28. Season of the Witch

CHAPTER 28

SEASON OF THE WITCH

? LANA DEL REY

—6 MONTHS AGO?—

"What do you want, Elle?"

"What do I want? Oh, James. I just wanted to relay how sorry I am that your father passed away. I know you were close."

" Our father, Elle. He was our father." I had hoped that this was the olive branch. That we could move on from whatever hatred she's built toward me and start acting like family. As soon as I laid eyes on the lawyer, I realized I was alone—I had no family left.

"It's hard to think of him that way when I never knew him." She's smug, dressed like she's headed to a board meeting in some tall tower downtown, and looking at me like I'm dirt.

"That wasn't his fault. You're the one who refused to see him. He tried, Elle. He tried all the damn time and you know it."

"He loved you more."

"Jesus," I say under my breath, rubbing my eyes and looking around the living room. "What the fuck do you want?"

The lawyer hands me an envelope that's stamped with a red Confidential and Urgent across it. It looks like something you'd see out of a spy thriller, and I have no idea why this asshole is giving it to me.

" Our mother wanted you to have this." I stare at it blankly and, after a pause, her eyebrow raises and she cackles like some kind of cartoon villain. "You really are clueless? Oh, that's fantastic! This is better than I thought! What a fucking moron!"

"What are you talking about? What is this?"

"Ask me what I want again." Her maniacal laughter sends chills up my spine, while she pretends to dab tears from her eyes. I don't think she's ever shed a tear in her miserable life.

"What do you want?"

"Everything, James. All of it. I'll get it, too." She pulls open her phone and reads from it, but I don't understand the legal terms and can't think straight at the moment anyhow. "All of that boils down to: you're fucked . You'll find it all in the contract that your dearly departed father never amended after the divorce. You've got one year to contest it before it becomes legally binding. Good luck finding a lawyer though, because as of this morning, you're broke."

"Why the hell would I be broke?"

"Because you don't have access to dad's money. His insurance money and bank accounts, all of it goes to Mother. You paid for the funeral already, and you're not getting any of that money back from his estate. The funeral is non-refundable, I checked."

"No. No, he…he took care of that."

"I was going to tell Mother to take the house too, but I think it would be far more fun for you to struggle to save it, fail, and watch as the bank forecloses on it—or you're forced to sell. Anyhow, I need some new clothes for the funeral. See you this weekend…don't you wish you'd gone with a pine box and wild flowers?"

I drop onto the sofa and stare at the ceiling, daring the roof to collapse on me. Why not? The rest of the world already had. Steve and Coop sit on either side of me. They heard the entire exchange and they're both seething.

"I'll cover the funeral," Coop offers after the silence lingers too long.

"You can't." I glance up at my dad's oldest friend as he sips his coffee and frowns at us. "Jamie, your father had a plan. We just thought we had more time to make it happen. We can still make most of it work, starting with you signing the house over to me. It keeps it over your head and there's no way I'm selling to your sister or your mother. We'll figure the rest out. We just need to be careful of how it's all handled from here on out."

"Why…why didn't he change his will? Why didn't he tell me?"

"This is hard to hear. Hell, he never wanted you to find out, but it's time you do. The only way he could save you was to give her everything. She owns him, but she wasn't allowed to touch you or any part of the contract that had to do with you. He protected you from your mother, but it never occurred to your dad that your sister would come after you."

* * *

—NOW—

"James, what a coincidence to see you here." Elle glides over to us, she offers a glass of champagne to me like it's just the two of us in the room. "I wasn't aware you owned clothes that weren't covered in paint and fit for the homeless. Did you steal them? Borrow them from a friend who took pity on your poor soul?"

My mouth is dry, but I'm not taking a damn thing from her, not even a glass. If I did, I'd throw champagne in her face and smash the glass against the wall. My mind is running, trying to get ahead of whatever she's doing here. I'm going to lose this race. I always do. She's smart, conniving, manipulative; she's probably a psychopath. I'm here because she wants me here. This is all some wicked plan she's set in motion, and I won't have a clue what to expect until it's too late.

"Chase, why don't you scurry along? I'm sure you'll trip and fall dick first into someone as soon as you turn around. I guess it's better than the alternative. How did you get the blood out of the grout?"

Coop stares at her with a snarl.

"She was too homely for you anyhow. Wasn't that what the press called her? Homely? Tell me, is Steven here, too? I miss having all my playthings in one house."

Coop takes a step closer to me and I can see the vein in his neck pumping as his jaw clenches. He would risk his entire career for me if it meant tearing her down from her pedestal.

"Not here, Chase."

She chuckles, and it sounds like poison. Her eyes flick next to me and she sizes up Lexi. I pull her between Coop and me, almost daring Elle to try something. "Oh, you must be Alexis. The latest pair of legs to spread for my idiot brother. Tell me, do you charge by the hour or by the pound?"

"Shut the hell up, Elle."

"Careful, James. You're a guest in my fiancé's house."

"Your what?"

"Fiancé, James. It's a French word that you wouldn't understand." Her claw-like nails tap against her champagne flute and I'm sure she's picturing gauging my eyes out with them. "Oh wait, maybe you would. You had one once, didn't you? How is Natalie these days?"

"Don't, Elle."

"That little boy of hers has some very pretty eyes. Blue-grey, like yours. I'm curious. Are they both yours, or is it only the one bastard you put inside her behind her hardworking husband's back?"

"Oh, fuck you, Elle."

"That's rude, disgusting, and illegal. We're related." She drains the flute and sets it on a tray of a waiter passing by. "If you're going to continue to be crass, I might send Natalie's new hubby that paternity test you took."

"I never took—" My face drops and my stomach follows. "Leave Natalie and her family out of whatever the hell this is."

She eyes Lexi again and hums as she steps toward her. "She looks like healthy breeding stock with those hips. I bet you're a daddy's girl , aren't you? I've seen your Daddy. Maybe when I'm done with this one, I'll find Jesus."

"What the hell do you want?" I snap.

"Me? Oh, how could I possibly want anything from you? I'm rich, I'm about to marry into even more money, and you're a penniless pauper who won't do what he's told." She turns her wrists, examining her nails. "Sign your name and then curl up in a ditch and cry."

"He's not signing a fucking thing," Coop growls.

"Fine by me. The longer it takes, the more it hurts poor little Jamie in the end." She bats her eyes and uses a baby voice, "Will widdle Jaime stop talking again? Curl in his widdle shell and die?"

"Come on, we're leaving," Coop says.

"Before you go, is daddy's art still in the studio? Oh, you probably wouldn't know. You don't go in there anymore, not since his brains splattered all over the fucking five." As she talks, I half expect to see a forked tongue and razor-sharp teeth in her mouth. I'm at the end of what I can handle, and she knows it. I'm shutting down, following every step of her plan. "Just be careful if you decide to take your chubby little fuck toy here into the studio so you can fuck her up the ass while she looks at your pathetic art. Wouldn't want you to ruin your father's legacy."

"That's enough." I step between her and Lexi, going toe to toe with Elle. She takes a half-step back so she can look up at me again. "What the fuck do you want? What do you really want?"

She walks two fingers up my chest while she cackles, "The usual. You. Gone. Leaving me everything."

"Go back to Europe, then. Go back to where you and I never see each other."

"Oh, but that isn't enough, and you know it. I want what I'm fucking due. I want all of it. I want my company, my art, and my house. I want to ruin you over and over. I want you penniless and on the fucking street." She curls her lip. "You were born first and with a dick and now you get whatever your little heart wants? Fuck you. You don't deserve it."

"Elle, darling, is this man giving you trouble?" Mr. Halpine steps beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in. I glare at him. He's got to be forty years her senior, if not more.

"No, love. In fact, I think he was just leaving. Weren't you, James?"

"You look familiar, James. Do I know you from one of my son's gallery showings?"

"No, you don't." I turn my head toward Coop but leave my eyes fixed on Elle. "Chase?"

Without missing a beat, he moves to the other side of Lexi and we turn to walk her out. She seems just as confused as me about this situation. I would never have walked in the door if I'd known Elle was here to blindside me. Now I'm hoping we'll be able to walk out.

"Wait," Tommy's dad says just before we get far. He's holding up his champagne glass toward us with a look of recognition in his eyes. "Chase Cooper. That means you're Barton's boy, right?"

I just stare at him, then he gestures across the room. My eyes follow his gaze and I my stomach lurches when I'm staring at an all too familiar piece on the wall.

"I really appreciate you donating that to the show tonight." He smiles with his too white teeth. "Your father was very talented. I think he would have been honored to show here tonight with my boy. Shame he threw it all away to charity cases."

"Jamie!" Coop whispers as I drop Lexi's hand and rush through the crowd to the painting until I'm standing a foot in front of it. Anger is making me see red and my hands clenched into fists.

"Jamie, you didn't donate that, did you?" Lexi asks when they catch up to me.

"No. No, I fucking didn't," I snarl, still staring at the canvas in front of me. "This was in his room. This was in his fucking bedroom."

"What?" Coop looks around. "Dude, how the fuck?"

"She stole it. She's been in my fucking house and she stole my father's—" I close my eyes, trying to calm myself down. I storm back over to Elle and her idiot fiancé. "Why?"

"For this exact moment. Come along, dear. Let's mingle." She smiles and they both walk away from me.

"Let's get out of here, Jamie. We can call the police or something," Lexi suggests.

"We can't. She's too good to leave loose ends," Coop explains as he pushes us toward the door. He knows I'm shutting down. "I guarantee she has all the documentation saying she owns it and anything else she took and no one will question how authentic those papers are."

"But she broke into his home."

I drop my head to my chest, "They won't believe me, I'm nobody. She's got power and influence. I'm just a fucking idiot loser."

Coop turns to Lexi, "Get him home."

"Dani came with us."

"I'll make sure Dani gets home and I'll call later. Don't let him leave."

"What do you mean, don't let him leave ?"

"Trust me, keep him with you," he answers her before disappearing back into the crowd. I'm glad he didn't explain any further.

I shake my head and stride toward the door, but before I can open it, Lexi's hand is on mine. I glare at her. This is her out. Her escape from my fucked up life. Something tells me she isn't going to take it.

"You're not an idiot or a loser." Her voice is stern, and the rage drops from my face. I'm not angry with her. "You're also not leaving without me."

Her lips are on mine before I can respond. When she breaks the kiss and has my full attention, she whispers in my ear, "Take me home. Let me take care of you this time."

I nod and look back at the painting before we leave. This is my fault. I haven't been in the studio or Dad's room since he died. I don't know what she's taken from the house, from me. But as I walk away, I realize there's one thing I can never let Elle take from me. I need to protect Alexis, no matter the cost.

* * *

Lexi shoves me against the Jeep and her lips crash against mine. Her hands are frantic and all over me, but I'm so surprised that I'm stuck in molasses. She goes to unzip my pants, but I grab her shoulders and swap our positions.My hand dives under her skirt, and I smirk when my fingers brush against her bare skin. She's already hot and wet just for me, and she's just the distraction I need right now.

"I wanted to surprise you later with the whole no panties thing. Especially after you ripped that pair off me the other day." She bites her bottom lip and looks up at me with big doe eyes.

"Oh, Cherry Blossom," I coo. Fuck Elle and her stupid fiancé. Fuck this whole stupid mess. I have everything I'll ever need right here. "I am very surprised. Can you guess what else I am?"

"No," she moans as my finger slides through her slickness.

I open the door, lift her into the passenger seat, and pull her dress up as I lick my lips. "Fucking. Hungry." I drop in front of her. I don't care who sees. Anyone who catches us is going to learn two things. She's mine, and I'm driving her fucking wild. I'm the one making her writhe against my tongue as she holds onto the roll bar. I'm the one she's moaning for. I'm the one who made her this fucking wet.

"Louder, Angel. Let ‘em all hear your pretty song."

I hoist her leg up over my shoulder, and as I feast on her like a starving wolf, she's fucking my face and singing my name. Her hands find the back of my head and she's gripping tight and pushing me deeper. The second my fingers curl inside her, she tightens around me, and two strokes later, she's coming apart hard.

"Oh god, James!"

I slide another finger into her as she squeezes my head with her thighs and swears like a damn sailor. Her heel is digging into my back and the pain is making me fucking hard. I seriously consider pulling my cock out and claiming her right here. Before I can, she's coming again, harder and louder. As she comes down, I lap at her glistening pussy and thighs.

Panting and hard as a rock, I stand and she grabs my hand, slipping my slick fingers into her mouth and cleaning them as she stares into my eyes. I kiss her hard, letting her taste more of herself on my tongue.

"So, get you a little hot under the collar and the sex gets a little more…intense."

I quickly scan the street, just now realizing where we are. "Shit. I'm sorry. Probably shouldn't have done that."

"Oh," she sighs with a pout. "I was hoping you were sorry you stopped before you fucked my brains out."

She grinds against me. The whine that comes out of me is almost embarrassing. I slide my tongue over the shell of her ear and whisper, "I'm going to make you come so fucking hard for me tonight, so many times, you're not going to walk straight tomorrow, because you're my fucking Angel."

"Good, because you have no idea how badly I want you," she replies as her hand dips between us and grabs my cock. "Take me home. Forget this place and these assholes. There's no one in that house that could ever satisfy me the way you do."

"You're mine. They can't even fucking touch you."

"I thought you'd be too nice to be this possessive. I think I like it."

"Fuck," I breathe out, kissing up and down her neck, "I want to take you back inside, bend you over that railing and let Tommy watch what he will never fucking have. I need you. I need you so bad."

I'm rutting against her hip. I need to stop. I need to calm down enough to drive us to her place. Then I remember why we left the party and my head finds her shoulder. My arms wrap around her and I hold her to me as I fight with the rage and the pain and the tears.

"We'll get it back," she whispers, her hands stroking my hair. It's like she can read my mind already. Like she can see the pain I feel and give it a name. "Give me your keys, pretty boy. And before you ask, yes, I can drive a stick. Just not in these heels."

I pull my head away from her, sliding her shoes off and tossing them in the back. She cups my face and sees into my soul. "I love you, Alexis. I'll never let them take you from me. I'll never let them hurt you. I can't let her hurt you."

"I know, James. I love you, too. Come on, let's go home."

"You are my home."