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You are my creator, but I am your master. —Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
There were dark deeds and bad seeds, but who cared if the house was falling apart as long as it was pretty, right?
I wanted to get into a little trouble. I wanted to catch some rain, find something that made my heart pump again, and I wanted to know what it was like to not have anyone to grab onto.
Michael Crist was Trevor’s brother. A little older, a little taller, and a lot more intimidating. They were almost nothing alike, and they hated each other. Trevor’s jealousy of him had been there ever since I could remember.
There was nothing holding me down and nothing I was trying to escape. I just wanted freedom.
Chess would teach me strategy, fencing would teach me human nature and self-preservation, and dancing would teach me my body. All necessary for a well-rounded person.
Beware the fury of a patient man.
Why would they come here? After three years, why would they come here?
I guessed I could chalk up my disinterest in Trevor to knowing him my entire life—he was too familiar, kind of like family—but I’d also known his older brother my entire life, and my feelings for him weren’t at all familial.
“They’re here,”
He’s here.
They were back. But why? They’d already graduated—more than a year ago, so why now?
They were here. The Four Horsemen.
They were Thunder Bay’s favorite sons,
Damon Torrance, Kai Mori, Will Grayson III, and—I locked my gaze on the bloodred mask covering the face of the one always in the lead a little more than the others—Michael Crist, Trevor’s older brother.
But as opposed to the other students who looked up to them, followed them, or fantasized about them, I simply wondered what it would be like to be them. They were untouchable, fascinating, and nothing they ever did was wrong. I wanted that.
The Four Horsemen not only ruled the student body and the town when they attended school here, but also commanded the court and hardly ever lost in the four years they played.
Tonight would be chaos. Devil’s Night wasn’t just hazing. It was special. Not only would they grab players from all of the rooms, take them to an undisclosed location, rough them up a bit, and get them drunk, but later . . . the Horsemen would wreak havoc and turn the whole town into their playground.
Damon was good-looking. But I didn’t like anything else about him. Since I was a freshman when they were all seniors, I didn’t have much firsthand knowledge of their demeanors at school, but I’d seen plenty of him at the Crist house to know that something was wrong with him. Michael gave him a long leash, but it was still a leash and for a good reason. He scared me. And not in the way Michael did that I liked.
Beware the fury of a patient man. I’d Googled it to find that it was a John Dryden quote, and I knew what it meant. Those who are patient plan. And beware the man with a plan.
“Night, Little Monster.”
Don’t be alone with her. My one rule. The one thing I’d kept to myself and promised to heed, and now I’d broken it.
Erika Fane played her parts well.
She wanted me to open my eyes and see her again so fucking badly, but she didn’t realize that I already did. I knew the deceiving cunt that stewed underneath that perfect little sheen of hers, and I couldn’t forget.
I wondered if she’d still want me when all was said and done. After all the years of watching me, probably wishing I’d touch her, wouldn’t it be fucking ironic if when I finally did take her in my hands and pressed my body to hers, she despised me?
Yeah, you’re going to be in my bed, baby, but not until you wish you hated me.
The closer you got to anything beautiful, the less beautiful it became. Allure was in the mystery, not the appearance.
I only wanted two things . . . that my brother hadn’t done as much as he bragged and that Rika had as much fight in her as I hoped.
“I lied,” he said, baring his teeth next to her ear. “I’m never gentle.”
I exhaled a hard breath through my nose, aggravated with the constant tug-of-war with him. It never used to be like that.
As individuals we had weaknesses, but as the Horsemen we were invincible. We each brought something different to the table, and where one lacked, the others stepped in. We were a unit, on and off the court. I wasn’t so sure that was true anymore. Things had changed.
“I agreed to wait so Damon could have his part in this, but I am done fucking waiting, Michael.”
Three years ago, curious little Erika Fane wanted to play with the boys, so we indulged her, and she betrayed us. There was no way we’d forget. Once restitution was paid, my friends could have peace.
“What about you?” I finally asked, making him stop. “Did prison change you?” He turned, looking at me with eerie calmness. “I guess we’ll see.”
“How do you know I’m Michael?” I blinked, dropping my head, unable to look at him. My eyes fell on his hand holding mine. My skin burned so hot, I wasn’t sure if I was on fire or freezing. I swallowed the tightness in my throat. “It feels like you.”
I froze, recognizing the menacing tone that always seemed to carry a double meaning no matter what he said.
“Trevor’s not my boyfriend.” “Too bad. I like playing with shit that’s not mine.”
“I take what I want when I want it, Kai. We’re not in high school anymore.”
“Do you use the word ‘fucking’ a lot?” My shoulders started to drop. Was I too crude? “No,” I admitted, looking away. “I—” “It sounds good on you, Rika,” he cut me off, putting me at ease. “Use it more often.”
“We don’t need sex to survive, but we need it to live,” he explained. “It’s a high, and one of the few things in life where all five senses are at their absolute peak.”
“It’s a feast for his body,” Michael’s sultry voice breathed out above my ear, “and that’s exactly why, next to money, sex is the one thing that drives the world, Rika. That’s why they’re watching. That’s why you want to watch. Nothing compares to having someone own you like that, even if it’s just for an hour.”
“You want to know why you’re here?” he asked me, sounding strained in my ear. “You’re here because you’re like me, Rika. You’re here because there are enough people who try to tell us what to do and try to keep us in a box.”
“Own who you are,” he commanded. “And don’t apologize. Do you understand? Own it or it will own you.”
Give me everything you have.
He’d liked my curiosity then, I think, and even had fun indulging me. And then immediately after that night he’d pulled back as if nothing had happened.
I might have felt a little bad over the years about what happened to his friends, but to him . . . not so much.
It’s an easy enough concept, after all, Rika. Why can’t you understand it? He was saying that I was in the way and a bother. He didn’t want me around.
“That was English, Rika,” he barked, making me jump. “A dog listens better than you.”
“What do you want from me? Huh?” he asked, breathing hard and glaring at me. “What do you see in me that’s so fucking fascinating?”
Sick of having forced a relationship with Trevor because I believed he would set me straight, and sick of wanting a nightmare that treated me like a dog.
