“It wasn’t my scene, but I wanted Sadie to have a good time, do all the things girls her age experience. I thought I was being a good brother. Then you came rushing out, eyes glossy with tears. I had seen you arrive not long before, and I couldn’t help but wonder what happened in such a short time to cause you such sadness. It didn’t take long for a reason to appear. I believed fate sent you to me that night.”
“I don’t believe in fate,” I rasped. Karma, perhaps, but fate… no. We had the choice, the power to change our future. “The only thing that night gave me was regret.”
He brushed a chunk of hair off my face, strands damp with blood, and I shuddered.
Micah’s terrifying expression bored into Sterling’s, promising unimaginable pain.
Sterling's hostile glare turned to Micah. “She saw you two months later, just after learning about the baby. Your football team played against Crown Royal, and she waited until after the game to approach you. She told you she was pregnant, but you barely spared her a glance. You said it couldn’t possibly be yours because you would never have fucked a girl like her. And if that wasn’t humiliating enough, you added salt to an open wound, telling her to try and tie down one of the other guys she’d opened her legs for.”
Fynn had Kenna tucked against him. Her eyes were red. “Did she have the baby?” he asked.
Sterling swallowed hard. “No. I took her to the appointment. She cried the entire drive. Up until the moment they put her under she doubted her decision, but without your support or my parents’, I understood why she went through with the abortion.”
I had a sickening feeling about how this story ended, and I didn’t want to hear it. Nor did I want to admit the pain in Sterling’s voice. I wanted him to remain a monster, not a brother who was hurt over losing his sister.
My eyes went to Grayson, and I wondered what he would do if Kenna or Josie found themselves in a similar situation. Although, I didn’t have to think too hard about it. Truth was, Grayson would be in Sterling’s position, seeking his retribution without hesitation.
“She refused to tell me your name, and I didn’t find out until after her death. She never woke up. Whether it was a complication or something else, my parents made sure the truth about Sadie’s death remained locked away, from the press, from her medical records, and even from me. But it didn’t matter. The truth never stays buried. Once I uncovered your name in a journal she kept online, I knew I had to make you hurt the way you hurt her.”
There was no proof that Micah had been the father of Sadie’s baby, but if she hadn’t been with anyone else, Micah could have been a father.
I didn’t know how that made me feel.
Not good.
Sterling’s fingers gripped my hair, yanking my head back and forcing me to look up at him. “When I saw you were with him even after what he’d done to you, I realized you were as bad as the rest of them. You deserved to be humiliated just as Sadie was.”
Coiled tight, Micah spoke in low tones. “I could try and convince you all night that I had no idea, but you won’t believe me. If you won’t let Mads leave, then let everyone else go. Mads and I will stay.”
“No fucking way are we leaving you with him,” Brock snapped, his face tightening.
They shared a look. It was only for a split second, but I caught something between the boys. A flash. It caused my already pumping adrenaline to soar. There was a sense of urgency in them all.
Micah took another step forward, and Sterling reacted. The tip of the blade pierced the thin skin on the side of my neck. “I wouldn’t do that again if I were you.”
I whimpered, closing my eyes briefly, thinking death was surely close. I clutched the chair’s arms to the point that I had no feeling left in my hands.
“Don’t hurt her.” Micah’s voice came out gruff.
“Better,” Sterling sneered, a corrupt smile curving on his lips, “but not nearly enough pain.”
I braced myself, sensing the next slash was coming and there was little I could do to stop it.
“Relax,” the asshole whispered in my ear. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette and sticking it between my lips. “We both could use this.”
I spat out the slim stick despite desperately wanting to inhale its familiar taste.
The Zippo flicked, a flame burning near the other side of my cheek, the one not still dripping blood. He tsked in disapproval. “What a waste.”
Before Sterling could pull out another cigarette, Micah moved, bolting across the warehouse.
“Fuck,” the other Elite chorused, all having the same reaction to Micah rushing at Sterling. They were a step or two behind, Fynn grabbing a hold of Kenna to keep her out of the mess that was about to unfold.
Seeing Micah rushing forward, Sterling dropped the lighter and, a second later, plunged the blade into my side.
I sucked in a sharp inhale of shock, and my eyes widened.
The fucker stabbed me. Actually, stabbed me.