Page 52 of Ruthless Game

Clicked the link.

Hit play on the black video box.

And as the video played and destroyed everything, the only thing that was good in my life, my other leg collapsed and I fell on the floor, crying for the first time I could remember.

When the video finished playing, I took out the ring and tossed it against the wall. It hit, then clattered quietly to the ground, the only evidence of what could have been.

19

Lawson

Istill had the ring. It sat, nestled in the ring box, in my bottom desk drawer. I should’ve tried returning it or driven over it with a car, but when it came down to it, I hadn’t been able to let it go. Instead, I let it torture me for years.

As I waited for Emma to get to the hockey house, I pulled it out of the drawer, still in its cushioned velvet box, and examined it, turning it over between my fingers. The edge of the tiny diamond was slightly chipped from when I’d thrown it at the wall. The band itself was dented. And when I wrapped my fist around it, it cut into my skin, a sharp sting I needed to keep me on track. I’d given Emma an opportunity for us to make things better. And yeah, I’d told her the truth, and it had hurt her. But what was one more hurt in a series of scars? She’d made it clear—she wanted me, but she hated that she wanted me. If hate was all that I could get from her, then I’d take her hate, and let it consume us both.

In the meantime, I had plans for her tonight—ones that made my hard cock pulse in my sweatpants. I glanced over at the stuff I’d picked up today, and my dick pulsed harder.

Lawson: where are you, angel

clock’s ticking

A response came.

Emma: Around the corner

I had to take the bus

Shame slammed into the center of my chest like a clean puck shot. She’d taken the bus? But then of course she’d taken the bus, only Jeffrey had a car, and she certainly wouldn’t have asked him to drive her over. Gehenom was safe, but even so, I didn’t want her on the streets alone at night. It wouldn’t happen again.

“Lawson, your girl is here!” Judah yelled.

I carefully slid the ring back into its cushioning, closed the box and put it back in the desk drawer, before getting on my bed and leaning back on the pillows, waiting for her to knock on the door and enter the room.

Except I was waiting awhile, because she didn’t come. Instead, I heard my roommates yelling about something I couldn’t make out, followed by Emma’s husky laughter. I hadn’t heard her laugh once since seeing her again at Oxford, and jealousy was a heavy, hot weight in my chest. A forge. Getting off my bed, I left my bedroom and prowled down the hallway and stairs, reaching the living room of the house.

Not only were my roommates present, but Jack and Isaac were, too, seated on the sectional, Aviva and Tovah perched on their laps, respectively. The jealousy got worse, because I could’ve and should’ve had that. And Emma would give me nothing but her body, as she’d declared earlier today.

“Did I say you could hang out with my friends?” I asked, my voice cold.

Emma turned her head, smiling. When she saw the look on my face, it immediately disappeared.

Asher raised an eyebrow. “This bossy dickishness is a new side of you.”

“C’mon, Lawson. Let her hang out with us. We’re just getting to know Emma a bit,” Tovah wheedled. “I’ve been curious about her ever since you chased her around campus last year when Isaac made you babysit me.”

“I didn’t make him babysit you, Bashert,” Isaac protested. “Just keep an eye on you.”

Tovah rolled her eyes. “Same thing.”

“You saw me on campus last year?” Emma asked slowly, staring at me like she was trying to work something out in her head. “No one was supposed to know I was here. My family kept it quiet like I’d asked.” Then, to me, “You saw me? You were chasing after me?”

There was a brightness to her eyes, hope that she probably didn’t even realize was making the blue in them sparkle like a sky filled with stars.

Shit.

I was about to kill my friends, all of them. I’d been too vulnerable with Emma as it was, the last thing I needed was for her to realize that I’d been so gone over her, I’d imagined seeing her everywhere last year. That she’d made me lose my mind, whether or not she was nearby.

I searched for some bullshit excuse, but when I couldn’t come up with anything, I shrugged.