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That.
List.
I regretted suggesting she make the damn list. If not for my stupid idea, everything would have stayed the same.
She didn’t come downstairs for breakfast, and I couldn’t blame her. At least she wasn’t in the dining room when my dad dropped a bomb on me, hitting me like a punch to the kidney. It was better she wasn’t here to see my reaction.
“Rhys Vanderbilt is staying with us for the rest of the summer,” he announced as if it were something I wanted to hear this early in the morning. “The Knights need extra help protecting Grace and Alex. And he needs a place to stay until his parents are settled in California.”
My heart nearly stopped at his confession. Of all The Devil’s Knights, I hated Rhys the most. He was an unbearable, competitive piece of shit who thought the world revolved around him.
I dropped my fork onto the plate, fixing a stern glare at my dad. “Rhys is not staying here with Grace. We can’t trust him.”
My dad dismissed me with a head shake. “Rhys isn’t a problem, Cole. I know you competed over everything at the academy, but it won’t be that way while he’s living here.”
“Of course it will,Commandant,” I shot back since I never called him Dad. He was my commanding officer at York Military Academy, but not my father for most of my life. “I had to deal with that asshole for nine months every year since I was twelve. He can find somewhere else to live for the next month.”
It was always tit-for-tat with him.
Rhys hated to lose.
Grace would be a shiny new toy for him to play with. It was like dangling a banana before a monkey and not expecting it to take a bite. Even though all Knights swore not to touch Grace, Rhys would make it his mission to defy Fitzy’s rules.
His family was on the verge of losing their standing with The Founders Society, so I didn’t understand why my dad would want to be associated with the Vanderbilts.
“Get over your hatred, put aside your differences, and welcome Rhys into our home.” Dad bit a slice of toast and chewed before adding, “He’s a Knight. Same as us. And he needs a place to live. We can’t turn him away when he needs help.”
I shoved the plate across the table, sick to my stomach. “Well, maybe if his dad weren’t such a shit human being, the Vanderbilts wouldn’t be broke. We shouldn’t even associate ourselves with people like them.”
My dad frowned. “That’s beside the point, Cole. Rhys is living here. End of story.” He lifted the newspaper from the table and avoided my gaze. “Mydecision is final.”
I shot up from the dining chair as if it were on fire. “If he does anything to hurt Grace, I will kill him.”
“As usual, you’re overreacting,” he said without looking away from the paper. “Grace will be better protected with you and Rhys working together.”
He didn’t know Rhys the way I did. That sneaky fuck would do anything to win, anything to get what he wanted. Anyone could see I had feelings for Grace. And I couldn’t let her be his next target.
ChapterTen
COLE
Rhys Vanderbilt arrived at Fort Marshall. Everyone except the twins was here to greet the person I hated most. Ten years of competing with Rhys at York Military Academy created a lot of hatred between us.
My mom fussed over every detail of his stay. Rhys could have slept on the cold floor for all I cared. After some of the shady shit he’d pulled our final semester at the academy, he was dead to me.
My mom left the great room to coordinate with the staff, ensuring Rhys’s bedroom was ready. That gave him a second to set his sights on Grace. She smiled at him with a giddy expression on her face.
Sometimes, she looked at me like that. But after last night, I could tell she was trying hard not to stare in my direction.
“And who is this lovely creature?” Rhys said to Grace, offering his hand.
She placed her hand in his and laughed as he kissed her skin. “I’m Grace Hale.”
“Fitzy’s granddaughter?” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “How lucky for me?”
I heard the excitement in his voice, and when he said the words, they were aimed at me. A new challenge. He enjoyed games because they could be won.
Rhys patted my back. “Miss me, Marshall?”
