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York sighs. “So you asked Jeb a favour in return, right?”
I nod. His gaze flicks to Xeno behind me before settling back on me. There’s so much regret there, it would break my heart if it wasn’t so thoroughly shattered already.
“I did. I asked him to send David far away. I begged him to help me because I knew that no matter what, he’d hurt my sister if he remained here. I couldn’t put her in danger. I couldn’t risk it.”
“That’s why Jeb sent David to Mexico,” Dax states, finally understanding.
“Oh, I’m more than positive now that he was going to do that anyway,” I say bitterly. “Jeb sent David away as afavourto me so long as I gave him something in return.”
“And what was that?” Zayn questions, his jaw gritting roughly.
“To behis. Or at least pretend to be. I had to break up with you. I had to break your hearts, work for him at Rocks, and wait for the day when he’d need to call in the debt I owed. He said if I didn’t do that then my life and my sister’s life were forfeit.”
I sit down heavily, my arse hitting the hardwood of the coffee table. “Part of that debt was to let Zayn fuck me at Grim’s that night so that he could still pretend he was straight. I don’t know what else he has planned for me because he hasn’t tried to contact me since,” I say softly.
“Motherfucking cunt! He won’t get a chance to plan any-fucking-thing because I’m going to murder the bastard.” Zayn snarls fiercely, his black eyes snapping with fury.
“Youwill do nothing, Zayn. Fucking hear me?” Xeno snaps before focusing back on me. “So what’s changed, Pen? If you were so afraid of what might happen to Lena, why are you telling us all this now?”
“Because I have help.”
“From who?!” he demands, stepping towards me. I don’t like the look on his face, not one bit.
“Grim. She’s got two of her men watching over Lena for me.”
“Fuck, Pen!” York exclaims. “You should’ve come to us first.”
“Xeno made it clear that I should stay away from you all. I didn’t have anyone else to turn to.”
“God-fucking-damn-it!” York grits out, glaring at Xeno. “Your stubbornness has put her in danger again!”
Xeno flinches but says nothing in response to that. “But why did you need to turn to them at all? You could’ve just kept away from us like David wanted,” Xeno asks and there’s a tremor to his voice that I don’t understand. A crack, like he’s shredding the walls encasing his heart in a way that is dangerous for all of us. I swallow hard. This is the last truth I have to share. I owe it to them to be completely honest.
“David heard about you returning. He knows you’re at the Academy for Jeb. He’s pissed that he’s been left out of the loop of whatever you’re up to and asked me to find out what’s going on. I have until the end of the month or Lena’s dead. That’s why I went to Grim. At least she’s safe from harm until I can figure out what to do about this fucking mess.”
Xeno’s eyes hardened. “How?”
“What?”
“Howwould you find out what’s going on?”
I swallow hard, the words sticking in my throat. I look at Dax, at York and Zayn, then back at Xeno. “By making you fall in love with me again, by finding out your secrets and breaking your trust. That’s how,” I whisper.
The room falls silent, then like a hurricane ripping through the front room, Xeno strides over to the kitchen, tears open a cabinet door and starts throwing the contents onto the floor. Plates crash against the tiles, shattering on impact, shards of bone china scattering across the floor. We all watch as Xeno rips open cupboard after cupboard and drags the contents out. He roars, smashing plates, throwing pans, even the utensils’ drawer gets pulled out and upended on the floor. When he starts punching at the wall with an aggression that scares me, Dax grabs my hand tightly in his, tugging me backwards and away from him.
“We should go,” Dax says.
“No!” I protest, “He’s going to seriously hurt himself. Please, Dax, make him stop.”
My voice seems to register in Xeno’s head because his hands fall to the side and he turns to face me. “Take her back to the Academy—” he grits out tremulously.
“Xeno, please, let’s work through this.” I step forward towards him, but York steps in my path and shakes his head.
“No, Titch. He needs time.”
“Come on, man,” Zayn says, resting his hand on Xeno’s arm and looking at me with an apology in his gaze, but Xeno smacks it away.
“Don’t!” he snarls, turning his attention back to Dax and completely ignoring me. “She can’t be around me. Take her back to the Academy. Right the fuck now.”
“Xeno, don’t do this…” I rub at my chest, feeling his pain as though it’s my own. I wanted so badly to believe that by telling them the truth we’d be able to start over, to start again, but I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong, and it hurts.
“We should go,” Dax says, drawing me away from the trio.
“I can’t leave him like this,” I plead, fixing my gaze on Xeno. He can’t even look at me.
“JUST LEAVE!” Xeno roars, and when Dax wraps his arm around me and lifts me off the floor, I have no choice but to go with him.
