Sweet Retribution (Rydeville High Elite #3)(19)

“Do you have to be so messy?” Sawyer looks personally insulted.

“Messy is good, dude.” Xavier tosses the apple core into the trash can by Kai’s bed. His tongue darts out, playing with his lip ring. “And I like to get messy.” His eyes stick to Sawyer’s. “A lot.”

Jackson chuckles, and Sawyer glares at him. “Quit flirting,” he hisses at Xavier. “And save your innuendos because they’re fucking wasted on me.”

“I’ve no clue what you’re talking about,” Xavier says. “I was only discussing my eating habits. What were you referencing?”

Drew rolls his eyes. “Enough. We have a lot to discuss, and Abby can’t stay out all night.”

I hate that he’s right, and I’ve no clue how I’m going to wrench myself away from Kai when it’s time to leave. “We’re going to need more hands on deck, because we’ve a lot to do between now and the vote. I’m going to meet Chad and get him to reconvene the group I used to unearth the secrets on the students at school.” I turn my head to Drew. “Can you compile a list of members Father is blackmailing and a list of board members too?”

“The board is fine, but I don’t know all the names of the elite Father is blackmailing. I suspect he’s been doing it for years, but he’s only let me sit in on sessions this past year as I’ve been training to take over more responsibility.”

“We don’t need to know all the names. We just need some to work with so the team can start digging into their backgrounds. If Father has been doing this for years, the list is probably too long to approach every single person anyway. And we might not be able to get at that many tapes, so we need to find a few juicy candidates and target them.”

Kai rubs his hand up and down my arm, and delicious tingles skate across my skin.

“If we can find the most powerful elite among that bunch and approach them, they should be able to get the others on our side. You said most of them don’t know the blackmail is large scale because they are too embarrassed or terrorized to discuss it?” I ask, and Drew nods. “So, we make it known he is doing this to more than just them. There is strength in numbers. We need to get them to rally against him to stop the vote.”

“Let’s say we are able to get into the vault and get our hands on some of these tapes, which, by the sounds of it, is a tall order, and let’s say we convince these elite to help, then what?” Kai asks.

I turn to face him. “We time it perfectly to go down the day of the vote. He thinks he is going to get elected, but the vote won’t go his way. Then we disclose our wedding and tell him we have taken Manning Motors from him. He’ll be kicked out of the elite for sure.”

“But he’ll still be a free man, and your father is resourceful. To get rid of him, we need him dead or locked up,” Kai adds.

“If we release the recordings of the elite, they may well kill him for us,” Drew cuts in.

“No.” I shake my head. “No one is taking that justice from us.”

“We need to find the evidence your mom collected,” Rick says. “And get him arrested for our mother’s murder.”

“Or we just take him outside and put a bullet in his skull,” Jackson says.

“That works for me,” Drew says.

“That doesn’t work for me.” All eyes swivel in my direction. I’ve given this a lot of thought since Christmas Day, when I vowed to end his life. But that would be too fucking easy. I want to take everything from him, in the way he’s tried to do to me, most especially his freedom.

I want to see him locked up.

Somewhere like Rikers Island with a reputation for violence. Not some cushy prison where you can kill yourself to avoid talking.

I want him locked up in hell on earth. Being beaten and fucked by hardened criminals in prison.

Sure, I want time with him before he’s incarcerated.

And I will inflict pain.

But killing him would be too merciful.

I want him to suffer every single day for the rest of his miserable life.

Which means we need to find some evidence that we can use to get him imprisoned.

Because we can’t pin Emma Anderson’s murder on him.

Not when Atticus Anderson is the one responsible for her death.

I lock eyes with Drew, and we share a silent communication. He nods, and I’m glad we’re on the same page.

I lace my fingers through Kai’s. “Drew and I need to speak to Kai and Rick,” I tell the room. “Can you give us a few minutes.”

“What’s this about, Abby?” Kai asks, cupping my face and forcing it to his.

“There is something I need to tell you both, and it can’t wait.”





CHAPTER EIGHT


“Okay,” Rick says when everyone has left and the door is closed. “What’s going on?”

“I need to tell you something Sylvia Montgomery told me about the day your mother died.”

Kai stiffens beside me. “What did she say, and why are you only telling me this now?” His eyes darken, promising punishment, and my core pulses at the simmering violence in his gaze.

Kai’s ability to turn me on with veiled threats is a rare skill, but there’s no denying there’s a twisted part of me that enjoys the possessive, dominant, alpha side of his personality. Even if I love his sweeter, sexier, more romantic side too.