Page 76 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

Prologue

Tristan

My body burned hot with liquid rage, fueling my desire to get out of this fucking hospital bed.

Antiseptic mixed with saline and other medical shit I couldn’t quite place.

She shot me—tried to fucking kill me. After everything I’d done for her.

Ungrateful bitch. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she stole all my cash, too.

Well … not all of it. Just the shit I hadn’t put in the safe yet.

It wasn’t like I truly intended to let her leave anyway. Not permanently. I had every intention of tracking her down once I took care of shit at the compound. Now, I was more motivated than ever to do so.

A presence lurked in the shadows, the thick silence wrapping around the room and suffocating me.

He’d been here a while but never bothered to speak.

He rarely fucking spoke, especially to me.

White spots fluttered around my vision as I peered into the shadows, attempting to make out his expression.

Expressions told on people. Sometimes their words said one thing, while their features told a different story.

I wanted to know his story. What made him tick?

“Nicholas,” I said in a raspy voice, my throat burning with a deep ache. “Come to finish me off?”

He rolled his eyes, emerging from the shadows. “It’s not like I haven’t considered it. But you did kill Clay. Maybe there’s something redeeming in you yet.”

Anything redeemable about me was beaten out when I was a child. Instead, I kept a calm composure. My lips curled at the corners, which was a struggle in itself due to how weak I was. “Aw. Are we bonding?”

“Fuck off, Dick.”

Now that he was closer, I could make out the dark circles surrounding his bloodshot eyes. His cheekbones were more prominent, and his usually tan skin had paled. Something was bothering him. If I gave a shit, I’d ask about it. Too bad I didn’t.

I glanced around the room. It was clear that we were in the infirmary.

Thank fuck. I didn’t need cops sniffing around. The room was too bright for my liking. The walls were white, the floor was white, the beds were made of white sheets and scratchy, white blankets. The sooner I was out of this shit hole, the better.

“Why are you here?” I asked, ignoring the burn in the back of my throat. The pain told me this was real, that I was alive. “Figured you would’ve been the first to dip.”

Nicholas shrugged, his jaw feathering with an emotion I couldn’t place. “I intend to.” His gaze dropped to my limp body, his eyes skating over the large white bandage adorning my shoulder.

I was lucky it had been dark out, or she might have shot me in the face.

Hell, I hadn’t even considered she’d do that shit or I never would have given her the weapon in the first place.

Hazel Montgomery was full of surprises and I intended on peeling back every secret layer she kept hidden until she couldn’t hide a damn thing from me at all.

The door creaked open, capturing my attention.

Mason was the first to step inside. His blonde hair was a disheveled mess, and he looked worse off than Nicholas did.

Vincent, on the other hand, strolled in next.

He looked as normal as ever; hands stuffed into the pockets of his dark colored jeans.

A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth when he spotted me, amusement sparkling within his eyes.

“I heard she shot you. Didn’t believe it, so I came to see for myself.”

I snorted in response, raising my arm with all the strength I could muster and flipped him off.

“Can’t believe you were stupid enough to give her your gun,” Vincent continued, his amusement fading. “Why the fuck would you do that anyway?”

Mason shouldered past him, crossing the room robotically like his mind was on another planet.

He and Dominic were close, so it didn’t surprise me that he’d feel some kind of way about his death.

He reached for a Styrofoam cup resting on a tray beside my bed and reluctantly handed it to me as if he could sense how parched I was.

With shaky fingers, I accepted it, tilting my head back, and took a long, slow swallow.

The cold of the liquid was a glorious contrast to the heat racing through my veins.

“Thanks,” I rasped out.

He jerked his head in a nod, taking the cup and returning it back to the tray. “You look like shit,” he informed.

“No shit?” I smirked. “You don’t look that great yourself.”

Nicholas scoffed from across the room, clearly not impressed with my friendship to Mason.

It was no secret that Nicky and I weren’t the best of friends.

In fact, it was clear to anyone with eyes that we didn’t really get along.

He was a soft little bitch with pussy trauma—literally—and I was the opposite.

I mean, who accidentally killed someone while fucking them?

Mason ran a hand through his hair, shifting on the balls of his feet slightly. “So … what happens now that Clay is gone?” he asked skeptically. “Are you taking over?”

“Fuck no.” I scoffed. “I’m going after Hazel as soon as I heal and get word back from my father about what he plans to do with this dump. He’ll probably send in one of his men to take care of it.”

“Sounds like a foolproof plan,” Vincent added. “I’m going after Alice.”

Mason reeled back in surprise, his gaze clashing with Vincent’s. “You’re actually doing that? I thought you were just talking shit.”

“Nah.” He smirked. “She’s a hot piece of ass. I’ll make her pay for her brother’s betrayal.”

Nicholas shook his head in disbelief, like he couldn’t believe Vincent’s audacity.

Instead of giving him a response, he stormed out of the room, running his hands through his dark hair as he went.

While this little display of dramatic theatrics was entertaining, there were more pressing things on my mind.

Like Hazel for example. She was always on my mind, especially now more than ever.

Where was she?

What was she doing?

Was she safe?

Had she gone to the police?

It didn’t matter to me if she’d gone to the cops.

I’d be long gone by the time they came sniffing about.

Vincent would be too by the sounds of it.

They were none of my concern though. The sooner I healed, which wouldn’t take long by the sounds of it, the sooner I could get out of here and make Hazel pay for trying to kill me after I’d selflessly tried helping her.

She was only alive because of me. I killed Clay in her honor, and this was how she repaid me?

Fuck her .

I’d never given a shit for the man to begin with. He needed me, not the other way around. My father was more powerful than Clay Steele could have ever dreamed of becoming. It was why I got away with most of the shit I had. He couldn’t get rid of me, so it was better to get along.

I snorted a scoff, only to wince when the muscles around my shoulder tightened and a burning sensation shot through the wound.

When he mentioned Hazel needed to be executed, he was trying to teach me a lesson. He wanted me to see that I couldn’t have everything I wanted. He wanted me to make the same sacrifice he forced Dominic to make.

Joke was on him, though.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

When Dominic asked me to help him rescue Hazel, I knew he’d fail.

His plan was faulty as fuck. He was lucky he didn’t get them both killed in the process.

I was the better man because I used my brain, and didn’t mind getting my hands dirty if it meant protecting her.

He might have died for her, but without me, she’d be dead already.

Dominic’s death meant absolutely nothing.

Speaking of which…

I eyed Vincent with trepidation. How could a friend do something like that to another?

“You killed Dominic,” I began blandly, arching an eyebrow. “Why?”

Vince snorted, rolling his eyes like the question was stupid. “He betrayed us for her.”

I hummed thoughtfully, trying to make sense of his logic. “So did I. I’m still alive.”

“You killed Clay.” He shrugged. “The rules changed. You’re in charge now. Well, until your old man takes over.” He glanced over at Mason, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.

He clearly didn’t understand social cues. Mason was torn the fuck up and Vincent didn’t even seem to notice .

Sociopath.

It was the only thing that made sense. Hell, maybe I was a sociopath too, because the only emotion I ever felt was anger and annoyance. Everyone could die for all I cared. But I wasn’t done with Hazel Montgomery just yet. When I was, she could die too.

Women were a means to an end. Find someone just a little bit more interesting than the others, use them for all they were worth, dispose of them, and repeat the cycle. It made life a little bit more entertaining.

“I’m heading out.” Mason sighed, stuffing his hands into the front pockets of his sweats.

“Right behind you,” Vincent replied, slapping his hand against the back of his shoulder.

I rolled my eyes at the ‘bromance’ the two had going on. “Get a fucking room,” I snapped. I’d rather get shot again than have to watch this shit.

Vince just smirked in response before he followed Mason out of the room and left me alone at last. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. They got on my nerves more than anyone else, but now I was at the mercy of my own thoughts.

I suppose it could be worse.

I could be dead, not that there was anyone around who really gave a shit about that fact. My old man kept me around because I was useful to him. If I wasn’t, I’d probably be buried in some unmarked grave, myself.

I couldn’t decide if that was a bad thing either, though.

To my relief, I was only forced to stay in that godforsaken hospital bed for seventy-two hours—long enough for them to remove the bullet, monitor the healing process, and stitch it all up.

My shoulder felt all tight and warm, but Doc assured me that it would only be temporary.

Taking Everett into my arms, my gaze skated over his delicate features. He was tan like his mother had been and had her eyes. The movement added more pressure to my injury, but I forced the pain out of my mind. He was small and perfect, and even smelled nice too.

An uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach the longer I watched him.

Blowing out a breath, I carried him across the hotel room and deposited him gently into his bassinet. His long lashes fluttered, but he quickly fell back into a deep sleep—much to my relief.

After a long talk with my dad, he agreed to take over the compound and have someone else watch over the one he’d been running, until he could find a suitable replacement.

He assured me it was only temporary, and that he’d need me again soon.

He still didn’t know what had happened to Clay, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.

The two of them weren’t friends by any means, but they were close alliances.

It didn’t matter either way. As long as it gave me enough time to do what I needed to.

Two weeks had passed since Hazel shot me and ran off. I’d checked her social media underneath an alternate account, hoping that she’d post something—anything—but she never did.

She probably knew better than to go back to Greenbriar, but I’d be a fool if I didn’t at least check there first. Her hometown wasn’t too far away, but since it was late and Everett was getting restless, I decided to stop for the night.

In the morning, I was coming for her. If she wasn’t there, I’d search every goddamn state until I located her, even if that meant hiring a professional. Nobody fucked me over and got away with it. And soon, she’d realize what a fatal mistake that had been.