Score - A Stepbrother Romance (13 page)

“
I
’ve been looking
for you everywhere,” my father continued, taking another step towards me. “What on Earth are you doing in my office? And did I hear you talking to someone?”

He peered around the room, and I hastily made an excuse. “Oh, I…err…I forgot that I needed to make a quick call about a group assignment I have for this economics class I’m taking, but the party is making everything so loud. This was the only quiet spot I could find.”

“Well, I had the home office walls soundproofed for a reason,” he said with a wink. “So I could concentrate on my work in peace whenever I was home.”

Or so you could cheat on Mom and screw your secretary in peace, without anyone suspecting…

I pushed the thought aside, forcing a smile onto my face. My father was changing for the better, and I had to keep trying to get over all the shit he’d done in the past. He was a different person now, and I knew he wouldn’t hurt Lina’s mother the same way he’d hurt my Mom.

Speaking of Lina…she was crouched under the desk behind me, merely inches away. I swore I could hear the thud of her heart, although it was probably just mine, thumping loudly and betraying my nervousness.

“Anyway, have you seen Lina anywhere?” Dad asked. “I’ve been looking for her as well.”

“Hm? What?” I said, rubbing my eyes and turning away slightly so that he wouldn’t see the stark guilt etched into my features.

“Lina,” he repeated. “Your soon-to-be stepsister? I’m sure you remember her. She lives here, after all.”

He smiled as if his little joke was the funniest thing in the world, and I forced another grin back at him. “Sorry. I just didn’t hear you properly. Um…I haven’t seen Lina for about half an hour. I think the last person I saw her with was Myron Banks. Maybe she’s run off with him to have some sort of wild affair?”

Myron Banks was an eighty-seven year old campaign donor with a bad hip and a bald spot which flies could probably skate on. Despite his advanced age, he still showed up at almost every Democratic political event, and he’d been one of the biggest donors to my father’s election campaign so far. His last name was a perfect match for him; the guy was as rich as Croesus.

Under the desk, Lina tried to stifle a giggle at the thought of running away with the wealthy octogenarian, and I coughed loudly to cover it up.

Dad rolled his eyes. “I don’t think Myron Banks has been able to walk without a frame for twenty years, let alone run off with anyone. Anyway, come back downstairs. There’s some people I want you to meet. I’m sure Lina will turn up somewhere.”

“Yeah, she’s probably just in the bathroom.”

Dad put his hand on my upper back, and we exited the room. I didn’t dare look over my shoulder, lest I draw any more suspicion to the office where Lina was still hiding.

Fuck, she was amazing.

It’d been a few weeks since we’d first hooked up, and in the time since, we’d been stealing every moment together which we could. It wasn’t exactly easy, and I knew the guilt of our relationship was weighing on both of our shoulders, but we’d figure something out eventually. Obviously we couldn’t tell anyone about us while the election campaign was still going on, but once my father had either been defeated or elected, we’d try to come clean, as messy as the fallout might end up being. It was the right thing to do, but it just wasn’t the right time yet.

I mingled with a few more of the guests for the next ten minutes, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lina finally return to the party. She waved at my father, who gave her a nod and a smile in return, his shoulders sagging with relief as he realized she hadn’t run away to join the circus. He made a beeline for her with a photographer a second later, and I grinned at her from across the room, watching as they posed for photos together.

Ah, the life of a politico’s child...or stepchild. Pose for the cameras, answer all the journalist’s questions correctly, blah blah blah…it was all a game; a bullshit game. No one ever told the truth in interviews or photo spreads, and I doubted they ever would. They told whatever lies they needed to in order to appeal to the largest amount of voters, and most of the time, it worked.

I finally got Lina alone again by the drinks table, and I leaned over, brushing my hand against hers as I pretended to reach for a glass.

“And so we meet again,” I murmured. “Maybe we should take another trip back upstairs..?”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding? We almost got caught!” she said in a hushed voice.

“Yes, I’m kidding. By the way, did you say hi to your boyfriend yet?”

I pointed across the room at Myron Banks, and Lina grinned and elbowed me. “Shut up.”

“He’s talking to your Mom. Maybe he’s asking for her permission to propose to you.”

“Oh, that’d be good,” she said sweetly. “Then I could finally get away from you.”

I grinned. “I know you don’t mean that, princess.”

She looked into my eyes. “You’re right,” she said softly. “I don’t.”

“Good. I want to grab your ass so bad right now,” I replied in a murmur.

I jokingly reached for her, and she slapped my hand away. “Too bad. You’ll have to wait.”

I groaned. “I know.”

I took a sip of my drink and surveyed the room, trying to ignore my raging hormones as Lina’s perfume filled my head.

“Didn’t you say some of your relatives were coming tonight?” Lina asked, glancing around as well. “I haven’t met any of them yet.”

I shrugged. “I thought they might, but I can’t see any of them. Tripp definitely won’t be coming. His Mom and my Dad do
not
get along. Because of a vase. A fucking
vase.
”

Lina rolled her eyes. “How ridiculous. Isn’t Tripp the cousin of yours who trains you for your fights?”

“Yeah.”

She chewed on her lower lip at the mention of my fights, and I leaned in and murmured in her ear. “Don’t worry. I told you, I’m quitting. I’m going to tell him tomorrow.”

I’d decided once and for all that I was done with my secret underground identity. It was making life too difficult, and I knew that Lina would never be entirely happy with me until I’d given it up. I couldn’t blame her for that; it made perfect sense. I’d been selfish for keeping it up as long as I had.

“Won’t he be disappointed?” she asked.

“Yeah, but he’ll understand. He’s family; he knows how politics works. It’s almost getting to the mud-slinging stage of Dad’s campaign, y’know. Do you know what that means?”

“Vaguely.”

“It means that all the opposing campaigners will start digging up dirt on each other and launching smear campaigns against the others in order to make themselves look like a better choice. It always happens around about this time; six weeks or so before the election. So that means people from the opposition will be looking far more closely into my Dad’s life, trying to dig up whatever dirt they can on him or any family members. If I don’t quit fighting, they’ll figure it out. Wouldn’t surprise me if we’re both being followed already. Even Lily is probably being checked out.”

“Jesus. I hope not. So you’re really quitting?”

“Yep.”

I expected her shoulders to slump with relief, but instead she looked down at the ground, her body all tensed and nervous.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, desperately wanting to reach out and stroke her face. Of course, I couldn’t; not while we were in full view of the entire party.

“I feel like…I feel as if I forced you to quit. I know you love fighting, and I don’t want you to think I’m some sort of controlling psychopath.”

I shook my head. “Christ, Lina, I don’t think you’re a controlling psycho. I wish I’d listened to you sooner. You were right about everything. I’ve been a selfish fuckhead, and quitting is the right thing to do. It’s for the best for everyone—for me, for the campaign, for my family.”

Yes, for my family…our family,
I added mentally, knowing that she was going to be officially part of it very soon. All that served to do was make me feel even guiltier about our relationship. Our parents’ wedding was in just two and a half weeks, and fuck…they were gonna kill us when they found out Lina and I were together.

“Are you sure?” she said.

“Yes. One hundred percent. I was just kidding myself when I thought I needed to do it. I don’t need it.”

“But you use your winnings for charity. It’s not all bad.”

I grinned. It was funny how she’d spent so much time trying to convince me to quit, but now she was feeling bad about it and trying to list all the reasons I shouldn’t quit. But she’d been right the first time. My fighting days were over.

“I can make money other ways. Safer ways, where I won’t get hurt, and I won’t hurt others. Plus I have my trust fund,” I said with a wink. “Trust me, Lina, it’s fine. I’m happy with my decision. So I’ll go see Tripp tomorrow, and I’ll tell him not to schedule me in for any more fights. Ever again. Okay?”

She smiled. “Okay.”

“You should come meet Tripp after I tell him. You haven’t actually met him yet, have you?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, come meet him. You’ll love him.”

She nodded. “I’m sure I will…”

C
hase
and I were supposed to meet at the gym in an hour or so. I had a bad, sinking feeling about this whole thing, and I wondered if the timing was right for me to meet Tripp. It felt weird since Chase was about to break the news about stopping with the fights. I was sure Tripp would be pissed off, and I didn’t want us to meet while he was in a bad mood.

For the whole day, a gloomy mood had followed me around as I went about my business. I didn’t feel good. I had a horrible headache and an unexplained tummy ache. In my classes at college, I didn’t participate like I usually did, and I even embarrassed myself once when I misunderstood a question about mitochondria.

By the end of the day, I was a wreck—tired, annoyed and in a bad mood in general. I wished I could’ve just crawled into my bed with Chase and pretended nothing else existed, but I’d made a promise to him, and I really wanted to keep it.

I headed to the gym, rushing to get there on time even though I knew I was already running about ten minutes late. It was a gloomy day, too; the weather reflecting my mood. Rain was coming down just heavy enough to make me soaked, and of course, I’d forgotten my umbrella. Since I’d headed to the gym right after my lectures, I didn’t even have time to grab it from home.

I made my way through the downpour until I finally found the gym where Chase practiced. It was an old building with the paint peeling off the façade. Chase had explained that they’d chosen that place because not many people frequented it, and they usually had a whole hall to themselves.

I stepped inside, shaking myself off like a wet mutt, and the receptionist gave me a weird look as I asked about Tripp like Chase had told me to. She pointed me in the right direction and I walked over there quickly and quietly, not wanting to draw more attention to myself.

The interior of the gym was seedy at best, stinking of sweat and other unpleasant odors. I made my way down the hall like the girl in the front had told me to, and then I came to a stop in front of a door which was already slightly open. Voices were spilling out into the hallway, and I listened, even though I’d been taught not to eavesdrop.

“So some chick’s got you so whipped you refuse to fight anymore?”

“Yeah, you could say that…”

“And she’s totally off-limits, too. Classic Chase…”

“Shut up. It’s not all about her. It’s the right thing to do, with Dad’s election coming up and all.”

The masculine voices were bickering good-naturedly, and I could hear someone striking at a punching bag. A strange feeling had taken over my body, like a warning that this place wasn’t safe.

That’s stupid,
I tried to tell myself.
Chase is in there with his cousin, and neither of them want to hurt me. I’ll just go in there, introduce myself, and Chase and I can leave together. Nothing to it.

I took a deep breath and opened the door that led inside the gym. Two pairs of eyes looked towards the door, meeting mine.

One, a familiar blue-grey gaze, filled with passion and lust. Chase.

The other, darker than any brown, pure blackness consuming the pupils until they were nowhere to be seen. A dark look. A look I’d seen before.

“Hey, Lina.” Chase’s voice greeted me, but my mind was elsewhere. I was still glued to the spot with those black eyes boring into mine; right into my body and my soul. I felt like I was going to be sick, like someone had just slapped something delicate out of my hands and made me fall to my knees, leaving me there to try and gather up the broken pieces.

The pieces…everything now fitted so perfectly together, like a horrible, morbid puzzle. Something dark loomed in the corner, threatening to consume me whole.

Blackness flashed before my eyes. I wasn’t in the gym anymore.

I
was in a crowded room
, thick with BO, music and cloying perfume. People were dancing and milling about, and I was standing in the corner, my eyes focused on nothing.

He came closer to me. I looked away, shy and stupid. So damn stupid I never saw it coming, taking the drink he passed to me without even suspecting something might be wrong with it. I was just happy to have his attention.

He said goodbye, and then he was off. The darkness of his eyes had made me feel sick; like I’d seen something horrible in that handsome face and barely made it out alive. But now it felt like the darkness was back, eating away slowly at my insides.

I felt dizzy.

I felt sick.

“I need to lie down,” I complained to my boyfriend, Travis. He was totally drunk on cheap beer; probably high on something, too. He’d gotten into weed lately and his telltale red-rimmed eyes spoke volumes. “I don’t feel good.”

“Go upstairs to one of the bedrooms,” Travis said, giving me a grin. If I wasn’t there to make out and let him cop a feel, he didn’t have any use for me. Why did I even expect him to walk me upstairs?

I made my way up there by myself, each step harder than the one before. I’d felt weird all day, but now my legs and eyes were even heavier. I needed a nap, and I needed to get to one of the bedrooms before I fell asleep standing up.

The first door I opened revealed a couple on the bed, sucking each other’s faces off. They yelled at me to get out, and I stumbled out of the room, unable to even close the door. I kept walking, holding onto the wall to keep me going.

The room was swimming. I hadn’t had much to drink; only half a cup of beer and that was it. It felt weird, because I knew I’d have to lie to my Mom later. I’d told her I was at a sleepover with Michaela, and she’d probably lose it if she knew Travis had dragged me to some high school party with booze.

I opened my eyes and I was in a different room. Darkness flashed in front of me again, total blackness and then searing white.

I stumbled towards the bed, but my legs weren’t holding me up anymore. I fell on the floor, scrambling for something to hold on to. I felt like I was being dragged away, even though I was alone in the room… I was alone, right?

Blackness. Black eyes. So dark I couldn’t make out the pupils.

“Good girl.”

I was drifting. It was just a dream. A weird, choppy dream full of those eyes with no pupils. Darkness consumed me, and I kept coming up, like a drowning person coming to the surface, taking deep gulps of air.

“Such a good girl.”

Someone stroked me, softly, then forcefully pulled down my panties. My skirt was somehow on the floor.

A weird, horrible dream.

My head lolled to the side. I was tired…it was so hard to stay awake.

“Be a good girl for me, baby…”

Something poked at me, in a place where it shouldn’t be. I’d let Travis touch me, and I’d even had sex with him. Clumsy sex that made me think I’d never enjoy it, but I still wanted to try.

This was different. Intrusive, probing, and needy.

Wrong.

So wrong.

I kept trying to wake up from the horrible nightmare, but I couldn’t. My lids were heavy, and my body even heavier. Unable to move, I flopped on the bed, or maybe someone threw me down on it. I was too out of it to understand what was happening.

A voice kept whispering in my ear, the same thing, over and over again.

Good girl. Such a good girl. Be a good girl for me.

I blacked out, the final flash of darkness so intense that it bowled me over. I was thankful for it this time around, though, because even darkness was brighter than those pupil-less eyes.

I
knew that voice
.

I knew that face.

I knew those black eyes.

And I didn’t even remember…not until I saw him again.

The darkness threatened to eat me up again, clawing at me from a place where I’d pushed all the bad memories—the things I didn’t remember the next day, the pain I thought was a hangover from the drink I’d had...

It was coming from deep inside, from my most private place where I’d kept it hidden so well that I didn’t even know it was there. Sometimes it had threatened to come out when people had said certain words to me or tried to touch me in darkened rooms, but I’d never known why or what it really meant. I’d always just thought I was a little messed up in the head.

But now I knew why.

The shadowy fingers of my nightmare wrapped themselves around my heart, squeezing hard. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.

“Lina, are you all right?”

Chase’s voice cut through the darkness, but it was muted, hollow. I kept staring at the other man in the room.

Tripp Stryker. I’d only known him as Strike. The cool college guy who’d hung out at our high school parties every once in a while, his black gaze following me everywhere I went.

Strike had given me the drink I’d had that night.

Strike had followed me into the room.

Strike had touched me, taken advantage of me while my mind was foggy and dark.

Strike was Tripp Stryker.

Chase’s cousin had raped me.

My hand flew to my mouth, covering up the gasp that escaped my lips. And then it was as if the glue that held me in place gave out, and I was running faster than ever.

I felt the wetness of rain on my skin, and I relished the feeling. The darkness faded away, the fingers uncurling from my heart and fading until they were nothing but a horrible memory.

And as I ran through the rain, there was just anger. Pure, seething, red-hot anger.