Deviant (Boys of Winter 3)

Carver’s mouth drops and he just stares, watching me as though I’ve completely lost my mind, either that, or he’s in shock. Knowing my luck, it’s probably the first option.

“You’re fucking with us,” Grayson says, stepping forward and bringing my full attention back to him.

“You don’t know how badly I wish that I was,” I tell him. “I can’t even think straight from everything that just went down over the past twenty minutes, and to think that wasn’t even the worst part.”

“The worst part?” Cruz asks. “How could it possibly get worse than that?”

I reach behind me and pull out the little bottle of cyanide and meet Cruz’s heavy stare. “I found this hidden behind a bottle of wine,” I tell him. “I’m sorry, but I think your dad is responsible for killing Tobias King.”

Each of the boys freeze and my gaze slices across to King, waiting for his reaction to what I just said and I watch as unease filters through his gaze and his jaw clenches. He looks across at Cruz and they stare at each other for a silent moment before Grayson starts looking around too.

Carver though, he just stares at me.

He lets out a heavy sigh before walking toward me and taking the bottle of cyanide out of my hands and gazing down at it. Resignation flashes over his face and as he looks back up at me, I know that whatever he’s about to say is something that’s going to shatter every little piece of my soul.

“There’s something you need to know,” Carver says as the boys step in line with him, showing their support for whatever they need to tell me. I keep my stare on Carver’s, silently begging him not to break my heart. “I killed Tobias King.”

CHAPTER 35

No, no, no.

I shake my head and start backing away from them, but they match me with every step I take, keeping right up with me. It can’t be true. “Tell me you didn’t,” I demand, tears welling in my eyes as I stare back at Carver, someone I thought I knew. “Tobias was my father’s best friend. He was the closest thing I had to my father and you took him away. Please. Please, no …”

Carver looks shattered, but it’s clear that it’s only because he hates hurting me, not because he feels remorse for taking Tobias’ life. “I’m sorry, Winter,” he whispers, reaching out to take my hand, but I pull it far out of reach.

“Don’t,” I snap. “Don’t touch me.”

“Winter, I swear. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you, but I had to. I had to do it for you.”

“What?” I cry. “For me? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I never asked for this. Tobias was a good man. He was the only one I trusted at the table, the only one who took the time to teach me what I needed to know and taught me more about my father than I’ve ever been able to learn on my own. How the hell was this for me?”

Carver just stares at me, his heart out on his sleeve, completely broken. “Babe,” Cruz says, moving forward. “Please, just give us a chance to explain. I swear, you’ll understand when we’re through.”

I shake my head, glancing at King and wondering why the fuck he hasn’t got Carver on his knees with a gun shoved right up against his temple. “I was there,” I remind him. “I saw it. Tobias was a good man. How … how can you just stand there and be okay with this? He was your father, the man who raised you. Why aren’t you doing something about this? Why are you just letting him get away with it?”

King lets out a breath, blowing his cheeks out and looking at me as though he’s preparing to break my heart all over again “He’s not getting away with anything. We’re all getting away with it,” King tells me, making my breath come in sharp, painful gasps.

“You were in on this?” I question, the betrayal hitting me like a freight train.

King nods. “You need to understand, Winter. We did it to protect you. My father … he wasn’t the man that you believed him to be. He had us all fooled, even me.”

My gaze narrows and I quickly flick my stare to Carver, making sure that he’s not about to try anything. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I demand, my head hurting and my heart lying in a million, shattered pieces at my feet.

King drops down on the armrest of the couch behind him, his head drooped, but his eyes still on mine. “My father let you see the pieces of him he needed so he could win you over, just as he did with your father. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It’s what he used to always say to me. It was all a game. He … fuck, Winter. He was working against us the whole time.”