Page 46 of Boys Who Taint (Spine Ridge University #5)

Aspen

I close the door to my room and let it all fall off me.

The run back through the forest.

The looks from my peers when they saw me after I’d frantically knocked on the Beta Pi Sorority door.

Their stares when they saw my naked legs, the rest of my body covered in a thin blue shirt that Grey took off and hastily threw over my head when we were mid-way through the forest.

The way he looked at me when we finally got to safety.

I swallow away the lump in my throat as he still holds my hand after it all.

“I …” I can’t even say the words. Can’t begin to describe what we just did.

What I surrendered.

My soul.

All for a boy who … Lied to me.

But I also lied to him.

“Don’t,” he says, closing the gap. “Don’t say words you’re going to regret.”

Tears well up in my eyes. “But I made that deal, and I didn’t tell you.”

I’m not sad about letting those boys fuck with me.

I’m not sad at all about them claiming every inch of my body like they owned it.

I’m sad about lying to Grey.

And that he had to lie to me.

He cups my face. “I know. I know. I know.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you. I wanted to save you from Levi. And I failed,” I mutter.

“You did what you had to. Apollo is the only one he listens to,” he says.

I’m still stuck in a loop. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He pulls me into his embrace. “Don’t apologize.”

I don’t know why he’s so forgiving, why he’d let this go so easily, when I just fucked two men right in front of him…

And liked it.

I fucking liked it when I shouldn’t have.

“Dammit,” I mutter under my breath.

But then I remember what those boys said … how he lied to my face too.

“You …” I murmur, still smelling the scent of Apollo’s cum on him. “You joined the Phantoms. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want you to worry about me,” he says. “I knew Levi was after me because I’m your boyfriend, so I wanted to protect myself against him, but it ended up being his final trigger. I’m the reason they did this.”

I pull out of the hug and look into his piercing blue eyes that still take my breath away.

But I don’t know what to say.

None of it feels right.

“And the pictures?” I mutter.

His eyes twitch. “He’ll say anything to make you hate me. That’s what he wants. To split us up.”

I’m so confused. “But how do I know who’s telling the truth?”

“You know because I love you,” he says, cupping my face. “And he doesn’t know the meaning of the word.”

I close my eyes and let it all sink in.

“We’re both liars …” he whispers, leaning in to press the gentlest of kisses on my lips. “Both willing to sacrifice ourselves.”

There’s a vicious glint in his eyes, one that reminds me of my Ghost, and goose bumps instantly spread on my skin. But the more kisses he plants the more delirious I become, and my kisses are filled with an unquenchable rage building deep inside, threatening to consume me whole.

Grey

There’s a fire blazing deep inside her, roaring with a hunger for destruction. The sparks are palpable in each of my kisses, but I’m not afraid of the burn. She would be a sight to behold if she’d ever let the inferno reign.

“Don’t fight it,” I say.

She bites my lip, the pain only turning me on. “I’m so goddamn angry.”

I smile against her lips. My gorgeous girl … “I can feel it.”

“Aren’t you?” she asks.

I pause, a twinge tugging at my brow.

I should be.

Levi captured me and strapped me to that chair like he wanted to show me what he’d be capable of, what he’s willing to destroy to get to me.

And Apollo used me like a toy, played with a part of me I didn’t even know existed, and it struck a chord so deep I don’t know if I’m ever going to be the same as I was before.

“I hide my anger well,” I reply.

But she leans away, averting both lips and eyes, and it doesn’t feel good at all.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

She sits down on the bed. “I … I don’t know. There’s just so many things going on. So many lies.”

Fuck. He actually did it.

She’s actually questioning my motives and the truth.

I step back.

She sighs. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry, but some time ago, Levi came here to tell me that he saw you in the Bonesmen Brotherhood territory.”

He saw me? That motherfucker.

My fist balls. “It’s not what you think.”

“Is it?” She looks up, disdain filling her eyes. “Because I didn’t want to believe him, and I didn’t for the longest time. But you lied to me about the Phantoms … so why would I believe you over him?”

“Everyone is lying. Even you,” I say.

Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

“To protect you,” she says.

“By fucking with Apollo,” I add.

A glossy sheen of embarrassment makes her cheeks even pinker. Gorgeous.

I kneel in front of her. “I’m not mad at you. I promise. You were doing it because you had no choice…” I grasp her knees.

Her fingers scrunch up on her thighs. “I don’t understand how … why I even liked it. Why my body enjoyed it as much as it did.”

I glance up at her, the conflict on her face visceral.

“Can I be alone? Just for a while?” she asks. “I just want to shower and sleep. Alone.”

Alone.

I sigh out loud and stand.

She doesn’t trust me anymore.

There’s nothing I can say that aren’t more lies.

If I told her the truth now … how I watched her have sex with Apollo in the gym, how I’ve been stalking her since day one … the cameras … she’d never fucking trust me again.

No. I have to keep up the ruse. Play the part. Pretend I’m the perfect boyfriend, while my grinding teeth nearly chip off a piece.

I nod. “That’s okay. There’s something I need to do anyway.”

“What is it?” she asks.

“Something … private.” I head for the door. “I’m just a phone call away if you need me.”

Levi

I pick up more scotch and pour it into a glass, then chug it down in one go as I stare into the void. The wooden paneled Phantom entrance hall has always been one of my favorite spots to hangout, especially on a gloomy night where one would rather slip away into the nether.

It’s just something about those paintings that haunt my soul.

Or maybe I’m just staring at a reflection of myself.

I pour out another glass.

But the door opening up makes me pause.

Grey Westbrook enters the house like he belongs here, and the sight of him and that smug face makes me do a double take.

“You …” I say through gritted teeth. “You think you’re safe here?”

I chuck the glass at his face, but he dodges it right before it shatters in a million pieces.

“Phantoms can’t touch other Phantoms,” he replies, tilting his head. “And I’m not interested in staying. I just came to deliver a message.”

My nostrils flare as I stare at him, wide-eyed, completely smashed and out of my mind insane. “You think I fucking care what you have to say?”

“Oh, you will … trust me.” With his hand in his pocket, he waltzes over to me like he owns the place. “I’m going to show you something.”

“Take one more step and I’ll—”

He holds up his phone, and the video that plays instantly draws my attention.

Because it’s me.

On top of that fucking cliff where we jumped into the water.

My voice. My body. My hands.

Her death.

All on camera.

And my entire world slowly begins to shift on its axis.

He’s been taping us all this time.

“I captured everything ,” Grey says through gritted teeth. “I know why she had to die.”

This can’t be fucking real. How was he there? How did no one see him?

“And you’re going to stay away from us, or I will make sure she knows too.”

“No,” I hiss. Overwhelmed by rage, I grab his throat, but it doesn’t even seem to faze him.

“Go ahead and try …”

So I snatch his phone from him and smash it to bits on the floor with my foot.

But all he does is laugh. “You think that’s the only copy I had? I have a laptop, idiot.”

“Where?”

“You’ll never get it.”

“Fuck you!” I throw him down and immediately hurry up the stairs.

If he won’t give me the file, then I’ll go fucking look for it myself.

Grey stands beneath the steps, leering up at me. “Do whatever you want, Levi. It won’t help you. Nothing will. Your downfall was my victory, and the prize … is all mine.”

Fuck him and that arrogant fucking horse he rode in on.

I burst into his room, deranged, completely out of my mind from intoxication and fury. Roaring out loud, I rip open every neatly packed closet, every pristine drawer, and every stacked box, throwing it all out on the floor. I check every nook and cranny but his laptop is nowhere to be found.

Tears well up in my eyes.

He’s got me.

He’s got me on a fucking noose and there’s not a thing I can do about it.

Not a single thing …

My jaw tenses, and I fall to my knees and slam the floor while screaming, “FUCK!”

Aspen

Two days later

I haven’t talked with Grey in what feels like ages. He hasn’t attempted to make contact and neither have I. Maybe he’s respecting my need for silence. Or maybe he’s afraid he’s going to lose me because of all the lies.

Something about the way he acted last night just doesn’t feel right.

And my mind isn’t really ready to come to terms with what I did, so I have no emotional room to think about it either.

I’m still stuck in that forest, haunted by the vision of a turned-on Grey while I was being plowed through on both ends by his enemies.

But the worst part is that my pussy still throbs when it crosses my mind.

Sighing, I close my book. I can’t even focus properly on my late-night study, that’s how far they’ve gotten under my skin. It doesn’t help that their dicks were absolutely unholy and so damn …good at it.

Dammit.

I put my stuff into my bag and get up, but the second I attempt to exit the library, a voice in the hallway beyond makes me pause.

Grey.

I peer sideways to confirm and my eyes widen.

He’s leaning against the library walls, talking about some kind of deal on a new phone he bought. “No. You bring me one of them or I’m coming there to fuck up the entire place.”

My heart rate shoots up.

Fuck up what place?

“You think I care? I paid. The end. Now bring me the guy. You’ve got twenty minutes.”

Paid for what guy? What’s going to happen?

He ends the call and tucks his phone back into his pocket, then waltzes off.

I have to follow him.

I wait until he’s gone before I follow suit.

He exits the building and walks to the parking lot, while I stay at an appropriate distance.

He gets in his car, and there’s another girl leaving the parking lot just now, so I jump into my car and wait until she exits then follow along so there’s distance between our cars and Grey won’t notice it’s me.

Lately, something about him has felt … off.

Like a part of him has chipped away unnoticed. The boyfriend I had isn’t the boyfriend I have now, and I want to know if my senses are right. Even though I know it’s wrong to stalk, he kept secrets from me too, and I need to know if there’s more.

I trail behind him slowly, making sure it’s inconspicuous as we head down the mountain and into Crescent Vale City. But the longer we drive, the more eerie it gets, and my hairs visibly rise when we reach the area that’s controlled by the Bonesmen Brotherhood.

Could Levi have been right all along?

Grey parks his car from a distance, right next to a club. He exits and slams the car door shut, then marches inside. Anxiously, I stare at the door, listening to the rain slowly begin to pitter-patter down on the roof.

My heart does a jump when he exits again, this time with a guy who’s got zip ties on his wrists.

What the hell? Who is that man and what is Grey going to do with him?

He drags the guy into his car and shoves him inside, then jumps behind the wheel again. I swiftly hit the gas to follow him as he races off to the outskirts of the city. There’s a parking lot there that’s barely visited by anyone except drug dealers because it’s near an abandoned kid’s playground.

I swallow away the lump in my throat when he exits the vehicle wearing a white mask and a balaclava, as if he learned from Apollo and Levi to make sure to hide his identity while committing crimes. He hauls the man out of his car and drags him toward a bush.

Instinctively, I step out of the car, as if death creeps near, drawing me into the darkness. I sneak closer because curiosity takes ahold. The man is lying on his back, his hands tied together on his belly, and there’s a panicked look on his face.

“Please, don’t do this,” he pleads.

“I’m not the man you beg to.” Grey’s voice is unreal. I’ve never heard him talk like this.

He pulls a gun from his pocket and points it right at the man’s face.

This unhinged.

A twig cracks beneath my feet.

The man’s eyes immediately lock with mine. “Help me!”

Grey turns his head, his gun still pointed at the man. But those icy white eyes have never felt colder as they stare me down in a moment of silence before a vicious kill.