“So you say.” I chuckled. “They, however, explain the situation a bit differently.”
“You asked?” Chase’s eyes widened.
“Chase, you can’t seduce an older woman and then call her a cougar to her face, especially if you’re the one that sweet-talked her into bed in the first place.”
“Not my fault!” Chase held up his hands. “Can we please change the subject?”
“Fine.”
“Do you…” Chase swore. “Do you think that maybe Tex should help out a bit, too, with Trace, I mean?”
“You do realize you’re making it sound like she’s our love child, in need of a babysitter during the day?”
Chase didn’t laugh. What the hell was stuck up his ass?
“Dude.” I nudged him. “Snap out of it. What’s wrong?”
“I—” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m just really—”
“Nixon!” Trace burst into the room and threw her arms around my neck, then sat on my lap. “I missed you.” Her lips found mine and my concern for Chase went out the window.
He cleared his throat a few times before Trace pulled away from me. “So he told you, then?”
“I was about to.” Chase’s voice cracked.
“Tell me?” I asked, looking between the two of them.
“Luca.” Trace sighed. “That scary-looking Nicolosi guy? He followed us today.”
“What the hell!” Still holding onto Trace, I reached over and smacked Chase in the shoulder. “Is that what crawled up your ass and died? You can’t just keep that from me, man. I need to know these things. Why didn’t you text me?”
“I wasn’t thinking.” Chase swallowed and looked away. “I’m sorry. I guess I was in such shock that I didn’t know what to do, but don’t worry, Tracey was safe. We were fine.”
“Fine?” Trace snorted. “Nixon.” She turned in my lap and touched her forehead to mine. “Chase has been acting like a complete lunatic all day. I think he’s defective.”
“I’m not defective!” Chase yelled.
“And he’s not a toy…” I defended, smirking.
“Plaything.” Tracey nodded. “Definitely a plaything, but what I’m saying is, he’s been so damn depressed all day that I can’t handle being around him.”
“Right here. I’m sitting right here.” Chase sighed.
“Please?” Tracey kissed my mouth, licking part of my lip ring and then nibbling my lower lip. Her lips trailed to my ear where she whispered, “Something is very wrong.”
I nodded and pulled her face away from mine, being sure to kiss her nose as I looked into her eyes. “Go change into some comfortable clothes for dinner okay? I’ll be up in a minute.”
“Okay.”
Once Trace was out of earshot, I reached over and grabbed Chase by the arm, dragging him with me all the way into my father’s old study. I closed the doors behind me.
“What the hell happened?”
Chase wouldn’t meet my eyes. He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and stared at the ground.
“Chase?”
“I kissed her.”
“You have exactly five seconds before I shoot you in the face. Explain why you kissed her. Now.”
“Luca, he was standing in line in front of us, and I panicked. I kissed her, she kissed me—not very well so you’ve got that going for you—and then I introduced her to Luca and we went to class. That’s all that happened.”
“Was there tongue?”
Chase’s head snapped up. “What?”
“You heard me. Was there tongue?”
“It uh…” He waved his hand in the air. “It happened so damn fast, Nixon. Yeah, probably, I don’t know. I’m not sure. All I can say is I’m sorry. It was the only thing I could think to do. I was afraid Trace would be pissed, but she understood.”
“So you’re upset because…?”
“Well, I like living, thank you very much.” Chase smirked. Was everyone going to lie to me today? Could I trust no one but myself?
“And?”
“Nothing.” He forced a smile. “It just ate me up all day, that’s all. It felt wrong, it feels wrong; you know what I mean?”
My eyes narrowed. That part, at least, seemed genuine. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I hate it more than I could ever say, but Chase, remember, this isn’t to torture you.”
He snorted. I continued. “It’s to keep her safe.”
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that?” Anger filled Chase’s eyes as his mask of guilt slipped off, and in its place… something I hated to see. It was as if a knife was being thrust into my back and there was no way for me to pull it out.
Betrayal.
He wanted to betray me.
And there was nothing I could do except pray that when the time came… he wouldn’t.
Chapter Seventeen
Phoenix
I woke up with blood pooling around my head. I tried to maneuver my chair so I could at least sit comfortably but I knew it would take strength I didn’t have—and honestly, what did it matter anyway? If I died lying down or sitting in a chair or getting thrown into the lake?
My throat felt tight. The minute I’d seen Nixon coming into the room I knew the truth: He’d never forgive me. It would be better for me to die with the knowledge that I had—than put him in any more pain or danger. I refused to be the cause of even more turmoil than I’d already heaped upon him and his family.