Chapter 12: ❝ find out games you don't wanna play ❞

(unedited)

When we live such fragile lives,

It's the best way we survive.

I go around a time or two,

Just to waste my time with you.

Tell me all that you've thrown away,

Find out games you don't wanna play.

"Dirty Little Secret" -All American Rejects

I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep a gasp from escaping.

What the hell was he doing here?

It explained why he hadn't been at school- had he been here the whole day, talking to Kaden? From Kaden's words, it sounded like they were talking about one of his cases.

Maybe Ashton had simply needed a lawyer, and decided to come to Kaden. The fact that they were meeting here would even make sense, if Ashton maybe didn't want it to get out. The thing that didn't quite fit was why he would come to Kaden. I mean, yeah, Kaden was pretty much the best lawyer in the city, maybe even the country. But Ashton's parents also owned a law firm, one that had a pretty good reputation.

Maybe he got a girl pregnant and can't tell his parents.

My eyes widened. Where the hell did that come from? It was a possibility, though, that Ashton had done something he couldn't tell his parents about.

I stepped forward to hear more and a floorboard creaked.

Damn Kaden for not giving into Raine's request to change the floors in the hallway last month.

Kaden and Ashton stopped talking immediately.

"Could it be Raine?" Ashton whispered. He was quiet, but I still heard him since the whole house was dead silent. I don't think any of us even dared to really breathe.

"No," Kaden said after a moment. "She wouldn't be back so soon.

"Parents? Relatives? Friends? Clients?" Ashton suggested. Kaden must have been shaking his head, because there was barely a pause between each word.

"They wouldn't eavesdrop," Kaden said. "In fact, I can only think of one person who would, and she's supposed to be in school..." I heard the couch creak as he stood up and the sound of footsteps.

Damn, I am so dead.

I considered ducking into the hallway closet to hide, then decided against it. I wasn't twelve anymore, and Kaden and Ashton weren't idiots. Not all the time, and not when it mattered, at least.

I straightened and braced myself.

"You," Kaden said when he saw me.

I bit my lip, nodding slowly. "Me."

"Why aren't you at school?" he demanded.

Ashton hadn't come out yet, but he probably would soon. I could just see him over Kaden's shoulder, shifting impatiently as he watched us. I wasn't sure if he knew it was me. Kaden probably hid me from his view, considering he was a couple inches taller than me.

"Headache," I lied.

Kaden didn't fall for it. "You've never ditched school before," he said, his brow furrowing. That's because I've never had the most messed up conversations with the Elite before. "Are people bullying you?"

I resisted the urge to bury my face in my hands. "No, I'm still being anti-social as usual." Other than the Elite, but he didn't need to know that.

"Are you spending time around bad influences? Did they tell you to skip?" he demanded. I bit back a groan. This just keeps getting worse and worse. How this guy is a top shot lawyer while being awful at parental questionings like this, I don't know. Ashton was looking around the lounge now, apparently having lost interest in our conversation.

"No I said I was being anti-social, remember?"

"Are you pregnant?" Kaden asked, causing me to turn bright red.

"No, I'm fine!" I yelled. Ashton's head snapped up and he glanced at us, recognizing my voice, I think.

He stood up and walked over."Elena?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"What are you doing here?" he replied, flipping the question on me. See. He did respond to questions with questions. I asked first, I wanted to say, but didn't because that was immature and it'd get us nowhere.

"I live here," I told him.

He paled and whipped around to look at Kaden. "She's your daughter?"

He nodded, eyeing us suspiciously. "How do you know each other?"

Ashton's expression had 'oh shit' written all over it. I would've laughed, had I not been in trouble myself. I think a chuckle still escaped, because he glared at me for a moment.

"You didn't know?" I asked. "Jacen did." I had figured all of the Elite knew that I was Raine and Kaden's adopted daughter. It's not exactly a secret, either.

"Of course her did," Ashton muttered. He started edging towards the door. "I should really get goi-"

"Not so fast," Kaden said, making him freeze. "You're staying and explaining."

Ashton looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, which didn't make any sense since me and him hadn't done anything bad. And Kaden had been fine with him until he found out I knew him. The most physical contact there had been between us had been him stopping me from falling flat on my face when I bumped into him.

Which had been in front of pretty much the entire school.

Obviously we hadn't torn each other's clothes off and gone at it like rabbits.

So why exactly was Ashton dreading this so much? I had been caught eavesdropping, not him.

Kaden grabbed us and dragged us into the lounge, sitting me on an armchair, and Ashton on the far couch before standing between us.

"Why is he helping you with a case?" I asked. First Daniel, and now Ashton? Were they for the same case? And if yes, why would he need Daniel Sullivan and Ashton Sinclair? If Daniel was his partner, fine, but Ashton was in school. He was in my grade. There was no way he could be working for Kaden. And Kaden working for him was just as unlikely.

"How do you know him?" Kaden countered, narrowing his eyes at me.

I returned his stare. "Answer my question first."

Kaden broke eye contact and glanced at Ashton. "How do you and Elena know each other?" he demanded.

"Don't you dare answer him," I hissed. Ashton looked between us and for a moment, he looked as if he was going to answer Kaden, but then wisely kept his mouth shut.

I sighed. "Game of truth," he said. "Question for question.

I gulped. Kaden's games of truth were lethal- even Raine had said so. There were no rules other than it was trading questions, and you had to be honest. And not even that, if you could get away with lying. But it was probably the only way I'd get answers. Besides, I knew how to be cryptic and vague now too. Sort of.

"You first," I insisted. "How is he helping you with one of your cases?"

"He has information for it." That was a bullshit answer, but I couldn't call him out on it, because he was still being honest. I think. Most likely. "How do you know him?"

"I think everyone knows who he is," I said, glancing at Ashton who had been strangely silent for the past five minutes. He was watching Kaden and me with a slight grimace, as if he was confused. Maybe he was confused.

Kaden, apparently not satisfied with my answer, turned to him as well. "How do you know Elena?" he demanded.

"Hey, that's cheating," I protested.

He didn't even look at me. "No rule against it," he said, and turned back to Ashton. "Answer me or our deal's done." Deal?

Kaden was bluffing. I could tell, just barely, too steady tone of his voice, like he was forcing himself to be casual with the words. If Ashton didn't answer, Kaden probably wouldn't whatever deal they had going. Because it mattered to him too? That I wasn't sure about.

Kaden's threat made Ashton snap out of his silence. "Hey, why don't I get to ask any questions?" he asked, clearly stalling for time. I tried to somehow tell him that he didn't need to answer by signaling when Kaden's back was to me, but he didn't catch on. I don't think he even saw me.

"You know more than any of us, so you'll be answering," Kaden said. "Now how do you know Elena?" His voice was hard, calm, but more like it was a cover, a lid for barely contained fury, rather than serene.

I had only heard it once before, when Kaden and Raine had taken me to court for one of his cases because they hadn't been able to find someone to watch me. I had been twelve at the time and it had completely freaked me out.

Ashton sighed and looked away. "I said they started the game again."

Kaden's expression darkened, but he only gave an abrupt nod, choosing to not interrupt.

Did Ashton mean the game the Elite had forced me into playing? The one where I had to make him fall in love with me? There wasn't any other game, as far as knew.

Kaden hadn't been surprised. At all. Like he had already known about the game. How? Ashton must've told him, but why? Why would Kaden need to know something like that and why would Ashton tell him?

Ashton still didn't meet Kaden's cold eyes. "She's the victim," he said. Yeah, there's no way he's talking about another game.

Kaden didn't look surprised, but an angry, almost-growl sound came from him. "For you or Jacen?" he asked. The question was slow. Cold. Deadly.

Ashton knew it too. He gulped. "Me."

Blinking almost made me miss it. In a flash Kaden was standing in front of Ashton. Before I could react, Kaden fist was driving into Ashton's face and blood was squirting everywhere.

Holy shit, did Kaden just punch him?

"Oh my god." I scrambled and raced over to them. I shoved myself between them, narrowly dodging a punch and pushed them apart.

"That was the dumbest thing to do," Ashton said from behind me. I turned slightly and glanced at him. Blood was dripping from his nose and his right eye was already starting to swell. I probably should've gotten him a bandage or something, but I didn't want to leave the two of them alone, especially if Kaden was in the mood to give into his violent urges.

And Kaden rarely ever lost control.

Scratch that, he never does.

Which mean there was no telling how bad it might be.

"Lena, move out of the way," he ground out through clenched teeth.

I didn't move an inch. Though, there was nothing I would be able to do if one of them actually tried to shove me out of the way. I wasn't weak, not really, but I probably wouldn't stand a chance against Kaden or Ashton.

Me not moving didn't seem to bother Kaden immensely; he just talked over my head. I wasn't even short, my height was considered to be above average, actually, but he and Ashton stood to be around six feet.

At least he isn't throwing punches.

"Did I, or did I not say to tell me everything?" Kaden demanded.

"I didn't think it mattered," Ashton shot back, his voice slightly muffled. A quick glance told me it was because he was covering his nose to keep from dripping his blood everywhere.

Gross. I really need to get him something for that.

Kaden looked like he was ready to attack Ashton again, so I shoved him back. He hasn't been expecting it, and stumbled back a little. "Go sit over there," I yelled, pointing to the farthest corner for Ashton.

This seemed to calm Kaden down a little. Just barely. He turned to me, raising an eyebrow. "This isn't kindergarten, Lena."

"I don't care," I said, walking backwards towards the kitchen while keeping an eye on them both. "If you do anything, I swear to god-" I cut myself off, because I had no idea what to threaten.

Unfortunately, Kaden caught this. "Or what?"

"I'll... Sign you up for one of Devon's anger management sessions and you can sit in a circle with temperamental teens discussing different forms of meditation." Wow, Lena, is that really the best you can do?

Ashton snickered.

How this was possible with a bloody nose, I had no idea.

"He'd take my side, Lena," Kaden said.

"Shut up." My comebacks just keep getting more and more original.

I dashed into the kitchen and grabbed an excessive amount of tissues and paper towel, wadding them together, then returned to the lounge. Thankfully Kaden and Ashton were still across the room from each other.

"Here," I said, holding the ball out to Ashton. "Bathroom's the first door on the left down the hall."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kaden asked once Ashton was gone, his voice softening.

"I don't tell you and Raine everything," I admitted with a shrug. "I didn't think it mattered. It just sounded like a stupid game," I quickly added at his hurt expression.

"The Elite are dangerous, Lena," Kaden told me quietly, glancing in the direction Ashton had gone.

"Yeah, I started figuring that out myself," I said.

Before either of us had the chance to say anything else, Ashton came out of the bathroom. He was noticeably more blood free, though there were a couple wet splotches on his dark shirt and the tissue ball was still in his hand.

"You better keep her safe," Kaden threatened, walking towards us. I found myself automatically moving between them again. "Lena, I'm not going to attack him."

"Could've fooled me," I muttered, staying exactly where I was.

"You better make sure she doesn't lose," Kaden said.

I snorted. "He can't make himself fall in love with me." Then my eyes widened. Does Kaden know exactly what the consequences are if I don't succeed? I thought it was just a ruined reputation, but what if that wasn't it?

"You know it won't matter either way," Ashton replied.

What the hell did that mean?

"I don't care; I'm trusting you to keep her safe." I wasn't sure how I felt about Kaden trusting Ashton with my safety. Yeah, that doesn't give me a good feeling, nope. I think I'll stick to keeping myself safe.

"How do you know about the game, anyway?" I asked Kaden, attempting to change the subject.

"It's something for the case we're working on," Ashton replied. If the game's involved...

"The case... Against who?" I asked, even though I had a feeling I already knew. But that's not possible. There's probably something I'm missing, because otherwise it doesn't make any sense.

Ashton clamped his mouth shut.

It took Kaden a few minutes to reply.

"His friends." He nodded at Ashton.

Wait, what?

"You're- You," I sputtered, his words not registering in my mind. "You have a case against the Elite?"

Kaden glanced at Ashton. "That's what they call your friends right?" There was no point in him confirming, it had already sunk it.

So I was right... But it still doesn't make sense.

I whipped around to look at Ashton. "And you're helping him?" Against your own friends?

Ashton nodded.

I glanced back at Kaden. "How do you know he won't betray you?"

Ashton snorted. "Thank you for the faith, Elle."

I ignored him, still watching Kaden, who was looking between me and Ashton, with a confused expression. "Lena, why does he call you 'she'?" I groaned.

"Because he's dumb like that... And thinks it's a good nickname," I added after glancing at Ashton. Then I realized I had gotten off topic. Kaden had probably intended for that to happen, which annoyed my even more. "Stop distracting me. How do you know he won't tell his friends about the case?"

The slight hesitation before Kaden answered told me the thought of Ashton's betrayal had crossed his mind. Possibly more than once. "That would be stupid," he said after a couple seconds. "Considering Ashton came to me for help."

"You're going against your own friends?" I asked, staring at Ashton.

He raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like you don't want me to."

Do I not? Want him to? I really shouldn't care. Except Ashton was going against people who trusted him.

"How can you trust him," I asked Kaden. "When he's going against his best friend? And his brother?"

"I never said it was all of them." Ashton's voice was sharp, hot. He was glaring at me. "Only some of them are guilty."

It was then that I realized I had stupidly never asked what the case was for. "Guilty of what?"

This made both of them fall silent. Ashton was still seething, but not as much. Kaden just didn't speak at all. I backed up so I could watch both of them at the same time.

"Guilty of what?" I repeated, my voice louder this time. Almost shrill.

It was still another couple minutes of silence before Kaden replied.

He sighed. "Murder."

-- ♡ --­

Thanks to LittleNinjaMe for the banner on the right.

Teaser: "Who was it?" I asked. My voice barely came out above a whisper. "Who killed someone?"

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