“Shannon wants to know when she can leave. Her boyfriend is starting to wonder where she is. And she misses her son.”

“Soon.” I turned away from her. “She’ll be able to leave soon.”

“Okay,” I could see from Amber’s expression that she wanted to ask what happened next. I knew what she wanted, even if she didn’t want to admit it. I knew she wanted me. I could see it in her face and the way she stared at me when she thought no one was looking. I’d have to get rid of her after I married Nancy. In fact, I was happy to get rid of her. Though, I had my reasons for marrying Nancy, I knew I’d very much enjoy the intimate parts of our relationship. I just had to ensure that she said yes. Everything depended on her marrying me. I tried to ignore the fact that my heart was also excited. That was the last part of my body that I needed to feel excited about marrying Nancy. I’d cut my heart out of my chest myself, if I thought it was going to ruin my plan. I’d come too far to let anything get in the way. I was so close to victory I could taste it.

Chapter Six

Nancy

It was hard not to stop feeling guilty about Hunter. I kept waiting for the police to question me, but no knock ever came on my door. I was surprised that Jaxon didn’t appear at the door either. A part of me wondered if he was done with me. Maybe he was trying to figure out how he could expel me from the academy and still keep part of us safe.

Part of me thought I should leave, but I wasn’t sure where to go. I wasn’t 100% sure that my father wasn’t involved in Hunters’ death and that made me sad. The other part of me was scared and upset that I didn’t trust my father 100%. I could barely believe that I had doubts about him already, but I knew that was only natural. I didn’t even really know him. I knew him better than Jaxon, but barely.

I decided to go for a walk to make myself feel better and to try and stop thinking about Jaxon and his suggestions. I was almost scared to go for a walk around the grounds after what had happened last time, but I figured it was the only thing that could keep me sane right now. I left the house quickly, not wanting to be seen by anyone. It was only when I got outside that I saw Shannon and Louise talking at the side of the building by one of the tall oak trees. I knew that I wanted to hear what they were saying. I kept my head down and walked slowly to the side of the house, making sure to stay as close as I could to the building.

“I don’t know what she sees in him.” Louise sounded annoyed. “If I miss this audition I’m going to be pissed.” Louise sounded very different from her normal demeanor.

“You know Amber, she always chooses the wrong guys.” Shannon shrugged. “At least we’re making good money.”

“Yeah ten grand will keep me for a few months, but man, I’m over it. Jaxon needs to hurry this shit up.”

“Amber said that it was nearly all complete.” Shannon shrugged. “Supposedly she spoke to him.”

“Good, this place gives me the creeps and his father too.”

“Oh shit, didn’t you know? That’s not his dad.”

“What?” Louise’s voice sounded as shocked as I felt.

“That’s not his dad. That old man is his...” Shannon’s voice died as we all heard a large twig snap. “What the f**k was that?” She exclaimed and Louise looked around with a scared expression.

“I’m telling you Shannon, this place is creepy. Amber might be my cousin, but I’m out of here if things don’t start looking kosher soon. This place is giving me the creeps.”

“I know.” Shannon sighed. “It was those two guys that came the other night that have me freaked out. One of them had a gun. I’m not joking. Jaxon is playing with fire. I don’t wanna get stuck here when the house burns down. You know metaphorically. Or figuratively.” She frowned. “Or is it literally? Maybe not literally.” She sighed. “You know what I mean?”

“Yup, I know.” Louise’s voice was still loud. “It’s time for us to get out of dodge.”

“Yeah I mean, that Nancy better take his offer before things go crazy.”

“I know, I can’t believe that...”

Another twig snapping made us all jump. I knew that I had to get away quickly before they saw me. I tiptoed back to the front door and went inside the house. All thoughts of me going on a walk vanished from my mind. What the hell was going on here? My heart was pounding. Could Shannon have been telling the truth that the old man wasn’t Jaxon’s father? It didn’t seem possible to me. I’d witnessed private conversations that led me to believe that he was Jaxon’s dad. Why make that up? Why tell me a story about his dad wanting revenge on me if it wasn’t even his dad. It didn’t make sense. For a second I wondered if maybe the revenge had something to do with Katie. Was Jaxon in love with her? Did Jaxon want to try and win her back? It made no sense to me. He didn’t seem to be in love with anyone. And I didn’t think he was delusional. He couldn’t be doing all this to get Katie back could he? It just didn’t make any sense. And I didn’t understand why he had lied about knowing Amber and the other girls. They obviously weren’t here for the classes. Even though they had said they were at the train station. They hadn’t acknowledged knowing Louise either when we’d arrived, which meant that they had been lying from the beginning. Just like Jaxon and his ‘maybe’ dad. My heart started pounding as I realized that they had to have been in on it from the beginning as well. This had all been a set-up. I tried to remember what Amber and Shannon had said to me the first time I’d met them, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t remember. I felt so frustrated and annoyed at myself as I walked up the stairs. It was weird how used to the house I’d gotten. Almost as if it were my home. I laughed at the irony of the matter. As if this creepy old house could ever be my home. I walked quickly to my room. The room that had become my safe haven. I knew there was only one thing for me to do. I needed to call Meg and I needed to get out of here. I was in over my head and as much as I wasn’t sure if I trusted my dad, I did trust Meg.

I rushed to my bed and pulled my bag out from underneath it. I unzipped the bag and attempted to pull out my phone. I could feel my heart racing as I realized the phone wasn’t there. I swallowed hard as I dumped the contents of my bag into the bed. It still wasn’t there.

“Fuck it.” I muttered under my breath. Where was my phone?

“Everything okay?” Jaxon’s voice boomed as he entered my room.

“You didn’t knock.” I turned around quickly. My face was red and I was angry. “I thought you were going to know from now on.”

“Sorry, I thought you didn’t care.”

“Of course I care.” I glared at him. “I don’t want you to just keep coming in my room without my permission.”

“What’s happened to you, Nancy?” He walked over to me and frowned. “You seem tense.”

“You think?” I glared at him again wanting to hit him against the chest hard and repeatedly. How could he do this to me? Why was it that whenever he appeared I felt my resolves weaken? There was something about his presence that made me doubt myself and my feelings. There was something about him that made me want to give him a second chance.

“What are you looking for?” He stared at the contents of my bag on my bed with narrowed eyes.

“My pills.” I said sarcastically. He knew what I was looking for. I was pretty sure he was the one that had taken my phone.

“What pills?” He asked in a concerned voice and I looked at his face to see if he was lying. As I stared at him I knew that I had absolutely no clue if he was being honest or not.

“Forget about it.” I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

“What’s wrong, Nancy?” He grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him.

“Nothing.” I muttered and then looked up into his eyes. “Unless you want to start telling me the truth about what’s really going on here.”

“Nancy,” he looked around the room slowly. “You need to be calm.” He whispered in my ear. “I’m going to tell you everything, but I need to make sure there are no bugs in your room.” He put his finger to his mouth and walked around the room checking every possible spot to see if there were any bugs. I stared at him in shock and fear. Had someone been listening to us this whole time? I shivered as I thought of the other possibility. Had someone been watching us? My eyes widened as I looked up to the ceiling to see if there were any cameras.

“They wouldn’t put cameras in.” Jaxon saw my face and walked up to me. “And it looks as if we’re bug free.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve put in a whole lot of bugs in my time.” He shrugged. “Anyway, Nancy. You need to listen to me and listen to me good. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to say this more than once. It pains me to say this as I don’t want to betray my father, but I think he hired Amber, Louise and Shannon to work here so that he could spy on us. There’s something I haven’t told you. I know Amber from the past. She and I used to hook up. I know I should have told you before, but I really didn’t know how to. I was shocked when I saw her arrive at the house. I was shocked to find out recently that she knows Louise and Shannon. Nancy, I think my father had Hunter killed. He hated that Hunter wasn’t going along with his plan. I think we need to get married because it is the one thing I can do to protect you. I really feel like he’s coming after you. And I really feel like Brandon is coming after me. I feel that the only way we can be truly safe is if we are married. Neither one of them will try anything then. They both love us more than they hate the other one. If we get married and convince them that it’s real, I think we have a fighting shot at living a normal life. It doesn’t have to be for forever. Maybe just a year or two. I know this is my fault. I instigated everything, but I had no idea that it would go this far. I didn’t know what my dad was capable of. I didn’t know he had so much hate in his heart for your father.”

I stared into Jaxon’s wide eyes and all I could think about was what perfect lips he had. Everything else had me in shock, I didn’t even know how to respond. What could I say to everything? How could I pretend to even understand everything he was saying? If anything, he’d only made me more confused.

“I heard Shannon telling Louise that your father wasn’t your father.” I but my lower lip and stared into his eyes.

“Nancy,” he touched my face and leaned forward to kiss me. “Of course, he’s my father. Who else would he be? They’re playing a game with you Nancy. I’m sure they even knew you were standing there listening. Don’t you get it Nancy? They want to turn us against each other. Do you know that Amber told me that she was suspicious of the fact that you were on a walk when Hunter was killed? She wanted me to think that you were in on it. She wanted me to think that you called your dad. She wanted me to think that you’re the one that set it up so that he beat me up and brought a gun.”

“I didn’t do that, Jaxon. I swear.” My eyes bulged open and I touched his jaw. “I haven’t spoken to my dad since I’ve been here.” I gasped. “I don’t know why she would think that?”

“She’s obviously working for my dad. They are trying to destroy our trust of each other, but that’s all we have left now Nancy. All we have is each other. My father used me. He wanted me to do anything to bring you down, but I couldn’t.” His voice broke as he spoke. “Once I got to know you I realized that I couldn’t be the one to do this to you and your family. Yes, I hate your dad for what he did to my family, but, well, I kind of like you, Nancy. You’ve made me realize that I’m more than who I thought I was. You’ve made me realize that revenge isn’t always the answer. You’re special to me Nancy. You’ve trusted me and given me reason to believe that I can have a life outside of this. I don’t know what this marriage will be like. I can’t even guarantee that it’s the right step for us. I don’t really do love. I’m not hardwired that way, but what I do know is that when I’m with you something feels different. I’m different. I want to be a better man. That sounds cliché doesn’t it?” He sighed. “I’m not even sure what I’m saying anymore. I’m just trying to tell you that I’m a different man right now. I’m different from the man that sent you those invitations.”

“Why?” I whispered, feeling my heart pounding. “Why are you different?”

“I wish I could explain it.” He shrugged. “All I know is that I think differently now. I don’t want you to get hurt.” His face looked pained and he ran his fingers down my cheek. “I’d kill myself if anything ever happened to you.”

“I think this is the most honest you’ve ever been.” I spoke thoughtfully, staring at his eyes. They seemed to burn bright with the truth.

“I do believe that it is.” His fingers ran down my neck and he kissed me on the lips and then moved back. “You don’t know how big this is for me.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” He sighed and then kissed my neck. “It doesn’t matter.” He bit down on my neck and kissed hard. “I love the taste of you.” He groaned and licked across my collarbone. “I want to be with you so badly.”

“I want you too.” I whispered.

“What?” He pulled back and stared at me. “What are you saying?”