14. Gavin

FOURTEEN

gavin

“THE CAVIAR BRIOCHE donut and Toro sashimi and crispy rice.” The waiter at Zero Bond set two elegant appetizer plates in the center of the table and gestured toward my almost-empty cocktail. “Another gin and dubonnet for you, sir?”

I nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

“I’ll try one of those too,” Trevor said, winking at me as he moved his glass aside. “Gavin tells me they were Queen Elizabeth’s favorite.”

“Is that right?” The waiter raised a brow at me in question.

“It’s true,” I said. “They say she had one every day, and considering she lived well into her nineties, I figure it’s a safe choice.”

He gave me a polite smile that told me he couldn’t care less. “Very good, sir. I’ll have those right out.”

As he walked off, I chuckled and laid my napkin across my lap. “I don’t think he appreciated my knowledge of useless information the way you do.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re on a date with me right now and not him.” Trevor’s smile was blinding, and it was easy to see why he was such a rising star in Hollywood. What wasn’t as obvious was what he was doing on another date with me. My personal life was a mess, and I had a knack for choosing the wrong men, like every one of my exes. If Trevor knew what he was really getting into, he wouldn’t be looking at me like that.

God, that was some serious pity-party thinking right there. That wasn’t me, at least not usually. Here I was, though, on this amazing date with a great guy, and in the back of my mind I was stressing—worried about what I faced almost daily at Astor and wondering when that would stop. Worried about Daire running off to bust a few faces, and maybe even his own. It was ridiculous to even care, since he’d flat-out told me not to.

That was easier said than done, though. My one bit of relief came from the fact that at least he didn’t know Joey and his crew were still messing around with me, or I’d have an even bigger issue on my hands.

For fuck’s sake, stop thinking about it. Be here, with this amazing guy who’s actually interested.

I shoved all thoughts of Daire and the others out of my mind and turned my attention back to Trevor. With the candles flickering between us, his eyes glittered a darker green than they did in the light, still gorgeous no matter what shade they were, and I smiled despite myself.

“You’re right,” I said. “You’re a much better date than I imagine he’d be.”

Trevor chuckled and reached for my small plate, loading it up with our appetizers before handing it back to me. I hadn’t planned on trying the caviar brioche thing, but now that it was on my plate, it’d be rude not to.

I waited to see if he’d pick it up with his fingers or cut into it, and when he picked up his fork and knife, I did the same.

To my surprise, it wasn’t bad at all, just not something I’d usually go for. But hey, maybe that was a metaphor for what I needed in my life. To go for things I usually wouldn’t. Like Trevor. His manners were impeccable, and sometimes I’d hear a hint of a Southern accent that was pretty adorable. Since I’d never dated an actor before, I’d done something out of character and scoured the gossip sites to make sure there weren’t any red-flag stories about him out there. I couldn’t afford another asshole in disguise, but so far it seemed like I’d actually found someone relatively normal. At least normal in my world. He was used to red carpets and so was I. Neither of us needed the other financially. And if the worst thing he did was get me to eat something I wasn’t crazy to try, then I would be a very happy guy.

“What do you think?” Trevor asked.

“About what? Oh, the food, right. It’s…interesting.”

He laughed and brought his napkin up to his lips. “Is that your way of saying you hate it?”

“Hate’s a strong word.”

“Loathe? Detest entirely?”

I shook my head and decided to take another bite. “Would I do that if I thought it was terrible?”

Trevor smirked as I suppressed a shudder from piling way too much caviar on my fork. “You might if you want to prove a point or please the person you’re with.”

“Oh yeah? You think I want to please you?” I asked.

“I know you do.”

The way his voice deepened made my dick take notice, and I wasn’t sure if I was annoyed or relieved when the waiter interrupted with our drinks.

I quickly finished off the rest of my first before he took it away, and I tapped my new glass against Trevor’s. He took a long swallow, but it was clear whatever he’d been expecting, this was not it.

I bit back a smile at the way he tried to school his face and not look disgusted.

“You like it, huh?” I teased.

He brought his napkin up to his lips and nodded, but he didn’t look me in the eye. “This is…interesting.”

That had me laughing, and I reached for his glass, setting it beside mine before motioning for the waiter to come back so he could order something more his speed.

No complaints here. More for me.

My phone buzzed in my pants pocket, but I wasn’t about to check it on a date. My focus was one hundred percent on Trevor. Whoever it was would have to wait. That was easier said than done, though, when it went off again, and again, and then a fourth damn time.

I shifted on the seat, feeling like I had a damn vibrator in my pants. Trevor gestured to my pocket.

“You can check it if you like. I promise not to be offended.”

I sighed, shaking my head, vowing to silence the damn thing as soon as I made sure no one was dying.

“I’m sorry.” I lifted my hips to pull the cell out, and Trevor’s eyes dropped to the move.

“Can’t say I am.”

The throb in my dick returned, and I now wasn’t half as annoyed at whoever was blowing up my phone. That was until I glanced down and saw several missed notifications from the last person I ever expected to hear from—East.

What did he want? I could count on one hand the number of times James Easton had ever deigned to contact me.

Did something happen to Donovan?

Did something happen at the Towers?

Oh my God, are the Towers on fire?

No, that was just ridiculous. A) We would’ve heard something like that on both our phones because that would’ve been major news, and B) My brother would’ve called—unless, of course, he was in the fire.

Wow, way to be dramatic, Gavin. Maybe just look and find out.

I opened up the thread.

EAST:

Good evening, young Truitt. Attached you will find a tasty little morsel for you to enjoy at your convenience. Remember, revenge is a dish best shared… among friends.

Then there was a video attachment.

EAST:

You’re welcome.

What the?

I was about to hit the video attachment when my eye caught again on the word revenge,and I suddenly froze.

Revenge for what? Revenge against whom? The only thing I could think of was⁠—

No.There was no way East meant what I thought he meant.

My stomach twisted as I sat there trying to decipher East’s cryptic little note. It wasn’t until Trevor put a hand on my leg that I startled and remembered where, and whom, I was with.

“Gavin? Is everything all right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I mean, I think it is. I’m sorry. Could you give me a second? I need to go and make a quick call.”

I didn’t, of course. There was no way I’d ever call East in the middle of a date. But I had to find out what the hell was on that video.

“Go—seriously, I’m fine. Do what you have to.”

I shot to my feet and dashed off in search of somewhere private. Once I’d found a somewhat secluded alcove, I looked at my phone again.

With one eye shut, I gathered all my courage and opened the video.

There was East’s smug face, his eyes glittering devilishly, and he panned away from himself and turned to show⁠—

Is that Astor’s courtyard?

My confusion tripled as he continued his wide sweep until his camera landed on Donovan, West, Travis, and Preston standing side by side looking at something with great intent. Then he turned and zeroed in on what had their attention, and my jaw hit the floor.

There, propped up against the doors to one of the most prestigious universities in the country, were Joey, Carl, and Doug. All three of them completely naked, legs spread, and socks stuffed inside their mouths.

But that wasn’t what was most alarming. That would be the looming, dark presence that was Daire, who was crouched over Joey’s powerless form, his face inches above the one that had teased, tormented, and abused me for months, as he promised in a voice that sent chills down my spine: “You’re waking up alive this time. But if you touch him again, I’ll fucking kill you.”

Oh my God. Oh my God.

Daire didn’t have to say my name for me to know that I was the him he was talking about. He got to his feet, then East turned the camera back to himself and winked before ending the video.

I stared at my phone in complete and utter disbelief, shock rushing through every fiber of my being. They knew. Somehow, my friends knew what Joey and his crew had been doing to me. It was clear as the naked image of those three had been, and what they had done to them…

Oh my God.I needed to get out of here. I needed to leave. I needed to figure out what the hell Daire had been thinking, and how he and the rest of the guys had even found out in the first place.

Heart racing, I stumbled back to the table, not bothering to sit.

One look at my face and Trevor’s eyes widened in alarm. “Everything okay?”

“Actually, no. I’m sorry, something’s come up, and I have to go.”

“Oh. Okay. I can take you—” He moved to stand up, and in my panic I practically shouted “No” at him.

“Sorry, I just mean that’s not a good idea,” I said, even though my heart was pounding so hard I wondered if maybe I would need him in case I had a heart attack. Or to hold me back from launching myself at Daire when I found him.

I wiped my suddenly sweaty brow and forced a tight smile at Trevor. “But will you call me tomorrow?”

“Yeah, of course⁠—”

His words cut off as he watched me down the rest of my drink in a couple long swallows before slamming it a little too hard on the table.

“Thanks for dinner,” I said, and then took off before he could say another word.

Didn’t it just figure? The moment things in my life were starting to look up was when it all came crashing down.