catch up to Josh and Hallie, the latter taking his keys and driving us back to the house, and not a single word is spoken. Josh because he is too pissed at whatever his father has just done, and Hallie because whatever it is, it has ruined their perfect little bubble. Not that my best friend seems to notice. Which I can’t begrudge him for, I know what it’s like to crumble under the weight of a powerful father, but when Hallie storms inside, I know all hell is going to break loose.

And once again, it isn’t the powerful men who perish, but the people who are forced to wither in their shadow.

When I opened the front door to Daemon in the early hours of the morning, I was more than ready to pick up where we left off at the party, but then I saw Hallie’s face. It was clear she had been crying, and Daemon left her in my care, as I called for Maddie with minimal explanation as to what the fuck was going on. My night then proceeded with listening to her tears for almost two hours, while Maddie tried to comfort her, before Nova and I insisted on them getting some sleep. Cap took his girl to his bed, and I unwillingly led Hallie to mine, letting her borrow one of my jerseys to sleep in, before making myself a bed on the floor.

It was a restless night to say the least, and I escaped my room as soon as the sun rose, though it wasn’t much help. The rest of the house is a mixture of being hungover and somber aboutwhatever went down last night, and Josh Peters has been sitting on our porch since fucking dawn, refusing to leave. Both Cap and Maddie have tried speaking to him, but still he sits, and none of us have a fucking clue what to do about it all.

I’m sipping coffee with Alexander at the kitchen island, when all of sudden we hear raised voices outside, and we share a look before quickly moving towards the door and ripping it open. Josh’s eyes dart to us instantly, with nothing but hope in them, before he quickly deflates when he realizes we are not his wife. It’s only then that I take in Daemon’s presence opposite him, now looking at me softly, with both Landon and Levi at his side. The former seems confused, and the latter is staring at Peters with nothing but uncontrolled rage.

“Come on, Josh, you can’t exactly be surprised, she wasn’t going to settle for your fake bullshit forever,” Levi spits, and it’s clear they are talking about Hallie, but it’s not clear what the fuck he means.

“I’d be very careful about what comes out of your fucking mouth next, Jones,” Peters warn, and it’s only now I am reminded of the way Levi acted that day on the ice, when Hallie picked him for her team.

He didn’t seem overjoyed in any way by her presence, he was more resigned that he was going to lose than anything else, but now I see what I missed that day. I felt a weird hatred from him aimed at Peters, who I know he’s been best friends with since high school, yet he acted like he couldn't stand him. It’s only now that I see my mistake. He doesn’t hate Peters, he just hates that he’s married to Hallie, and whatever happened between them last night, clearly Levi is taking it as his opportunity to make his feelings for his wife known.

“Please, we both knew it was only a matter of time before you fucked everything up,” Levi scoffs, looking at Peters withnothing but disgust. “Like father, like son,” he adds, and my eyes widen at the low blow falling from his mouth.

I’ve only heard bits and pieces about the Mayor of Fairfield, from being in proximity to Nova and Maddie in recent weeks, and despite not particularly caring for Josh Peters in any way, even as Daemon’s best friend, Levi’s words still strike a nerve.

Landon’s eyes widen in shock at his statement, and I see Peters’ entire body tense, yet it’s Daemon who steps between them. Turning himself into a shield for his best friend, more than used to taking the fucking blows, and my eyes track his every move. “You need to walk away. Now,” he warns him with a voice like death, and fuck does it turn me on.

Levi turns his glare onto Daemon and I just know that whatever he is about to say, is going to piss me the fuck off. “Don’t even get me started on your father, Forbes,” Levi spits, as if Daemon is completely beneath him, and I am stepping forward before I can stop myself. “Josh’s may be a piece of shit, but yours is a fucking murderer.”

The word murderer slices through me so viciously, that my entire body reacts as if he struck me. My fist slams into his jaw, with so much force that it knocks him off his feet, my whole body shaking with unrestrained rage, as I watch him hit the ground, taking great pleasure in the blood that pours from his mouth.

“Get the fuck away from my house, or the only murderer around here will be me,” I promise him darkly, and though I feel the stare of everyone else here, I keep my eyes on Levi, until he scrambles away from me on his hands and fucking knees, scurrying back to the house he shares with them.

When I turn back to the others, I find them all looking at me, just as I expected, but once my gaze meets Daemon’s, the rest of them fade away. He is looking at me as if he has never seen me before, and I almost think I have done something wrong, but then his lips tip up in the corner ever so slightly. And just like thefirst night I laid eyes on him, I am entrapped in his stare, free falling into his black hole.

Before I can say anything, Nova storms from the house with Maddie close behind him. “What the fuck is going on out here?” he shouts, and when he meets my stare and takes in my anger, he looks slightly confused, as Maddie tends to her brother.

“Josh, you’re still here?” she asks, as his phone rings out between us, which he promptly ignores, but as his eyes flash across the screen, he sighs, looking between us all, before focusing on his sister.

“Dad has been arrested,” he grits slowly, and the shock flows through all of us, as he sighs again, turning back towards us. “My father is a lying, corrupt, piece of shit, who tried to force Maddie into a business marriage. I ruined it, but my father forced me to take her place. I was told I had to pick a wife, and Hallie’s name was on the list of approved choices. I picked her because she was my friend, and I knew I wanted an ally as I took him down. I have since realized that I am madly in love with my fake wife, and I need to fucking fix it, so I am not leaving here until I see her.”

None of us say a thing as he speaks, letting his words settle over all of us, that is until Alexander bursts out laughing and I can’t help but groan. That fucker was right.

“I fucking knew it,” he brags, jumping off the porch onto my back and rubbing his knuckles on my head. “Pay up, you little prick,” he demands, practically dry humping me, and my eyes flash to Daemon’s in a panic, only to find him watching us with a smirk.

Josh looks between Alexander and I in confusion, before I push him off my back and sigh. “Reign bet me your marriage was bullshit, I bet him it was real,” I tell him honestly, and I expect him to be pissed at us, but if anything he just looks defeated.

“Then I guess we all lost, because my marriage may have been bullshit, but it was somehow the realest thing I have ever felt,” Josh replies, and his words steal all our humor and render us completely speechless.

It isn’t long before my best friend smiles, and nudges his girl. “You heard your brother. Go and fetch his wife, the man is in love,” Nova declares, and I laugh, as she turns on her heels and makes her way inside to find Hallie.

My attention moves back to Daemon, who is still watching me quietly, ignoring whatever else is saying around us. He nods his head towards his house, and anticipation burns through me, but before I can even take a step forward, Peters is there glaring at me.

“I hope you kept your hands to your fucking self last night, Gray,” he spits, and for a moment I’m almost confused, thinking he saw me with Daemon, but when I look at the man in question, he frowns up at his best friend. It’s only then I catch on to what Josh means.

“Trust me, Peters, I have done plenty of things to women in my time, but making them cry isn’t one of them,” I spit in response, and his stare hardens even more.

“Only women, eh?” he tosses back, and my eyes flick back to Daemon’s, but he is still watching Peters warily, as Alexander takes a step closer to me, as if anticipating this going south.

“Sorry man, it’s not my fault your wife wanted to sleep in my bed,” I snap back, getting sick of his fucking shit, but his rage only intensifies.

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