I Promise You (Dare, #2) — Chapter no 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

COLE

I OPEN THE CLUBHOUSE door and step outside. The air has a slight chill, and the wind has picked up, making the trees surrounding the clubhouse howl. The sun is just starting to rise. Crossing my arms over my chest, I watch the detective get out of his unmarked police car. “Monroe.” I nod in greeting.

“Cole.” He comes to a stop before me dressed in a black button-down

and jeans. “How is she doing?”

“Great,” I answer.

Austin’s been out of the hospital for three weeks now. She, Lilly, and I have been living here. We’ve already made one trip with Deke to Texas and moved all of our stuff into our house but came back for Austin’s checkup.

The doctor gave her the green light yesterday.

“I spoke to your father, and he said you guys are leaving town tomorrow morning.”

Why is he talking to Liam? “Am I not allowed?”

“No. No, you are,” he assures me.

I’m no longer a suspect. Haven’t been since I was questioned, but my father’s attorney called me last week to tell me it was official. Like I didn’t already know. “So what was so important that you couldn’t talk to me over the phone?”

He had called me last night while Austin was giving Lilly a bath and asked if he could come by. I offered to meet him at the station, but he insisted on making a house call.

“I was wondering if you had heard from Kellan?” he asks, placing his

hand in his jean pockets.

“No.” I shake my head.

He looks over my shoulder to the clubhouse for a long second and then back at me. “Funny how he just … disappeared.”

He knows I did something, but he just can’t prove it. “Wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened here in Collins,” I say, and his eyes narrow.

Mr. Biggs’ business partner went missing a couple of years back, and nothing was ever done about it. Monroe was the detective on the case.

Funny how he makes fifty grand a year but lives in the same neighborhood as Deke’s parents. He gets paid under the table to overlook shit, and the whole town knows it. His time will come, and he’ll have to answer for his mistakes in blood.

“You wouldn’t know something about that, would you?”

He’s referring to Jeff. I couldn’t thank Austin enough for what she did to his body. “Are you accusing me of something?” I arch a brow. “Because this time you’re gonna need a warrant.” I won’t willingly lie down on the gravel and allow them to take me again. And sure as hell not for Kellan.

What I did was for Austin.

He smirks. “This case also wasn’t the first one your daddy paid to go away.” Taking a step forward, he closes the small space.

“Yes, but we both know if you had done your job the first time, then you would have realized my car was tampered with, and it wasn’t really an accident, right?” I tilt my head to the side.

He removes his hands from his pockets and fists them down by his sides, ignoring that. “I know your girlfriend stabbed him in self-defense. But I also know that you and your group finished him off.”

I smile. “I dare you to prove it.”

His face tightens. Then he looks over my shoulder at the clubhouse once again. I refuse to turn around and see what he’s looking at. I won’t be caught off guard. When his eyes meet mine again, he gives me a curt nod.

“Have a safe trip, Cole.”

“Is that a threat?” I ask and try to hide my smirk. You can try to fuck with me all you want, but you will lose!

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he gets back in his car and drives off, ending our pointless conversation.

I walk back inside, and Lilly sits on the couch watching videos on her phone. Her blond hair is a mess from moving around in her sleep, and she still wears her Frozen nightgown. I make my way up the stairs to find Austin making the bed. “You’re up early.”

“Yeah, Lilly and I are meeting Becky for breakfast.” She tucks the end of the top sheet under the bed and turns to face me. “What were you doing outside?”

“I had to call and talk to Deke about something,” I lie. It used to be so easy lying to her, but now it chips a piece of me away every time she looks up at me, knowing she loves me. How easily she believes anything I say. It makes me sick to my stomach.

She nods and then begins to bite her bottom lip nervously.

“What?” I ask her.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay.” I sit on the side of the bed, and she comes to stand between my legs. “What is it?” I place my hands on her hips. She wears a little pair of cotton shorts and another one of my T-shirts. I can’t wait to get to our house in Texas where we have our own bedroom with a door that locks. So she

can sleep naked for me again.

“I’ve been thinking about Texas.”

“And?” I ask.

“And we have four bedrooms.” I nod. “I spoke to Becky the other day …” Shit, I know where she’s headed with this now. “And she’s having trouble finding a place to live. I thought maybe she could move in with us.”

“Austin …”

“I heard Deke say he was going to be in the dorms. And they’re still not a hundred percent on speaking terms right now.”

I release her and run a hand through my hair. They’re not speaking at all actually. Deke told me the other day that she won’t return any of his texts or phone calls. I haven’t spoken to her once since we got into it while standing in Austin’s closet, and I’m fine with that. Becky and I don’t need to have any kind of conversation or interaction. That’s how things work between her and me.

“Come on.” She places both of her hands on my face, and I melt for her.

“It will only be for a little while.”

I look up at her soft smile, and my shoulders fall. I’m gonna be in classes and busy with swimming. Austin hasn’t decided what she’s gonna do regarding school yet. She said she just wants to make sure Lilly is taken care of and adjusting to the new living situation and school. I guess having Becky around won’t hurt. It’s not like I’m gonna see her much. “Sure,” I relent.

She squeals and leans down, giving me a kiss on the lips. “I love you,” she mumbles against them. When I don’t say it back, she pushes me away so she can look me in the eye. “You okay?”

I run my hand over her hair. “Of course.” Lie.

All I’ve done is lie to her. Over and over again. Is this how I want our relationship to go? I plan on marrying this girl, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that life is unpredictable. I don’t want to lie to her. Austin is strong— physically and mentally—so I need to tell her what she deserves to know.

“I love you too,” I finally say, picking her up we fall onto the bed. She laughs and wraps her arms around my neck. I bury my face in hers. I don’t know how much longer I can last with these blue balls. It’s been almost three months. Two weeks ago, I couldn’t keep my hands off her anymore, and she begged me so sweetly that I brought her to orgasm with my fingers between her legs. Then the next day it was with my mouth. And every day since then. She’s tried to return the favor, but I refuse her every time.

Austin giggles. “Just gotta wait one more day,” she says, knowing exactly where my mind is going. Once we’re in our new house in our own bed, I’m gonna spend all night between her legs.

I nod. “Just one more day.” Giving her one more kiss, I push off her and help her stand. “I’m gonna call Blanche and see if she can keep Lilly

today.”

She eyes me skeptically. “Why?”

“She called me yesterday wanting to take her to the aquarium before we leave for Texas.” Not a total lie. “I told her she could have her for a few hours today.”

“Okay.” She nods once and then kisses my cheek before making her way to the bathroom.

I look over my shoulder and watch her close the door. I pull my cell out and send a text. I have plans for us, and I don’t want Lilly around when we do what must be done.

_______________

I stand inside Liam’s office in his house ’cause he insisted that I come over before I leave town tomorrow. Austin doesn’t know I’m here. She thinks I’m out having lunch with Deke. I didn’t want her worried about anything else. Whatever he is about to throw at me, I can handle.

“What do you want?” I ask when he finally enters. He left me in here for the past fifteen minutes while he did who knows what with who knows

who. Typical. Any way he can show he is in control, he will.

He shuts his door, walks around his desk, his shoes slapping on the hardwood, and sits down. “To show you something.”

I lean my shoulder against the bookshelf and refrain from sighing. I need to get home. After Austin and Lilly left for breakfast with Becky, I jumped in the shower, and afterward, I decided to give him a call. He’s been blowing me up for weeks, reminding me that he needed to talk to me and that we needed to do a press release. I told him it won’t fucking happen, and nothing would change my mind! There was nothing to release. I took the fault of the car wreck, and nothing was going to change that. Even if it meant that people now know Bruce paid to cause the accident, it wasn’t gonna change anything.

“Come over here. You need to see the computer,” he orders.

“Liam—”

“Cole!” he snaps, interrupting me. “Get your ass over here. It’ll only take two fucking minutes.”

I push myself off the bookshelf and walk over behind his desk. He begins to press buttons on his keyboard, and I see him bring up his Skype on the screen.

“What the hell are you doing?” I ask. Who could he possibly be calling?

He doesn’t answer. Seconds later, a picture pops up. It’s of a small room that consists of concrete walls and floor. It’s bare with no tables or chairs.

“What the hell is this?” It reminds me of the interrogation room they threw me in when I was taken in for questioning.

“Just watch.”

I hear a door creak open, but the camera doesn’t show it. Then a man is shoved into the middle of the room. He trips, falling flat on his face. He lets out a growl of frustration as he makes his way up to his knees. He wears an orange jumpsuit and faces the camera, but his head is down, and his hands are cuffed in front of him.

“What the …?” My voice trails off when another man enters. He’s dressed in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt with black boots. His head is shaved, and he looks like he belongs in the middle of a WWE ring.

“I know he sent you,” the guy snaps from his knees. “Fuck you, Liam!

Fuuucckkk yyyyoouuu!” he screams.

My heart starts to beat faster. I recognize that voice.

The other man doesn’t say anything. Instead, he punches the guy in the face, knocking him back. He kicks him in the stomach, making him ball up in the fetal position. Then he kicks him in his back before hitting him on the side of the head. I stand motionless as I watch some random guy beat the shit out of Bruce Lowes until he’s unconscious. He never once asks him to stop or tries to fight back. He takes each hit, each kick, knowing that my father placed the order.

Bruce lies there, hands cuffed, face bloodied, and barely breathing when the man pulls away. He looks at the camera, nods once, and then walks out of the room. The camera goes black, losing its connection.

My father stands from his chair and turns to face me. I straighten my back as I swallow. “Why would you do that?” I ask.

“It’s out in the public now. Everyone knows that Bruce hired a man to kill you. You think I’d stand back and not do something about that?”

“You did when he did it!” I snap. I’m done pretending he didn’t fucking

know.

His jaw clenches. “I did this for—”

“Not for my sake,” I respond flatly, interrupting him. Bruce deserved it for not only killing three of my friends but also for what he did to Austin.

What he put her through when he shipped her off to her mother and her boyfriend who he knew touched her, hit her.

“Best friends or not, he had to be taught a lesson,” he growls.

I snort. “You think he cares that you beat him up?” I shake my head.

“He’ll be sore for a few days, sure. A little pissed that you betrayed him, maybe. But I put him in jail for life. You wanted me to see that, why? This isn’t a competition.”

He shakes his head with a laugh. “I agree. It’s not. Because if it were,

you would lose.”

I turn to walk out.

“You know that game you played where you held something over Bruce’s head in order for him to let you have Austin?”

I stop and turn to face him. “We’ve already had this discussion,” I say. In fact, it was in this very room. When he called Austin a whore and threatened that Bruce was gonna nail me to the fucking cross for taking something from him that didn’t belong to me—his precious fucking car.

“What about it?” He can’t possibly expect me to give the car back. It’s not like Bruce can drive it.

“He could have ended you then. You actually thought you had leverage with that car.” He shakes his head. “You didn’t have shit.” He chuckles, and my anger turns to confusion. “See, that’s the thing, Cole, you think you’re all grown up and badass, but you still have so much to learn.”

“Enlighten me,” I snap.

“Sex,” he says.

I snort. “Gonna give me the sex talk? You’re four years too late.” I hope this isn’t leading up to him asking if we’re using protection like last time.

He laughs and shakes his head. “She was underage. And you were sleeping with her.”

I roll my eyes when I understand where he’s heading with this. “She was seventeen”—the first couple of months—“not thirteen. And I was only eighteen, not forty. I don’t see how that’s a problem.”

“The problem is, Oregon’s legal consent is eighteen. All Bruce had to do was report you to the police once …”

“It was consensual. Every time,” I grind out. “And Austin would have never gone along with that.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He shrugs carelessly. “She wouldn’t have even had a say. She was underage. Bruce could have had you arrested for statutory rape. It’s that simple.” He stands. “The only reason he didn’t is because I told him I would bury his ass if he said one fucking word.”

It doesn’t matter what he could have done; it’s too late now. She’s been of age for almost four months, and he’s in prison. “Doubt it was for my benefit.”

His jaw sharpens. “I told you she was trouble. I told you to stay away from her.”

“I’ve never listened to you before, so I wasn’t about to start.” No one was gonna keep me from her. Not even when all I wanted to do was destroy her.

“Goddammit!” he yells, throwing his empty glass across the room. It hits the far wall and shatters. “Don’t you see I was saving you? While you were out running around with her and your friends, pulling stupid pranks, I was here”—he pounds his fists onto his desk—“having to cover your tracks.”

“Sorry I’m not more appreciative.” I didn’t need him to do shit for me.

“You little shit—”

“Enough bullshit!” I interrupt him, tired of running in circles. “You did that for you!” I shout. “Not me!” Shaking my head, I take a deep breath.

“Everything you do is for you. Always has been. Always will be. No one else fucking matters to you!”

He places his knuckles on his desk and bows his head. We stand in silence while I try to calm my breathing. My heart races. After a few minutes, when I’m about to turn and leave, he shakes his head and laughs.

He looks up at me and straightens. “You’re right. I did that for me.” His face grows angry. “’Cause you were out fucking some whore! Ruining your future! She’s just like her mother …”

I’m across the room and punch him in the face before he can finish his sentence. His head snaps back, and he stumbles. I grab his crisp white button-down and slam his back into the nearest wall. “Listen to me very carefully,” I say evenly even though my body shakes with rage. I’ve had enough!

His wide eyes are staring back at me in shock. Blood trickles down his busted nose. That’s the second time I’ve ever hit him. The first time was after my mother died when I was twelve, but I’m stronger now.

“Don’t talk about her like that, or I will bury your body next to all the others. Do you understand me?” I shake him when he just stares at me.

“Answer me!” I scream in his face.

They’ll never find him. I may even be able to pin it on Bruce, or, hell, Kellan would be better. All I would need is a day to figure out a plan.

“You think you got me?” The shock wears off, and his eyes narrow on mine. “Because you used your fist? I’ll take her …”

“You’ll never touch Austin.” Over my dead body! Kellan taught me a lesson. Never let your guard down no matter what.

“You can have that piece of trash.” He spits out, and my teeth grind. “I can keep you from Lilly. Both of you!” he shouts in my face. “I’ll ship her off to an all-girls school in Switzerland, and you’ll never see her again.”

I laugh at that, and it just makes him even more furious.

“I fucking raised you! I taught you everything you know! You will show me some respect!” His face is red with anger, and his blue eyes so big they look like they are about to pop out.

I give him a smile and take a step back from him.

He squares his shoulders and runs his hands over his now wrinkled

button-down.

“You’re right, Dad.”

He smiles like he just won. As if he expects me to kneel in front of him and thank him for everything he ever gave me, including Austin. I’ll burn in hell before that happens.

“You did raise me,” I say, and he grunts. “I only came over here today to give you something before I leave town with Austin and Lilly.” Reaching into my jeans pocket, I pull out the USB drive and toss it on his desk. His smile falls. “You taught me that without insurance, you have nothing.”

Austin wasn’t the only one who made sure to record things that could come in handy.

“What?” he snaps, looking down at it and then back at me. Swallowing nervously, he picks it up and wraps his fingers around it. “What is on this, Cole?” he demands. “You have nothing on me!”

“Don’t worry about trying to destroy it. I’ve got copies.”

“You ungrateful little shit …”

The door opens behind me, and I spin around to see the last man I expected to walk into Liam’s office. I stay away from him as much as I do my own father.

His graying hair is slicked back, and his face cleanly shaved. He wears a midnight blue button-down and black slacks with a matching suit jacket, sans tie.

He doesn’t acknowledge me in any way. To him, you are insignificant unless you have a pussy or a wad of cash in your pocket he can take.

Langston walks over to the mini bar and takes the cap off the bourbon my father keeps and pours himself a glass.

“Cole …” My father growls my name.

“We’re done here.” I give Liam one last look, and his jaw sharpens while he glares at me. I walk over to the door and yank it open.

“Cole?”

I look over my shoulder to Langston when he calls out my name this time.

He stares down at his glass as he swirls it around, not caring to meet my eyes. “Tell my son it would be in his best interest to return my phone calls.”

I snort and walk out, shaking my head at the fucking bastard.