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Before I can react, he abruptly releases my throat.
Since my legs are still unsteady, and I didn’t have time to brace my weight, it sends me crashing down on my knees. Dull pain pulses through my legs as I hit the cold floor in front of Rico’s boots.
After dragging in a deep breath, I look up to meet his gaze. Only that vicious contempt is visible on his features as he stares me down.
“You’re pathetic,” he says, his voice hard.
It’s clearly directed at the fact that I didn’t fight back earlier, so I reply, “You’re a bully.”
He draws his hand along my jaw and under my chin in an almost loving gesture while giving me a sweet smile laced with lethal threats. “And you’re a liar.”
Then he turns on his heel and stalks out, leaving me sitting there naked on my knees. Alone. And with my emotions even more tangled than before.
10
RICO
The house is not silent when I return. Afternoon classes have already started, which means that both Kaden and Jace should still be on campus. Confusion and alarm swirl through me.
With my body on high alert, I gently close the front door behind me and sneak down the hallway. A clinking sound comes from inside our combined kitchen and living room. Drawing myself up by the open doorway, I glance inside.
Relief crashes into me. But it’s quickly exchanged for exasperation and confusion.
While heaving a deep sigh, I rake my fingers through my hair and walk into the room. “What are you doing here, Golden?”
Jace jerks up from where he was sprawled on the cream-colored sofa. From the doorway, I had just been able to see his messy curls spill over the armrest.
Twisting around on the couch, he meets my gaze from across the backrest. He holds up his hand, raising one finger. “One, don’t call me that.” He narrows his eyes at me while raising a second finger. “And two, I could ask you the same thing.”
His words are slightly slurred, as if he has been drinking.
When I round the couch, my suspicions are confirmed as I found a half-empty bottle of whiskey on the low table in front of the sofa.
I nod towards it. “Day drinking, huh? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”
“Fuck off,” he mutters, and swipes the bottle from the table.
For a moment, I consider… doing something. I know that their father would be livid if he found out that Jace was skipping class to instead get drunk on the couch. He gave Eli one hell of a beating when he found out that he had skipped an entire course his first year just because he was bored. But Jace has always been like this. Restless. Seeking chaos. However, it seems to have gotten worse since he started at Blackwater.
Standing there by the armrest, I watch him pour some more whiskey into his glass. Indecision swirls inside me.
“I would offer you one,” Jace says. “If you weren’t being such an insufferable mother hen right now.”
A laugh rips from my chest. I huff out another exasperated chuckle while jerking my chin. “Just move over, asshole.”
While still holding on to the glass and the bottle, he scoots over on the couch without spilling a single drop. Which I have to admit is a rather impressive feat.
After setting down his glass, he reaches for another one and starts pouring. I slump down on the pale cushions next to him. They let out a huff as my weight lands on them.
Jace silently hands me the second glass and then puts the bottle down on the table before picking up his own glass.
“Wanna talk about it?” I ask.
“Nope.” He casts me a glance from the corner of his eye. “You?”
“No.”
He nods and then just holds his glass out towards me. I clink mine against his.
