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James Granville. He was Joseph’s cousin, and he’d fucked with Cade and Winter’s relationship, and yet he’d been here for us tonight, driving our getaway van for the first part of our trip. He’d made himself useful in other ways, too, as much as neither Cade nor I wanted to admit it.
Hyde stared at Caiden, his lips pursed, but eventually, he let out a defeated sigh. “Fine. She didn’t want you together. She can’t stand you. I hate you, I dislike Winter, thanks to her obsession with you and your friends, and I got paid to fuck with your relationship? Easiest money I ever made.” He smirked, and I palmed my knife, ready to strike again. This bastard was walking a thin fucking line. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cade gritting his teeth.
“And you didn’t give a shit that you were fucking up our relationship? Didn’t even question why?”
He shrugged. “Not my problem.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Caiden lunged forwards.
He was stopped by a voice. “Why, though?” Winter came around to crouch next to Hyde, right at his eye level. “Why?”
He stared at her. “You’re back together.” When she nodded, he turned back to Caiden, every word an effort, but he clearly realised he was outnumbered. “She didn’t tell me why, but I’d imagine it has something to do with the not-so-secret fact that you’ve never seen eye to eye, and it’s clear to everyone with eyes that you hate her.”
I shook my head as Caiden’s brows pulled together. “Can you blame me?”
“Whatever, don’t give a shit about your family problems.” The second the words were out of his mouth, my knife was back out and pointed at him, but Winter was already baring her teeth and growling.
His eyes flicked to Caiden. “Put a muzzle on your bitch.”
Winter jumped to her feet and smacked him straight across the face, sending his head to the side. I grinned to myself because that was the least he deserved.
Tears filled his eyes, but he attempted a sneer. “Think it’s fun to knock me around when I can’t fight back?”
Winter sat on Caiden’s lap, and he whispered something in her ear. She stared at Joseph, her gaze hard. “So she hates Cade. What about me?”
“I don’t know. I do recall her saying that you having a relationship with your stepbrother was distasteful, and it would affect her reputation. You’re clever—I’m sure you can put it together.”
Her expression grew thoughtful. “Hmm. Yeah, I can see that. She alluded to it before, actually. Maybe in her own misguided way, she thought she was doing me a favour. What about James, though? How did he end up being involved?”
The smug smile that curled at the edges of his lips had my grip tightening on my knife. “It was an easy way to drive a wedge between you, and I knew it would work. I knew Cavendish was a jealous, possessive hothead and would jump to the wrong conclusion—well, the right conclusion, for the outcome I wanted.”
Caiden’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching. “Why is it that every fucking word out of your mouth makes me want to put my fist through it?”
You and me both. When I thought back to that day, when he’d set Cade up, sending him a video of Granville and Winter supposedly kissing, rage fizzed through my veins, and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying anything. It was more important that we got answers. And fuck him anyway, because Cade and Winter had got past that obstacle he’d thrown and come out stronger, and I for one was sure that nothing could tear them apart now.
Winter glanced back at Caiden and then leaned forwards, studying Joseph. “How did you persuade James?”
He shrugged. “A pile of guilt about family loyalty and our rivalry with the Cavendishes. A well-timed black eye when that didn’t work.”
This fucker was hiding something. It was blatantly obvious. Stepping forwards, I let him see the glint of my blade, and he immediately recoiled. “Okay, okay! I’ll tell you the rest.” He took a deep breath. “The black eyedidn’t work, either, so I had to get creative, and he realised he’d have to give in. The threat of me using my TA position to alter the records for the class you had with me so you’d fail was enough to persuade him. Oh, and fail your friend Drummond, too.”
Winter gasped, her eyes widening. “You—you’re a despicable person. Who abuses their position like that?”
“It’s nothing personal. We’re just on different sides.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “That’s the weakest excuse I ever heard.”
Yeah, it was, but we couldn’t go there now. I cleared my throat, hoping Cade would understand that we needed to move on because our time was limited. He got me straight away. “Next question. Why were you and your dad meeting with Christine tonight?”
Joseph’s mouth thinned. “I can’t answer that.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
He shook his head. That was my cue. I stepped up to him, pressing the tip of my blade to the cut I’d made earlier, pressing harder when all he did was swear under his breath. He hissed in pain, a thin trail of blood running down his arm.
“Fine! I’ll tell you. And you’d better make sure this doesn’t get back to anyone. Not to Christine, and especially not my father, because my life won’t be worth living.” His body shook, his voice was raw, and suddenly, Fallon’s face came into my mind. Roland fucking Hyde, who’d made the lives of all three of his children a living hell. And Joseph had taken the heat for Fallon, over and over again.
Fuck.
