Fallen Heirs (Windsor Academy 3)

My father straightens his tie. “Jasmine. I understand you’re going away with your sister for a few days. Have a good trip.”

“Really?” I scoff, throwing my hand toward Peyton’s closed door. “We’re just going to pretend there’s not a dismembered corpse in there?”

“Jazz,” Kingston growls. “Do I need to teach you another lesson in respect?”

I nail him with a look that says, you keep it up, buddy, and fuckboy in there isn’t going to be the only one that got castrated.

The asshole smirks in return.

“Whatever,” I mumble. “My apologies for being such a disrespectful asshole. You can punish me later.”

My father claps Kingston on the back. “I see you’ve finally been able to teach Jasmine how a woman should behave in this world. Good for you, my boy. Although it seems like her language still needs some work.” He raises his brows at me in a challenge, like he’s daring me to talk back.

Kingston belts out a disgustingly haughty laugh. “I’m not a miracle worker, Charles. You’ve got to give me some time for that.”

You’d think my boyfriend was doing standup based on how loudly my father is laughing.

I think Kingston can sense I’m about to lose my shit because he grabs me by the elbow and steers me toward the stairway. “Let’s go. You have a lot to atone for before we leave in the morning.”

Charles flat out guffaws at that.

The second we’re in the car, I lay into him. “You’re lucky I can read you so damn well, or you would’ve gotten a swift kick to the balls for speaking to me like that!” I punch him in the arm. “Asshole!”

“Jesus,” he mutters, rubbing the spot I just hit. “Calm the fuck down. You know exactly why I did that.”

“You could’ve given me some kind of heads up.”

Kingston pulls out of the driveway. “Really? When would I have done that? Before or after we made arrangements to cover up a murder?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m still pissed at you.”

“Well, then I’ll just have to fuck that right out of you when we get back to my place.”

“Whatever.”

Kingston reaches over and squeezes my thigh. “Are you done pouting so we can actually talk about what happened back there? I’ve gotta say, you handled that whole thing freakishly well. I was waiting for you to start panicking at any moment.”

I shove his hand off, still irritated with him. “Is it bad that I don’t feel upset about it? Like, at all? I mean, seeing him like that was disgusting.” I shudder. “But I was processing it with this odd sort of detachment. Like... I was watching a movie or something.”

He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “I can see that. As soon as I got over the sympathy pains, I kind of felt the same way.”

“What was Charles saying to you when I went to get my stuff?”

“He’s taking Madeline and Peyton to their house in Vail until the new year, to give this some time to blow over. Then, he suggested I do the same with you, which is when I told him about our trip to Disney. He added some, don’t disappoint me, son garbage, then he wanted to know how I planned to keep your mouth shut if you were difficult.”

“Oh, I’d love to hear how you responded to that.”

Kingston shrugs. “I kept it vague, but I basically implied that I would punish you into submission if necessary.”

I scoff. “I’d like to see you try.”

He smirks. “Hard pass. I prefer my balls intact, thank you very much.”

“Here’s my question. How did someone even get Lucas in Peyton’s room without being caught? He’s a big guy. And if Charles and Ms. Williams were in the house when that happened, how could they have not heard it? Lucas had to have been screaming bloody murder. Literally.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, but my first choice would be some type of fast-acting benzo or paralytic. The O-ring gag would’ve helped with the noise, especially if they shoved something else in Lucas’ mouth before feeding him his own dick.”

“Wow... it’s kind of scary how quickly you answered that question. And that you knew what type of gag they used.” I rub my temples, trying to figure out if I’m genuinely disturbed or turned on by Kingston’s deviant side. I think it’s a little of both. “I hate to say this, but I’m relieved he’s dead. I’m glad vengeance was served, Kingston. I feel sort of cheated that I didn’t get to witness his suffering. What the hell kind of person does that make me? I’m no better than the bad guys.”