Ruthless Kings - Laura Lee Page 0,29
to keep her as safe as possible, but I don’t want her to know the details, Jazz. Ainsley’s poker face is shit, so if she knew anything specific, it’d put her at risk.”
“Agreed.” Jazz nods her head in understanding. “But Bentley and Reed know?”
“Yeah, they know everything. I kind of went off the rails for a while after I got back from San Francisco. I was so goddamn angry all the time. I couldn’t figure out how to channel it into something productive. I was becoming reckless. I had to vent before I did something that couldn’t be undone. They’re my brothers—I trust them with my life.”
Jazz takes a moment to collect herself. Swiping away the last of her tears, she asks, “What about the police report? Wasn’t your dad a suspect?”
“John found no record of a report being filed.”
Jazz tucks her feet beneath her. “I don’t understand. How is that possible?”
My jaw tics. “I think our fathers have a lot of powerful people in their pockets.”
“You think they’re bribing them?”
“I think they’re blackmailing them. I’ve seen some of these men at dinner parties and whatnot. Something’s...off. They practically salivate whenever my sister or Peyton are nearby, even when they were barely teenagers. And the older I get, the looser their tongues get as the night wears on. They assume like father like son, I suppose. Hell, why wouldn’t they? Our fathers think I’m just as misogynistic and perverted as they are.”
“Why would they think that?”
“Because that’s what I want them to believe. That’s how I’m gaining their trust. Trust me, I loathe every minute I have to spend in their presence, but it’s the role I have to play. And I’m going to keep playing it until I get what I need to nail their asses.”
Jazz traps her lower lip between her teeth. “Is that why you were so awful to me at first? Because you were pretending to be like them? Or were you projecting your feelings for my sperm donor on to me?”
I think about her question for a moment. “Full honesty?”
She gives me a wry look. “I think that’d be implied at this point, but if you need me to spell it out, yes. Full honesty.”
"Before we met, I was indifferent more than anything. I knew your mom had just died, and that you grew up in the projects, so I assumed you'd be this meek, grieving girl, who did not want to make waves. That you'd be grateful you suddenly had a rich daddy who rescued you from the system. After a period of mourning, I thought you'd eventually fall in line with Peyton's group and just be another inconsequential rich bitch."
“And after we met?”
I scoff. "I realized I was so fucking wrong and so fucking screwed. The second you stepped out of that car at Windsor, with your head held high, looking fierce as hell, I knew you were trouble with a capital T. Then, when you gave me lip, my God, it made me so hard, I wanted to bend you over right there in front of everyone, showing them you were mine. My self-control was slipping fast, and quite frankly, it pissed me off and scared the shit out of me. I'm not a fucking Neanderthal, yet you made me feel like one. No one has ever had that kind of effect on me.”
Jazz makes a time-out sign with her hands. “I beg to differ on the caveman part. Also, let’s keep your boners out of this conversation.”
I smile, which earns me a glare. “Why? Afraid you won’t be able to stop thinking about my dick?”
“Anyway,” she continues, completely ignoring my taunt. “I still don’t understand why my arrival made you feel so fucked.”
I shrug. “I made that inheritance deal with Peyton so I could get closer to Charles. I had been working on it for a long-ass time, and things were finally starting to fall into place. Charles and my dad were making little comments here and there, hinting about future business opportunities they'd like to bring me in on. But your arrival threw an elephant-sized wrench into my plan. I felt cornered, and I didn't like that one bit."
“Why not just ignore me?”
I laugh humorlessly. “Because that’s impossible. Christ, Jazz, you have no idea, do you?”
“No idea about what?”
“I don’t think anyone could ignore you,” I explain. “I don’t know...it’s like you have this X factor that draws people in. It makes them want to know you, want to be