Page 34 of Brutal Obsession

“You suck him, or I hit send.” He shows me his screen. There’s a message already typed, the video loaded. Ready to blast off to his father.

He’s not kidding, and I feel trapped against Greyson and a hard place that I fought to escape. I glance at Steele again, who doesn’t make a fucking move to stop his friend. He seems fascinated… and confused by the situation.

“Eyes on me,” Greyson orders. He touches my chin, turning my face forward again. “Fair’s fair, don’t you think? I made you come… now it’s your turn.”

“This isn’t funny.” I hate the way my voice shakes. I don’t want to show him fear—that’s what set him off last time. I eye Steele. “Are you okay with this?”

He lifts his shoulder. “I’m fine with whatever you want to suck, Violet.”

I shiver. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect a guy I’ve known for three years to have the dark edge… to be okay with this. Maybe Greyson has convinced Steele that I do want this and I’m just playing hard to get. That this is some sick game between us.

Can I convince myself of that, too?

“On your knees,” Greyson says in my ear. “Or shall we run through what might happen after I hit send? I don’t mind giving you a play-by-play.”

I glower at him, crossing my arms over my chest. I refuse to answer, although my stomach feels like it’s full of snakes.

He pretends to contemplate it, but I know better. He’s already six steps ahead. “I hit send. Daddy Dearest sees the video, knows you broke your NDA, and now you’re in the shit position of wondering what the fuck he’s going to do. What did he do to get you to drop the suit in the first place, I wonder?”

Does he not know what his father did for him? None of the details? Just that one day I was pressing charges, taking him to court for a personal injury suit, and the next there was a nondisclosure agreement with my signature on his father’s desk.

And he was off the hook.

I almost laugh. “I’m not sure who the bigger asshole in the family is, Grey. You or your father.”

“I’ll let you in on a secret,” he says, as if I hadn’t spoken. “We’ll take everything from you. But not only you. Your pathetic little family. Your father’s name will be ruined. Your mother will have to leave Rose Hill just like you did. Retreat to a new city and hope that it doesn’t haunt her there. She’ll have no money, no friends, no future. Sound familiar?”

My dad. How dare he bring him into this? I’m so pissed, I don’t know how to answer him. I don’t know how to defend myself against this without making it worse. There’s not a single part of me that thinks he’s joking.

Then his gaze moves down to my leg, hidden by fabric. It always hurts, but the attention he gives it brings the pain to the forefront of my mind.

“Maybe, eventually, someone won’t be so nice. They won’t give you the choice I’m giving you. They’ll trip you or push you down a flight of stairs. Those bones will break again. You’re as fragile as those bones.”

He’s not wrong. One of my fears is that they’ll break again. That I’ll have to endure the last six months over again, only it’ll be worse. Because there are some wounds you can’t heal from. Some pain that never goes away.

“So?” Greyson steps back.

I can breathe again, barely. Just a little space between us eases the squeezing pressure in my chest. It doesn’t negate that I’ve already decided on my path. That he’s given me the hard and the easy way out of this room, and I’m not an idiot.

I’ll choose the path of least resistance… this time.

Next time, I’ll be better prepared.

I won’t fuck up.

So I don’t look at Steele at all when I nod slowly. My gaze stays trained on Greyson’s face. On the expressions he’ll try so hard to hide in the next few seconds. Because I’ve got a feeling Greyson is doing this to test both of us—and I’m not going to be the first one to cave. Or regret this.

“Okay,” I say simply. “I’ll do it.”

11

GREYSON

My grip on my phone is hard enough to crack the screen. I get rid of the text to my father and shove it back in my pocket.

The princess gives me one last look, then walks over to Steele. He’s still half in the shadows, but he straightens up when he realizes it’s actually happening. His lips part, like he’s going to back out. But we talked about this—I need to test her. To see how far she’ll go to save her own skin.

And he agreed. Quiet, stick-to-the-peripherals Steele, who has a small group of friends and likes it that way, agreed to help me. In a perverted, twisted way.

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