I Promise You (Dare 2)

“I know you killed her!” I scream as tears sting my eyes. He did it! He had to. There is no other explanation as to why she’s not here. With me. With my sister.

“Why would I do that?” He tilts his head. “You think I wanna raise you and your bastard sister on my own?” He chuckles.

“Then Bruce did it,” I growl. Someone killed her. She didn’t just fall and die. I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it.

He stands and straightens his black tie. “Bruce may have not wanted the child either, but he wouldn’t murder her for it.”

My nostrils flare at that statement. “I’ll find out the truth.”

He smiles. “Go ahead and prove me wrong, Cole.”

CHAPTER ONE

DEKE

Sixteen years old . . .

I SIT IN THE basement of Bennett’s parents’ house. His father is out of town on a business trip and took his mother with him. So, as usual, we decided to throw a party.

I take a hit from my cigarette and lean back into the couch, blowing it out. Bennett’s parents don’t ever come down here, so we’ve made it our hangout. At the Reynolds’ house, we hang in the game room. At my parents’, we party in the pool house. We have a designated room no matter where we go.

The couch sits back against the wall with a glass coffee table in the center and a large TV on the wall in front of us. The mini bar over to the right is fully stocked. It’s got soft gray carpet and white walls with matching wooden beams.

Bennett’s parents are the coolest out of all my friends. When my father kicked me out of the house last year, they let me stay here. I crashed at Cole’s for a few days until Liam found me and called my father.

Fucker!

He’s never cared much for me. Actually, Liam Reynolds doesn’t care much for anyone. Never once did Bennett’s mother ask me what I did to deserve it. She did my laundry. Fixed me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She’s the kind of mother every kid dreams of. I could have stayed at my sister’s, but she was in nursing school and dating some punk I hated, so crashing at her place would have been like living with my father.

“Where’s Cole?” Eli asks as he comes down the stairs to my left and plops down on the couch.

I nod toward the only door down here, silently answering Eli’s question while “Right Left Wrong” by Three Days Grace filters down into the room from above.

“He’s been in there for a while,” Kellan growls, glaring at the closed door. “Wonder what the fuck he’s doing.”

“Well, he didn’t go in there alone, so of course, he’s gonna take his time.” I take another drag from my cigarette.

Eli smiles. “Who is he in there with?”

“I don’t know,” I lie.

I know exactly who he’s with, but I’m gonna wait and let them all see for themselves. Especially since the chick he took in there was the same girl Kellan fucked last night. Natasha Grey. The new girl at our school this year. She’s had her eye on Cole since day one, but he’s never given her much attention until tonight. Three beers and a Jack and Coke loosened him enough to take her to the closet, I guess. Especially when she came down here pulling her dress up and practically throwing herself at him. I think he was more bored than anything. And she was just … there.

“Yeah, well …” Kellan checks the time on his phone. “He needs to hurry up if we’re gonna draw tonight.”

I snort. “Where do you have to be?” We never draw on Saturday anyway. It’s always on a Sunday. And we can’t leave the party because this is Bennett’s house, and like a hundred people are in this mansion right now. Not counting the kids already passed out on the lawn.

“I almost got suspended for my dare last month. I’m not even allowed to be here. My mom will shit if she finds out I snuck out,” Kellan growls before taking a sip of his beer.

Eli throws his head back, laughing. “Can’t believe you got caught breaking into the school. That was stupid as fuck, man. What were you trying to do?”

I take another drag, and Kellan’s jaw tightens. “Seriously?” His dark eyes grow big as he glares at Eli. “You dared me to change my grades. I needed into Mr. Wilson’s computer to do that.”

“I could have done that without having to break in,” Bennett informs him, finally speaking. He’s been typing away on his phone for the past five minutes over in the recliner. Every now and then, I watch him adjust his hard dick. He’s enjoying whatever pussy shots some girl is sending him.

Eli knew that Bennett could change them when he gave Kellan the dare.