Page 61 of Frozen Hearts
What truly holds my attention, though, is the anxiety pouring off her like a perfume. Her pupils are dilated with it, her breathing out of sync, even as she tries to hide it behind her blazing eyes and defiant attitude.
Knowing she’s highly uncomfortable brings a smirk to my lips. It was incredibly easy to get the manager to agree to letting me spend some time alone with her. In any other circumstance, I’d be revolted, but then I recalled the fucked up shit Riley pulled that destroyed Grayson’s family and any sympathy I have for her quickly gives way to hatred.
Women like her… they reel you in. Make you feel sorry for them. Have you wanting to help them, then they stomp all over you in their effort to accomplish their fucked up agenda.
It’s fucking disgusting.
I’ll admit, after her attitude when we crashed into one another outside the dining hall, and again when I cornered her at the warehouse, I was intrigued. Not enough to seek her out, but enough that those hypnotizing green eyes have occasionally weaseled their way into my dreams. The defiant glare the first time I snapped at her was so unlike the haughty arrogance of other Halston girls. The fact she called me on my shit—no one has ever had the balls to do that. Even Gray and Logan have been tip-toeing around me these last few months.
When I realized the girl on stage was the same one who throws nothing but attitude at me, even when I tell her to get on her knees in a dirty, dingy bar, I was taken for a loop. I can’t make sense of any of it. I’ve been struggling to separate the lies from the truth all week. Which is ultimately why I ended up here tonight.
After what she did to Grayson, was she planning on making me her next target? Did she hear of my history and think I’d be an easy target for her next conquest? And what of Logan? What were her plans with him?
There are too many unknowns. Too many questions I don’t have answers for. Past experience has taught me there is no such thing as coincidence, and if this girl is targeting me or Logan, then it’s up to me to do my due diligence. This time, I won’t ignore the signs and look the other way.
I almost fucking believed the words that came out of those poisonous lips of hers, but knowing what I do now, I can only come to one logical conclusion… She was playing me.
Of course she was.
That’s all girls like her do.
Play people like they are their own fucking puppets to manipulate and control.
I can feel my anger reaching a boiling point, and I close my eyes, forcing myself to take a deep breath. My hand clenches into a fist on my knee. I can’t lose my shit here, in front of her. Can’t allow her to pick up on any weaknesses.
Opening my eyes, I banish those thoughts as I focus on her smooth skin, toned thighs, and tight ass as she twirls in front of me. Trailing my gaze skyward, I smirk when I spot her jaw ticking.
That anger gives way to a sense of accomplishment. I had no specific plan in mind when I waltzed in here and demanded a private performance from Aurora Noir, but now that I know how uneasy it makes her to be off the stage and this close to me, I can sense a plan forming.
Knowing that my proximity gets a rise out of her. That my actions are forcing her to do something she doesn’t want. That I’m pressing her buttons and getting on her nerves.
I like knowing that I’m pissing her off. Even better, I like the thought of being a thorn in her side every single time she steps through those doors. She doesn't deserve peace after what she did to Grayson and whatever game she was playing with me and Logan. She doesn’t deserve that moment of tranquility that washed over her when she was dancing on the stage.
Her eyes flare with a defiant spark, promising all sorts of retribution that I know she won’t deliver on. She can’t. Not if she wants to continue working here, and based on her scholarship status, I’d hazard that she can’t afford to lose her job.
Grayson hasn’t figured out his plan for her yet, so until he does, I intend to keep a close eye on her. I’m going to become the shadow that stalks her every move. The leech stuck to her skin. As annoying as the incessant buzzing of an overhead fly.
I’ll be the bane of her existence. The constant reminder that her actions have not gone unpunished.
And I’ll take great fucking pleasure in watching her face crease with annoyance every time she sees me. Watching the way her spine straightens when she’s forced to dance for me. Seeing the fear in her eyes when she feels my presence looming nearby but doesn’t spot me hidden in the shadows.
Riley James thinks she has the world wrapped around her dainty little fingers, and I’m about to prove how one harsh tug will have everything she thought she knew ripped out from beneath her feet.
* * *
Half an hour later, I stroll through the front door of the townhouse I share with Logan and Grayson. We’ve lived here since our sophomore year at Halston. Most students choose to stay in the Halston dorms all throughout college, but for us, one year of that was enough.
“Where have you been?” Grayson grouses.
His mood has been shittier than a blocked toilet ever since he set eyes on Riley at the club. Not that I can blame him, per se. Between the three of us, we’re a sorry bunch these days. Before this,Iwas the one with issues—not that I didn’t have a good reason to be. Grayson has always been a moody asshole, but Logan has always been the one who lifts us all up. I genuinely believed nothing could ever get him down for long—until this whole shit with Riley. Depressed and Logan don’t belong in the same sentence, but that’s the best way to describe his mood since he discovered the girl he was crushing on was the same one who destroyed Grayson’s life and blew up his family.
My attention shifts to where he’s slumped in his seat, looking exhausted and defeated. It only serves to light my anger anew. The fact this girl has the power to bring Logan down… she doesn’t deserve to have that control over him. Not when every little thing she has said and done to wiggle her way into his life has been a lie. It has to be.
She can’t be the sweet, innocent girl Logan claims she isandthe lying, selfish, manipulative bitch Grayson knew. Even I know she’s not as sweet and innocent as she portrayed to Logan. Every time she looks at me, defiance pours from her eyes. Her attitude is always front and center. It’s only a matter of time until I push her too far and she shows me the rest of that hideous personality she’s kept hidden from him. She’s put on an act for Logan—for what reasons, I’m determined to find out.
“Out,” is the only answer I give Grayson. I don’t know why I didn’t tell him I was at Lux. He’s the one who said we need to learn everything about her life here before we can act out whatever revenge plans he has cooking. “What’s been going on here?”
I glance between Gray and Logan.
