His Reverie (Reverie #1)(62)

“Really? To protect me?” The disappointment in her voice is clear. “Then you do what you feel is the right thing and I guess I’ll see what happens.” She turns her back to me and I have no choice but to go.

Reverie is leaving it all on me. I want to choose her. There is no other choice. But Krista…she’s like playing with fire. You do it too much and you’ll get burned.

Problem is Krista wants to set all of us on fire. I’m not her only target. So is Reverie.

And I will do whatever I have to in order to protect her.

35

Blackmail: to force or coerce into a particular action

August 5th

“What are you doing here?” I grab hold of Krista by her upper arm and steer her around so we’re both standing on the side of the stables farthest away from the house. She tries to get closer to me but I let go of her and step away. I’m not about to send her mixed signals. It’s bad enough, how much this girl thinks we should still be together.

She sends me a smug smile, looking way too pleased with herself. “I’m making good on my promise. I told you I would come tell the Hales that their sweet, innocent daughter isn’t quite as sweet and innocent as they think.”

Her promise? More like making good on her threat. “Did you actually talk to them?” I’m worried that she might’ve. Maybe Michael was wrong and he hadn’t caught her in time. Maybe Krista did get a chance to talk to the Hales and now they were looking for us. If that’s the case?

Reverie and I are ruined.

“Not yet but I will,” she says cheerily as she turns away from me. “I’m going on up to the house now. And you can’t stop me either.”

Michael had already left and I bet he was halfway to the house by now. It was up to me and me alone to stop her, not that I expected his help. I’m thankful he diverted her for me in the first place. I owe him big for that.

Krista was already headed toward the house, her steps determined though she kept looking over her shoulder, probably checking to see if I was following her.

“Come on, Krista,” I plead but she shakes her head, increasing her pace.

Running after her, I grab hold of her arm again, making her stop from walking any further. She shoots imaginary daggers at me with her eyes as she glares at me. She’s pissed. So am I. “I won’t let you talk to them,” I say quietly, trying to keep my temper under control. Last thing I need to do is show her I’m mad and make this worse.

“Who says you can stop me?” She jerks out of my grip with a huff. “I can do whatever the hell I want. I’m sick of you trying to tell me what to do. What do you know about my life? What I do day in and day out? You used me. You f**k me whenever it suits you and then you kick me out of your bed. You won’t even kiss me when we do it! I really, really liked you Nick. Not that you cared.”

I doubt she liked me. She was using me just like I used her. I refuse to let her make me feel bad for what happened between us. She wronged me first. “You can’t tell them, Krista. I mean it. You’ll ruin Reverie’s life.” She’ll ruin my life too but this isn’t about me. This is about the girl I love. The girl I’m desperate to protect. “Leave them out of this. What did Reverie ever do to you anyway?”

“She stole my boyfriend, that’s what! You belonged to me, Nick. You and me. It’s always been you and me. We’re alike. And then this pretty, stuck up little girl has to come along and convince you that you’re better than me. Suddenly you don’t need me anymore now that you’ve got her to keep you happy. Well, you’re not any better than anyone else. Trust me. You’re just like us. Just because you f**k a rich girl doesn’t mean you’re automatically rich and perfect like her.”

Her words sting because they’re true. I’ve known this all along, that me and Krista are alike. That we’re probably better suited for each other than Reverie and I could ever be. Reverie and I together don’t really make sense.

But maybe that’s what makes us work.

“Listen to me. I’ll do anything to get you to keep my secret.” I grab hold of Krista’s shoulders and stare straight into her eyes. She blinks slowly in return, her expression full of shock. “Anything. I mean it. I’ll pay you. Whatever you want. Just don’t tell the Hales about Reverie and I. I could lose my job. Reverie could lose…” Everything.

Krista goes completely still as my words sink in. “I don’t want money,” she murmurs, her gaze intent on mine. “I just want you.”

Of course. We all want what we can’t have right? “I can’t give what you want.”

“Then I can’t give you what you want.”

I squeeze her shoulders tight, wishing I could shake her. Shake some sense into her crazy head. “What exactly do you want from me?” I ask hoarsely, releasing my hold on her.

“You. One more night with you, Nicky, just the two of us. Please?” She reaches out and scratches her fingernails down the length of my chest, her sharp nails catching on my T-shirt. “I could make it so good for you. You know I can. I know what you like. We’re perfect together. You’ll see.”

“You said the same thing about you and David, that the two of you were perfect together. He told me,” I remind her, trying to push down the surge of pain that comes over me every time I think of the two of them together. For all I know she’s still f**king around with him. I haven’t seen him since that one time he came by my place and that feels like an eternity ago.