Page 4 of Cold and Broken (The Titans of Founder's Ridge 1)

“Connor,” a high pitched whine calls me.

“Margaux.” I turn to see her in the tiniest bikini ever created, five inch heels, and full makeup. Her blonde hair is fully curled, she looks ridiculously overdone for an afternoon pool party. “Glad you could make it.”

She preens at my words. “Is this the year we make ourselves official?” She pushes her new fake tits out toward me.

“No.” I almost taste bile just thinking about dating her. “But I do have a fun project for you.”

Her disappointment at my brush off wars with her curiosity about my offer. She’s a cruel, cruel girl and any projects I give her usually involve putting that quality to good use. Her hollow brown eyes narrow on mine. “Details, Volkov.”

“My dad hired a guy out of Chicago to take over his security detail and corporate systems. The guy brought along a daughter who my family is footing the bill for at Founders Prep. I want her run out before midterms. The last thing my parents need is a charity case.” I look over her shoulder to see Lev and Griff spreading the news through the party goers.

“Consider it done.” She sips her wine spritzer. “I have one condition though.”

I narrow my eyes at her. Making this conditional might not be a smart move. Margaux is a viper. If she didn’t disgust me, we’d make a formidable couple. “State your terms.”

“You take me to every dance and fundraiser this school year.” She smirks, knowing it’s not the worst offer but still bad enough to make my skin pale. “And I’m on your arm for any big parties, including birthdays for you, me, and our friends.”

“Done.” I say after a slight hesitation. Honestly, a few nights with Margaux is better than a year with the mouthy sex on a stick girl currently mooching off my family and tempting my disgusting father.

“How’s it going over here?” I ask as I approach Lev and Griff.

“Good. I’ve got the word spread. No one will be showing her any kindness come Monday,” Lev says as his eyes wander over to a group of girls, also in tiny ass bikinis and high heels. “I’m going to go pick my convenient hole for the afternoon.” He starts to walk away but turns back, “And that comment was so accurate I almost wish we could keep her. She might be on our level, Con.”

She is definitely a worthy adversary. A small part of me hopes she puts up a good fight against us. It’s been too boring the past few years. The only struggle I’ve had has been watching the ever widening chasm between my parents, and thus, me and my sister.

I miss her. I couldn’t care less about where my mom runs off to but when she drags Claire all over the world, ignoring her need for consistent schooling and building friendships, I get pissed. Claire should be starting her freshman year at Founders with me but instead she’s over in Ireland at all girls Catholic school. The silver lining to that is that I don’t have to worry about guys hitting on her, at least at school.

“Connor.” I hear my name fall from my father’s lips as he walks up beside me. “A word in private.”

I follow him inside wordlessly. We walk down the hall to the library and he ushers me inside. The door closes with a snick while I prop myself against the windows.

“You’ve met Lilith?” Father asks.

“Yes, Victor, I’ve met the pet.” I infuse my voice with disdain and boredom. “I can’t believe we’re footing the bill for her school.”

“Wearen’t footing any bill. It was worked into her father’s contract. A smart negotiation on his part.” He looks out the window into the yard. “Lilith doesn’t have a car so you’ll need to give her a ride to and from school. Since you do not play any sports or participate in any extracurricular activities I trust it won’t be a problem.” He looks over at me with a raised eyebrow. We’re both the same height now. He used to have more muscle on his frame but the only exercise he gets now is golf, whereas I workout every day. I could be a carbon copy of him aside from muscle mass though, same green eyes and chestnut brown hair. We both have similar tan skin.

“You need to be kind and welcoming to Lilith. Did you invite her to your party?”

“No. I’ll give her a ride to school but I’m not going out of my way to be friendly.” I feign disinterest and head for the door. “I’m going back to the party.”

“Connor,” my name is a stern warning on his tongue, “if you make her life difficult I’ll make yours doubly so.”

I don’t even respond, I just walk back out to the pool. Lev has disappeared but I spot Griff sitting at a table ignoring everyone while he taps away on his iPad.

“What did Victor want?” he asks without looking up when I take a seat next to him.

“Threatening me to be nice to Lilith.” I stretch my legs out beneath the table.

“The irony,” Griff drawls dryly.

“I know.” I look over to see what he’s doing. “What are you doing?”

“Digging into Lilith’s background.”

“Do share.”

“She’s from the south side of Chicago. Went to a mostly black and hispanic high school and maintained a 4.0 gpa. Looks like her best friend or maybe boyfriend is a guy named Zion, a talented basketball player likely to get picked up by a D1 school. Her mom took off when she was a kid. No other family aside from her dad.”

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