Ruthless Heart Read online

  “So, is it just any man that you’re rude to, or do you reserve your aggression just for us Santos?”

  Fuck my life. I turned and met his cool sardonic stare with trepidation. “Hi.”

  Jett didn’t smile.

  “You saw?”

  “Hard to miss.”

  “Apparently not for your backup,” I muttered as I rubbed my head again in remembrance. He said nothing. Okay then. “So, earlier,” I started and then faltered. His eyes were glacial, and I felt nervous. “I was rude.”

  “You were.”

  “Okay, well, thanks for that, anyway…” My sarcasm was hard to rein in, but I had to try. “Anyway, I should have said thank you. Properly.”

  “Properly? So now you want to give me a blow job?”

  “What?” My eyes were wide as I met his cool look. “What is wrong with you?”

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “You!” We stared at each other for a long moment. Me in incredulity, him with apathy. This was getting me nowhere. “I just want to say thanks, it’s fixed. I appreciate your help.” I waited, and when he gave no response, I was content to tell myself I’d tried my best. “Now we’re even.”

  “Fine.”

  “Fine.” I waited again. “Oh fuck off, you know I’m trying to be nice. You didn’t have to help me, you did, I’ve said thanks, again, now please, we don’t ever need to speak again, okay?”

  I hastily walked past him, and when I heard him say, “No problem,” I didn’t even falter. Now the last few days could finally be over.

  “You know her?” Gray asked me as I approached him and Ben, our backup quarterback.

  “Met her twice, happy to never meet her again.” I took the ball off Ben. “Your aim was on point.”

  “Didn’t mean to knock her down,” he admitted as he looked at us with a grin. “She dropped like a stone.”

  “Yeah, when I said aim for her, I didn’t mean knock her out,” I told him with a grin. “Thank fuck she’s too prickly to realise she could probably sue us.”

  “You want to tap that?” Gray asked me as he turned to watch Uptight and Angry march into the cafeteria.

  “No, even horizontal, that girl would still have a giant stick up her ass, and it wouldn’t be mine, know what I mean?”

  Gray snorted as he tossed the ball in his hands. “She does have a point, we probably shouldn’t be doing this in the quad.”

  “She irritates me,” I told my brother. “I wanted to see her knocked on her ass. Mission accomplished.” With a grin to Ben, we started to head to the stadium. “Thanks to our fine quarterback, I got my wish.”

  “It sucks you’re out for two games,” Ben said casually as the three of us walked along the campus. “I really didn’t think Ash landed on you that hard.”

  “He’s two hundred and forty pounds. Trust me, him landing on you, hurts,” I told him easily.

  Gray walked beside me quietly, his eyes on his phone, and then his head was up and he was looking behind him. “She’s going for lunch,” he told me. Turning back the way we had just come, I saw the familiar long-legged, black-haired girl head into the cafeteria.

  “Where’s Ash?”

  “Stadium.”

  “Let’s go.” Turning back to Ben, I tossed him the ball. “See you in a bit.”

  Gray and I headed to the cafeteria. I needed to enlist help for what happened on Friday.

  Quinn was already at a table when we got there, two plastic containers in front of her. Her long hair gathered over one shoulder as she settled down to eat her homemade lunch. We’d known Quinn since we were ten. She was the girl next door. Awkward. Shy. Braces. Hideous hair. She was also wild. Her parents lamented that we led her astray. If they only knew what their beautiful daughter was capable of, they would owe Gray and me a thousand apologies.

  “Queeny,” I greeted her as I took the seat opposite her, and Gray pulled a chair from the neighbouring table, ignoring the cry of protest from its intended occupant.

  “I hate that,” Quinn said without raising her head from her food. “What do you want?”

  “What’s up your ass?” Gray asked her as he leaned over, plucking one of her carrot sticks out of her container and popping it in his mouth.

  “Your brother,” Quinn snapped as she glared at him. “Maybe it was your dad? I can’t remember, all the Santo dicks merge into one giant pain in my ass.”

  “Jesus fuck, what’s your ’tude for?” Gray glared at her, and I knew I had to intervene before they ended up killing each other.

  “Quinn.” I leaned forward to get her attention. “Can I have a chance to speak?”

  “What’s happened this time?” Dark brown eyes met mine, and for the first time since we sat down, a small smile graced her face.

  “It’s like you expect there to be a problem,” I joked with her lightly.

  “I have the Santo twins interrupting my lunch when their cousin is nowhere near them, which means you’ve been looking for me. Or waiting for me. Which usually means…you need me for something.” Quinn took a small bite of her chicken salad. “Who is she? How much do I need to know? How bad do you need it resolved?”

  I started to tell her, keeping my voice low. “I was at a party on Friday—”

  “Before a game?” Quinn frowned at me, and I hurried on to avoid the lecture.

  “Yeah, I planned on having one beer. I was there checking something out.”

  “What?”

  “It’s not important,” Gray interrupted me as he looked around. “He had one beer, then Derrick saw him leave and go home.”

  “The cute corner?” she asked before she rolled her eyes at Gray’s scowl. “So?” Quinn was looking between the two of us, her food forgotten.

  “I have no memory of getting home.”

  “You were drugged?” Quinn asked me with concern. “I knew that ankle injury was bullshit. Who?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “That’s not all,” Gray said as he took another carrot, ignoring her glare. “He woke up with a girl.”

  Quinn sighed, shaking her head in disappointment as she laid her fork on the table. “You’re a complete asshole. How did you even manage?”

  “I don’t remember. Anything,” I stressed as I held her gaze. “I need you to find out who she is.”

  “What’s the last thing you do remember?”

  “The beer.”

  “You took an open drink?” Quinn was ready to launch into another lecture.

  “No. I opened it.”

  “You laid it down? Unattended?” She looked even more ready to start yelling.

  “No.”

  Sitting back, she tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Pinpricks?”

  “What?” I exchanged a glance with Gray.

  “If you didn’t drink it or swallow it, then it was injected into you.” Quinn stood abruptly. “Let’s go.”

  Ignoring her food, she picked her book bag up and headed out of the cafeteria, not giving Gray nor me any choice but to follow.

  Quinn walked into the men’s bathrooms with no qualms. “Everyone out.” Stunned, a few students looked at her before they started to react, either in horror or humour, and then they saw us. “Move it, boys, no need to be shy. I’ll make sure I tell whoever asks it was a weapon.” She winked lasciviously at them before she jerked her head towards the door. “Today, guys,” Quinn urged them.

  Gray checked the stalls as I held the door open for the students to leave. Quinn stood in the middle of the bathroom already looking me over.

  “Last memory of the night?” she asked when we were alone.

  “The beer and talking to Derrick about routes for the game the next day.”

  “Whose party?” she asked as she approached me, handing her book bag to Gray before her hands started running up my left arm as she studied me.

  “I don’t remember, some guy.”

  “Jett, I honestly—”

  “C’mon, Quinn, you know it could have been a
nyone’s. He got a text, he went, enough said. Ask around, people saw him, you’ll learn whose it was.” Gray was also now studying my skin intensely.

  I felt like a lab rat. Quinn exhaled in exasperation but nodded. “I’ll find out.” Her hands were now lightly prodding over my right arm, which was heavily tattooed. “I’m never going to find it in this mess.”

  “Hey,” I protested, turning my head to look at her. She jerked my head forward as she moved up to my neck and then was pulling my earlobe forward to check the skin behind there.

  “You’re sure you didn’t drink it?” she asked as she moved around to my back.

  “I’m sure. This is weirdly relaxing,” I teased her as she pulled my T-shirt up and ran her hand over my back. “Like a pregame warm-up massage.”

  I heard her huff out a laugh as her hands kept moving. “You’re funny,” Quinn told me lightly. “Okay, I have nothing.” She stood back and then moved to the side of me so I could see her. “Who were you looking for at the party?” she asked casually as she took her bag off of Gray.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, Jett, that I’ve known you for ten years give or take, ever since daddy dearest left the navy and settled down in the house right beside yours.” Her eyes flicked between me and my brother. “I know when you’re speaking bullshit. Now, if you want me to help, you tell me what I want to know. Now.” Quinn gestured to the door. “Or I walk.”

  Gray caught her arm to stop her in case she went through with it. “Quinn, we told you—”

  “You told me shit,” Quinn interrupted him. “Jett doesn’t go to parties when he doesn’t know who’s having them, who they are, or what they have going on. And he sure as fuck doesn’t go alone!” Wrenching her arm from Gray’s grip, Quinn turned her angry stare my way. “Who were you both looking for?”

  “Quinn…”

  “I told you!” Angrily she stepped towards me. Quinn was tall, but still she needed to look up at me. “I told you all to leave it alone.”

  “We’re never going to do that,” I bit back angrily. “That fucker messed with what’s ours.”

  Throwing her arms up into the air, she pushed past me. “I’m done. When you can listen, and respect my wishes, then I’ll talk to you.”

  The door slammed behind her. Gray and I stood awkwardly for a moment longer before I turned to the urinal. May as well take care of business since I’m here, I thought.

  “We stopping?” Gray asked me as he stepped up to the one beside me.

  “No.”

  “She’ll be pissed.”

  I grinned as I unbuttoned my jeans. “She’s always pissed,” I replied grimly as I started to piss. “I don’t give a fuck if she’s pissed, nothing stops us.”

  As we headed to the stadium, I thought about what Quinn had said. I knew she wasn’t happy about what we were doing, and even though it had caused more of a rift in the friendship we had, she had to know we would never stop.

  Quinn Lawrence was like a sister to me, no one in this world would ever hurt me or my family.

  No one.

  Ash was running routes when we got to the stadium. Coach was glaring at both me and Gray, and without a word, Gray ducked into the locker room to get changed while I dropped my pissed-off self onto the bench.

  Ben came over to talk to me, and I spoke to him briefly about nothing. Me not mentioning his arm, and he not mentioning the fact that I was sitting on the sidelines like a spare prick in a brothel.

  “Why are you here?” Bowers said to me after he pointed at Ben and then the twenty-five-yard line. Ben took the less than subtle hint and jogged over to meet up with the rest of the offence.

  “I’m recovering from a slight injury. While I do so, am I not supposed to make it to practice?” I couldn’t look at him. If I did, I might punch him, and then “Two Weeks’ Suspension” headlines become “No Longer Plays for Cardinal Saints College” breaking news.

  Bowers rested his foot on the bench and rested his arms on his raised knee so that he was eye level with me. “Don’t pull shit with me, son. You and I both know that this team does not need to have you glowering at them from the sidelines. Pick your butt off that seat, go away.”

  “Go away?” I asked him disbelievingly as I met his heavy stare.

  “You have something more important to be doing, no?” He straightened before he took a step back. “Go find what you need to be finding.”

  I sat for a few seconds, my temper flaring, but instead, I rolled my head on my shoulders and stood swiftly, causing Coach to stand back abruptly. My smile was not friendly, perhaps had too many teeth, and I knew my eyes told him exactly what I was feeling. “I’ll see you soon.”

  I didn’t bother saying anything to Gray as I passed him coming out of the locker room. He knew when to leave me alone. Outside of the stadium, I looked around. As much as it pissed me off, I reluctantly agreed with Coach.

  Find the threat to my career. Eliminate it.

  Quinn would be networking, it’s what she did best. And even if she said she wasn’t helping me, she would be. It’s what we did. Plus, it would be easy for her; she looked like a goddamn supermodel. Everyone spoke to her, even if she was as hostile to people as I was.

  Well, I wasn’t hostile to everyone.

  I did well with women. I needed to find the girl from Friday. What better place to start than my female friends? Most girls wanted back in my bed, which meant most girls, even though they disliked me or themselves, either or, they still spoke to me. I needed to use that to my advantage.

  Checking my phone, I headed to the campus coffee shop. Hot afternoons and free periods meant one thing: iced drinks. Whether they be coffee or tea, they were the welcome distraction and sustenance most people wanted. I was looking for one particular girl, and I was pretty confident I would find her at the tables outside the coffee shop.

  As I walked, I thought more about last night and the video we found. Were they connected? The girl from Friday? My steps slowed, no. No one knew what the three of us were doing, we’d be in jail. No amount of money or legacy would prevent that from happening.

  As I walked, I realised I had taken the longer route, passing by Uptight’s dorm. I could hear the steady hum of the AC, and I felt slightly smug as I walked by. Maybe she would be nice to the next guy who offered to help her out of the goodness of his heart.

  I hesitated. Fuck. Whoever that guy was, it sure as hell wasn’t me. Looking over my shoulder, I eyed the AC unit. I had half a mind to go over and pull the wires. But then, did the next guy actually deserve the sharpness of her tongue?

  No. I wasn’t too sure they did.

  I still wasn’t sure that I did. With a smile as I thought about her getting knocked over earlier, I was whistling when I approached the coffee shop, and the girl I was looking for, right now, was holding court in the centre of the tables as I knew she would be.

  Elise sat at the table, her two best friends beside her. They all looked the same. They looked similar in middle school, and in high school, they had morphed into clones. Which is why Ash had managed to sleep with all three of them and think they were the same girl. Which was fucking hysterical when he found out, not that he had laughed. Gray and he just called them Elise One, Two and Three, and I had started doing the same.

  I knew them apart. I just didn’t like them enough to call them by their names...until I wanted something, and then I knew One would drop and suck at the mere hint of boasting about being in my bed, Two would lay back and spread them to get one over on anything One may do better, and Three wasn’t at all fussy which hole you aimed at.

  “Elise,” I greeted as I sat down opposite them.

  “Hey, baby,” she said with a sly smile.

  I fucking hated being called baby. “Heard there was a party on Friday that you weren’t at?”

  “No, I was at the party. There was another lame party over at Cedar, and you know us classy girls don’t mix down there.”

  Say nothing.

&
nbsp; Cedar Avenue was literally three rows of student housing over from where she lived on campus. However, with one sentence, she told me more than I knew before sitting down. That’s why no one I knew outside of my football circle was talking about the party I was at. They were all somewhere else.

  “We were at Chip’s. Hardly any of the fun people were there,” Two pouted. I think she thought it was cute, but to me, she looked like a blowfish.

  “Game day’s Saturday,” I said as I looked around, pretending to check out for eavesdroppers. “Elise, I need a favour, but I would prefer to keep it quiet.”

  The three of them leaned forward as one. Honestly, they were more in sync than Gray and I were. It was creepy.

  “Anything,” Elise whispered with wide eyes.

  “I was on Cedar on Friday, briefly,” I added when I saw three identical expressions of horror. “Had one, then left. But...” I looked around again. “Some bitch took something from me.” Not a lie.

  “You slept with someone else?” Three looked distraught.

  “I went home,” I said to her, making sure my smile held promise.

  The things I fucking did for my football career.

  “Oh.” Two looked happier.

  Elise glared at them both before her hand reached across the table and stroked over my arm. Nails perfectly manicured and as long as talons stroked over my fingers. “Poor baby, what do you need?”

  “I don’t know who she was. All I know is she was blonde and at Cedar on Friday. Can you find out who she was? I want to keep it discreet.” There was absolutely no chance of that happening, which is why I told her. If I couldn’t find the blonde myself, I would flush the bitch out.

  Elise’s smile was eager. “Consider it done.”

  Standing, I gave her a quick once over. “Let me know when you have something.” I left them tittering behind me and knew without looking that either she, Two, or Three...hell, maybe all of them, had just sent the text message offering sex. Pulling out my phone, I shook my head as I saw I was right.

  As I read the message with the offer to console me, I had another message, this time from Quinn.