“So, Addison, how did you meet Lex?” Kyla asks.
“We went to boarding school together,” Addison answers. “He was the only person in that entire school who was nice to me when I first started.”
“Lex? Was nice?” Lorenzo frowns.
“Uh-huh, I was… ah… I had a scholarship and, well, the school was full of pretentious rich kids who didn’t want to know me. But Lex, he sat with me and we became friends.”
“You should have seen the school I had to go to before I got expelled and was finally allowed to attend public school. Talk about rich, privileged asses.” Zara smiles.
“You are one of those rich, privileged asses,” Kyla reminds her sister.
“Yeah, but she’s charitable. I mean, she has to be. Look who she’s dating.” I laugh at my own joke and the glare on Ares’s face.
Lorenzo’s phone vibrates. He looks at it and then smirks. “I have an errand to run.” He pauses and turns to me. “You want to come?”
“Nah, we have plans.” I gesture to Addi. We don’t, but there is no fucking way I’m leaving her alone to go and do god knows what with him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ilike Lex’s cousin. He’s quiet but the way he openly dotes on his wife is cute. And I can tell that he and Lex have a close relationship, despite what Lex might say about not caring for anyone who isn’t me.
“You want to go with your cousin?” I ask Lex.
He frowns at me. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Your mom messaged me. She wants to catch up. I can just meet her somewhere and you can go and do whatever it is your cousin wants you to do,” I offer. I don’t want to be the reason he doesn’t hang out with his cousin while he can.
“Is it true?” Ares calls out from across the table, looking at Lex.
“Is what true?” Lex asks him.
“You shove a baseball bat up some jock’s ass before slitting his throat?” Ares tilts his head to one side expectantly.
“Who the fuck told you that?” Lex grunts.
“Aurora.” Ares waves his phone in the air.
“Stop talking to my sister, Ares, or I’m going to tell Connor you like her a little more than you actually do.” Lorenzo smiles. “Actually, maybe I will anyway. Could be fun to watch.”
I look to Lex. I have no idea what they’re talking about, but I think I have a pretty good idea about the baseball bat thing. I’m not naïve. I’ve always known exactly what Lex is capable of. What makes me sick is that he did that for me.
“Are you asking because you want to be the next person I fuck with a bat, Ares?” Lex’s voice is calm, in a really eerie way.
“Fuck.” Lorenzo stands and points to Ares. “You, get the fuck out of my house now.”
“What?” Zara gasps.
“You can stay, but he needs to leave, now, Zara,” Lorenzo snaps.
“Lorenzo, do not snap at my sister. Zara, take him anywhere that’s not here.” Kyla pushes up from the table and walks over to her sister.
“You don’t scare me.” Ares stares back at Lex.
“I’m not trying to,” Lex says. “I don’t need people to fear me. In fact, it’s better when they don’t. Makes their pain, their screams all the more pleasurable.”
I’m trying my best to not react, but this is not a side of Lex I’ve seen before. He’s not looking at me. His glare is firmly fixed on Ares, as if he’s a hunter with eyes on his dinner for the night. I, for one, would not want to be on the other side of that stare. Not that I’m scared of Lex. He’s the only person I’m not scared of. But everyone else should be.
“I’m leaving. For her. Not you. If you want to continue this, you know where you can find me,” Ares says, standing when Zara tugs on his arm.