Page 55 of Cannon
“You said the two brotherhoods were kinda like rivals, but what’s there to gain from screwing with you like this?” Elliot tilts her head to the side. She’s so quick, she knows there’s something she’s missing.
Shit.I should have known this was going to be pulled out into the open.
Kingston presses his lips together. “So, the piece you’re missing, Elle, is that back in high school, Duke dated Juliette. Pretty sure he may have even loved her. As much as that bastard is capable of loving someone, anyway.”
She blinks a few times as that rolls around in her head. “Your sister.” She’s not asking a question, simply trying to take in all the information. “I knew you were local—hello, Kingston Hawthorne—but I didn’t realize the head of Bainbridge Hall was, too.”
Kingston rubs his hand over his cheek, then regretfully nods his head. “I’m sorry you got dragged into it. I really am. Because I think the answer to why they pulled that stunt last night is as simple as this: Duke’s always going to blame me for Juliette’s death. He hates me.” He heaves out a breath. “I blame myself, so he doesn’t really need to do that, but he doesn’t care much about my feelings on the matter.” He drops his head into his hands.
“You’re the one who fuckin’ found her on your bed,” Archer grits out, shaking his head. “You’d think that would be sufficient punishment.”
I cringe. I know the story backward and forward, but I hate what hearing some of these details is doing to Elliot. Her face pales, and she gathers herself into a ball, leaning against Kingston’s chest. “I’m sorry.”
Kingston shrugs, expelling a deep sigh and putting his arm around her. “He’s a fucking asshole. The guy has a vendetta. He’ll probably still be poking that wound when we’re ninety.”
Archer groans, “Shit, if it’s not one thing it’s another.”
I grit my teeth, knowing it’s piss-poor timing, but this really can’t wait any longer. Holding up a hand to get their attention, I dig into my pocket for her phone. My eyes flick to Elliot’s, shooting her an apologetic look before tossing it onto the middle of the bed.
Kingston’s shrewd gaze meets mine, and my head bobs.Yep. He’s at it again.
“Fuck. I jinxed us.” Archer sits up and scrubs his hands through his messy hair.
Elliot leans forward, clutching the sheet to her breasts. “Wait, what? Is that my phone?”
That awful burnt rubber smell won’t go away. I grit my teeth, finally recognizing it for what it is.Part of an aura. Goddammit.
Kingston glances at me from the corner of his eye, then clears his throat, picking up the phone. “Elle.” His jaw clamps down so hard, I can practically hear his teeth grind. He wets his lower lip as he gazes at her. “The last thing we want to do is upset you.”
“What is it?” She holds out her hand. “Let me see, please.”
He shakes his head with his lips pressed together, but he hands it to her anyway. “This kinda got pushed by the wayside while we dealt with other issues this weekend.”
“Peaches, you must know I have access to your phone. It wasn’t anything personal, honestly, when we first looked. We did the same with Dane and Alec. It’s sometimes better to be aware of stuff than not.”
She gives him a tight smile. “Yeah, I knew. I’m not dumb.”
Archer winces, holding up a hand. “No one said you were.”
Shrugging, she eyes him, and I swear it’s like her super-smart brain is trying to see right into his. “I assumed the minute you appeared in my contacts after that first night that you had access to everything: phone, iPad, and whatever else you could get your hands on. You’ve probably got messages and alerts from my devices popping up on your computer or whatever.”
I can’t deny it. I love the sass. When she first arrived, she’d done a really good job of acting unafraid. But now, hell. She’s a force to be reckoned with.
Archer catches his lip between his teeth as he assesses what level of pissed off Elliot is. “Maybe not quite to the extent you’re imagining, but yeah.” He shoots her one of his classic boyish smirks.
Rolling her eyes, she taps in her passcode and opens the phone. “I haven’t looked very carefully in a while because of the concussion. I mean, I do know there are messages.” She looks down, I assume to open her texts. Her face goes pale, but as she reads, a flush creeps up her chest all the way to her cheeks. The hand she’s holding the sheet with clenches reflexively on the fabric, and she presses the phone screen down to the mattress. “I was trying to ignore him.”
This fuckin’ Nick character is dead if I ever meet him. I want to hold Elliot, let her know that it’ll be okay, we’ll figure it out. I take a couple of deep breaths, feeling dizzy.Fuck.Pleaseno.
“Do you want to tell us about him?” Archer rubs his hand over his cheek, gazing steadily at her.
She visibly stiffens. “He’s no one. Don’t worry about him.”
Archer grimaces, saying exactly what I’m thinking. “Clearly, he’s a complete asshole. We’ve gathered that much from everything he’s been texting you.” He lets out an aggravated sigh. “You know, he could cause you real trouble if he talks to your dad about where you are.”
I exhale sharply through my nose and point at the phone. My eyes clamp shut. I hope she doesn’t hate me for making them aware that there’s more.
Kingston’s brows lift on his forehead. “Elle. What’s he telling us?”
