Hurting You (Blackthorn Elite 3)

“I’m an asshole, sweetheart, but not a killer,” Warren whispers into Harper’s ear. “Plus, I was with you all night, tending to your hands and knees.”

“What happened to him then?” Harper questions once more.

Why can’t she just let this go?

“Maybe he got eaten by wolves,” I suggest, trying to make light of the situation.

“Doubtful,” Warren replies, rubbing at his chin.

“I can have someone check the video surveillance and see what happened after he walked off? But I’m pretty sure the police already took a look at it, so if they didn’t find anything, I doubt we will,” Parker suggests.

They won’t find any video surveillance. Cameron’s dad made sure it got destroyed. Perks of being the chief of police.

“Yeah, let’s do that. I would still feel better if I knew,” Harper says, and I almost shake my head at her. Stupid girl. She shouldn’t care about James, not after what he did to her.

“What you mean is, you would rather make sure I’m not lying to you?” Warren snaps.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Harper starts to defend herself. I choose to make my opinion known.

“Why do you even care, Harper? I heard what he did to you. Warren told us. If anyone should want him to disappear, it should be you.” I pipe up, saying out loud what I was thinking myself.

“I’m just worried. I thought maybe you guys did something, but now that I know you didn’t, I wonder if something else happened to him. I know what he did was fucked up, but that doesn’t mean we have to be as ruthless as he was.”

That’s where she is wrong. We need to be more ruthless than the real evil in the world because they are not playing by the rules either, and someone needs to keep them in line.

“If there is anything to be found, the police will find it. No point in worrying over nothing.” Parker shrugs, ending the conversation.

Warren, Parker, and their girls sit and talk with us for a little bit longer before they all leave. Cam and I, of course, stay behind until we are the last people in the cafeteria.

“I’m tired of waiting, let’s go back there,” Cam nudges me in the side, and I couldn’t agree more. Patience isn’t really my strongest asset, and I’ve been hungry for Stella all day. Together we get up and head for the door behind the counter.

As soon as we enter the kitchen, we can hear voices carrying through the large space.

“But I need this job,” Stella pleads, desperation coating her voice. Immediately my blood starts to boil. The only people she should be pleading with is Cam and me.

“Maybe you should have been better at your job then. You’ve been fucking up daily, and you’ve been late multiple times now.” An accusing voice meets my ear. It’s the same fucker who yelled at her before. Her boss. I clench my hands into tight fists as I walk deeper into the kitchen with Cameron right behind me.

“Please, I’ve only been late twice, and I made up that time on the same day, and I’m sorry about making all the mistakes and leaving the garbage outside the dumpster. I promise it won’t happen again.”

We step around the corner, and I spot Stella, who is in the far right corner of the room. The guy she is talking to looms over her, and it takes everything inside of me not to fucking walk right over there and shove him backward.

Since neither of them have noticed us yet, I decide against it.

“That’s not going to cut it. I can’t keep you here, I mean unless…” the voice trails off. That fucker better not say what I think he is about to say. If he is… I glance over at Cam, who is looking at the scene like he’s about to kill someone.

“Unless what? Tell me what I can do. Please, I need this job,” Stella begs, and the rage inside me pulses. There is only one thing she should be begging for, and that scenario involves Cameron, me, and her sprawled out naked in my bed.

“You’re a pretty girl, you know?” The guy takes another step, closing the distance between them. Stella being the smart girl she is, takes a step back at the same time. He doesn’t get the hint though, either that or he doesn’t care. “You could get on your knees and suck me off. That might persuade me to let you stay.”

Cam tries to take a step forward, but I reach out and grab him by the shoulder, stopping him before he can take another step. Shaking my head at him, I press my lips into a firm line. I want to know her answer. I want to know if she will do it or not. That will determine our next move. From the shadows, we watch the fucker lift his hand and touch the collar of her blouse.