Chapter 47

Chapter Forty-Seven

Nova

“Get the fuck out of here, Nexus!” I scream as I plaster myself against the shower wall. The fucker just smirks down at me and wags his brows. Last night was the first time I actually slept soundly because he didn’t come home after the party, not that I gave a fuck but he just had to go and come home this morning, didn’t he?

“You think your pussy is so special?” He scoffs and moves beneath the spray of the shower while I stand huddled in the corner of the stall, using my arms to shield my nakedness. In a move I don’t expect, Nexus grips my waist and presses in so his body is flush against mine. I fight the bile rushing up my throat when I feel he’s hard. I turn my head to the side, unable to look at the sick fuck. “It’s nearly Halloween and guess what? You have one more month of freedom before you turn eighteen and become my wife. You will fulfill all the duties that are expected of a wife.”

I scoff and slowly turn to face him so he can see the hatred in my eyes. “I would rather be buried alive next to my best friend than ever let you between my legs,” I spit out.

“You had no trouble opening them for Vox though.”

“That was a mistake and I don’t plan on making another mistake like that again.”

“Good, considering he showed up late to the party last night and then left with Nicole, I suspect you don’t stand a chance anyway, piggy.” His words shouldn’t have pain spearing me but it does. How the fuck could he come here and chase me down then fuck me only to leave and take that whore home.

I feel sick!

“Oh, you thought he was pining after you?” he says in a stupid mocking voice. “Nah, piggy, you were nothing but a shiny new toy for him to fuck and he always gets bored, so I know your pussy won’t keep me satisfied. But not to worry, the minute I knock you up, I’ll find someone else to satisfy me.”

I balk up at him. “What?” I screech.

The smug look on his face has me wanting to slap him. “The only way to ensure my family remains on top inside the Saints is to produce an heir and guess what?” I don’t answer because I know he wasn’t expecting me to. “No one would be able to fight us for the top spot because a Valerian and Tempest mixed into one would be a true born leader.”

“Your father was never meant to lead the Saints, the rightful heir to The Brotherhood would be a Tempest and a Hatchett .” Nexus’ gaze darkens. He shoves away from me and I sigh in relief, until he cocks his arm back and punches me in the stomach. I drop to my knees, gagging and gasping for air. He yanks my head back by my hair and smiles when he sees the tears trailing down my cheeks.

“Don’t ever speak out of turn again, piggy, and put the fucking collar back on before Mommy gets another shock treatment. I would hate to have to tell Martha to refuse to let her out in the valley.” I keep my face blank of emotion. He releases his hold on me and steps back. I hunch forward on my hands and knees, trying to breathe through the pain but then I feel something warm hitting my side and turn my head to the side and shriek, the fucker is pissing on me. His laughter is manic as I try to scramble away from him but I can’t escape. I’m forced to huddle into a ball until he’s finished. His laughter follows him out of the shower and bathroom. I sit here curled up and just cry.

I tried to ask Thomas this morning if I could speak to my mom or just see a picture of her, but the evil bastard just laughed and told me to fuck off and never to ask again or she would pay for my disobedience.

I’ve been sitting out back all afternoon by the pool with one of the photo albums my mom had made me. Seeing pictures of her hurts so much, I just want her to be here so she can hold me and tell me everything is going to be okay. I can only imagine the pain and fear she is going through right now. I’m past the point of caring now what happens to me as long as she is okay. I can’t lose another person, I won’t fucking survive it.

“Here.” I snap my head to the side in time to see Nexus tossing my phone to me that he had taken when I arrived here. I catch it and stare up at him with a raised brow. “Try anything and we’ll know.”

“Then why give it back?” I ask.

“Because I want to give you enough rope to hang yourself with, so please, piggy, fuck up and ask for help.”

I scoff. “I’m not stupid. You gave this back to me in the hopes I would reach out to my masked friends.”

His face hardens. “You try to hook up with that masked fuck again and I’ll slit your mother’s throat myself. I don’t give a fuck who those bitches are, no one does because I’m untouchable, piggy, and it’s about time you learned that.” I roll my eyes at his retreating back. He and Thomas think I am stupid enough to reach out to the Filthy Few and Nikoa so I can help them figure out who was with me that night. Vox spun a story saying he was following me and got rid of the evidence of Nexus’ crimes and from what Thomas has said, he wasn’t lying.

This list of things to hate about Vox is growing and the fact he did something to Waylen’s body is at the top of my list. I power my phone on and input my pin, then just stare at the screen. My wallpaper is the picture that Vivian took of me and Vox at the beach. I’m smiling up at the camera but Vox is just staring at me with… I slam my eyes closed and shake my head. I fooled myself thinking it was love I saw in his eyes but clearly that was bullshit. You don’t treat the person you love the way he has treated me.

“Nova?” I bolt upright in my lounger and throw my legs over the side at the sound of Vivian's voice. She forces her way through the bushes separating our properties and comes toward me, I dart my gaze to the house waiting for Thomas or Nexus to barge out here any minute. “They just left,” she says in answer to my unasked question. She drops down onto the lounger in front of me, her eyes are red and puffy, clearly she has been crying.

“You can’t be here!” I hiss.

The pleading look in her eyes has me swallowing my protests for her to leave. “Where is he, Nova?” The broken tone of her voice has all the air rushing out of me. I place the album and my phone beside me as I lean forward and grip her cold hands in mine and squeeze them.

“With Waylen.” Vivian’s eyes shoot wide and she yanks her hands free and shakes her head.

“No, you’re lying. Ezekiel wouldn’t leave me not after—he wouldn’t leave me!” she shouts and stands. I follow her lead and try to reach for her but she stumbles away from me.

“Vivian, I saw the video proof last night. I watched him… I saw him…” I can’t force the words out past the lump in my throat. Vivian’s bottom lip begins to tremble as tears flow faster down her cheeks.

“No. He promised me he wouldn’t leave me, they all did and now they’ve all left,” she cries and my brows raise.

“What do you mean? Where’s Hayze and Archer?”

“They were gone by the time I woke up this morning. They left me a fucking note!” she screams. Before I ask what it said, she pulls it out of her pocket and tosses it to me, then turns and runs back to her house. I watch until she disappears through the back door of her house, then bend down and pluck the folded piece of paper off the ground.

Vi, baby,

We know you are going to be mad and we are sorry.

We wanted to tell you but he made us swear to keep you in the dark.

Stay safe, baby.

We love you.

A & H

My jaw is unhinged as I reread the note at least four times before the words finally sink in. Archer and Hayze have left but that isn’t the most shocking part, it’s the words in the fucking note. They both love her but from her reaction to losing Ezekiel, a huge part of me seems to think Vivian is in love with my brother!

But does she love Hayze and Archer as well?

Those thoughts plague me until late that night as I climb into the bathtub in my bedroom. After Nexus’ stunt this morning, he can get fucked if he thinks I will be showering in his room. The memory of him laughing at me while he pissed on me has my anger and disgust warring inside me. I vowed to myself this morning, I would no longer cry over any of this shit. When all of this is over, I will mourn the loss of my best friend and Ezekiel, then deal with the trauma of this whole situation but not before. If I let it consume me I won’t be able to get myself out of bed every day and deal with the horrors that await me at school.

My thoughts are muted when the lights cut out. I lean forward and wrap my arms around my knees. “If you try to get in this bath with me, Nexus, I will fucking kill you!” I shout into the darkness. When no reply comes, I begin to shiver in fear and panic starts to flare inside me. I stand quietly, reach for my towel and wrap it around me, then climb out and quietly pad out of the bathroom and freeze as I enter my bedroom.

I swallow audibly and stare at the three masked men standing by the open balcony door, two horns, no horns and left horn stand there but it's the sight of right horn missing that has my emotions choking.

Right horn was Ezekiel.

Right horn is gone and never coming back.

“What the fuck do the three of you want? I thought you all hated each other now?” I snarl. Left horn—aka Hayze Draven—reaches into his hoodie pocket and pulls out a card, then tosses it onto my bed but I make no move to grab it.

“ A favor asked is a debt owed, ” no horns—aka Archer Malik—says, earning a glare from me.

“The last favor I asked cost me the life of someone I loved so I’ll pass and you can fuck off.”

“A favor asked is a debt owed, witch,” two horns says as if his voice alone can sway me.

“I’ll never ask anything of the three of you again, your fucking game got Waylen killed and now my brother is dead?—”

“Ask the favor and a debt will be owed,” left horn pushes.

“You fuckers don’t know shit, you want me to ask a favor yet you couldn’t even deliver on the first one I asked.”

“This favor isn’t for you, witch.” I furrow my brow and stare at two horns, trying to decipher his meaning but then my bedroom door slams open behind me and I scream in fright until I see it’s Nexus, and then my fear turns to panic as I slice my gaze back to two horns.

“I fucking knew the second I gave her that phone back that she would fuck up,” my stepbrother spits out smugly.

“I didn’t—” Nexus cuts me off with an icy look, he’s illuminated by the light pouring in from the hallway.

“A favor asked is a debt owed,” two horns says.

Nexus scoffs. “You have nothing I want?—”

“Eleanor Denver,” says no horns. I see Nexus pale out of the corner of my eye.

“She’s dead,” he grits out through clenched teeth. I've seen Nexus angry, smug, aroused and even furious but I’ve never seen him scared until now.

“Is she?” two horns taunts.

“What the fuck are you trying to do?” Nexus snarls.

“A favor asked is a debt owed,” left horn says, then the three of them turn and race out onto the balcony, leaping over the side. I would have thought Nexus would chase after them but instead he stands there staring at the open doorway, like he’s seen a ghost. I attempt to slink back into the bathroom to get away from him but halt when he snaps his head toward me.

“Who the fuck were those cunts?” he forces out through gritted teeth.

I gulp. “That was the Filthy Few ,” I whisper.

“Get them back here, now!” he roars. I stumble back a step in fear. I begin to shake my head but stop when he moves toward me.

“I can’t,” I shout. He stops advancing and searches my eyes.

“How do you find them?”

My eyes dart to the note on the bed, he follows my gaze, then darts over to it and plucks it off the comforter. I flick the lights on and sigh in relief that I’m not stuck here in the dark with Nexus. I look at the postcard in his hand and shake my head, it’s the same one two horns gave me when he first came to me.

Where they rest for eternal life is where a favor is asked.

The stone with the head is where you will be led.

Be certain of the favor you ask, we will not offer a second.

The debt will be collected when the favor is complete.

A favor asked is a debt owed.

I can remember the words on that fucking without even trying, they will be forever ingrained in my memory until I die.

“Where the fuck is this place?” he demands.

“The favor isn’t worth the debt,” I find myself saying.

“Tell me where the fuck to find these cunts or I’ll be burying my cock in your ass willing or not.” Hatred and disgust roll through me.

“You should know the fucking place well, dick, you buried my best friend there.”