I don’t let him see any of my inner thoughts or feelings. Instead I fix a sick sort of macabre mask to my face and do my best to mimic Wilder’s insane grin. “Is it? Then how come I know he was stabbed—brutally. Attacked with such savagery that only someone who truly despised him could have torn him apart like that?”
My father’s eyes widen to saucers and he splutters incoherently before finally managing to string together enough words to form a sentence.
“What do you want?”
“I told you what we want.”
Sweat beads along his forehead. “I can’t get you out of the company. Maria is in control now. She’s not going to let you just walk away.”
“We can deal with Maria. We want your shares, and for you to report back to us with what Maria is doing. Once we’ve made this deal, we don’t trust her to stick to her agreement. I want you to spy on her.”
“I—what? I can’t do that!”
“You’re also going to transfer the deed to the house into West’s name, and empty half your bank account into his,” Beck speaks up for the first time. I quirk a brow at him, but quickly return my focus to my father as his shock is replaced with anger, and his nostrils flare.
“I’m not doing that,” my father snaps. “And I’m sure as fuck not about to hand over half of my wealth to you ungrateful bastards.” He sears Beck with a hateful glare. “I should have known you would be a bad influence. I should never have pulled your sorry ass out of Black Creek. You and your mother—AHHH!”
The knife I stole from Hadley and had concealed under my oversized hoodie is sticking out of the mattress, between his thighs, inches from where I imagine his limp dick is.
“Do you want to end up like Frank or Lawrence?” I question in a dark, sinister voice that sounds nothing like me.
His lower lip trembles and he frantically shakes his head.
“Then you’ll do what we’ve told you.” I wrap my hand around the handle and yank it out of the mattress. Without sparing my father a glance, I turn my back on him and head toward the door, Beck following close behind, with a proud little smirk on his face.
“Holy shit.” Beck laughs as we climb back into the car. There’s a fine tremor in my hands, but ultimately I feel fucking great for having finally stood up to my old man after all these years. “Where the hell did you learn that fancy little trick with the knife?”
I chuckle. “I might have asked Wilder to show me a few of the tricks Firefly taught him.”
“Damn, well, he looked totally terrified. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pissed himself a little.”
I snicker, starting the engine and driving us back to school, feeling lighter than I have in a long time.
The guys are still awake when we let ourselves into the apartment, and I’m surprised to find Hadley wedged between Cam and Mason on the sofa. She jumps to her feet as soon as we step into the room, rushing toward us until she’s got one arm wrapped around each of our necks.
“I was so worried about you both.” I hug her back, enjoying the feel of her in my arms. When she pulls back, there’s a stern look on her face, but I’m too busy noticing she looks so much better than she did earlier. The few hours rest must have done her good. It’s probably more sleep than she’s gotten in weeks. “I can’t believe you’d go without telling me,” she argues, but there’s no heat in her words.
“You needed to rest,” I say soothingly. “How are you feeling?”
“A little better,” she answers in a shy voice. “I, uh, owe you an apology.” She turns to look at everyone else. “I owe you all an apology, for the way I’ve been acting recently.”
“You don’t owe us anything, sweetheart,” Beck assures her, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her in against him.
She smiles softly, looking at Hawk. “Still. You were right earlier. I’ll try to be better.” She fidgets with her fingers, giving away how nervous she feels. “I can’t promise to be very good at it. I have no idea what’s going on with me, but I don’t want to lose any of you.”
“You’re not going to lose any of us,” Beck promises her. “We’ll figure it out together.”
We all murmur our agreement, and with a rosy tint to her cheeks, Hadley ducks her head and mumbles a thank you.
“Well, it’s late, I’m off to bed,” Hawk says, waving goodnight before disappearing down the hall.
“You should get some more sleep too, sweetheart,” Beck encourages. Hadley nods, chewing on her bottom lip.
“I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
I step in front of her, holding her chin in a firm yet soft grip. “You were never alone, Firefly. We’ve always been here, waiting for you to accept our help. Now, tell us what you need?”
She stares into my eyes, and I swear I lose myself in the swirling depths of her gaze.
“I need you,” she murmurs, before her gaze bounces over the others. “All of you.” She tilts her head back to look up at Beck. “Will you all stay with me tonight?”
“Of course, we will.” He leans down, brushing a kiss over her lips before we all move to her bedroom, everyone going through their nightly routine before climbing into bed. It’s a tight fit with all five of us in it, but no one seems to mind. We’re all just relieved to be in the same room as Hadley. Nestled against her back, I bury my nose in her hair, and knowing she’s safe in my arms, tiredness tugs me down into its dark depths.
I jolt awake as Hadley jumps, another nightmare having woken her. It happened several times during the night, and each time one of us soothed her back to sleep. Every time, my heart ached for her, and I hate that she’s been struggling alone with this.
Cam must have woken too, and I hear him murmuring to her, soothing her. I pull her in tighter against me and bury my face in her hair, breathing her in while I listen to Cam whispering to her. I’m nearly asleep again, when I realize he’s not trying to soothe her back to sleep. Horny bastard.
Unperturbed by my arm around her waist, he presses himself against her, and her breathy moan goes straight to my dick, and fuck me. I try to talk him down, because unlike Cam, I do not let my dick rule my life.
“Do you remember what I said to you in the compound?” Cam whispers, and I feel Hadley tense against me. I’m about to chew the asshole out, when she relaxes again.
“That I deserve nothing but pleasure.”
Her words are followed by another breathless moan, and I can only imagine what he’s doing to her to make her sound so fucking divine. My dick is rock hard now, and suddenly, all I can think about is watching her fall apart. It’s been so long since I have seen anything other than hard lines and tight smiles on her face.
I rock my hips, grinding my erection between her asscheeks, and she groans again, arching so her ass is pressed firmly against my hard length. Cam shifts, forcing Hadley onto her back, and settles between her thighs, kissing his way down her chest and abdomen as he pulls up her top.