Page 112 of Savage Ambition

Jace’s eyes glistened with what might have been tears beneath the rage. “Fine. Go back to your hooker. But don’t come crying to me when you realize he’ll never love you because that’s not what he’s paid for.”

I strained against Trent’s grip. “Get. Out.”

Jace swiped a trembling hand across his bleeding mouth. “This isn’t over.”

Trent pushed me behind him and stepped into Jace’s space. “Get the fuck out before I finish what Shaw started.”

Jace shouted as I walked away, but the noise faded into white static. I closed my bedroom door and slid to the floor with a broken sob.

My split knuckles throbbed, but the physical pain paled compared to the agony of not knowing what Jace had done with Dante.

The worst part was the razor-edged seed of doubt Jace had planted. What if Dante was only pretending to care? What if I was just a client? The suspicion burrowed deep, promising to bleed me out from the inside.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

DANTE

Ifound Shaw alone in the small study alcove on the third floor of the union building. Rain pounded against the windows, casting him in a gray light. He stared out at the downpour, not noticing my approach until I slid onto the couch beside him, our shoulders touching.

“How did you know I would be in here?” Shaw asked.

“Trent told me,” I replied. Before he could respond, I captured his lips with a gentleness I rarely allowed myself to show.

When we parted, our foreheads rested against each other.

“We need to talk,” Shaw said, his voice carrying the weight of whatever Salvatore had done to him.

I drew back. “I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.”

He nodded. “Fine. What did Jace do to you?”

Of course, that would be his first concern. Not his own safety, but mine. “Shouted a lot of nonsense before getting himself banned.” It felt safer to leave out the details until I had more information. “Does that mean you’re responsible for his black eye and busted lip and not our men?”

Shaw looked away, rubbing his knuckles. “I’m not proud of that.”

“You should be.” I ran my fingers along Shaw’s jaw to mirror where a bruise had formed on Jace’s face. “It’s about time someone put that asshole in his place.”

He fidgeted under my touch, his question coming out in a rush. “Did he touch you?”

“As if I would ever allow him to have the pleasure of being with me.” I didn’t mention the kisses, the groping, or the humiliation of having to entertain Jace’s pathetic power play while Salvatore watched through cameras. “Especially not when I know how badly the hypocrite wants it.”

“What do you mean by that?” Shaw’s brow furrowed, his hands playing with the hem of his shirt.

I wasn’t ready to expose the full extent of my cruelty to Shaw yet, so I opted for a less direct response. “His homophobia is a shield to deflect from his own confused desire.”

“Did you really sleep with Jace’s sister, Melissa?”

“Yes.”

His face fell. The disappointment in his eyes cut surprisingly deep. “Why would you do that?”

“Because of you.”

Confusion washed over his features. “What do you mean, because of me?”

The memory surfaced of Shaw’s hunched shoulders in the cafeteria as Jace berated him, the whispers following him through the halls after his so-called friend’s public meltdown. The hot rage I’d felt watching him suffer while I could do nothing.

“He hurt you, so I hurt him, because you’re too nice to do it for yourself.”