It was Jordan this whole time.
I can’t explain the anger that brewed inside of me when I read the texts he sent my girlfriend.
How did I not notice? I spent months, years with the guy and I didn’t notice he was blackmailing me? It has to be him. Leila doesn’t give her number out to just anyone and the texts started right after I sent the blackmailer her number.
I can’t believe I did that. I should have tried to figure out who it was, to shut him down, but instead of I betrayed the trust and privacy of the only girl I loved and now this asshole is holding my past against me once again.
But this time, something else is on the line. Leila. One look at her and my heart hurts with the knowledge of what Jordan wants me to do. I can’t end it with her. I can’t. I let him blackmail me once, I’m not doing it again.
I don’t even bother knocking when I burst into the frat house, the memories as a freshman needing a cheap place to say coming back to me, the one guy who I hate more than Jordan right now in front of me.
Ben Reed. The asshole that shoved a line of coke in front of me calling me a pussy when I turned around and left. I hate this guy.
I remember lunging at him last year when he came after Rosie to get to Grayson. The things he was saying made me see red. No one speaks about a woman like that and gets away with it.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Pierce,” he says, slurring his words. I should be shocked he’s drunk before noon, but it’s right on brand for him. “Did you come begging to join?” He grins, taking a sip of his beer. “You’re out of luck, we don’t accept pussies.”
His dark chuckle does nothing but irritates me as I ignore him, taking the stairs twice at a time, looking around for the bastard that stabbed me in the back.
Grayson was there last year, holding me back from punching that asshole downstairs, saving me from getting suspended or even expelled, but right now? Not even Grayson could stop me. I have nothing to lose. Leila is on the line, my scholarship is on the line, and it’s all because of Jordan.
I find his room in a matter of seconds, and fling open his door, stalking over to him, grabbing his collar in my fist and throw a punch to his face. Fucking asshole threatened me. Threatened the woman I love. He deserves this. He deserves worse.
“What the fuck,” he sputters, trying to push me off. “Pierce, what the fuck are you doing?”
“I know it’s you. I fucking know it’s you that’s been blackmailing me.” I push off him, staring down at him. This guy was one of my best friends.
He laughs, wiping some of the blood sputtering from his mouth. “How did you find out?”
Hearing him admit it builds an anger inside of me I didn’t know existed. I grip his jaw in my hand, tightening my hold on him. “You’ve been texting my girl,” I grit out. “What the fuck do you want from her? From me?”
He pushes at my chest. “Get the fuck off me.”
“I should kill you.”
He narrows his eyes. “Go ahead. You’ll fit right in with your family.”
I let him go, my eyes widen when I remember he knows everything. The pictures of my mother passed out on the couch with a needle in her arm, the security footage of my brother stealing.
He laughs, bitterly. “You’re such a pussy, this is why you don’t deserve captain.”
I blink at him, watching as he adjusts his jaw, spitting out blood to the floor. “This is what it’s about?” I ask him.
He shakes his head, glaring at me. “You don’t deserve it. I do. I worked hard for that spot and you swooped in and took it.”
“That was on Coach.” I didn’t ask for this position.
He laughs. “Coach pities you, nothing more to it.”
I can’t believe just a few days ago, I used to think of this guy as a friend. “Coach doesn’t even know. No one does.”
“Of course he does,” he says. “Do you think he doesn’t do his research?” His brow lifts. “Did you think I wouldn’t do my research?”
My jaw ticks. “How did you find out?”
He cracks his neck, and I can hear the pain he must be feeling. I wish I had punched him some more. “I needed something on you. It wasn’t hard. You might walk around campus thinking you’re a god, but you’re a loser, Aiden. Always have been. Always will be.”
“And Leila?” I ask the question that’s running through my mind. “What does she have to do with this?”
