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“How did she call when there is no signal at the cabin?” Saint states.
“Clever girls,” Beck whispers.
“What does that mean?” Crus asks.
“We took Corvin’s car and they clearly took mine into town.” That was… actually really smart, but something tells me Beckett left his keys in a place they could find them because he knew Leah wouldn’t be able to sit back and do nothing.
“Look, boys, we still need to do a few more press releases now that you five have come out as the owners. You have a Forbes 500 company now. You boys own hotels, resorts and shares in two colleges, you have amassed an empire and I’m proud of you all. But, your work is just beginning, so be ready for the press to be following your every move. Don’t do anything dumb.” We all agree to Troy’s terms and promise to be on our best behavior. The limo takes us back to the hotel so we can get Corvin’s car and start the eight hour drive back to the cabin. We’re all quiet and lost in our own thoughts as Corv drives us back. It’s hard to believe that four years ago this was a pipe dream. We all busted our asses and put every penny we had into investing. The truth is, we were lucky that one of the investments we made took off and allowed us to bring in more income so we could grow quicker than we ever thought.
“My dad is gonna know about this,” Saint whispers quietly from the back.
“He can’t do shit. Troy has already started the process of taking him down. Once that has begun we’ll partition his board and go in for a hostel takeover and push his ass out. The board will be put to a vote and trust me, Saint, they are gonna want you to run that shit.” Corvin is right, the plan was to always take Victor out and then go after Saint’s dad.
“I know. It’s just fucking hard, ya know. I mean, we know he has been dealing in shady shit involving distributing videos of kids but to actually see his work in action with that video of Leah…” He lets his sentence trail off. We all feel the same. This is a lot for anyone to take in.
“You guys know what this means, right?” Crue asks from his seat in the middle of Beck and Saint.
“What does it mean?” Corvin asks tiredly.
“We don’t have to hide any more and watch what we spend so no one suspects us. With Victor out of the picture and shit being public, Devon is gonna know he’s next.” I see Saint deflate out of the corner of my eye at the mention of his father and I feel for him. He didn’t always hate his father, but when we brought him the evidence of what his father was really doing, he couldn’t deny it. He jumped on board with our plan straight away and hasn’t looked back since. His loyalty is awe inspiring but we also know this is fucking hard for him.
CHAPTER9
Leah
Ispot Corvin’s headlights through the windows, my nerves go haywire inside me knowing that I probably overstepped and pissed him off more. I thought going to the police would be the right thing, at the time it seemed like a really good idea to do it but now as I sit here in the living room, with my friends on either side of me, I begin to doubt my decision. When the headlights cut off, I take a deep breath and begin to pick at my hangnail. I wish I had trained for another hour with the girls, maybe then I would have been too tired to care. When the sound of car doors close, I begin to pick at my nail harder.
Cody places a hand on top of mine, shooting me an encouraging smile. “We’re right here with you, every step of the way.”
I melt a little inside. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you both but I am so grateful to have met you,” I say to them both. We share a quick awkward three-way hug just as the front door opens, then we slowly pull apart. I sit here biting my bottom lip as I slowly lift my gaze to see the guys walking in. I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding at the sight of Darius.
He’s safe.
He glances at me for a brief second before he turns and heads up the stairs, Cody grips my hand and squeezes while Katie leans her head on my shoulder. Saint and Crue wave out as they head for the basement to have an early night. Beck and Corv drop into the couch opposite us, both looking wrecked. Corvin rests his head back on the couch as he gazes up at the vaulted ceiling.
“I see my car is still in one piece.” I cringe and shoot Beck a toothy smile that has him smiling back.
“I swear I didn’t scratch it and I even put gas in it.” He narrows his eyes at me.
“Leah, I don’t give a shit about you using my car. I knew your ass wouldn’t be able to stay here and do nothing, so I left the keys out on the counter.” That shocks me. I cock my head to the side and study Beck. He may be quiet but he pays attention and listens to everything. It’s weird to find a guy who actually does that.
“You saved his ass, you know.” I pull my gaze back to Corvin who still won’t look at me.
“What do you mean?” I ask hesitantly.
“You going to the cops saved his ass. He would probably still be sitting in a cell right now if it wasn’t for you.” I flinch at the casual way he says that, like it isn’t a big deal that his best friend could have gone to jail because of me! I climb to my feet, glaring at my brother. The girls follow my lead. He lazily lifts his head and looks at me with a bored expression on his face.
“You can be angry all you want but guess what, Corvin, none of this has anything to do with you.” He opens his mouth but I push on needing to get this out while I have the nerve. “You’re just angry because Darius and I went behind your back. Look how you’re acting now. This is the reason we never wanted to tell you because we knew you would act like a damn baby! Grow the hell up and get over it. I’m eighteen and will do whatever the hell I like. Starting tomorrow, the girls and I are going back to school and if you don’t like that then you can suck a dick!” I storm out of the room with my head held high, but on the inside I’m screaming because I can’t believe I just said that to my brother! I race up the stairs and slam to a halt when I spot Darius leaning over the banister as I reach the landing. He turns his head toward me with a ghost of a smile on his lips. The girls slip past me and head for our room, closing the door quietly.
His eyes spark with mischief as he looks at me. “Corvin can suck a dick, huh?” I snort out a laugh and quickly cover my mouth with my hand and nod. He nods a couple times before he pushes off the banister and moves toward me. My breath hitches when he stops a step away from me. His brown eyes bore into mine, his hair flops forward onto his forehead and I want to reach up and push it back, but I don’t. “Thank you for what you did today, you didn’t have to.”
“Yes, I did,” I say quietly, afraid that any loud sound will scare him away.
He shakes his head as a sad smile graces his handsome face. “Nah, you didn’t. Enjoy school, Leah, and I hope you and Corvin sort everything out.” He tries to walk away but I reach out and grab his arm pulling him to a stop. I stare up at him in fright, panic begins to claw its way up my throat.
“Why did that feel like a goodbye?” I ask, scared that he may actually leave.
“Because it was. I finished what I set out to do.” I shake my head rapidly.
