Chapter 10: Corrupt: Chapter 10

Three Years Ago

“HOW’S SHE FEELING UP THERE, BROTHER?” Damon called from the back. “She can come and sit with me if she wants.”

I heard Will’s breathy laugh and felt Michael’s hand tighten on my waist as I sat on his lap.

But he didn’t respond. Michael wouldn’t. From what I’d seen, he rarely indulged Damon’s childish antics.

Kai sped ahead with his chin tipped down, shooting me casual glances. “I don’t know. She looks pretty comfortable where she is,” he told Damon.

And I just stared out the front windshield, half-rolling my eyes at both of them. I didn’t enjoy being the butt of a joke. I hadn’t asked to sit here, after all.

But I couldn’t say I was itching to rush back to my own seat, either. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, heat covered my neck, and I had no desire to ever be anywhere else. My heart pounding so hard it hurt.

Every inch of my skin begged to feel his, and I wanted to turn around and straddle him and know what he felt like between my legs.

Gripping the support handle on the side of the window, I relaxed into his chest, feeling it rise and fall behind me.

He continued texting on his phone with his left hand, acting like I wasn’t there, but the tension in his arm wrapped around my waist told me otherwise.

I spotted Kai stealing a sideway glance at me, something unreadable in his eyes.

“Have you decided what you’d like to do?”

I twisted my head back, looking at Michael. “Me? What do you mean?”

He finished his text, his eyes downcast at me and his warm breath falling on my face. “You get to pull a prank, too.”

Will came up from behind, peeking over Michael’s seat. “Think of the movie The Crow,” he pointed out. “We could rob some stores, burn down the town, murder a young couple…”

I pinched my eyebrows together, not finding that funny.

Damon spoke up from the back. “She’s a fucking lightweight. I didn’t come all the way back to town this weekend to egg cars.”

Will hooded his eyes, smirking at me. “That’s so 2010. I’m sure she can come up with something better than that.”

“I’m sure it won’t be hard,” I teased. “You haven’t exactly set a high standard.” And then I peered around at them, amusement pulling at my lips. “Is this all the Horsemen do on Devil’s Night? Because I must say, you don’t do the stories justice.”

“Ohhhh, she did not say that!” Will howled, smiling.

Michael’s sexy grin rose to the challenge. “Well, well, well, it seems Erika Fane is unimpressed, Gentlemen.

Damon remained quiet, but I saw a flicker from the back as he lit a cigarette, and Kai smiled, focusing on the road but listening.

“You didn’t like the fire?” Michael nudged, mischief in his eyes.

“It was cool.” I shrugged. “But anyone could’ve done it. What was the point?”

I remained nonchalant, enjoying taking part in a conversation even if it was just teasing. Of course, I wasn’t try to insult him.

Michael’s eyes thinned, regarding me. “What was the point?” he asked, but I could tell he was just thinking out loud.

“Hey?” Michael called out. “She wants to know what the point was.”

I heard laughter and turned to Kai, who had his arm steel-rod straight on the wheel as we sped down the road.

He glanced at me, waggling his eyebrows, but then he jerked the wheel to the right, and I yelped as all of us jostled in our seats. I shot out my hands, holding the support bar with both of them as we swayed side to side, the car derailing onto a small, narrow gravel road.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t know what to say. What the hell was he doing?

Before I knew it, he’d stopped the car, killed the engine, and turned off the headlights. The inside of the car fell completely silent.

“What the hell?” I burst out. “What are you doing?”

“What are we doing?” Michael corrected.

Kai turned his head to me, pressing his finger to his lips.

I was afraid to breathe.

We sat there for several seconds, and I was so confused, but I didn’t want to annoy them with more questions. What were we doing here, in the dark, hidden on a gravel road? And I still didn’t understand why I was on Michael’s lap.

And then my ears perked up, hearing it.

Sirens.

Everyone in the car turned their heads to look out the back window, and within seconds, flashes of red, blue, and white flew past on the bit of highway we could still see. Two fire trucks and five police cruisers.

Will started laughing, his deep, boisterous bellow like it was Christmas morning.

The vehicles passed by, continuing down the highway, and the forest turned dark and quiet again.

I turned my eyes on Kai. “You called them? That’s what you were doing on the phone.”

He grinned, nodding. “Of course they think there’s about five fires going on up there instead of just one.”

Five? Why would he have lied when he called it in?

Michael must’ve seen the puzzled look on my face. “We needed as many police out there as possible.”

“Why?”

But he just rolled his eyes at me, turning to Kai. “Show her.”

Kai started the engine, and I grasped the support bar again as he backed out of the narrow inlet at top speed. I bounced around in Michael’s lap until he wrapped his arm around my waist again, holding me still.

Kai shot the car into first gear and laid on the gas, speeding down the dark road as Nonpoint’s Bullet With a Name filled the car.

He punched into third, fourth, and then fifth gear, and within seconds, I spotted four massive headlights ahead. I inched closer to the windshield, seeing that they were trucks.

Two of them. Dump trunks.

Will’s excited noises sounded from the back, while Michael and Kai both put down their windows. I cast a nervous glance at Michael, and I couldn’t explain what I saw in his eyes. Heat. Thrill. Anticipation.

His gaze fell to my lips, and his grip tightened on my waist.

“Hold on,” he said softly.

I tore my eyes away, gripping the support bar, as I watched the front of the car drift into the middle of the road.

What was Kai doing?

My breathing turned shallow, and I shot my eyes up, seeing the two trucks spread apart to the outside, driving half on the road and half on the shoulder.

Their headlights shined brighter and brighter, and I breathed hard, seeing them get closer and closer.

And then all of a sudden, I widened my eyes, feeling Michael’s finger graze my stomach, back and forth, nice and slow.

Oh, God.

I couldn’t help it. I arched my back, pressing my ass into him, and staring ahead at the trucks coming at us.

I heard his groan, and then his phone hit my ankle where he dropped it. His hand left my stomach and came up to wrap around the front of my neck, pulling me back to him as his other hand gripped my waist.

“Knock that off,” he whispered in my ear, sounding out of breath. “You’re driving me crazy.”

His hand tightened around my neck, and I dragged my bottom lip in between my teeth, feeling my pulse throb in my neck and hearing it in my ears.

Fuck. I squirmed despite his warning.

The trucks started honking and the lights flashed at us, and I whimpered, fear racing under my skin and my stomach flipping again and again.

“Jesus,” Michael whispered in my ear, slipping his hand under my sweatshirt to my stomach again. “You’re about to come, aren’t you?”

He breathed hard in my ear, and I squeezed my eyes shut, lights flashing, and then my breath caught in my throat and the trucks blew past, horns honking and gusts of wind bursting through the open windows, blowing my hair.

“Fuck yeah!” Will shouted, holding up the same phone from before and recording.

Damon laughed, and Kai slowed the car. Michael released his grip on my neck, everyone spinning their heads around to peer out the back window.

Kai stopped the car in the middle of the road, and I sucked in air, watching in confusion as the trucks both turned inward toward the road, stopping to face each other, grill to grill.

The headlights went dead, and the next thing I knew, one guy was jumping out of each cab and racing for us on foot.

The trucks were left blocking the road and the shoulders, leaving no room for anyone to get through. Ditches lined each shoulder, so driving off-road wasn’t a possibility either unless you had a pretty touch vehicle.

The back doors opened, and two young men rushed inside Michael’s car, laughing and gasping for breath.

“Son of a bitch, that was awesome,” the brown-haired one chuckled, climbing into the back with Damon.

Will slapped him on the back as he went, and then a blond one climbed in, taking my old seat. He pushed his hair back off his forehead and tapped Kai on the shoulder, handing him two sets of keys.

“I set the alarm, so your uncle shouldn’t know the trucks are missing until morning,” he breathed out.

I recognized both of the boys. Simon Ulrich and Brace Salinger, both basketball players at my school.

So that’s what Michael meant by needing the room and making me sit on his lap. We were picking up more people.

I dropped my eyes, narrowing them as I thought about what Brace said. The trucks belonged to Kai’s family. His uncle owned a construction company, and they’d taken the trucks and just planted them in the middle of the road. That was Kai’s prank for the night.

But…

I looked up at Michael, seeing his eyebrows raise in a challenge.

“You’re blocking the road,” I stated, finally figuring it out. “So Fire and Police can’t get back.”

The corners of his mouth lifted. “Are you impressed yet?”

AFTER DROPPING OFF BRACE AND SIMON at a local hangout diner, I moved back to my original seat, seeing no logical reason to stay in Michael’s lap. Even though the last thing I wanted to do was leave him.

Unfortunately, I was more afraid he’d have to ask me to hop off, and then I’d be embarrassed that he was forced to ask.

Michael took over driving again, and we cruised back through his and my neighborhood parking alongside the dark, quiet road about a mile from my house. We sat outside a huge iron gate, and I gazed at the tall stone wall, knowing it was the mayor’s house on the other side.

Thunder Bay was a small community, maybe twenty thousand people, not counting the students who commuted from surrounding areas to attend Thunder Bay Prep. Our mayor had held his position for a long time, and as rarely as things changed in our town, it made sense why.

Damon had left the car over half an hour ago as we all sat there with the engine running and the heat on, and I was trying very hard not to ask questions. Like, why were we waiting here? What was he doing in there? And, if it was something bad, should we just wait here like sitting ducks knowing the police might already be on their way?

Of course, several police officers were held up with the fire we’d distracted them with on the other side of town, but there were still a few left in the area.

“Here he comes.”

Kai peered out Michael’s window, and I followed his gaze, seeing Damon hop from a tree on the other side of the stone wall and immediately drop feet first to the ground.

He pulled on his hood and jogged to the car, opening Will’s side and laughing as he crawled over his friend’s legs and fell into his seat in the back.

His cold sweatshirt brushed my cheek, but instead of the cigarette smoke I usually smelled on him, it was a subtle perfume.

“How was she?” Will asked Damon over his shoulder.

“Tasted better than a Popsicle.”

I twisted up my lips. Really? We’d been waiting on him this whole time so he could get

laid?

Over the years, I’d gauged that the guys definitely loved women, and they didn’t hide it.

Being who they were and wielding the power they did, it was never hard to find girls up for a good time, and although I hated to accidentally overhear their comments and discussions and the crude way they talked about various conquests, I also kind of envied their freedom to do as they pleased without judgment.

Would they wait on me if I wanted to go get laid? Would they pat me on the back and ask me how it was?

No, they wouldn’t.

They—or at least Will and Damon—would expect me to be a virgin, only to open my legs for them, and then not whine and cry when they never called me again.

And unfortunately, Michael was very much like Damon.

Never any girlfriends, never any commitment, and never any expectations. The only difference was Michael didn’t talk about his dirty deeds. Damon made sure everyone knew.

“You guys could’ve come up,” Damon suggested. “You like pussy, Rika?”

Anger heated my skin. I pulled my seatbelt back on, not looking at him as I answered. “I’d take one to bed before your dick.”

Will snorted, hunching over, and I heard Kai’s quiet laugh in the passenger’s seat in front. Michael made no move.

But a chill fell on the right side of my face, and I knew Damon was glaring at me.

“So who was it then?” I asked, ignoring his temper.

“Mayor’s wife,” Will answered. “Trophy bitch, but oh so nice.”

Jesus. An older, married woman? Damon had no limits.

“Actually, she wasn’t home,” Damon cut in.

Will and I jerked our heads around, confused. “So who were you with then?” Will shot out.

Damon grinned, and lifted two fingers to his nose, sniffing. “I like virgins. So sweet.”

Kai turned his head, scowling. “You didn’t,” he growled, apparently knowing something I didn’t.

“Fuck off,” Damon bit out.

I pinched my eyebrows together, looking around at the guys. “Who are you talking about?”

Damon held up the same phone Will had recorded the fire on and then tossed it to Will. “I got video,” he taunted. “You want to watch?”

I straightened my back, turning back around. Fucking lowlife.

“You really are fucking stupid,” Kai gritted out again and faced forward.

I stared at him in the front, wondering why he was so angry. Damon had pissed me off with his stupid remarks, but why was Kai annoyed with him? What could be worse than the wife of the mayor?

And then my eyes rounded, finally realizing who they were talking about. The only other person that lived in the house besides the servants.

Winter Ashby, the mayor’s daughter.

Shit. That was his prank? Screw the mayor’s daughter?

No wonder Kai was pissed.

But before I could confirm that’s who they were talking about, Damon took out his cigarettes and called up front, “Let’s go eat,” he suggested. “I’m fucking hungry.”

And Michael, who’d been silent the entire time, hesitated only a moment before shifting the SUV into gear and pulling back onto the road.

Cranking up the radio to Jekyll and Hyde by Five Finger Death Punch, Michael took us back into town and parked right in front of Sticks, a favorite hangout, bar, and pool hall frequented by nearly every kid in town up to the age of twenty-one. They served alcohol, but unless you were of age—or a star basketball player—you didn’t get served.

It didn’t matter, though. The music was great, the atmosphere dark, and it was big enough to accommodate plenty of people. It was the place to be if you wanted action on a Friday or Saturday night. Every time I’d tried to join my friends, though, Trevor showed up and hovered, so I rarely came.

We stepped out of the car, and I combed my fingers through my hair as I walked around the back of the SUV to meet everyone on the sidewalk. Damon flicked his cigarette into the street, and I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to keep warm.

“Fuckin’ Anderson,” Kai said under his breath. “I can’t stand him.”

I followed his gaze through the windows, immediately looking away again as soon as I saw who he was talking about.

Miles Anderson.

I stared at the ground, letting my hair fall over the side of my face, covering it. I couldn’t stand him, either.

Uneasiness settled in my muscles until they were so tight and tense that I thought they

would pop.

“Asshole’s been talking shit since we graduated,” Damon added.

I could tell none of them really liked the new captain of Thunder Bay’s basketball team. Miles had taken over after Michael graduated, and he enjoyed no longer living in his shadow. He resented the Horsemen’s power, charisma, and reach, and after they’d left for college, he wasted no time in trying to claim what was once theirs.

The only problem was he sucked as a captain. The team had a horrible year last year, and the more he failed, the more he pushed to prove what a man he was.

I shivered, forcing thoughts of what happened last spring out of my head. He might be the only person worse than Damon.

I eyed Michael, trying to hide my concern. “We’re not going in there, are we?”

“Why not?”

I shrugged, looking away like it wasn’t a big deal. “I just don’t want to.”

“Well, I’m hungry,” Will chimed in. “And there’s tail in there, so let’s go.”

I stared down the sidewalk, blinking long and hard, in part for his crass remark and in part because I refused to budge and didn’t want to explain why.

I had to endure Miles’ presence at school, but I wouldn’t on my free time.

I felt Michael approach. “What’s the matter with you?”

His hard tone sounded impatient. Why wouldn’t it be? He never coddled me.

I looked up at him defiantly, shaking my head. “I just don’t want to go in. I’ll wait for you guys out here.”

Damon shook his head, looking at Michael. “I told you,” he complained. “Fucking complicated.”

I heaved an aggravated breath, staying frozen in my spot. I didn’t care what Damon had to say about me. I cared more about not having to look at Miles Fucking Anderson and him knowing he’d gotten away without a scratch.

He always had that power over me now.

But then I gasped, sucking in a breath as Michael grabbed my upper arm and force-walked me behind the SUV. He threw me off, letting me go, and I backed into the car as he advanced.

“What,” he growled, “is your problem?”

A lump stretched my throat, and I chewed on my lip, not really wanting the rest of the guys to know.

Fat chance.

They followed us over, around the car, and stood next to Michael, staring at me and waiting.

Great.

I let out a sigh, squaring my shoulders and just blurting it out. “Miles Anderson slipped me a spiked drink at a party last spring.”

I stared at the ground as they all just stood there, not saying anything.

Last March, I’d gone to a St. Patrick’s Day party at a senior’s house, and of course, I hadn’t gone alone. Noah and Claudia came with me.

We hung out, we danced, I had one drink, and the next thing I knew I was being slapped awake by Noah in a bathroom as he stuck his finger down my throat.

Maybe the guys didn’t think that was a big deal. Who cared about some idiot girl that got roofied?

Michael shifted, inching closer. “What the fuck did you just say?”

I shot my eyes up, my blood heating at the sight of his cinnamon eyes looking like he wanted to tear me limb from limb.

But I stayed strong. “Astrid Colby, his girlfriend, actually did it,” I explained. “She gave me the drink, but he was in on it.”

Yeah, any confidence Michael had in me was probably gone now. I was weak, stupid, and a waste of time.

“What happened?” he demanded.

I swallowed through the lump in my throat, my voice shaky. “I went down quick,” I told him. “I barely remember anything. All I know is what Noah told me. He’d broken down the door to a bedroom in the house where the party was. They had me on the bed, and my…” I paused, my stomach rolling with the thought as my eyes burned. “And my shirt was open.”

Michael hesitated a moment and then pressed. “And?”

“And they didn’t get that far,” I assured, knowing what he wanted to know.

No, I hadn’t been raped.

“Noah had noticed me being led upstairs with them,” I explained, “barely able to walk, and thankfully he got there before anything else happened.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” he threw back, accusing me.

My chest shook, and I blinked away the tears pooling.

But it was no use. They came anyway, and I couldn’t look at any of them as they started to fall.

“What the fuck is the matter with you?” he yelled in my face, and I winced. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I did!” I cried, glaring at him through blurry eyes. “I told everyone! My mother called the school, and…”

I trailed off, clenched my fists under my arms.

“So help me God…” he warned when I didn’t finish.

I filled my lungs and forced the rest out. “And your father is partnered in three real estate ventures with the Andersons, so—”

“Goddammit!” Michael tore himself away, turning from me as he swore.

Kai shook his head, heat turning his dark eyes fierce. “Unbelievable,” he gritted out.

I didn’t need to explain further.

Yeah, I’d tried to fight back, tell my mother, the Crists, the school, even Trevor…but in the end, even despite the protests of my mom and Michael’s, the business relationship between Michael’s father and Miles’ parents was more precious than my honor.

Miles was told to stay away from me, and I wasn’t permitted go to the hospital to take a drug test for evidence. The incident never went to the police or even left our respective homes. I had to look at him every day in school, knowing what he almost did to me and wondering, if he and his girlfriend had raped me, would I have seen any justice then?

I bowed my head, trying to hold back my silent sobs. God, I wanted to kill him.

“Stop crying,” Damon ordered, glaring down at me.

He then looked up at Michael, his eyes narrowing. “What are we going to do?”

What are we going to do? What could we do? Even if the Horsemen had power in this town, they didn’t hold any over their parents. Evans Crist had convinced my mother not to publicize the issue, and what was done was done. Astrid and Miles weren’t going to be investigated, and if they were, there was no evidence now anyway.

Unless….

Unless that’s not the kind of payback Damon was talking about.

Michael breathed hard, shifting back and forth, and then his eyes fell on me.

And I saw his chin lift and his eyes turn resolute. “Ask her.”

I stilled. What?

He cocked his head, daring me as the rest of them slowly turned to me and waited.

What the hell? What was I supposed to do?

And then I realized what Damon had just asked. What are we going to do? It was my decision.

They’d all had each other’s backs tonight, and now they had mine. But they weren’t going to do my shit for me.

No, Michael never would. He’d never handled me lightly, and he was going to make me deal with this. And if I didn’t, I may as well have them take me home now.

I bit down, glaring through the windows of Sticks again. Miles leaned into his girlfriend, wrapping her thighs around his waist as she sat on a stool, and kissed her while pawing her breast. She giggled, and he backed away with a smug smile on his face, having no care in the world as he walked up to the bar and got a pat on the back from a teammate on the way.

I glanced at Astrid again, seeing her laughing with her friends and fluff her long red hair.

They thought they’d won. They didn’t fear me.

And I locked my teeth together so hard it hurt.

I didn’t know what I was doing, but fuck it.

Rubbing my knuckles along the corners of my eyes, I wiped away any remaining tears, making sure my mascara hadn’t run.

Grabbing the back of my sweatshirt, I pulled it over my head, slipping my arms out, and tossed it to Kai. I mussed the hem of my tight, gray tank top, bringing it up to show an inch of stomach, and fluffed my hair, trying to give it some temporary volume or sexy chaos or whatever.

“After you see me take him into the bathroom,” I told them, checking the rest of my clothes, “give me a minute and then follow.”

And then I looked up, checking for confirmation that they’d heard, and froze.

“What?” I asked in a low voice.

Four sets of eyes stared, their intense gazes falling down my body as if they’d never seen a girl before.

Kai tried to look away, but he kept stealing glances with narrowed eyes, as if he were almost angry, and Damon looked at me like I was naked.

Will’s eyebrows rose, and then he shot Michael a look, forming an “o” with his mouth and blowing out a long breath.

But turning my eyes on Michael, I saw his jaw flex and his fists clench. Who knew what he was thinking, but he looked mad. As usual.

I rolled my eyes at them.

I guess it felt kind of good. In fact, I hadn’t thought about my scar one time since I’d come out with them tonight. I never felt sexy, but what I liked even more was that it didn’t take much to get their attention. No mini-skirt, barely any make-up, and no games. I just took off my sweatshirt, and suddenly I wasn’t a little girl anymore.

Of course, that fact wasn’t difficult to forget when the tank didn’t leave much to the imagination with the low-cut neckline. And given the temperature outside, I didn’t even want to know what they could make out through the fabric.

Forcing a huge-ass smile to psych myself up, I grabbed Will’s flask out of his hands and spun around for the door.

“Hey!” I heard him bark behind me.

But I was inside before he could protest further, the door closing and leaving them outside.

The warmth of the pool hall, smelling of wood and hamburgers, greeted me as soon as I walked in, and despite the warmer air, the change in temperature made my sensitive skin tingle. I felt my nipples grow harder, and my hands shook.

Maybe it was just nerves.

Scanning the area and trying to appear like I had no idea the person I was looking for was right at the bar, I tried to act casual. Several people looked up from their pool tables and small groups to see who had just entered. Some smiled and others jerked their chins in hello, before turning back to their conversations.

Corrupt by Depeche Mode played over the speakers, and I flipped my hair to the side, tipping up the flask and taking a small swig, trying not to wince at the burn coating my throat. I caught Miles’ head turned toward me from the corner of my eye.

Holding the flask in one hand and sticking my other hand into the back pocket of my jeans, I walked down the aisle between the bar and the pool tables, forcing myself to smile and my hips to sway. I tried to look flirty, even though my heart was stretching my throat and sweat cooled the back of my neck.

Turning my head, I pretended to be interested in something happening at one of the tables and not watching where I was going.

And then I crashed into his arm, spinning my head back around and feeling the vodka from Will’s flask splash my arm and seeing the blotches on Miles’ shirt.

“Oh, my God!” I gasped, making a big show of wiping him off. “I’m so sorry. I—”

“It’s okay,” he cut in, running a hand down his shirt and then over his blond hair, fixing himself. “What are you drinking there, Pretty Girl?”

He took the opportunity and grabbed my waist with one hand, stealing my flask with the other and taking a drink.

His eyebrows shot up, probably surprised to actually find alcohol and not Kool-Aid in there. The perk about being the quiet girl was not many people really got to know you, which left you the advantage of surprise if you ever decided to switch gears in situations just like this.

I pinched my eyebrows together, trying to look worried and vulnerable.

“Please don’t tell anybody,” I pleaded. “Trevor and I got in an argument, and I just needed to relax.”

Not that he’d tell anyone I was drinking. Everyone drank, but I wanted him to see me as easy prey. Miles and Astrid were aware I knew about the episode on St. Patrick’s Day, even though I couldn’t remember it, but I was hoping he would buy the fact that I was too drunk to care right now.

His lips quirked, and he handed me back the flask. “What did you fight about?”

I dropped my head back, like the alcohol was getting to me as I moaned. “He thinks I belong to him, and I disagree,” I played, bringing my eyes back to him and giving him a “fuck me” look.

I saw the heat grow in his eyes and felt his hands hold my hips possessively.

“Holdin’ out for someone else?” he whispered, getting closer to my mouth.

I licked my lips and hung a lazy arm over his shoulder, my hand dangling behind him. “Maybe,” I taunted, forcing myself to sway in his arms.

“Can’t really blame him, Rika,” he spoke low, yanking my body into his. “I mean, look at you.”

I smiled, forcing down the bile coming up from my stomach.

Stumbling backward, I groaned, acting like I was dizzy. “The room is spinning,” I whimpered. “I think I need to splash some water on my face. Where’s the bathroom?”

He took my hand, leaning in and whispering, “Come on.”

I didn’t bother looking back to see if his girlfriend or friends had seen. I knew they had, and hopefully Astrid would only be a moment behind.

Letting him lead me, we walked through the bar and around the corner to where the bathrooms sat. He pulled me into the men’s room, and I immediately went for the sinks, turning on the water. Thankfully, the room empty.

Leaning my hand on the side of the basin, I got my other one wet and patted my chest and neck, making a show of arching my back and flipping my long hair over the side.

Come on, guys. Get in here.

“Oh, that’s better,” I moaned, continuing to slide my wet hand around the back of my neck and letting it glide down my chest.

And Miles didn’t waste any time. Coming up behind me, his hands gripped my hips as he pressed himself into my ass.

“God, I bet you’re a hot fuck,” he breathed out, bringing up one hand the squeeze my shoulder at the neck while the other reached around to take my breast.

My breath shook and my mouth went dry.

Michael.

I kept going anyway, forcing a small laugh and pushing his hand away. “What are you doing?”

He grabbed for my tits again, growling low in my ear, “You know what you want.” And he reached down, fiddling with the button of my pants.

My pulse pounded in my ears, and I glanced at the door.

You’re not a victim, and I’m not your savior. My eyes burned, and every inch of my skin crawled with fear.

Where were they? What the fuck?

I gritted my teeth and inhaled a deep breath. Breathing out slow and steady, I calmed down.

“You think that’s what I want?” I said, trying to sound less nervous than I was.

My phone was in the car, and my keys were in my sweatshirt. I was naked in here. No weapons, and my only hope was to make it out of the bathroom.

I spun around, leaning my hands at my sides on the sink. And then my hand froze, falling on something small and sharp.

I held it as Miles dived in, kissing my neck and pawing my ass. “I know exactly what you’re begging for,” he replied.

I gripped the metal in my hand, realizing it was the pump for the soap dispenser on the granite top. It had a long, metal spout that was thin and sharp. I tensed my arm, slowly and quietly wiggling it out of its hole until it finally popped off, and I hurriedly hid it behind my back.

“Get off me,” I ordered, done playing.

But then he grabbed my hair, and I cried out as he yanked my head back. “Don’t tease me.”

He slipped his other hand in the top of my tank and squeezed my breast as he smothered my neck with his mouth. “You can cry, though, if you want to. Just get those fucking pants off.”

I cringed, gripping the soap pump and raising my arm to bring it down across his face, but then the door burst opened, and we both shot our heads up, relief flooding me.

But that was short-lived.

Astrid.

My chest caved, and my eyes flared, quickly hiding my weapon behind my back again. She walked through the door and shut it behind her, looking like she wanted some trouble.

“So you think you can fuck my boyfriend, you little slut?” She held my eyes, looking half-amused and half-daring.

I loosed and retightened my fingers around the makeshift weapon in my hand, liquid heat pouring under the skin of my neck and chest.

Jesus, I was scared. Michael.

She walked over, hooking an arm around Miles’ neck and darted out her tongue, flicking his lips. He dived in for a kiss, tightening his hold on me, and I winced, pushing away from him and darting for the door.

But he caught me, throwing me back against the sink. My skin crawled, and I started to breathe hard and fast. No.

I wanted out of here. I wanted to go home. I wanted my mom.

Astrid leaned back, speaking to Miles, “You want her?”

He dragged his bottom lip between his teeth, jerking me into him like I was his dinner. “Fuck yeah,” he growled, and I let out a small cry, feeling the ridge of his cock rub against me.

“Bend her over and give it to her from behind,” Astrid ordered him. “And be rough. I don’t like her.”

He whipped me around, and I gasped as the room spun and he forced my head down over the counter.

Astrid hopped up on the sink next to me, whispering in my ear, “I like to watch him dick other girls.”

I couldn’t breathe. I tried to inhale, but my chest only shook more and more.

Miles’ reached around to unzip my jeans, and I screamed, my throat going raw as a surge of anger filled my muscles. I lashed out.

Shooting back upright, I pulled both arms back and swung them straight across Astrid’s face, slamming her into the mirror to my right.

The left side of her head crashed into the glass, quickly shattering it into dozens of splinters and shards.

I whipped around, hitting Miles in the side of the face, gouging his skin with the spout of the pump and ripping a line right down his cheek.

“Fuck!” he bellowed, shooting a hand to his face and stumbling backward.

“You bitch!” Astrid cried out. “You cut my face!”

I shot up, holding out my weapon in front of me and backing up to the wall as sweat broke out across my body. “Good, you sick fucks!” I raged, fury heating my face.

“Come here!” Miles yelled, and I cried out as he grabbed my arm and damn near ripped it out of the socket as he threw me to floor.

“No!” I shouted.

He came down on me on top of me, and I flailed my arms and legs as he grabbed my hands and restrained me.

“Well, shit, little one,” a voice chirped above me, and I whimpered, seeing Miles stop and look up.

I sucked in short, shallow breaths, my heart thundering in my chest as I followed his hard look up at the door that had just opened.

Will stared down through his white mask, Michael, Kai, and Damon flanking him. “Looks like you fucked them up good without our help,” he stated, glancing at Astrid who had blood pouring down the side of her face by the sink.

They slowly entered the room, filling the space around us and shutting the door behind them. I locked eyes with Michael, seeing his narrow as they fell down to my unbuttoned pants.

“What are you guys doing here?” Miles bit out, getting to his feet. “Get out. This is private.”

No one hesitated.

Michael reared up his fist and slammed it down across Miles’ face, knocking the wind out of him as his body whipped to the side. Damon and Will immediately dived in, taking both of his arms and hauling his body back to the wall, pinning him there.

Kai grabbed me and brought me to my feet, and I darted out, catching Astrid as she tried to run for the door. Fisting her hair, I shoved her into the wall next to her boyfriend and fought to keep the relieved tears at bay.

“Don’t you ever touch me again!” I screamed at her and then stepped over, jutting out and spitting in Miles’ face. “Ever!”

He winced, blood trickling down his cheek from the gash I’d made.

My whole body shook as I backed away, the rush of fear cracking my face and making my heart ache. I dropped my eyes, seeing Miles’ blood on my shirt.

“Go to the car,” Michael commanded, Miles pinned to the wall in front of him. “We’ll be there soon.”

I sniffled, still fisting the soap pump as I snatched my sweatshirt out of Kai’s hand and slipped it back on, covering the blood.

“What are you guys going to do?”

Michael turned from me back to Miles. “Make sure they understand,” he answered.