She cocks her head to the side, eyes narrowed to thin slits. “Is there someone else?”
Jesus. What the fuck do I have to do to make this girl understand? I let her tell everyone I was her boyfriend before because I couldn’t be fucked correcting her. She followed me around like a total fangirl calling me Killian every chance she got, and for a while, her annoying chatter overshadowed the dark thoughts looping through my mind incessantly. But it’s clear to me now that was a mistake.
“There’s only one girl I want,” I tell her slowly, so she can’t possibly misunderstand.
“Oh, please.” She rolls her eyes. “You can’t possibly mean that stupid fatty who can’t even walk properly.”
“What the fuck did you just say?” The question roars out of my mouth with such violence it seems to vibrate the air between us.
Her lips fall open as she stumbles back in shock. “Don’t be like that, Killian.”
“What. Did. You. Just. Say?”
“Well, it’s true,” she answers, her voice quieter this time. “It’s not like I’m the only one who thinks it.”
“Do you think I give a damn about your opinion?” I sneer at her in disgust.
Her shoulders cave inward, but she forces her chin up, refusing to back down. “Why would you want to be with the girl who fucked your best friend and then took your money? It’s just gross. I thought you had better taste.”
“Money?” I freeze. “How the hell did you know about the money?”
She blanches, and I can see her trying to come up with something. Nobody knows about the money. Nobody but my lawyer, my publicist, and me. There isn’t any reason that Audrey would know about this unless she had something to do with it herself. When all of that went down, I was too pissed to think straight. I let my lawyer handle it, and he told me he did. He met Kail up at Devil’s Bluff and dropped the cash off there. That’s what he said. But now I’m wondering if it even was Kail.
“Audrey.” Her name hisses between my teeth. “How the hell did you know about the money?”
“It’s common knowledge,” she bites back. “Everyone knows.”
“Bullshit.” I grab her by the arm and shake my head. “I’m onto your fucking games. And let me tell you something about Kailani Hale. She’s mine. So I’d think very carefully about what you say. In fact, as far as you’re concerned, you don’t know her. If you ever utter her name again… if you even think about looking at her wrong, I will destroy you. We both know I can. Your power is only as strong as your associations at BMA. If you fuck with my girl again, I will have you shunned so fast your head will spin. Are we clear?”
“You’re going to regret this,” she snarls.
She leaves the threat in her wake as she storms off the field. I don’t doubt she means it, and I know I’ll have to deal with her later. But for now, I’m just glad she’s gone.
I turn the opposite direction to head for the parking lot, but I come face-to-face with an unexpected surprise when I round the corner. It’s a grim-looking Mr. Dawson with a law enforcement officer beside him.
“Landon.” Mr. Dawson offers me a sympathetic nod. “We need to speak with you.”31KailaniIt’s already dark when I slip out of the main house and head back to the pool house. My mom fell asleep watching TV, and she would lose her shit if she knew I was walking across the lawn alone, but I’m so tired of having an escort everywhere I go. I’m eighteen years old, and I shouldn’t need a babysitter.
The cold bites into my skin as I punch in the security code on the door. I’m shaking so hard my teeth are rattling my jaw.
“You should be wearing a coat.”
My head whips to the side. Landon is sitting in the patio chair, his breath billowing out into the night air.
“What are you doing out here?” I yelp. “You’ve got to be freezing.”
“I need to talk to you, Kail.”
God, this guy. Why can’t he just let me go? Can he sense how close I am to breaking down and letting him back in? When I look at his beautiful face under the light of the moon, all I want to do is kiss him and forget everything else that happened.
But how long would it last? How long would it be until the next heartbreak? Because Landon won’t ever let himself believe someone could truly love him without a motive. All he knows how to do is push people away when things get too hard or scary. I don’t think I can go through that again, and I’m terrified we’ll never be able to trust each other after everything that’s happened.