Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,190

end this call."

"Fine. Although you have played a very good hand indeed, and I will admit that I would have been hard pressed to resolve the issues you have caused me with my finances and companies in any other situation, I find myself with the trump card up my sleeve. Despite my best efforts, you have chosen to show weakness in aligning yourself with these people and giving in to the illusion of love. So, let's find out how firmly you hold to the notion. I have in my possession the father of your dear Mr Bowman. I would have liked to claim more prizes than that but unfortunately, it seems that the teacher and the girl are all alone in the world and the O’Briens are a nest of snakes I've chosen not to tangle with at this time. But though I believe this threat should mean nothing to you, I want to see how deeply you have fallen into the trap of love. If you wish to see your friend's father again you will return all of my assets to me within the next week."

Silence fell as he let that sink in and my heart raced as I thought about what Blake would say when he found out. I didn't doubt the truth of this threat. My father didn't do things by halves. If he said he had Blake's dad then I was certain he did.

A clock chimed loudly in the background on his end of the line and I sucked in a breath as I listened to the familiar sound.

"And then what?" I asked, because clearly returning his assets to him wouldn't be enough.

"And then we'll talk again. Let's find out who's the better Memphis. Game on, son." He cut the call and for a moment I just stared at the phone as the weight of his words sank in.

Tatum's arms closed around my neck as she threw herself against me and I wound her into my embrace as I pulled her close. My heart was pounding, mind racing and that cold, clinical feeling was sliding through my veins as I detached myself from the world around me to focus on dealing with this. But the warmth of her body against mine was still welcome. And I drew comfort from it as I held her tightly.

"We need to tell the others," she said, untangling herself from me and grabbing my hand as she tugged me from the room.

I followed along mechanically, allowing her to guide me and set the pace as idea after idea ticked through my skull.

We made it back to the huge room that Kyan owned here and found the three of them inside, the Xbox on as they played their asinine games, laughing and joking while swigging on bottles of beer.

But as they turned to look at us, their faces fell and Tatum burst into tears as she released her hold on me and threw herself into Blake's arms.

I closed the door behind me then turned away from them, leaving her to explain as my mind ran over each and every word he'd spoken to me.

I slipped my tie loose and hung it from the back of a chair before dropping my blazer on top of it and heading into the en-suite. I quickly shed the rest of my clothes, my chest tight with barely suppressed panic as my mind just went around and around in circles and tried to find some loophole here.

I turned the shower on, just to give me an excuse to avoid the others and be alone with my thoughts for a while. Because this was on me. My love for them had brought this down on their heads. My father was the one who was causing all of this. Anything that happened to them or the people they cared about at his hands came back down on me. Because I was the one who should have stopped him. I was the one who should have protected them from him. And now I was failing if I couldn't see a way out of it. I’d drown in this feeling of incompetence if I didn't figure out how to make it right.

I stepped beneath the water, barely even noticing that it was cold and not caring enough to change the temperature. I placed my palms against the tiles and let the water crash down on the back of my head so it spilled through my dark curls and washed over my