Page 113 of Ruthless Game

He’d planned the whole thing.

As I sat in my car, I paused, another thought coming to me.

Had Jeffrey set up the fake video? Had he been so determined to break Max and me up, he’d destroyed my life?

And why?

“No,” I told myself desperately. “There has to be an explanation. Those girls were lying. There’s no way.”

Still, I texted him.

Emma: I need to see you

His reply was immediate.

Jeffrey: Good. Need to see you, too, little sis.

What the hell could he possibly need? Did he already know that I knew? The walls of the car started closing in on me. I’d never really had panic attacks, but the way I was struggling to breathe, to see clearly, was as close to one as I’d ever gotten.

Emma: I’ll meet you at home

Dots danced across the screen, as he typed and erased something.

Jeffrey: Can you meet me at the gorge instead?

Emma: Why

That was Max’s and my spot. Jeffrey knew that.

Jeffrey: Because what we need to talk about shouldn’t be overheard by Mom or Dad, and it’s the most private place I can think of.

Emma: It’s freezing out

Jeffrey: I’ll bring something to keep you warm, don’t worry.

I’ve got you, Em.

I’ve always got you.

Instead of relaxing me, his words coiled inside me, tight like a cobra ready to strike at any second. Something was deeply wrong, but what? What the hell was going on?

He loved me. He’d always protected me. He was the reason I even had a damn life. I needed to confront him and hear him out.

Still, something possessed me to text Max. He was playing and wouldn’t see the text until after the first period, or after the game, but he was probably worried when he didn’t see me in the stands.

Someone should know where you are, Emma.

I didn’t want to follow that thought through to its conclusion.

Emma: Meeting Jeffrey at our spot. He did some … fucked up things. I’ll tell you later, but I need to talk to him about it first.

I love you.

I was too focused on where I was headed to notice that the text read undelivered.

By the time I reached the gorge, the sun had slipped below the rocks and trees. It wasn’t fully dark, but that liminal space between twilight and night. The last time I’d been here, Max had stripped me naked, edged me until I cried, and then forced me to kiss him. I should’ve hated him for that, but instead, he’d freed me.

I took comfort in that as I descended down the path to the rock.