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“Sure,” I muttered, not getting my hopes up about Eli and West actually showing me anything.
“I’ll go make the call to confirm the meeting tomorrow.” Richard stood from the table. “We’ll see you all on Sunday for dinner.”
Kat nearly leaped from her chair and said a hurried goodbye before rushing out. She wasn’t taking any chances on William getting her alone. She didn’t even glance at me before disappearing through the door, making it clear she didn’t want to talk to any of us.
William and Richard went back near the bar as Richard made a call. Once they were out of earshot, both Eli and West settled their stares on me.
“Did you tell her?” Eli hissed under his breath. “She shouldn’t have been here.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t tell her anything.”
“Bullshit,” West snapped. “How else would she have known?”
“Maybe her mom told her.” I downed the rest of my drink and moved to leave.
“Her mother has no idea about anything.” Eli stood up and followed me to the door. “It had to be you.”
“And if it was?” His chest hit mine as I stood my ground. “She’s a Whitman. She has every right to fucking be here.”
“You think West and I are bad?” he asked, his eyes darting to the bar. “If she keeps getting their attention, it’ll only make it worse on her.”
I agreed with him but didn’t say it out loud. “You worried about her, Eli? I didn’t think you had the capacity to care.”
“I don’t want her to be part of anything.” He was talking in nearly a whisper, but his anger was clear. “I don’t trust her.”
“Or are you just mad that out of the three of us, you’re the only one who hasn’t touched her? That she wants nothing to do with you?” My taunting hit a nerve as he shoulder-checked me after we walked into the dressing room.
“You’re the one who fucked her and then fucked her over,” he shot back. “I think her hate for you might be even worse.”
My stare turned icy. “There’s one difference. I know what I did was fucked up. And I’m not trying to make her life a living hell. She’s going to push her way into the business one way or another. And when she does and needs help? I can guarantee she’ll come to me before she goes to you or West. She’s smart. So be careful, Eli. Because in the future, it may not be you and West making the fucking decisions.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond as I strode through the club, ignoring the dancing girls. Pushing open the door, I stepped onto the sidewalk and breathed in fresh air. The stink of cigars still lingered as I ripped off my suit jacket and tossed it over my shoulder. Loosening my tie, I made my way toward campus.
I pulled my phone out and sent a text about how I was getting close to what I needed. Once I got the information about the Ghosts, then Marissa would be free to go home. I almost wished I could leave this town when she did. But I couldn’t. Kat would drown here if she didn’t have anyone in her corner. I’d help her how I could. That included making sure our parents didn’t try to marry her off to some asshole.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
“She’s up to something,”I muttered under my breath as I sat next to Eli in the auditorium. “She’s been doing everything she can to avoid us for the past few weeks.”
River plopped down in the chair on the other side of me. “Or maybe she’s already tired of dealing with your shit.”
“We could say the same about you.” Eli looked past me to River. “You’ve barely been at the house.”
River shrugged. “I’m tired of your shit too.”
Shaking my head, I turned away from him and glanced at the stage. The atmosphere was festive as students filed into the auditorium. We were sitting in the front row, along with the rest of our team. The girls’ team was in the front row across the aisle. Only a week until the basketball season officially started, and today was the day they announced the teams. Tonight there would be a huge bonfire party to celebrate. Basketball was the biggest sport at this school. We were the only teams who made it to states. Everyone was always excited when the season started. I usually looked forward to all the festivities, but this year was different. I’d been on edge with River and Kat being here.
Kat had been unusually quiet. She’d been glued to her teammates, obviously not wanting to give us a chance to get her alone. She showed up to Sunday dinner, purposely going early so she didn’t have to drive to the Estate with us. The second dinner was finished, she disappeared before anyone else had left their chairs.
I didn’t know what the hell River had been up to. We saw him at practice and dinner, and that was it. I’d spotted him a few times with a girl around campus, and I wondered what that was about. It was clear he cared about Kat. Maybe he’d finally got it through his thick skull that she wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
Eli and I had been busy too. We’d been helping the families get the business up and running on campus. It was going to be a coffee shop that had drinks and live music at night. We’d have to make it top-notch if we wanted to compete with the campus bar. Not that it really mattered, since the money coming in wasn’t going to be from the actual business. But it looked better if it was popular.
I still couldn’t believe Kat had showed up at the meeting. But I was even more shocked that Richard and William had allowed her to stay. Though she pushed them into a corner when she refused to leave. On paper, she had every right to be included. It was her right. But Richard and William had showed their cards when they brought up that fucking date. They were planning to bring another man into the fold that they trusted.
It had my blood boiling every time I thought about it.
I couldn’t deny that I hadn’t been trying very hard to figure out what Kat had been up to. Space was good. Because when I thought about getting her alone, questions weren’t on my mind. No, I wanted to taste her again.
