10. Zane

10

ZANE

A part of me feels sick. My stomach churns as I pace back and forth in the common room. Lyric has a child. A damn baby. And she kept it from us. Everything is so noisy, making it hard to think straight.

How could she hide something so huge? The girl we thought we had under control turns out to be hiding an entire secret life.

Unable to wait a minute longer, I step outside and head for the Comm building, where I know she's about to leave class. As soon as I see her, I take long, purposeful strides to close the distance between us. She looks up, her eyes widening when she sees me, but I don't give her a chance to speak.

"We need to talk," I say, voice hard.

She swallows, her gaze filled with apprehension. "What about?"

"Not here. Come with me." I grab her arm, leading her back through the quad toward the frat house.

She doesn't resist, though her steps are hesitant. I can feel her tension and see the exhaustion etched in her features, but it only fuels my anger. How long has she been keeping this secret? How much more is she hiding?

We reach the frat house and I drag her inside, past the curious glances of a few brothers lounging in the living room. As though they sense the storm brewing, they wisely keep their mouths shut. I lead her up the stairs to Archer's room, where the other two are already waiting.

The door shuts behind us with a heavy thud and the atmosphere in the room grows thick, tension mounting.

"What's going on?" Lyric demands, looking worn out, eyes bloodshot and hair lank.

Archer steps forward, his expression hard. "We need answers," he says, his voice cold. "And you're going to give them to us."

Lyric's eyes dart between us, a mix of fear and defiance in her gaze. "What are you talking about?"

Archer sneers, taking a step closer. "Don't play dumb. You sluts are all the same. You think you can just breeze through, doing whatever the hell you want without consequences?"

She flinches, her bravado faltering. "I don't know what you mean."

"Cut the crap," Archer snaps. "You're an easy, cheap whore who spreads her legs for everybody and anybody, aren't you? I'm so sick of the lies, Lyric!"

A flicker of panic crosses her face before she masks it, swallowing hard. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're the ones who wanted me to sleep with you."

Archer laughs, a harsh, mocking sound. "You're the one who came onto us, Princess! Or do you not remember that because you were too busy getting wasted?"

Lyric's shoulders sag, the fight draining out of her. She looks between the three of us, her eyes pleading for some sort of mercy. But she's not going to find it here.

Archer steps even closer, his voice dripping with contempt. "You're easy, Lyric. Always have been. Running around, doing whatever you want, thinking you can get away with it. We know how cheap you are."

"We have an idea," I say, cutting in. "Since you're so eager to flaunt yourself, you're going to help the Alpha Lambdas with our fundraiser today."

Lyric swallows, crossing her arms. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Here you go," Levi says, holding back a barely contained smirk as he hands her a gift bag. "This is how you're going to help us."

Lyric takes the dangling bag from his fingers and opens it, pulling out the item inside. "What the fuck is this?" she demands, eyes widening in shock.

"It's your uniform for the car wash," I say, unable to keep the glee out of my voice. "You're going to be one of the car wash babes today, Songbird."

The bikini is a purple tie-dye pattern with a plunging neckline and tiny straps that tie around the neck. The bottoms are meant to sit right at the waist, but they dip down in front under the belly button. Every single asset will be on full display in that and Lyric is starting to realize it. "What if I say no?"

"You don't have a choice," Archer says, a growl in his voice. "Now get changed, Princess."

The three of us shuffle out of Archer's room, hanging out in the hallway as we wait for Lyric to don the outfit.

"Do you think she'll go through with it?" Levi asks, keeping his voice low.

"She will if she knows what's good for her," I mutter back. "She's such a conniving bitch, doing whatever she wants and acting like there's no consequences."

"Maybe this will teach her that we'll never see her as anything but the slut she is," Archer agrees.

A few moments pass before the door creaks open and Lyric emerges, covering herself with her hands.

She's got the bikini on and I have to swallow hard as I take in the sight of her in the garment. Her cleavage is on full display, her chest practically spilling out of the top. The bottoms show off her thick, plush thighs and her soft belly.

The purple tie-dye color compliments her dark curls and brings out the color in her eyes. She looks hot and it makes it hard to hate her in this moment when all I want to do is rip the bikini off her and fuck her right here in the hall.

I glance at my brothers out of the corner of my eye, noticing that they seem to be having a similar problem.

Clearing my throat, I cross my arms over my chest. "Okay, let's go," I tell her, grabbing her by the arm. She yanks her arm back, looking like she's holding back barely controlled anger, but she permits us to usher her down the stairs and out into the courtyard, where people are already setting up for the car wash.

It's late in the season for a car wash, but it's still warm enough that plenty of people are milling around in swimsuits and flip-flops. Several of our other frat brothers have brought female friends along to help drum up interest in the fundraiser, so Lyric isn't the only girl there in a bikini.

The boys wash the cars as the girls flash signs and smiles, trying to tempt drivers to stop and donate to a good cause. We're raising money for a children's cancer research center, which is one of our main charities.

Lyric seems hesitant at first, uncomfortable and quiet, but the more people who show up, the more she seems to relax and get into the spirit of the event, until she's smiling and laughing with a few of our frat brothers who are chatting her up.

Levi and I are washing a Bentley Bentayga when we spot her talking to them.

"Hey," I say, glancing back to Levi, grabbing his attention away from the car. "Look."

His eyes flick over to Lyric, who's biting her lip and giggling as Noah tells her a joke.

"She's unbelievable," he mutters, dropping his sponge in the soap bucket in frustration.

My eyes land on a girl who's walking up to Archer to pay for a wash, recognizing her as Lyric's friend Madison Clement, from Crestwood Academy.

"Hey, Madison!" I call, jogging over to her. I'm wearing board shorts and sandals, so I lean into her space. "Haven't seen you in ages. How've you been, sweetheart?"

Madison giggles, a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Oh, hi, Zane! Long time no see. I've been good. You?"

"Better now that you're here," I say, taking the ten-dollar bill from her fingers and handing it to Archer. He looks confused before spotting Lyric, with Noah, watching us. He puts the pieces together quickly and gives her his patented smirk.

"You know, you look great, Madison," Archer says smoothly. "Are you busy tonight?"

The plan seems to be working because Lyric's eyes flash in confusion and hurt and she narrows them at us, turning back to continue talking with Noah.

I turn back to Madison. "Hey, we need to get back to washing cars, but we'll see you later," I tell her. "There's an Alpha Lambda party tonight. Maybe you should come."

"Come on over and get all wet with us!" Lyric calls out loudly, waving the sign she's holding and shaking her body. "Come on and let us give you a good rub down for a great cause!"

I'm barely aware of Madison promising to see us at the party, too busy fuming at the sight of Lyric flaunting herself like this.

Archer looks like he's swallowed something unpleasant and he follows me as I march over to where Lyric is standing.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demand.

"Just doing exactly what I was told," Lyric says, feigning innocence as she sways to the music in the background. "I'm drumming up interest in the car wash. Aren't you guys supposed to be helping wash the cars?"

"You know exactly what you're doing," Archer tells her. "And you're playing a dangerous game. You fuckin' wait until this is over," he adds in a harsh whisper.

Lyric swallows, but the defiance remains in her eyes. "I'm merely doing what you guys wanted," she says. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

A growl escapes me and I stomp off, frustration rippling under the surface. How could she think she could get away with this? I can barely concentrate on the fundraiser, too eager for it to be over.

The second the car wash ends, Levi and I grab Lyric by each arm and drag her off, with Archer following hot on our heels.

This little girl needs to be reminded who she belongs to and we're going to make sure she never, ever forgets.