Page 53 of Duke
We reach the landing, and Mason nods to some rope over on a workbench. I snag the coil and bring it with me, then drop Arik onto a wood chair. I manage to strap him to the back of it while he’s still out and have bound his ankles to the legs by the time he’s fully alert again.
Arik glares up at me as he groans. “How the fuck—?”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t worry about how the fuck you got up here. Worry about what you should be saying to get yourself out of this fucking mess.”
Mason and Duke take a little longer with Quincy because he’s fully awake and in a panicked frenzy, lashing out at them when he can. Duke works to secure the rope while Mason ends up grabbing him by the throat and squeezing. “Look, you little bitch, you’re not getting out of this, so you may as well stop struggling.” That’d be one way to get the guy’s attention.
I growl, “And drop the motherfucking attitudes, would you? You’ve got one last chance to tell us what you were doing.” I run a frustrated hand through my hair. “And which other shit you’ve been behind.”
The two dickheads nervously look at each other but say nothing.
Duke grimaces, running a hand over his jaw. “Not talking, huh? Lemme get this straight. We have your asses in a sling here, and you’re going to deny that you’ve done anything?” He pauses, giving them a shrewd look. “There’s definitely a flaw within your logic, but I’m not going to argue with you. I know what I think’s been going on around here, and that’s all that matters. And if left to our own devices, then we’ll dole out punishment based on that.”
Gotta hand it to Duke, he’s always on top of things. His control right now is admirable. Because the way these two douche canoes throw insolent looks at us makes me want to put my fist through each of their faces. Mason’s not faring much better. I can see the chaotic fury simmering just below the surface. His dark eyes are a dead giveaway for me every time. But maybe I just know how to read him, as where these asshats don’t. If they did, they’d be very afraid.
“Mase, you got your phone on you?” Duke raises a brow in question.
Oh.I know where he’s going with this.
“Sure as fuck do.” He redirects his gaze to our captives. “You don’t have to talk, I guess. Because I agree with Duke. Maybe we’ll go at this in the only way I can see that’s fair.” He pulls out his phone and snaps a photo of Quincy, making sure to get both his face and his cum-stained pants in the frame. Quincy jerks and struggles, his entire face beet red. “An eye for an eye, motherfuckers.”
I nod. “I’m down with this. I’ll have some flyers made to put up around campus.”
“Cum Quick Quincy will be written big and bold on yours,Q.”Mason smirks at his own wit. Quincy’s red face goes completely pale.
“And Microdick Arik. That’s what we’ll put on yours.” I lean down, getting in his face. “Did you do that? Did you steal the photos of Lennon and put them up all over campus?”
Arik rolls his eyes. “We didn’t steal any photos. But they sure were hot to look at.”
Out of nowhere Mason’s hand flies out, and he smacks Arik right across the face. “I. Don’t. Fucking. Believe. You.” He holds his phone up and takes a photo of Arik.
“It’s been you two this entire time.” Duke crosses his arms over his chest. “Let’s put it this way. You don’t talk? We’re assuming you’re behind every single fucking thing that’s happened to Lennon since she came here, from shoving her into a pantry to drugging her at the auction and putting her in Warren’s bed.”
Flustered, Quincy shakes his head. “We had nothing to do with what happened at the auction.”
“Shut the fuck up, man. This is all your fucking fault that we got caught. Stupid fucking dumbass. Can’t keep your damn mouth shut,” Arik growls, tugging against the tight ropes I’ve tied around his arms.
Quincy glares at Arik before his head whips toward us, his eyes pleading. “You mention loyalty and obedience and silence. Well, we’ve been living that since the first of the semester.”
I raise a brow. “What’s that fucking mean?” I know where this is going. They don’t have to say it for me to be certain, but I’ll gladly let this idiot confirm it for us. When Lennon told Duke how few people actually knew what she’d been through as a child, and he relayed that information to us, Mason and I had come to the exact same conclusion they had. Because of her mother, Tristan had all the information he needed to make her life a living hell. And if Tristan knows, that means my dad and Murdock do, too. But why the all-out attack on her? What has she done to deserve any of this? We’re still missing something important, and that has my gut twisting uncomfortably.
“Shut the fuck up, Q! I mean it!” Arik snarls at his buddy, shaking his head furiously.
But Quincy wets his lips, unable to stop now that he’s started. “They told us it was part of our fucking grunt work. To prove our loyalty and obedience.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
LENNON
Once the guysgo by with Quincy and Arik, I must stand inside Mason’s room for several minutes with my forehead resting against the door. I pay attention to each breath in and out, doing everything I can to find my center, and tell myself everything is going to be okay.
I know that whatever my guys do with Quincy and Arik will be justified. Am I surprised that it’s probably the two of them who have been messing with me this entire time?Fuck no.I roll my eyes. The one thing they’ve proven is that they’re good at following Tristan’s instructions. Carefully unclenching my hands, which have been fisted since they walked past me with those assholes, I finally turn and head for the bathroom. There’s no way of knowing how long they’ll be, so I may as well get a head start on cleaning up.
I turn on Mason’s shower and wait while it warms, then peel off the shirt I’d borrowed and step inside. Letting the water stream over me, I consider every last thing that Quincy and Arik heard or saw before they came out of hiding. The guys had each had me… and Duke and Mason, each other.
I exhale harshly, my face flaming. Slowly, I shake my head. There’s nothing wrong with anything we did. We’re consenting adults. And if anyone has anything to say about it, well, fuck them. Grabbing Mason’s bodywash off the little shelf, I squirt some into my palm and begin to rub it over my skin.
The lather smells like Mason, and a flash of him bending me over the balcony runs through my mind. I push the thoughts of today’s shit show out of my head, instead thinking about how good I’d felt just a short time ago. I won’t let Quincy or Arik—or anyone else—take that from me.
