Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 163089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 815(@200wpm)___ 652(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 815(@200wpm)___ 652(@250wpm)___ 544(@300wpm)
Not that I’m threatening you. Is that why you’re mad? Because I threatened you in the rink?
Great. I’ll just hang around in your inbox. My new favorite place.
That was sarcasm.
He stopped for a while, then about an hour later, he sent new ones.
Preston
Are you seriously training with Dicky and co? You’re supposed to be training with me.
Yes, I’m outside the shitty arena. You better come out.
I’ll murder your entire team, Marcus. You know I will.
Wait. You’ll probably hate me more if I do that. Fuck this shit.
Fine. I’ll go to your place. You better come right now and not make me stand in that hazardous neighborhood for long.
He stopped for a bit, then sent a lone text around the time I was riding.
Preston
If you stop being mad, I’ll let you do whatever you want with me.
And then I find the text he sent just now.
Preston
It’s better if we’re nothing, Marcus. Believe me, you don’t ever want to be something with someone like me.
27
MARCUS
“What do you think?”
My sister’s voice sounds smooth on the other end of the phone as I stop my bike right in the heart of her town.
Or specifically, near the parking lot of the club the Vipers flock to after every game.
I turn off the engine. “It sounds like you’re asking for my opinion.”
“I am.”
“No, you’re not.” I hop off the bike. “You’re just telling me that Dad might be kicking you out during a board meeting, and you need me to accept shares so I can make sure you remain at the top of the food chain. I don’t see a clause anywhere that says you care about my opinion, so drop the act.”
“And?” Her voice hardens. “Will you do it or will you do it?”
I scoff. “Hey, Serena. Did anyone ever tell you to play nice when asking for a favor?”
“That’s assuming you have a choice. I could kidnap June and—”
“Finish that sentence and I’ll join Dad’s side just to bring you down.” My voice matches hers. “You don’t want to make an enemy out of me. Believe me.”
“You think I’ll ever be scared of you?” She releases a mocking noise. “Three potential Osborn heirs already disappeared. You can join your brothers in a heartbeat if you’re not careful enough, Marcus. It’s you who shouldn’t make an enemy out of me, not the other way around. I’ll give you time to think this through, and I expect the answer I want to hear.”
She hangs up, and I let out a breath, then punch the lamppost a few times until my knuckles bruise and bleed. Then I walk between the parked cars, considering my options.
Now, I need to figure out a way to deal with her and protect Mom without raising her suspicions.
The only solution I have is Dad, and I truly, really don’t want to ask that old man for anything.
But then again, Serena is his problem. They have this weird power struggle going on between them, and I have to be careful not to end up as collateral damage like my brothers.
My thoughts and feet come to a halt at a scene taking place right in the middle of the dimly lit parking lot.
I came here with one mission—get Preston.
Drag him out if I have to.
It’s been about a week since he ran away from my place, and I figured it was time to teach him a lesson. He texted me the following day, asking if we were going to meet, and I sent a sole “No.”
To which he replied with something along the lines of “It’s not like I want to see you. Good riddance.”
Then he texted yesterday, the day before today’s game.
Preston
You done being petty?
I thought meeting regularly was part of the deal.
You know I’m hypersexual, Marcus. If we’re not fucking, I’ll find someone else.
Me
You do that, and we’re done.
You’re the one who refuses to meet me!
You’re the one who ran away.
I just went home.
You ran away. You do that again, and we’re also done.
Fine, then let’s not meet. If I have a shit game tomorrow, it’s your fault.
Apparently, he said that because he’d already decided to go with his initial plan—find someone else.
He’s now standing under the dim lighting, looking lethal in jeans and his Vipers jacket, his hair floppy and falling over his forehead.
And then there’s a girl.
Yes, a fucking girl, who’s wearing a little black dress that’s short and sultry. Her face is soft, and her coppery hair falls in waves to the middle of her back.
She’s exactly the type I’d imagine Preston having a relationship with.
This is my replacement?
I sneak between the cars, stopping close enough to hear them but far enough away to not be noticed.
“Thanks. For the water and coming along just now,” she says, her fingers shaking around the bottle of water she’s holding.
Even her voice sounds soft, and that irks me. Preston is straight, or was straight—he’s probably bi—but the reality is, he’s only ever been with women.