Creed of Redemption (S.I.N. Rock Star Trilogy #2) (26 page)

“Sorry,” she says softly. “I was just trying to be a friend.”

“You’re fine. Thank you, but I just need a breather. That’s all. Fuck it though.” I need to get the attention off of Lourdes and myself. Her open concern for me just cast suspicion overs us. I see it in Xander’s questioning stare. If I leave this room and she follows me, we’re busted.

I divulge my freaking teen years that helped to form my demons. I tell them about Claude giving Sevyn controlling shares of the company and our plan to share ownership. I wasn’t going to leave the band. We just wanted to own the company equally. I tell them everything with the exception of Melissa and the role she plays in all of this.

“I don’t understand,” Xander speaks up. At least his mind seems to be off of us. “Wouldn’t our fame mess up that plan?”

“No. First of all. We’re not famous yet so Sevyn and I could still fly under the radar. We were planning to execute our plan before our father came home—long before the band reached stardom. Someone had already leaked that Claude was sick a couple days ago and that was great. It meant that we didn’t have to do it. The focus was supposed to be on the fact that he was sick and was trying to bring someone else into the company.”

“I agree. It’s all so confusing,” Keyser says.

“It’s public knowledge that Claude has two sons—twin sons. He couldn’t hide that even if he wanted to. The upset to the plan is that nobody knew, not even him, the extent to which we merged our identities. What started off as a ploy to get me unquestioned access to our home to visit with my mother, transformed into a plan to have me take my rightful seat next to my brother on the throne, if you will. I never cared for the company like Sevyn. It was never my dream, but it is his. He would have forfeited his inheritance of the company out of guilt if I refused to own it with him.” I sit back down on the sofa.

“So, I said yes,” I admit. “Partly out of the love for my brother and partly as revenge on Claude. I wanted to see his face when he realized the son he didn’t want owned part of the company he willingly gave to the other son. Don’t you get it? This hurts my brother more than me. I just don’t want the media digging up past shit. Sevyn on the other hand, cares. He didn’t want the betrayal to come from him, once he found out that Claude was dying. It was never supposed to come out this way. It was one thing for him to announce me as the other owner, but for the world to know the deceit and scheming that took place behind the scenes to get me there, is another. It will crush our father, and Sevyn, in the process.”

“Damn,” Gable sighs. “That is cold blooded. Not that your father didn’t deserve this, but I can see Sevyn’s side of it. Here’s a man at death’s door who gives all of his controlling shares in his company to who he thinks is the good son, and then learns that the good son has been plotting with the other son to unravel his plan for him to be the sole owner. This is some TV type shit for real.”

“Gable!” They all yell at him.

“What?” He shakes his head. “I’m just saying I understand now. No shade. I’m here for you man. I do get your side too. You were robbed of part of your childhood with him. Your brother felt that honor should not have been placed upon him without you. You both are the victims here. Not your dad. This should have never come to pass.” He surprises me by patting me on the back.

“Enough of that. I don’t want to keep thinking about it right now. Sevyn is flying in tonight and we’ll figure out a way to spin this. I just didn’t want you guys to be blindsided by our personal crap. Claude is not the most well liked. Some of his hostile takeovers have earned him quite a few enemies. The press is going to have a field day with this one. I’ll need to warn Desiree, too.”

“Yeah. Surprised we haven’t heard from her yet,” Keyser agrees. “Whatever. We’re going to rock Houston tomorrow night like none of this shit matters.”

“Fuck, yes. That’s what I’m saying,” Gable echoes. The girls have been pretty quiet, but Lourdes’s expression is telling. She’s worried about me. I give her a small wink when the others are not looking. She smiles and it’s what I need in this chaos. Everything is going to be okay.

Sevyn walks through the door after what seems like a freaking eternity. Gus left to pick him up from the airport ages ago. There is no smile greeting me this time. His solemn affect is ominous. Xander must see it too.

“Why don’t you two talk in the bedroom?” he suggests. “Decide how you’re going to handle this and then let us know what we can do to help.”

“Thanks, man,” I acknowledge and I’m already heading toward the room.

“Of course,” he says behind me.

I close the door behind Sevyn and motion for him to take a seat. “Why the face man. What is it?”

“Diesel. I’m so sorry.” Something is wrong. More than what just happened on the news.

“What the hell is it? Just tell me.”

“It was Melissa,” he rushes out.

“What about her?” He isn’t making any sense.

“She’s behind the leak. She was in the bathroom when we talked, remember?” His eyes cast downward in remorse.

I see red at his accusation. “You’re wrong. I know it all seems coincidental, but she would never do that. You don’t know her like I do or the things she’s helped me through. She would never betray me like that.” He shakes his head like he is trying to clear it.

“No, you’re wrong brother. I do know her like you do.
Exactly
like you do,” he emphasizes. What the hell is he saying? My heart quickens because I hope he’s not saying what I think he is. “She confessed to me that she did it. First she leaked that our father was sick. Next she leaked that his twin sons were plotting to pull his business right from under him. Her last card is her ace. One, neither one of us wants her to play.” My worst fear is being realized. I know what he is going to tell me. My fucking demons already have one foot out the door, tap dancing in the light.

“Her ace? What is it Sevyn?”

“She was my submissive, brother. Same as she was yours. We’re being blackmailed.” And there it is. Our truths. Identical right down to our demons.

We are the pawns in our own game. The air I breathe is suffocating. The very relationship that gave me strength at a time when I needed it the most, was a lie. Melissa betrayed me. Which of us was first? What was the angle? Then another reality comes crashing down on me. Sevyn knew. When he was here a couple weeks ago and Melissa was here with me, he knew then, if not before.

“You knew. God damn it. Before she leaked any of this, you knew that we were messing with the same woman when you saw her on this bus and you were willing to let her betray me even further.”

“Diesel, I—” I cut him off. If he says another word, I will not be responsible for my actions. How can I fucking trust people when everyone who I ever loved or let close to me fucked me over? My father. Women. And now my own twin brother. I punch the fucking wall to keep from crushing his face. The frame caves and blood drips down my knuckles.

The guys try to ask me what is wrong when they see me come out, but Xander motions for them to get the hell out my way. I go up to the front of the bus and tell Stewart to stop this fucking bus. I need off and now! I’m guessing Stewart feels the shit storm I have brewing so he doesn’t question my request. He assures me that he’ll take the next exit and find somewhere to stop.

I return to the living area to throw on some shoes. Nobody dares to try to talk with me, except Lourdes that is.

“Is everything okay?”

What kind of fucked-up question is that? Do I look okay to her? “Since you missed the context clues of me being pissed,
princess
, no. I’m not fucking okay!” Xander is on my ass in a heartbeat.

“I don’t give a shit what’s going on in your life. You will not take that shit out on my sister.” We are nose to nose.

“Xander, it’s okay. We’re here for you, Diesel,” she says grabbing the hand that is bloody. I pull it away from her.

“It’s not okay because I just found out that I can’t trust a Single. Fucking. Person.” I yell.

“You can trust me,” she says softly not realizing she just said “me” instead of “us.”

The bus comes to a rolling stop. I look around the bus at all of the stares. Then I look at Lourdes and the tears that threaten to fall from her eyes send me over the edge. She left me once too. She has played a part in hurting me.

“Really? I can trust you, Lourdes?” She nods. “How can I trust you when you can’t even tell your stepbrother that you’re fucking me!” I don’t even see Xander’s fist coming. He gets one jab into my mouth before the guys pull him off me. I wipe the blood away and look over at Lourdes. She is full on crying now and Xander is fighting to get free.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is how you make a fucking exit.
Fuck this!

Sneak Peek of
Unforbidden
(Forbidden Trilogy) ~ Book # 3

By: S.R. Watson

Chapter 1

Footsteps sound above me, but that is all I can decipher. My eyes strain to take in my surroundings, but I’m in pitch blackness. The smell of urine is so prevalent, I struggle to keep down the bile that is threatening to come up. I feel around the springy fabric I’m lying on, that I’m guessing is a mattress. I get up on all fours and crawl slowly until I’m completely off the pungent smelling thing. I come in contact with cold concrete. Where the hell am I? A sliver of panic crosses me as I come to the realization that I have to be in a basement of some sort. There are no basements in California. Oh God, how will anyone ever find me? I let my guard down and my stalker got to me. How many days have passed? I’m scared and pissed off at the same time. What is this sick fuck going to do with me? So many questions are going through my mind at warp speed. Surely Grayson has realized I’m missing by now, and I’m sure Jordan will tell him and my mom everything.

The footsteps grow louder. Someone is coming. I swallow the lump in my throat as I work to gather my courage. Maybe I can run once he opens the door, only I don’t know which way the door is yet so I’ll have to be quick. He won’t be expecting me to be awake or me running. The door creaks open and I get ready to make my escape.

Holy crap! There are two of them. My moment of hesitation relinquishes my perceived advantage. I attempt to sprint past them anyway, but I’m easily caught. The door ahead seems miles away.

“Not so fast,” the blond man chastises. His grip on my arms tells me he means business. His lip curls as he snarls. “There is nowhere to run to, doll. Even if you manage to escape this house, we’re in the middle of nowhere.” I pull against him and he belts out a hearty laugh.

“That is enough, Roc,” the darker haired man warns. “Let her go. She isn’t going anywhere.” So the blond’s name is Roc—not a real name, I’m sure. Hell, what does it matter? I’ve seen their faces. What is their plan for me? More importantly, what will they do with me after I’m no longer useful?

“Why am I here?” I manage to speak up.

“You’re going to make us a lot of money, sweetness,” Roc says as he uses one finger to caress the side of my arm. I shiver at his dirty touch and then I see it. The scorpion tattoo on his hand. It looks familiar to me.

“Cut the shit, Roc. Let’s do what we came down here to do.” The dark haired guy seems to be more sensible, then again he is part of this kidnapping. I’m guessing I’m being held for ransom. “Put this over your head Siobhan,” he says as he hands me some kind of pillowcase.

Dark haired man, who has yet to be identified, knows my name.
What the fuck?
“How do you know my name?” I challenge.

“I know a lot. Now just put the pillow case over your head so we can bring you upstairs,” he says.

“Fuck this!” Roc snatches the pillow case from me and puts it over my head before pulling my arms behind my back. “You’re being too nice to this bitch, and she doesn’t respect the situation she’s in.” I pull against him, but his grip tightens.

“You don’t have to be a dick, Roc. Let’s just take her upstairs.”

Dark haired guy is both taller and more muscular than Roc, but it seems as though Roc is the one in charge. Roc nudges me forward as an indication to start walking. I can’t see where the hell I’m going, so he is leading me with one hand gripping my arm and the other holding the pillowcase so it doesn’t slip off. We go up some stairs to reach floor level of the house and then another couple of flights after we’re inside. The fucker purposefully let me bump into a couple of corners and it hurts like a bitch. After a few turns, I’m shoved into a room and the door is slammed shut. I hear a few locks being turned from the other side of the door. I wait a few seconds and take the pillowcase off. There is actually light in here. I look around to assess my surroundings. It’s a bedroom, if you can call it that. It has a single twin size bed with sheets, a comforter, and a pillow. The Disney Princesses stares back at me from the pink, girly comforter. How ironic? I damn sure don’t feel like a princess right now.

Anything is a step up from that smelly mattress in the basement though. I’m so glad I couldn’t see what it looked like in the darkness. Aside from the bed, there’s not much else in here. There is a single chair against the wall and the one window is boarded up. What was the point of bringing me up here? I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed, wired with unanswered questions. Time seems to stand still, yet I don’t know how many days have passed. My thoughts are interrupted when I hear the door being unlocked. Blondie walks in and pushes the door closed ominously. His sneer is threatening as he motions toward the chair.