Ravage (Civil Corruption Book 4) Read online

  Daniel’s arm around my shoulder grew tighter as I turned into him and looked up. “I’ll be back in a second,” I said on a whisper.

  His face was marred with concern and frustration, his brows pulled into a low V as he asked, “You sure?”

  “Yeah. It’ll be fine. Just gimme a few.”

  Before he released me, he sent a withering look Mace’s way, then turned his face back to mine and placed a kiss against my lips.

  The energy around Mace sparked and crackled with a rage I couldn’t understand as I finally unlatched from my boyfriend, following Mace out of the dressing room and down a long, hall.

  “Hey,” I called, nearly jogging in my high-heeled booties in an effort to keep up. “Slow down. Your legs are a lot longer than mine.”

  We made it to the end of the hall before Mace took a quick left into an empty corridor. He came to a stop and spun around so quickly that I collided into him, unable to stop myself. The instant my body smacked into his, Mace’s arms came up, circling me like steel bands.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed, squirming in his arms pointlessly. He didn’t want me to move, and there was no way in hell I was strong enough to break his hold. “Mace, let me go,” I warned. The feel of his rock-hard body and the scent of cologne and sweat on his skin were sending my head into an unhealthy fog.

  “You’re really with that guy?” he barked, crude disbelief bleeding from his words.

  “I really am,” I snapped back, renewing my fight against him. “And I don’t appreciate the tone you’re using. Daniel’s a nice guy.”

  “Daniel’s a fuckin’ dick. You’ve gotta be kidding, dating a preppy douchebag like that. Jesus Christ, the asshole looks like he belongs to a goddamn country club.”

  Well, he wasn’t completely off the mark. Daniel himself didn’t belong to a country club, but his parents did. Sure, he preferred button-downs and polo shirts to faded jeans and old concert tees. And yes, he wore Sperrys and would probably never be caught dead in a pair of motorcycle boots like Mace, but that didn’t make him a bad guy. Not by a long shot.

  “Who the hell are you to judge him?” I spat, shoving at his chest until he was forced to break his hold. Taking two large steps back, I clenched my hands into fists so tight my fingernails cut into the flesh of my palms. I was seething to the point of explosion. “He’s sweet and treats me with respect. He likes me and he isn’t afraid to show it. And personally, I don’t see how who I date is any goddamn business of yours.”

  Leaning down to get in my face, he hissed, “He’s not your style, Goldie. Unless you sold out,” he spat with disdainful accusation.

  My palm went flying through the air before I could think, landing against his cheek with a resounding crack. “You son of a bitch!” I shouted as Mace’s head shot to the side. When he slowly looked back at me, there was no missing the pure shock glinting in his eyes. “Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that?” Every inch of my body trembled with a fury so intense it actually frightened me, but I couldn’t make myself stop. “I didn’t sell out, you prick. I moved on! You have no right to an opinion on who I date. You aren’t a part of my life anymore.”

  “And whose fault is that!” he bellowed so loud that I jumped. “You cut me out of your life, Lyla! Not the other way around. You took yourself away from me, and I didn’t have a single fucking choice!”

  “Because it was necessary!” I yelled in return. “I loved you, Mace. So much it hurt. Every single day! I couldn’t keep you in my life the way we were if I wanted to have a shot at getting over you. And I did. It took a long freaking time, but I finally did. I thought maybe enough time had passed that we could get back what we had, but now I see I was wrong. God!” I threw my arms up in frustration. “Why the hell did you even send me those tickets if this was how you planned on acting?”

  “I sent them because I couldn’t go another fuckin’ day without seeing you!” That statement rendered me speechless, but it didn’t matter, because he was nowhere near finished. “I sent them because I prayed you’d show up and I’d finally get the chance to tell you I want to be with you.”

  My mouth fell open in astonishment, and it took several seconds before I was finally able to whisper, “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Goldie—”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I repeated on a yell. “You broke my heart, and now you want to be with me? You selfish asshole! I’m finally with someone who cares about me and treats me right, someone I love, and you go and pull this? You’re unbelievable.”

  Mace rocked back, his face twisting in agony as he asked in a ravaged voice, “You love him?”

  “Don’t,” I snapped. “Don’t you dare. I gave you my heart, Mace. You didn’t want it. You threw it right back in my face, so don’t you dare stand there like I broke you because I finally put myself back together after you tore me apart.”

  “Goldie….”

  That was all he said. One pathetic word.

  “I’m done with this,” I stated, backing out of the corridor and starting back down the hallway toward the dressing room. I stopped with my hand on the knob and closed my eyes, pulling in a deep, fortifying breath before finally giving it a turn and stepping back into the room. I made a beeline right to Daniel once I got inside.

  I spent the rest of our time with the guys trying and failing to shake off my encounter with Mace. I faked the same enthusiasm as my friends while we hung out for a while longer. When Mace came back a few minutes after me, he didn’t bother shedding his surly attitude, which made acting normal that much harder.

  Finally, the band’s manager cut into our conversations to say, “Hate to break this up, guys, but we need to get to the after party.”

  I was sad to have to say goodbye, but there was no shaking the sense of relief I felt once I was out from under the anger and sorrow pouring off Mace.

  The guys gave me their hugs just before we left, all expressing how good it was to see me. Surprisingly, Mace didn’t make a fuss or act like an ass when he gave me a short, perfunctory hug goodbye. But that didn’t make saying goodbye to them any easier.

  I was going to miss all of them so bad it was as if I were leaving a piece of myself behind. I was only just beginning to mourn the loss of them again when Mace dug that knife in my chest even deeper when he cast me one last look and stated, “Let’s roll. I need a drink, and some pussy.” Then he turned and exited the room without a backward glance.

  Ava was staying the night at Craig’s place, and they were dropping Lindsey off on the way, leaving Daniel and me alone in his car. After the whirlwind blast from the past I’d just experienced I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and snooze as he drove us back to my apartment.

  Unfortunately, I hadn’t done as good a job of hiding my discomfort after the fight with Mace as I thought.

  We were halfway home when Daniel’s voice broke through the turmoil going on inside my head.

  “There something I need to know with you and that guy earlier?”

  I lifted my head from the headrest and glanced his way to see the tendon in his neck straining in the lights from the dashboard as he clenched his teeth. “What? Of course not. Why would you ask that?”

  “Because I’m not blind, Lyla. Or a fucking idiot. I saw how you two were looking at each other, and how he couldn’t keep his goddamn eyes off you after your private chat.”

  Daniel had never been anything but sweet and loving the whole year I’d known him, so hearing the venom in his tone just then was more than a little shocking. “I swear there’s nothing between us. We were never anything but friends.”

  “He wants you, Ly. Are you really gonna deny that?”

  I couldn’t, not after what Mace had said to me in the hallway. I didn’t want my relationship with Daniel to be built on foundation of lies and secrets. I owed him more than that. “He does,” I admitted in a quiet voice, reaching over to place my hand on his. “He told me tonight, but I made it clear that I
’m with you. I love you. How he feels isn’t going to change that. I swear.”

  He held tight to my hand and went quiet, apparently giving my response serious thought. My stomach plummeted in fear, thinking he was about to end things. The last thing I wanted was lose him.

  Finally he broke the silence, asking a question I’d been dreading. “Do you have feelings for him?”

  Hesitating for several seconds, I drew up the courage to answer. “I did. But it was before I ever met you,” I added quickly. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Dan. You have to believe me.”

  “But he’s the reason it took me six months to get in there, isn’t he?”

  My voice came out weak and so quiet it was barely audible. “Yes.”

  “Fuck.”

  “But you got in, Dan,” I said, emotion making my words thick and garbled. “You got in there, and I’m so glad you did. You make me happy. I love you, honey. Please trust that.”

  His fingers clenched around mine as he pulling in a long, deep breath. “I love you too, Ly. You know that. And I believe you.”

  I let out a huge sigh of relief, and as we finished the ride to my apartment, I promised myself that I’d be the very best girlfriend possible. I’d be exactly what Daniel needed and deserved. And I’d never let Mace come between us in any way.

  I just hoped and prayed it was enough.

  Chapter Nine

  Lyla

  Two years later

  It was my wedding day.

  Just thinking that seemed surreal. I couldn’t believe the day was finally here. It seemed like just yesterday that Daniel had gotten down on one knee and asked me to make him the happiest man on Earth by agreeing to be his wife.

  Saying yes with tears of joy streaming down my face had been the best day of my life. I rode that high for weeks, but once time came for us to start planning, an unsettling knot had formed in the pit of my stomach, and it had only gotten worse and worse throughout our year-long engagement.

  It started off small enough that I convinced myself I was overreacting and pushed the unease to the back of my mind.

  Standing in front of the dressing mirror in my elaborate gown, I stared unseeing at my reflection as I drew up the memories that had been plaguing me for so many months.

  The front door of our house finally opened an hour and a half after Daniel was supposed to be home. He’d been putting in long hours, saying it was for extra money to pay for the wedding, but I was beginning to have a difficult time believing that. Especially when he came home with bloodshot eyes, reeking of bourbon.

  He’d started working at his father’s investment firm right out of college and had been on the fast track to promotion, but lately something was going on that he refused to talk to me about. He came home each day more agitated than the one before. And as that agitation grew, so did his tendency to hit the bottle.

  He wasn’t sharing with me, but I’d caught a few conversations between him and his dad that led me to believe the company wasn’t doing so well. I’d overheard mention of bad investments and angry board members, and my gut churned with the feeling that what I thought was bad was probably much worse.

  “What do you have goin’ on here?” he asked once he hit the threshold of the kitchen. When he leaned in for a kiss, I noticed the ever-present smell of liquor on his breath.

  It must’ve been another rough day, and I didn’t want to do anything to make it worse for him, so I chose to ignore it as always and answered, “Your mom called again. She’s added more people to the guest list.” Looking down at the sheets of paper in front of me, I shook my head in frustration. “You have to talk with her, honey. We already have over two hundred people on the list. If she keeps adding, we won’t be able to afford this wedding.”

  Loosening his tie, he went into the fridge and pulled out a beer, twisting the cap off and tossing it into the sink. It was something so trivial, but I couldn’t stand when he did that. And yet, no matter how many times I asked him to stop he never did.

  “Why can’t you tell her?” he asked before sucking back half his beer. “Or just let her invite who she wants. She’s just excited, babe. Cut her some slack.”

  It wasn’t simply that she was excited. I wasn’t stupid, and from the calls he’d take from his father, I knew the Logans weren’t rolling in money like they had been in the past. However, Diana Logan didn’t seem to get the memo and wanted to show all her elite country club buddies that they were still living the high life by inviting them to our extravagant wedding.

  Problem was, she was doing it on our dollar—a dollar we didn’t have. The other issue was that I hadn’t wanted a lavish affair to begin with. What had started as a small, intimate wedding was quickly turning into some grand party thanks to Daniel’s parents, and no matter what I said to him, he wouldn’t take my side.

  “If we could afford it, I’d let it go, but we can’t pay for all this, Dan. We need to make some serious cuts.”

  He sucked back the rest of his beer, going back to the fridge for a second and, once again, tossing the cap in the sink. “If it’s that big a deal, why don’t you just cut from your side?”

  Dropping the pen I’d been holding, I looked up at him with wide, bewildered eyes. “My side is only about twenty people. I kept it to close friends and family, you know that. I can’t cut them.”

  With a beleaguered sigh, he came to the table and took the seat next to me. “If it’s such a big deal to you, then you know who you can cut.”

  My face drooped into a severe frown. This was a conversation we’d had multiple times since we’d started discussing who we were going to invite. The first time he’d seen Mace’s name on my list had been one of the biggest fights we’d ever had. I hadn’t spoken to him for two days. It finally ended with Daniel apologizing and admitting he’d overreacted, but it wasn’t the last time we’d argued about it.

  “I’m not having this conversation with you again,” I warned. “Mace isn’t a threat, and you know it. He was a friend for most of my life, and I’m not taking him off the list. The issue is your mother. She’s out of control, Dan.”

  Banging his now-empty beer bottle on the table, he shot to his feet, his expression twisted in anger. “You want to tell her that, be my guest. I’m done with this shit. I’m going to bed.”

  Then he stormed off, leaving me behind to wonder what the hell had just happened.

  In the months that passed, we’d fought countless times about Mace. Nothing like that first big blowup over the invite list, but no matter how much I tried to prove my love for him and convince him that Mace wasn’t even close to being in the picture, he couldn’t seen to let go of his jealousy.

  That promise I’d made myself that Mace would never come between us grew more impossible to keep with each passing day, all because Daniel refused to let it go.

  I’d started getting an eerie sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, a voice in the back of my head telling me that maybe this wasn’t right. But admitting I’d spent so long working so damn hard to move on from Mace only to settle was something I couldn’t bring myself to do, not to myself or anyone else.

  “My God.” Will’s voice drew me out of my thoughts, and when I spun around, he was standing in the doorway staring at me with a look of wonder. “Look at you. My little sister, all grown up and the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  My eyes grew misty and the image of Will began to blur as tears threatened to fall. “You’re not so bad yourself. Who knew a grease monkey could clean up so damn well.” And he had. My big brother looked model-worthy in his tuxedo.

  “Stay just like that, baby girl. I need to capture this moment.” I did as he instructed, not moving a muscle as he pulled his phone from the pocket of his slacks and clicked several pictures of me. “The guys are gonna lose their minds when I send them these. I know how bummed they are that they couldn’t make it.”

  At his words, a pang of sorrow pierced through my chest. I’d won the fights with Daniel about inviting
them, but in the end it had all been for nothing. It turned out that they were touring out of the country during my special day, and when I informed my fiancé, he didn’t even bother hiding his smug joy that Mace wouldn’t be there. It was a side of him I hadn’t seen until his ring was firmly placed on my finger, and it was a side I definitely didn’t like.

  My face fell before I could stop it, and my brother, being the protective type he was, caught it before I could slip my mask back into place.

  “Hey now, sweetheart.” Stepping into the room, he closed the door to my bridal suite behind him to give us some privacy. “Don’t be sad. This is supposed to be a happy day.”

  “I am happy,” I replied, doing my best to paste on a smile.

  “Then what’s with the face, babe? You look like you’re about to burst into tears at any moment.”

  A knock on the door interrupted our private moment, and Tate poked her head in. She gave us both a beautiful smile before stating, “The wedding planner insisted I let you know it’s time. Apparently Daniel’s getting impatient.”

  “He can wait a few more minutes,” Will informed her, much to my relief. “Can you delay, Tater tot? I’m having a moment with my sister.”

  Understanding filtered through her expression and she nodded. “I’ll handle it. Take as much time as you need.” Then she closed the door.

  Once we were alone again, Will turned back to me. “I’m just….” I hesitated, trying to come up with a believable lie. “Super emotional. Aren’t all brides supposed to be emotional wrecks on their special day?” I asked in an attempt to lighten the situation. The real truth was I’d begun to think I was making a huge mistake.

  “I don’t care about how other chicks act on their wedding day. None of them are my sister. You are.”

  God, I loved my big brother something fierce. “I’m good, I swear.” And I was determined that I would be… good, that was. I was going to do this. I was going to give it my all. I loved Daniel, and so what if he wasn’t perfect? No one was. I’d just let the negative aspects cloud my mind. Once we were married and I got over that, things would all work out. He was a good guy. Sure, he had his flaws, but he loved me and never bothered hiding that. Besides, wasn’t that what every girl wanted? Someone to love her unconditionally? I had that in Daniel, and I’d be an idiot to let it go. It was just cold feet, that was all.