Page 30 of The Sweetest Revenge

"Oh, and she wasn't drunk." Cody's voice lowered.

"Yeah, she was." I frowned, leaning closer. "They told the family that she had high levels of alcohol in her system."

Cody glanced over his shoulder before meeting my eyes again. "I don't know who 'they' is," he murmured, fingers tightening around his camera strap, "but she wasn't drunk when she left. Ten minutes down the road, when she crashed—there's no possible way."

My brows pulled together as a chill ran through me. "How can you be sure?"

"I'm a people watcher." He held up his camera, a shield between us and the rest of the party. His gaze turned distant as though reviewing mental footage. "Been to every party since freshman year. I've seen Kacie drunk plenty of times." He shook his head firmly. "That night? Stone cold sober."

Well, this just got a whole lot weirder. If Kacie had been at the party for only twenty minutes, that was plenty of time to have a drink or two, so if Kacie was trashed when she left, that would mean she'd been drinking before she got to the party, and that wasn't like Kacie. So maybe Cody was right, and she wasn't drunk, but then why did she crash?

"Can I stop by your place and look at those pictures tomorrow?"

"I'm leaving town tomorrow morning, but I can email them to you tonight when I get home."

"Thank you, Cody, and if you think of anything else that you remember that night, will you let me know?"

"There you are." EJ's voice boomed from behind me, words slurring together. The scent of tequila rolled off him in waves.

I suppressed a wince and squared my shoulders before turning. "Hey." My lips stretched into what I hoped passed for a smile. "I've been looking for you."

I opened my mouth to suggest leaving when movement behind EJ made me freeze.

My gaze collided with Zaiden's. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his broad chest, bluish-grey eyes glittering with amusement—a predator watching prey.

My lip curled involuntarily.

Fuck.

My mind raced through scenarios like flipping cards. Option one: Leave now. Zaiden would follow—I'd bet my life on it. Option two: Stay. Flirt with EJ, which was exactly what Zaiden had warned me not to do.

I shifted closer to EJ, fingertips brushing his arm. With witnesses around, Zaiden wouldn't make a scene.

Probably.

CHAPTER15

ZAIDEN

Standing in the dark, crowded room, I clenched my bottle of water in my hand so hard it crunched under the pressure. Most of the hockey team had left. The party was boring, but as long as Ariella was here, so was I. I knew she wouldn't stay locked up in the shower long. I knew Mila wasn't far away, but I didn't expect her to show up at the football party tonight. I should have known she wouldn't hide with shame. That wasn't Ariella's style.

She wore tight, low-cut dark, ripped jeans and a white tank top that hugged her feminine curves. The top was short enough to show off the stud sparkling in her belly button. Her blonde hair was pulled off her neck, exposing her delicate little throat. My jaw flexed, and my gaze swayed with her hips as she ground herself against EJ to the music. She was putting on a show for me, letting me know I didn't control her.

She was wrong.

I may have pushed her far enough that she didn't care if I shared her video, which I seriously doubted, but I knew when I mentioned Journey and Mila that I had her by the throat, which was exactly where I wanted her.

My eyes lifted, meeting hers, holding my gaze as she pressed her back into him, letting her head fall back to his chest as she guided his arms around her. His hands raked down her body over her full tits and down until the tips of his fingers slipped into the waistband of her jeans. She cocked her head to the side as his mouth dropped to her neck. Red-hot anger filled me, and I clenched my fists tightly at my side, ready to snatch her out of his grasp.

She broke the rules. And now she was going to pay for that mistake.

I stepped forward, pushing through the crowd. At the same time, Adam Walker, wide receiver for the Predators, interrupted Ariella and EJ, pulling him away. EJ pressed his lips to Ariella's ear, whispering something before disappearing into the crowd.

Ariella turned her back to me without missing a sway of her hips.

Stepping into her space, I pressed my body flush with hers, my large hand curled around her small waist. I dropped my head. "You're playing with fire, Princess," I whispered, letting my breath fan across her cheek. She didn't flinch or fight me; she melted into me. She wrapped her hands around my wrist, pulling them around. My hand flattened on her bare stomach, and the other raked over her dark jeans and down to the curve of her V. My cock grew hard. My hand slipped under her shirt, and her head fell back as her lips parted on a moan.

I froze. Something wasn't right. She wasn't right.

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