I want to kiss him.
I want to kiss him for our revenge. For Micaela.
I lean forward slightly, my eyes dropping to his mouth. Soft swollen lips that curve in all the right places, a hard jawline that is what models are made of.
“Don’t,” he interrupts my thoughts. I flinch back at his words, suddenly aware of how close I had leaned into him, with him inching the opposite way.
“What?”
I don’t know why him saying that hurt so much, maybe because he has never outwardly said no to me when it came to kissing him or fucking him. It stung, and the root of that lethal sting is launched right in my heart. His sting is laced with poison, and no one is smart enough to create an antidote.
Before I can ask him to elaborate and further increase my embarrassment from the obvious rejection, he’s gone, and the door is still open waiting on me to get out.
Slipping out of the car, I shuffle through The Kings until we reach the entry. Both guards bow before unlocking the gates, letting us through.
“In the dungeon,” Bishop mutters, going through his phone as we continue through. Being back in this house doesn’t upset me in any way, or bring any emotions to the surface, really, which I’m thankful for.
We make our way down the steps that lead to the dungeon, the flickers of the lit candles guiding the way. My heels echo against the stone steps.
“How do I know this isn’t a setup?” I say loudly as we land on the final step.
“Because I’m not lying to you anymore. Come on,” Nate says, gesturing down the corridor where the cells lead off.
I watch as he moves, and in the seconds between the car, or the flight, or I don’t know when, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have forgiven him. Grief can bring out the ugly in some people. Your world shifts, and it takes a part of you with it, and sometimes, you fall between the cracks of where it used to be. I can forgive him, because my love for him is stronger than my pain. But now I think I’m too late.
We stop outside of one of the cells, and Bishop unlocks it, the heavy metal clinking. The smell brings me back to when I was down here, taunting me about my lack of sanity.
There’s a dark chuckle that erupts from the darkest corner. I step forward, my shoulders stiff.
“Why?”
She waddles toward me, her plump body towering over mine. “Because you don’t get everything you want.”
My eyes narrow, anger bubbling to the surface. Is she for fucking real?
“What do you mean by that? You’re saying you killed my daughter out of jealousy? No, I don’t believe you. I know that it’s more than that.”
“How are you just so confident, little sister? Is it because you now have The Elite Kings behind you, backing your every move, or is it just because you’re that cocky?”
Her hair falls from a scrunched bun at the back of her head, her cheek bleeding and her makeup smudged. Benny got rough with her. Good.
I slightly turn my head over my shoulder, the shadows behind me all glisten with imaginary gold crowns on their heads. I smirk. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s the fact that you killed my fucking daughter!”
I can feel the rage and pain building higher and higher.
“Breathe, baby,” Nate whispers from behind me, his voice softly caressing the nape of my neck. “Don’t lose control or you’ll rush it.”
I close my eyes and count to ten. I feel his hand come to mine and that’s when I realize another thing. “You were always jealous too, though, weren’t you, Peyton?” I turn around, finding Jase.
Peyton snorts. “Hardly. I am so over all of that and got over it quickly.”
I step backward, knowing that Jase is still directly behind me. I keep my eyes on Peyton as my back pushes up against his front. Jase doesn’t move, obviously knowing what I’m about to do.
“Lies,” I whisper. “Jase was the only guy you fucked around with a lot. The one you hung off of every word, every text message. You hated that he would watch movies with me while you sulked in your bedroom. Never saw you like that with anyone else…” I tease and then watch as her eyes go over my shoulder and land on Jase. Who is completely still.
“Princessa, Nate called red on you. I can’t touch you…”
My eyes don’t move from Peyton. “You don’t have to.”
I bring my hand to the back of his and turn, running the palm of my hand up to his face.
“You loved Jase and you hated me for being a distraction for him. For being everything that you wanted to be. You started resenting me then and it played a part in the reason why you decided to do it.”