The passage confirmed my earlier thoughts. These entries had been written recently, and I was almost positive that they’d been written by Nancy. That meant she had written and left this for me deliberately. It also made me think that there was a possibility that she hadn’t disappeared when I thought she had disappeared. What if she had left this in the room when I was in Greyson’s office with Brandon and Katie? But why would she have just disappeared and not told me or David? I sighed and opened the diary again.
“Brandon Hastings is Maria’s boyfriend’s name. He’s not a good man. He is evil. Yes, I said it. He broke Maria until there was nothing left. But she always chose bad men. Really bad men. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. I’m scared he’s going to kill someone for revenge. He doesn’t know everything. He doesn’t understand. He hates the big boss. The real club owner. There was really only ever one. He wants to hurt him. He knows his weakness. I’m scared that this time. It’s going to be bloody. He’s not right in the head. He’s not the man you think he is. He’ll murder. Maria loved Brandon, but Greyson held her heart. That’s why he’s really mad.”
I dropped the diary on the ground and sat back. My head was pounding. I grabbed the diary up again and read the last sentence again. Had Maria dated Greyson as well? Was that why Brandon and Greyson’s friendship had disintegrated? Was that why Greyson accepted responsibility for everything that had gone down? Was Greyson the one who’d caused Maria’s death?
I reread the entry again and my brain started throbbing. I wasn’t really sure what Nancy was trying to tell me. The more I read it, the more it seemed that Brandon was the bad one. It was oddly written, and I couldn’t tell if she was trying to tell me if Brandon or Greyson was the angry one. The more I read it, the more I was convinced that it was actually Brandon who was the evil one.
As I sat there, I remembered how Brandon had treated Katie back in college when he’d found out she was eighteen. He’d been a horrible person and done a really horrible thing. He’d treated her like shit, and even though I knew he’d had a reason to be upset, I felt that what he’d done had been unacceptable.
I flipped the page to continue reading. I had about five more minutes before I had to rush to my next test. As I turned the page, I realized that this was the last entry in the journal.
“Hunter is older than me. Has more secrets. Doesn’t believe in love. I’m a fool like my sister. But what wouldn’t one do for love? Swimming is good for the body. The truth lies in the water. Trust in what you feel. That’s what I say. Don’t venture into the deep end. It’s easy to drown.”
And that was it. I was even more confused than before. What was she talking about? Why was she mentioning Hunter again? Was Hunter the code name for someone at the club? My heart stopped for a second as the thought hit me. Is Hunter really Greyson? Was Nancy dating Greyson? His description sounded just like Greyson to me.
I stilled as I heard two girls walk into the bathroom.
“God, if I get another stupid test, I’m going to scream.”
“Mine was pretty cool,” her friend said. “I got to smoke some pretty dope weed.”
“What?” The other girl sounded jealous.
“Yeah, there was some coke as well. But I didn’t see it until the end.”
“Did you take it?”
“Nah.” The girl paused. “Well, just a little bit.”
“Let me have some.”
“Not now. We can do some tonight.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.” The other girl sounded excited. “Let’s get f**king high.”
“Fuck yeah. I was starting to think this place was a dump, but now I know they got the goods for free.”
“Better than selling your body, eh?”
“Shit. I was with a guy who used to give me molly for a blowjob.” The girl sounded nonchalant. “It was worth it.”
“I’d love to give Greyson a blowjob Or even f**king David. He’s hot.”
“I heard Elizabeth was f**king Frank. I’d do him.”
“He’s not hot.”
“He’s all right.” The girl laughed. “Okay, don’t hate me. But I f**ked David last night.”
“You bitch! You did not!”
“Well, he came to my room and—”
I sat there still as a stone waiting to hear more, but someone else walked into the room.
“You okay, girls?” Patsy’s voice vibrated in the room.
“Yes,” one of the girls said. This time her voice was not as loud or excited.
“Then I suggest you go back to the test rooms.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Also, please give me the package in your pocket.”
“What?”
“I know you took something from the room. Please hand it to me.” Patsy’s voice was firm.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The package.”
“Here you go.” The girl huffed. “I didn’t even know what it was.”
“Get to your next test rooms, please.”
I sat in the stall and waited until I was pretty confident that they had all left. I exited slowly after storing the diary back in the top of the toilet. I walked to my next test room quickly. My mind was spinning again. I felt like every time I thought I had a new lead, something else cropped up to make me doubt what I thought I knew.
I walked into my next room with my thoughts in a whirl. I didn’t even look to see what the new room contained since I was so caught up in the hurricane that was twirling around in me.
“Hi, Meg.” His voice was soft and unexpected.
“Greyson.” I looked up at him in surprise, not able to stop the acceleration of my heart. “What are you doing here?”
“I figured you missed me or something.”
“I saw you this morning.” I knew my words sounded shaky.
“Maybe I missed you.” He shrugged as he eyes sought out mine.
“Yeah, right.” I rolled my eyes. “What do you really want?”
“A kiss.” He walked toward me with the confidence of a man who knew he could have any woman he wanted.
I stared at his face clinically, trying to understand why this man made me lose my mind. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen handsome men before. Granted, I’d never dated or made love to a man whose blue eyes had sent shivers down my spine like his did. I’d never seen a man whose jaw had quite that angle and whose golden locks felt soft and silky to the touch. I’d never been touched by a man whose fingers were rough and gentle at the same time. I’d never tasted a man whose very essence reminded me of manna from heaven.
“That’s it?” I swallowed as he stopped in front of me.
“Unless you want more?” His eyes sparkled at me, and I could see a question in them that had nothing to do with him kissing me.
“What if I want less?”
“It’d be hard to want less than I have to give.” The smile left his face, but he continued his impenetrable gaze into my eyes.
“You’d be surprised.”
“Why didn’t you leave with Katie and Brandon?”
“Why did you let me stay?”
“You shouldn’t be here, you know.”
“Why?”
“You’ll be the undoing of me.” He grimaced.
“Scared you’ll go to jail?”
“No.”
“Really? I would be if I were you.”
“I’m not scared of jail.” He shrugged. “There are worse demons in my mind.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “What made you the man you are, Greyson?”
“My dad kept a woman in the basement.”
“What?” I whispered and looked up at him in shock. “Are you joking?”
He continued talking as if he hadn’t heard me. “She was like his sex slave. He would go down every night and do things with her. I didn’t know at first. I thought he was grieving, like I was. But one night, I heard noises, so I went to investigate and I saw him f**king her.”
“Oh my.”
“She lived in the basement.” His eyes looked at me and he cocked his head. “But she wasn’t locked there. She was free to leave. But she stayed there. Living for the night, when my dad would go down and f**k her.”
“Why didn’t he let her come up into the house and live?”
“He didn’t care about her,” he spat out. “He loved my mom. He would never sully her name. But he had needs. All men have needs, Meg. Needs have nothing to do with love.”
“So what happened?” I asked softly, feeling my heart breaking at his words.
“You’re so beautiful.” His finger caressed my cheek. “When I look into your eyes, I find myself getting lost in your beauty.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, not knowing how to respond.
“Don’t thank me. It’s not a compliment.” His finger slid down to my lips and he pushed his finger into my mouth. I lightly sucked it, and we just stared at each other. “I could get you to do whatever I want, couldn’t I?”
“No.” I shook my head and bit down on his finger hard. “You can’t control me.”
“Feisty.” He laughed and pulled his finger out. He changed the subject again and turned around. “Do you think men run the world, Meg?”
“Yes, but not because they are better than women. They just have less compassion. They dictate and take what they want without any real care as to how their actions affect others.”
He turned around and looked at me then, a small smile on his face. “But women, they have this compassion, yes?”
“Most of us do?”
“Can a woman forgive the devil?”
“It’s not for a woman to forgive the devil. It’s for the devil to forgive the devil.”
“What does it matter if he forgives himself?”
“For the devil to forgive himself, he has to acknowledge he’s done wrong. That’s the biggest step.” I reached over and touched his cheek. “Once he realizes he’s done wrong, he can seek redemption.”
“Why do you do this to me?” He pulled me towards him and stared down at me for a second before his lips came crushing down on mine.
I melted against him and closed my eyes as we kissed. I breathed in all of him as his tongue invaded my mouth. His fingers reached into my hair and pulled roughly. I squirmed against him as he pulled me closer to him. I opened my eyes as he bit down on my lower lip.
“Good. I like to see the emotions in your eyes as I kiss you,” he growled and then continued his exploration of my mouth.
I kissed him back fervently, sucking on his tongue eagerly. He was my drug, and I couldn’t get enough of him. I felt his hands fall to my butt, and I ran my hands to his back and let my fingers run up and down urgently. I eagerly slipped my fingers under his shirt and scraped my fingernails against his skin. I felt his sharp intake of breath as he felt my fingers grazing his skin.
“I can do rough as well, you know.” His fingers squeezed my ass tighter and I gasped as he pushed me back against the wall. My neck fell back and his lips closed down on the large expanse of skin that was showing. I felt his teeth biting me hard and then he used his tongue, gently soothing the area.
“Greyson,” I groaned against him.
“Yes?” He paused and looked at me.
“Nothing.” I closed my eyes again. I didn’t want to speak. I just wanted to feel. His actions matched my feelings about this situation. It was painful and sweet. I sighed as he slowly pulled away from me.
“You should do your test.”
“I don’t even know what it is.” I smiled ruefully and he grinned back at me.
“I guess I didn’t give you time.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Okay, check.” He took another step back, and I looked around the room curiously. The room was larger than most of the other rooms. It looked like some sort of play room. There was a pool table and a poker table. There was a TV in the corner with a game system connected.
“I have no idea what I’m supposed to do in here.” I looked up at him. “Who comes up with these tests? They’re so random.”
“Nothing in life is random.” Greyson looked at me contemplatively. “Come.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to a corner of the room that had an armoire. “Open it up.”
“Okay…?” I looked at him questioningly for a second before opening it up. The armoire was filled with bikinis, and I looked at him curiously. “What are these for? Strip poker?”
“What are most bikinis for?”
I shrugged. “The beach?”
“No.” Brandon walked to the other side of the room, and I saw a dartboard on the wall.
“What are you doing?” I called out to him, but he ignored me. Instead, I watched as he opened a cleverly concealed door. “What’s in there?”
“Come and see.” He smiled at me, and I walked over to him quickly. I stared through the door and gasped. There was a huge Olympic-size pool in the room. Next to the pool, I could see a hot tub, and there were rose petals on the ground.
“What’s this?”
“A pool.”
“I see that, but why?”
“Want to go swimming?”
“I don’t have a swim...” I started and then stopped. “I guess that’s why the bikinis are there.”