Page 76 of The Revenge

At the same time as I cover my head, Preston lets out a scream and falls to the ground.

The next thing I know, Syn is rushing past me, diving onto Preston’s body before he can grab the gun, that’s now just out of his reach. Syn punches Preston’s shoulder, making him shriek in pain again, instantly stopping Preston from fighting back.

“You killed my brother, didn’t you?” Syn screams at him.

“Syn! Don’t kill him!” Royal appears out of the shadows, running towards us. In his hands, he’s also carrying a gun. Just behind him is Gemini. As the pair joins us, Royal aims the weapon at Preston.

His fist hovers just above Preston’s face, but then Syn shoves Preston and stands up. “I ought to tossyouinto the river.” His expression is dark and murderous, but when he turns to me, he softens. “Are you okay?”

Okay feels relative at this point...

Whether it’s the shock, adrenaline, or the arctic air, I can’t feel anything. “I think so.”

Syn helps me to my feet, giving me the once over. Seemingly satisfied, he takes his jacket off and drapes it over my shoulders. The fabric holds the heat from his body like I’m being embraced in a warm hug.

From the ground, Preston groans. His lips contort in a grimace as he clutches his shoulder, trying to sit upright. “You shot me. Are you fucking insane?”

As he attempts to stand, there’s another loud bang as Royal shoots the ground, inches from Preston’s leg. “Just because I don’t want to kill you, doesn’t mean I won’t shoot you again.”

“What the fuck do you three think you’re doing?” Preston asks. “I’m bleeding. I need to get to a hospital.”

“Not enough,” Gemini mutters.

“Press harder. The quicker you answer our questions, the quicker we can put a Band-Aid on that for you,” Syn tells him. “Did you kill JP?”

Preston looks at Syn like he’s crazy. “Me? I told you; Cole Reynolds killed JP.”

“And you were just protecting my brother?” Syn scoffs.

“Your brotherandyou. You think you’re going to end up in the White House if the public finds out you’re the brother of a rapist an—”

Syn lurches forward and punches Preston. “All this time, you’ve been acting like you were JP’s best friend, but you didn’t even know he was gay, did you?”

Preston frowns as he seems to process what Syn’s said. “Gay?” He shakes his head. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t fuck that bitch.”

I've seen and experienced enough over the last few months that it’s entirely possibly JP may have had sex with a woman—there may even be video evidence of it somewhere. I didn’t know JP, but it’s equally possibly that he was enough of an asshole to do this.

But I don’t believe Preston.

"If my brother killed JP, like you say he did, he would have at least tried to say it was an accident,” I tell him.

“How fucking stupid are you, you dumb bit—”

Syn punches him again, sending his body slamming back down as he lands on his side.

Spitting blood out of his mouth, Preston sits up and glowers up at us. “You want to know what happened? Fine. That loser brother of yours invited his trashy townie girlfriend to an Elite event, and she was like a kid in a candy store. The slightest bit of attention, and she would have let me fuck her in front of everyone. I did the decent thing of taking her downstairs and showed her what it was like to ride first class. Not only was she disappointing, but when I climbed off her, she started throwing up. I was leaving her to sort herself out.”

My stomach turns ,and I make no effort to hide my disgust.

“You look at me like that, but she was the one who couldn’t handle the alcohol and choked on her own vomit.” Preston sneers. “I moved her body, and when I got back to make sure I didn’t miss anything, JP turns up with Reynolds, accusing me of taking advantage of her. He didn’t like it when I told him his girlfriend was a whore who would spread her legs for anyone.”

“Get on with it,” Syn snaps.

Preston rolls his eyes. “Reynolds couldn’t handle the truth and went to hit me. He attacks me, and when I try to defend myself, JP decides that’s when he wants to do the right thing and get in the middle of us.”

“You should have called for an ambulance.” Syn’s body is tense.

I’m not sure if he’s trying not to cry or not to hit Preston again.

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