Page 70 of The Villain's Beast

“I’m tired of waiting around,” he said softly.

“So am I,” I agreed.

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“I think while we’ve talked about staging a coup, my father already has one in the works,” I admitted.

“Why?”

“Just some of the things he said.” I worried my tongue against the corner of my lower lip. Instinct and years of knowing better told me not to reveal the truth of my father’s message to anyone else, but a desire to break those old habits wanted me to scream it out for all of them to hear.

“Are you going to share with the class?” Daren asked, standing up from my bed and shaking out his right hand before balling his fingers back into a fist. “Or are we going to backtrack to how things were before?”

“I’ll break your fucking fingers before I let you hit me again,” I warned, “and I’d like to see you try and get a cast-covered wrist into your boyfriend’s tight little asshole.”

“I’m not scared of you,” Daren said, cocking his head to the side.

The jarring ring of my phone snapped us both out of the fight we were about to lapse back into, and I knew by the tone it was my father and not anyone I wanted to talk to.

“Keep your mouth fucking closed,” I told him, throwing myself down into the chair by the window and accepting the video call. “Hello?”

“Fletcher,” my father drawled, the sound of my name in his voice making my skin crawl. “You look like you’ve had quite a tussle.”

“Just some rough sex,” I lied, switching off the camera.

He made a disgusted noise on the other end of the line. “Stay out of the well, Fletcher.”

“To what do I owe your unplanned call?” I asked before he could decide to harp on me about my sex life.

“I need your help with that thing we spoke about after initiation.”

“What thing?” I asked. “You said a lot.”

“I have suspicions that Francis North is in serious debt.”

My gaze flickered up to Daren, who stared at me with wide and unreadable eyes.

“You mentioned you thought there was something going on when you were here.”

“Yes, and I’m working on a paper trail, but I need some first-hand information.”

“And what do you want me to do about that, Father?” I rubbed the bridge of my nose gently, wincing when I pushed too hard against a bruise Daren had left behind. “You made sure I understood what happens if I get too close to the North family.”

“I’m glad it’s a lesson you remember,” he said. “But what do you think Bellamy is for?”

Daren made a choking sound, which I covered with a cough. He slapped his hand over his mouth, eyes much more readable than they’d been before.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He’s not there of his own accord, Fletcher,” my father said, like it should have been common knowledge. “I bought him for just this purpose.”

“Youboughthim?”

“Fletcher.” My father sighed. “What are the two biggest motivators in this life?”

“Money and power,” I answered without even having to think about it.

“And people do silly things sometimes for both of those. Bellamy’s father was desperate for both and I brokered a deal to give him one of them.”