Page 149 of Brutal Little Secrets

Smiling, I nod at Tom, trying not to let my gaze stray to the director he promised to introduce me to when I was dating his son.

“Show me the bathroom,” Damon says to Chase. Chase nods.

I let Chase lead me toward the house. Damon isn’t far behind. I still don’t want to be anywhere alone with Chase.

We walk inside and down a hallway away from the party. I shift from Chase’s touch, closer to Damon, but not touching him in case someone comes after us. We can still hear the low murmur of voices and soft music from the party.

“What are you playing at, Chadwick?” Damon’s words are a harsh whisper. He balls his hands into fists.

Chase laughs and leans against the wall. He doesn’t have the brace on his knee, but I noticed a slight limp when he walked. “I figured you wouldn’t be in a hurry to tell your parents about the two of you banging. And while EvanAnn has three boyfriends at school, I doubt your mom would approve. It was a calculated risk. You didn’t tell your mom I left you out in the woods either. So I guessed you don’t want your parents to know we’ve broken up because they might look a little too closely at what’s going on in their house.”

I release my breath. He’s not wrong, but he has his reasons too. “It’s not like you’re going to tell your parents you’ve broken up with me and lose your free pass.”

Chase shrugs with a cocky smile. “What I propose is you act like my girlfriend at this party so you can meet your favorite director and the people who can help you get into that long list of colleges you’ve applied to. A few of the faculty are here from your top choices.”

“What do you get out of this?” Damon demands.

“The pleasure of her company.” Chase smirks and looks me up and down like he’s asking to fuck me and not just pretend to be my boyfriend for an hour.

When Damon jerks forward, I put a hand on his chest to keep him from decking the asshole. Stepping between them, I wait for Damon to give me his attention. He shifts his gaze to me reluctantly. He doesn’t want me to do this, but it’s in public. Chase can’t do much to me at his father’s birthday party.

“It makes sense,” I say softly. Logically, Damon has to know that.

“Yeah, lover boy. It makes sense.” Fuck, Chase is begging for Damon to kick his ass. Or maybe I’ll kick his ass.

“Shut the fuck up, Chase.” I keep my voice low. “Or I’ll go out there and tell your parents exactly how you treated me as your girlfriend.”

He doesn’t make a noise, so I don’t turn to look at him, keeping my focus on Damon.

“Fine.” Damon backs off. He touches my jaw and grinds his teeth. His sharp blue eyes lock on Chase. “Touch her and I’ll end you.”

“It’s a part.” Chase chuckles softly and shakes his head. “What happens when EvanAnn gets a part in a play or movie, and she has to kiss some other guy onstage? Are you going to go mental on him? Or is it just me? Am I an actual threat?”

Damon chews on that. “No, you’re just an asshole.”

I don’t know if we’ll ever be in that situation of me playing a part, but Chase is kind of right, even if he’s also absolutely wrong. This is about trust. That I’m not easily swayed away from Damon. Because nothing would make me go back to Chase after the shit he’s pulled. Even if I didn’t have the Devil’s trio, I do have some self-respect.

“You trust me, right?” I cup Damon’s jaw to get him to look at me. When his gaze meets mine, I search his blue eyes. “Damon, you trust me.”

He takes in a breath. “Yes, little devil. I trust you.”

I release the breath I was holding. “Good.”

When I turn to Chase, I glare up at him. “If you touch me and I don’t like it, I will knee you in your balls so hard you’ll be tasting them at Thanksgiving with your turkey. And I’ll tell your parents about your cheating and the woods.”

“Understood.” Chase glances at Damon and winks. “Does that make her hotter for you too?”

“Stop taunting Damon.” I shake my head. “He’s not the one who will destroy you. I will.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Chase gives me a cocky smile.

This is going to be a disaster. But it’s just a part.

Chapter 46

Damon

Fucking Chase Chadwick. We walk out of the house, and he flashes me a grin before putting his hand on Evan’s back and leading her to his father. If we hadn’t made him cry like a little bitch in the woods, I’d be even more angry. But I have the video ready to upload the second he tries something I don’t like.