Page 7

Chapter Seven

Vivian

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning and as much as I want to hide out in my dorm room to avoid running into my brother or the others, I don’t want to waste what little time I have here. I force my ass out of bed to shower and change into one of my bathing suits. I throw a shirt over the top—it’s so long it stops just above my knees. I refuse to acknowledge the fact that this shirt is one I stole from Ezekiel last year. I used to steal all of their shirts. I love sleeping in them, just to have their scent wrapped around me as I drifted off, as it always made me feel safe.

I grab my towel and Kindle, then head for the door. Just as I lock it behind me, my phone rings. I frown when I see who is calling but answer the call.

“Drew, how can I help you on a Saturday?” I say. Drew and his friend Ford own Anders and Booth Construction, they are the ones handling the expansion of the high school and building the college since I couldn’t get Brodie to agree until recently.

“Vivian, I don’t have good news.” My stomach sinks as I choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

“What happened?” I ask, praying that it isn’t something major that will delay the expansion further. It’s already costing us more than I had hoped thanks to the constant problems we are running into. I swear, I never had this many problems when I had commissioned the contractors for Lividica. The rebuild on that went smooth. I hadn’t worried about a single thing and now I am starting to wonder if I should have just rehired the same team from that build for this one. David urged me to use members of The Brotherhood so it didn’t look like I was trying to ice out their businesses but honestly, I was worried they would purposely fuck up jobs just to get at me and make me look incompetent. Every month we have a meeting and each time more than half a dozen of the brothers make complaints about how I have done this or that and its starting to piss me right off!

“One of the new guys found asbestos in the roof, all construction has to be halted until we can fix that problem.” I’m grinding my teeth so fucking hard I may actually break them!

“Drew, this is the fifth hold up we have had?—”

“I can’t help these problems, I wasn’t the one who built the school so you need to blame those assholes.” His tone is grating on my nerves, I hate how he and Ford speak to me like I’m stupid. “We’re doing the best we can and working overtime, my crew is busting their ass.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” I take a deep breath and try to compose myself as I exit the building and head for the beach. “I’ll have David source a crew?—”

“We know some guys?—”

“No!” I cut in as each time he has suggested a crew, they have taken longer than needed to fix the problem, which is why I’m starting to think him and his partner are just fucking with me now. “I’ll have a crew of my own brought in and since your crew is clearly tired and under the pump I will be bringing on a new crew to help with the workload.”

“Hell no! Ford and I work alone and?—-”

“You either do as I’m telling you or I fire your company and bring in a whole other crew that I’m sure won’t run into the amount of problems you have. I’ll have David send you the details.” I end the call without waiting for a response. “Fucking males always thinking women are stupid,” I growl out.

“Well, that's not fair to the rest of us good males who think women are amazing.” I snap my head up to see Dawson standing a few feet away with a warm smile on his face and a volleyball clutched between his hands. I can’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.

“Sorry, I just got… work problems.”

He purses his lips and nods. “What’s your plans for the day?” Before I can answer my phone rings, cutting off my reply. I sigh when I see it's David. I hold my finger up and shoot him an apologetic look as I answer the call.

“Drew called you, didn’t he?” I say as I bring the phone to my ear.

His answering sigh gives me the answer before he voices it. “Yes, he isn’t happy.”

I turn my back to Dawson as I answer him. “I don’t give a shit, he has been playing us David?—”

“I know, but we need to keep the brothers happy.”

“Why?”

“The night of the Saints.” I grind my teeth, he has been mentioning that for months now. I have a backup plan. If they try to vote me out they will all lose!

“They vote me out, then they will lose everything. Fix this, David. I want this matter handled before I get home.”

“There’s been another delivery from our bird.” I still instantly. “A letter was delivered.”

“What did it say?”

“I didn’t open it.”

“Why not?”

“It states on the back that you are to be the one to open it when you return .”

I gasp, fear trickles down my spine. “He knows where I am,” I breathe out.

“Yes, I have sent six men to you. You need to return with them?—”

“No. I’ll leave tomorrow afternoon and not a minute earlier.” Before he can argue I end the call, then take a few deep breaths and try to calm my nerves. It takes longer than I want to admit but feeling a presence behind me leaves me no choice. I turn and crane my neck back to see Dawson studying me with a look of concern. He takes one look at me and then nods.

“Come on, you look like you need some fun.” A humorless chuckle escapes me.

“Yeah, I could use some fun.” He smiles, grabs my hand and leads me toward the beach. He doesn’t press me for what soured my mood, he talks about mundane shit and I find myself appreciating him for trying to take my mind off things without prying. When we reach the beach, I see a few students playing volleyball. Dawson tries to lead me toward them but I plant my feet.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

I nibble on my lip trying to figure out a way to tell him that I don’t want to be around people right now. “She just wants to hang out with her bestie. Don’t worry, she’ll totally watch you from here though.” Dawson frowns for a second but when I shoot him a small smile he nods and releases my hand, then runs off to join his friends. “He seems… nice.” I ignore her, this was my beach day to hang out by myself and of course she had to turn up.

I scoff and go about laying my towel out, then rid myself of my shirt and lay down on my stomach. I watch Nova, from the corner of my eye, mimic my move, neither of us saying anything as we watch Dawson and his friends play. A memory hits me then of the day we all ditched school after Nova beat up Nicole and we spent the whole day laughing and playing around, even had a bonfire that night.

“You thinking about the last time we were at the beach together?”

I exhale and nod. “Yeah.”

“That was one of the best days I have ever had, Vi.” I hate that there is this divide between her and me. She was my best friend before she was Vox’s. Nova isn’t like any of the other girls I know, she never tried to use me to get closer to my brother or the guys. She wanted to be my friend because of who I am. “I miss you,” she whispers.

I slam my eyes closed as guilt churns inside me. “I miss you too,” I whisper.

“Then why have you been avoiding my calls and texts?” The hurt is clear in her tone.

“Because I know who you share a bed with,” I answer bitterly.

“Vivian, I would never tell him anything. I love your brother so fucking much to the point I can’t even put it into words, but you’re my best friend… my only friend.” The reminder of what she lost has me turning to face her. Tears fill her eyes but don’t fall. She tries to smile but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

“How’s my mom?” I ask, changing the subject.

Nova smiles and this time it does reach her eyes. “She’s amazing. Mom, Olivia and Jane have been hanging out so much. They’ve opened two new floral shops and they all seem… happy… ish.”

“Ish?” I push.

Nova’s eyes soften. “Jane misses you, Vivian. Every week she asks me if I have heard from you and it breaks my heart every time I have to tell her I haven’t.”

I inhale sharply. “It’s better for her this way.”

“What way? She is hurting, Vivian. She thinks you chose The Brotherhood over your family just like your—” She clamps her mouth closed and I narrow my eyes.

“Like my father and Ezekiel’s?” Her brows draw in. “Yeah, I know all about what my father and Edmund used to get up to. Virgil Hatchett wasn’t a saint like my brother painted him out to be, nor was Edmund. Sorry, Nova, but your dad was a piece of shit just like mine.” She reels back like I slapped her.

“Edmund and Virgil were trying to save you all from joining the Saints.”

I scoff and laugh but it's a bitter sound. Nova frowns as she stares at me. “Is that what he told you?” I don’t give her a chance to answer. “He was wrong, Nova. Our father’s weren’t heroes. They were power hungry bastards and only cared about getting richer. The Saints are thirsty for power and will stop at nothing to get it.”

“Then why are you leading them?” The confusion is clear in her tone and on her face.

‘Because I’m smart. I know their weaknesses and how they work. I just needed time to fix all the wrongs. They think they just have to survive another couple of months until Night Of The Saints where they can vote me out, but if they do, it will be their downfall.” She studies me for a solid minute before her eyes widen and she gasps.

“Holy fuck,” she breathes out. I smile darkly and shoot her a wink. “You’re fucking them over from the inside.”

I tilt my head side to side. “I refuse to confirm or deny your claim.”

“Why?”

“Because my father and yours tried to take our lives from us and so did the Saints. I won’t let them win. They will all go down. I told you a year ago that there is nothing worse than a woman’s scorn and I meant it. They will all burn in fucking hell for what they did!”

“Vivi, I say this with love, but you are a bad bitch and I am in awe of you.”

I snort. “Cut that shit out.”

“I mean it. You sacrificed your family for this and you gave up… your guys.”

There it is , the elephant in the room .

“They aren’t my anything, Nova.”

She pins me with a deadpan look. “Girl, I’ve known for a lot longer than you think that there is something there between you and the three of them.”

I shake my head, denying her claim. “There is nothing between me and them. At one time, maybe I thought there was something with each of them, but they all made a choice… so none of them are worthy of me or my time. Plus, it’s not like I could have all three.”

“Says who?”

I balk at her. “Uh, society?”

She waves me away. “Fuck normal, who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?”

“Vivian?” I snap my head toward Dawson, grateful for his timing. “Come on, we need two more players, please.” I nibble on my lip and turn to Nova who shrugs and stands. I follow her lead and join them. Dawson introduces us to everyone and they all smile welcomingly, which puts some of my anxiety at ease. It’s hard getting used to the fact people here don’t know me or my last name, it’s fucking wicked to be honest. I just wish I didn’t have to leave this place to finish what I started.