“Torture her…”
He flinches again.
“Rape her…”
And another.
“That’s just collateral damage, right? A justifiable cost of your freedom.”
“No, Archer!” Jaxon’s voice breaks on my name. “You’ve got it all twisted. I wasn’t going to hurt Jo. I’d never give her to them. I just… I thought maybe she could get the cash for me. The Valentines have more money than Zuckerberg! Fifty grand is pocket change to people like that.”
Before I’m conscious of moving, I’ve crossed the terrace, grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him up against the stone wall. Leaning forward, I bring my face within an inch of his. My grip around his throat tightens until he’s gasping for air.
“You will never touch Josephine Valentine again,” I say, each word crystallizing in the night. “Do you understand me?”
Jaxon wheezes something indecipherable. The whites of his eyes flash with panic.
“Sorry, what was that?” My brows lift. “I didn’t quite hear you.”
“Won’t—touch—her,” he gasps. “Swear.”
“Good. I’m glad we’ve got that settled.”
The instant I release him, he doubles over, desperately sucking oxygen into his lungs. When he’s breathing normally again, he looks up at me with an expression that’s almost smug.
“Seems I’m not the only Reyes who can’t control his temper,” he rasps. “Maybe you’re more like me than you thought, little brother.”
“I’m nothing like you.”
“Is that so?”
With effort, I get ahold of myself, tamping down the boiling rage to a bubbling simmer. Lashing out again won’t do me any favors. To Jaxon Reyes, life is one long game of poker. A series of bluffs and discards. He plays people like hands of Texas Hold’Em, using whatever he’s dealt to win. Adapting his strategies for maximum personal gain.
I’ve already revealed far too many of my own cards by letting my temper get the best of me. I should’ve played it cool. Kept my vulnerabilities hidden.
“You’ve changed, Archer. You’re much more violent than I remember.” He pauses, head tilting in thought. “Or is this rage only triggered because I threatened your pretty little girlfriend?”
My muscles tense, but I manage to keep my expression empty.
He thinks he can wield Jo against me like a weapon?
I’ll just have to take that weapon away.
“She isn’t my girlfriend.” I force a laugh. “Don’t tell me that’s why you thought she’d help you? You’re even dumber than I thought.”
He stares at me for a long beat. “Dating or not, that girl will do anything for you. Anything.”
“Maybe back when we were kids. You’ve been away a long time, Jaxon. Things change. People grow apart.”
“Bullshit,” he mutters. “I was gone two years, but I haven’t forgotten the way you look at that girl.”
“How’s that?”
“Like she’s the light at the end of a very dark tunnel.”
“God, you really must be high.” I roll my eyes, selling the lie with every fiber of my being. “You think I actually like being her friend? I tolerate her for exactly one reason: her parents paid my tuition to Exeter. As soon as I walk across that graduation stage, I plan to keep on walking, right out of her life.”
Jaxon’s eyes flicker back and forth across my face, attempting to discern fact from fiction. I make sure to keep my expression clear of every emotion but one.