he wouldn’t have had to hear it through the grapevine or even more likely the men he paid to spy on me if I’d bothered to tell him myself. Defiantly, I held my father’s gaze and braced myself for what I knew was coming next.
“I suppose this means there will be scouts at your games.”
“It’s just nice to have someone who cares in the stands.” As usual, my father didn’t miss a beat or pretend to feel remorse.
“You have your friends,” he pointed out dismissively. “Something that can be rectified if you continue to test me.”
I quickly bit the inside of my cheek. The little my father allowed me could be taken away with a snap of his fingers. Still, the threat of hurting my friends wasn’t enough to give him what he wanted most. My soul as black and unforgiving as his.
“Yes, there will be scouts at the games. Is that a problem?”
My father straightened the cuffs of his suit jacket before responding. “Only if you get any ideas. Football isn’t in your future, son. You were born for much greater ambitions. If I believed otherwise, I would have made your mother swallow you instead.” I stared at him, refusing to react even when he stepped into the room and my space until we were standing toe to toe. “I seized an empire, and I plan to turn it into a dynasty that begins with you and lasts forever once you bear sons. If you refuse, I’ll put you in the ground. Make no mistake about that.”
“Noted. Can I go now?”
I snatched my bag from the floor and shouldered it. I should have been pissing my pants, but this wasn’t the first time my father threatened my life. I wasn’t sure when I stopped being afraid of death, but I knew it pissed my father off to no end. If I wanted to survive this game of chess, I couldn’t leave him with weaknesses to exploit.
“Get out of my sight,” he ordered.
It was all I could do not to shove past him on my way out. It had been a long time since I was on the receiving end of my father’s knuckledusters. There were times when he didn’t bother himself with disciplining me and left the task to his men.
After fleeing our mansion that resembled a castle, I sped to school. My white Lamborghini Aventador never failed to turn heads in our small, affluent town even though most of the residents had more money than they knew what to do with. My father usually spent his cash getting his way, and when that didn’t work, he used brute force. So far, I’d been the only one his methods failed to work on.
I didn’t waste time hopping out once I parked and rushed inside. The halls were emptying quickly, and I only had a couple of minutes to spare. Even though my father didn’t care about me maintaining a perfect record, Coach Bradley wasn’t as lenient. He had no problem benching my ass even if meant losing every single game. Although I admired the man, I cursed his morals. Unlike my father, he seemed to have his priorities straight.
The bell rang, and door after door slammed shut as I rushed to get to my class. Of course, it had to be on the other side of the fucking school. My foul mood worsened with each desperate step until I was nearly feral. Replaying Coach’s warning speech in my head, I broke into a run as I rounded yet another corner. Unfortunately, I was waylaid when I collided with another person and sent them sprawling across the tiled linoleum. I stared down at the dazed kid, wearing bifocals and a fucking pocket protector. He was just a runt. Too bad for him, I wasn’t in the mood to feel sorry.
“Watch where the fuck you’re going,” I snapped as I straightened my tie. Brynwood required its students to wear uniforms. Today, I’d chosen to wear a red sweater vest to go over my white button-up and navy slacks—our school’s colors. I glanced at his companion, some gorgeous fucking chick with brown skin, a hypnotic gaze that reminded me of whiskey, and curly hair sprouting wildly from her scalp. Instantly, I knew she was too good for me. She was a tiny thing, even smaller than the nerd, which I didn’t think was possible. Her head barely reached my fucking chest, but the pip-squeak didn’t seem to notice that vital fact as