Make You Beg

“He wasn’t even in town,” I growl, rubbing the sting from my face. “No one suspects me, and there’s no evidence that Dax did it.”

“Oh, there’s evidence,” my father hisses. “It might have been consensual, but there will still be proof of sex prior to her death.” He runs his hands through his hair, cursing under his breath. “There are still a hundred ways they can arrest you for the crime.”

“I used a condom.” Thank God for that.

“You think they don’t know that?” He storms back over to me, and I flinch, thinking he’s going to hit me again. “This is their job, Ryan! After the investigation, they will know everything that you did to her.”

Mr. Monroe’s cell rings, and he steps outside to answer it. My father brings his attention back to me. “Why didn’t you call me when you did it?”

“I thought I had it handled.” I shrug, leaning back into the couch.

He lets out a snort just as Will Monroe enters again. “That was the DA. I’ve got a plan, but it’s going to cost us.”

“What is it?” my father barks out.

“We let it go to trial,” he answers.

“Horrible idea.” Mr. Law shakes his head. “You need to make it go away. Now.”

“It’s the only option we have. It’s already out there in the public,” Mr. Monroe argues. “Scout is right that there’s no evidence putting Dax at the scene or even in the state. I’ll pay to let it go to trial. Dax will be found not guilty and you”—he looks at my father—“pay to have the evidence they found kept a secret.”

My father rubs his chin in thought. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“And Henley?” I ask. “What about her?”

Everyone turns to look at me like they forgot I was even in the room.

“We could get rid of her,” Mr. Law offers.

“No,” Mr. Rellik argues. “That would be too suspicious. Plus, her father is too connected. She’s not some girl who’s been in the system most of her life.”

My father walks over to me once again and glares down at me with his finger in my face. “You stay the fuck away from her,” he warns. “Don’t touch her, don’t fuck her, don’t even fucking talk to her. By the time the trial is over, the media will take care of her. I’ll make sure of it.”

I nod. I’ll give it time. But once the trial is over, she’s mine. Again. More than she ever was.

“Did anyone else happen to see any of this?” Mr. Rellik asks, hands shoved into his dress slacks.

“No,” I say without hesitation. “No one.” As soon as I left Henley’s house, I called my father, and he told me to meet him up here immediately. She never once mentioned Steve in any of it. So as long as I have that video, he’ll never fucking talk.

My father nods, satisfied with my answer. “Get the fuck home. The Founders and I have some phone calls to make.”

DAX MONROE

“Wake up!” I throw a bottle of water on Scout.

He jerks awake. His green eyes meet mine, and then he looks around quickly. The ground is covered in blood, and the rope around the tree in front of him has been cut. His eyes meet mine once again.

“Why did you do it? Pretend to lose your shit?” I ask. He just glares up at me. “See, I think you pretended to be mad and decided to beat the shit out of Lincoln to make Law feel guilty. Then you purposely signed up for five fights, knowing Law would go in your place. But you were hoping he’d get the shit beat out of him.” I shake my head. “You should have known better.” And when that didn’t happen, he decided to fight Law himself, thinking he’d take him out that way. Hurt Law enough to ensure he had no future in football, and he’d only have Henley to blame—forcing him to hate her and want to destroy her all over again. But it backfired on Scout. Law would beat him any day of the week in a fight, and he could never hurt his little doll. Not anymore.

He chooses to ignore me, his eyes shooting around the woods looking for something … someone.

“Steve is gone.” I smile. “Law found his phone with the video you recorded.”

His wide eyes go to me.

I nod. “Yeah, Law cut off his hand and shoved it up his ass. It was glorious to watch. Now they’re burying him alive.”

He reaches up and pulls on the rope that holds his neck to the tree. “Dax …”

“Why did you do it?” I ask. “Why did you let her think it was me?”

“I never told her it was you,” he growls.

I punch him in the face and shout, “You let the entire world think it was me!”