Cruel Infatuation: A Dark Romance (Underground Kings Book 3) Read online

  It’s a message from IsaacGray88.

  I bite my lip and debate if I’m really going to do this, if I’m really going to answer. If I do, there’s no going back. I don’t know who Isaac is, and if he finds out the truth, he’ll be the one to get in trouble if word ever gets out.

  It’s a good thing I know how to keep my mouth shut. Not one has to find out. It can be my secret. The entire point of creating this profile is because I want to talk to new people, get away from my everyday life and maybe find a splinter of happiness.

  The hell with it.

  I click on the message, and the app takes a second to load. I huff out a breath of annoyance and slap my phone in my palm as if that will help. As if on cue, his message pops up.

  IsaacGray88: Hi. How are you? I noticed the picture you posted. You like the woods?

  Well, so far he doesn’t seem creepy. He could have started with something like, “Why didn’t you post a picture of your face?” Or worse, “Let me see your tits.”

  Something I’ve heard so many teenage boys say since they run off erections and hormones. It’s disgusting.

  Before I reply, I click on his profile. I smile when I see his profile picture is of a beach. It’s pretty. There are a lot of cliffs, and the sand is dark. It’s different than Virginia. Maybe he isn’t who the site says he is either if he isn’t posting a picture of himself? I’m relieved. I don’t care what he looks like.

  I’m just glad to have someone to talk to.

  I decide to risk it.

  FinleyPark: I’m alright. You? I love the woods. They are my escape.

  For the hell of it, I snap a picture of the trees in front of me and send it.

  IsaacGray88: Looks beautiful. I could go for a good hike.

  I stand and wipe the back of my jeans to get the dirt and the pine needles off when I see the time. I need to start walking to school before I’m late for class. My phone dings again.

  IsaacGray88: Is your name actually Finley Park? Is there a story behind it?

  FinleyPark: Yes, but the story isn’t that impressive. It will bore you to death.

  IsaacGray88: Can’t be any worse than seeing my roommate try to see how many Cheetos he can fit down his leg cast.

  “That’s disgusting.” I chuckle.

  IsaacGray88: I know. You don’t have to say it. I know.

  Placing one foot in front of the other, I begin the journey to school, enjoying the easy conversation between Isaac and me.

  IsaacGray88: What are you doing today?

  The question has me freezing mid-step. I hate lying, but I don’t know what else to do.

  FinleyPark: I have the day off work. I’m enjoying the nature of Virginia.

  Half-truths are half-lies. Nothing good can come from them except temporary happiness, but it’s something I’m selfishly wanting, even if it doesn’t last forever.

  Chapter Three

  GRAYSON

  Talking to a stranger shouldn’t make me so happy, but it does. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. It’s new, exciting, and she doesn’t know my past. There’s no pressure to outdo myself, to prove that I’m not the man the past makes me out to be. I’m not what people accused me of being. Once people find out that I have a record with ‘rapist’ stamped on it, no one wants anything to do with me.

  And, of course, there are the men who are rapists and say they aren’t. They believe their victims asked for it, but that’s not who I am. It weighs on me every single day. It’s a horrible title for an innocent man to have.

  Some days, it makes it hard to live. What if that’s all anyone ever sees me as? No matter the truth, it will never be enough for them to get past the ‘what if’ crossing their minds.

  “What’s got you chipper?” Heaven asks as he plops down on the couch beside me. He lifts his casted leg, and it lands on the ottoman with a hard thump. “I still haven’t been able to get the last Cheeto out of my cast.”

  “That’s disgusting. I’m not helping you. You have to deal with the consequences of being a fucking idiot.” I hold my phone in my hand and check it every few seconds to see if I have a notification from Finley.

  “Oh, come on. I was bored. I need help, Grayson.”

  “I don’t care,” I say, not wanting to get my hands anywhere near his cast or under it. Who knows what ecosystems are growing there? I’m not going to risk my health for his stupidity.

  “What if you leave it there and I become a Cheeto? What, then?”

  I lift a brow at the question and shake my head as I stare at him. He’s pouting, arms crossed and chin lifted as if his question is valid. “Don’t even think about blaming this on me. You were the one who decided your fate. And why the hell am I talking about this with you? It isn’t even an important conversation. I’m wasting breath talking about this.”

  “Wow!” He feigns a gasp, placing his hand on his chest. “I thought we were friends. You know, I’d reach into your cast and pull out your Cheeto.” And then he snickers. “That sounded much dirtier than I meant.”

  Okay, that gets me to laugh. I slap his shoulder as we both lean against the couch and chuckle. Heaven is a complete idiot sometimes, but without him, none of us would know what it’s like to laugh because most of us are serious.

  “Really, what’s got you so happy? Yesterday you were Gloomy Grayson, and now you’re… I don’t know…” He searches my eyes for an answer, but he doesn’t come up with one.

  “I woke up on the right side of the bed.”

  He slaps his leg and snaps his fingers. “I know what it is. You got laid!”

  “N—” I try to say before the crowd rushes in.

  “Who got laid?” Jaxon asks.

  “Our man Gray!” Heaven nudges my shoulder.

  “No—”

  “You got your dick wet, huh? Fucking finally. You were becoming all stressed out and tense to be around,” Owen says as he grabs an apple from the fruit bowl and bites into it.

  “Who is she?” Quinn holds her belly as she waddles over to me and nestles her way between me and Heaven.

  “I’m curious too. I didn’t know you were seeing anyone,” Gabriella adds, sitting cross legged on the floor.

  “You dog.” Sebastian grips my shoulders from behind and squeezes. “Bout time our Gray got out there.”

  “Oh my god, will all of you stop. Heaven, you started this.” I point an accusing finger at him, and he lifts his hands in innocence. Yeah, right. We all know Heaven is the troublemaker here. “I’m not seeing anyone and, not that it’s anyone’s business, but I didn’t get laid either. Okay? Leave it alone. Don’t ask questions. Or, if you want to be as crass as Owen, no, I did not get my dick wet; which is rude to say in front of the ladies, Owen.”

  “Sorry.” He sounds anything but sorry as he lifts a shoulder, and the apple crunches as he chews it.

  “It’s okay; we’re used to it.” Quinn leans back and groans, rubbing her palms over the swell of her stomach. “It’s not like I got pregnant without Jaxon getting his dick wet.” She snorts. “He had to go and knock me up with two, and my back is really hating him for it.”

  “You love me. I’ll rub your back, baby. You know all you have to do is ask,” Jaxon says, and Quinn’s happy demeanor fades away as quick as a flip of a light switch.

  She pushes herself up, but she can’t stand on her own. I lay my hands on her lower back to support her weight, and I ease her forward until she’s safely upright. “Thank you, Grayson.” She blows a piece of hair out of her face. It tickles her cheek instead of moving like she wanted it to, so she shoves it out of the way with her hand. “I shouldn’t have to ask! I’m pregnant. My back always hurts. I’m damn pregnant! You should just do it. You should know, Jaxon,” she cries and stomps by him, shoving her shoulder against his as she makes her way down the hall. Gabriella shrugs and follows behind her quickly.

  Jaxon looks stunned. He’s standing there with a bowl of homemade chocolate pudding Julia made for Quinn, mouth agape. “What did I say? What did I do?” he asks.

  I’m so glad the attention is off me. My phone buzzes, and I glance down and see Finley’s name. Warmth spreads across my face, and a slight sweat takes over my body from excitement and nerves. We didn’t get to talk much yesterday since there is a three-hour time difference between us. It’s ten in the morning here and seven in Virginia. I have to keep it in mind when I don’t hear from Finley, or I’ll scare her away with how many messages I truly want to send her.

  FinleyPark: I want to get out of this town so bad. I hate it here.

  I frown when I see the message. She’s not having a good day, but maybe I can make it better.

  IsaacGray88: What happened? Do you want to talk about it?

  FinleyPark: It’s my stepdad. He’s a jerk. I swear his goal in life is to make me depressed. None of that matters. How are you doing today?

  I don’t want to press her for more information. She clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, and since we don’t know each other well enough yet to get into personal issues yet, I’m going to tread carefully.

  “Jaxon, women don’t want to have to ask. They want you to be thoughtful and considerate enough to think of sweet things to do on your own. Your wife is pregnant, twice, and her back will hurt for months, so will her feet. Rub her down. Draw a hot bath. Do things like that,” Heaven says, taking all of us by surprise. It’s good advice.

  IsaacGray88: Remember the friend I told you about who stuffed Cheetos down his cast?

  FinleyPark: Haha. Yes, I remember. What happened?

  IsaacGray88: Well, he can’t get one Cheeto out, and he asked me to get it.

  FinleyPark: Did you? A good friend would.

  IsaacGray88: Hell no. He built his bridge. He can walk over it now.

&nbs
p; FinleyPark: That’s true. Poor guy. He just needs a Cheeto removed.

  IsaacGray88: And now he’s giving great advice to another friend of mine. His pregnant wife is mad at him.

  FinleyPark: Seems he deserves the effort of someone trying to get the Cheeto removed.

  I laugh out loud, and for a brief second, I consider helping Heaven.

  Briefly.

  That is, until he snatches my phone out of my hand and waves it in the air. He can be such a damn child.

  “Who has you so happy?”

  “Heaven, give me my phone back.”

  “I won’t look at it if you tell me the truth.”

  I reach to take the phone away, and Owen comes up from behind the couch and steals it out of Heaven’s hand.

  “I’ll look through it. I don’t care.”

  “You’re acting like children,” Sebastian says, sounding bored.

  “Fuck you all. I’m serious. Give me my phone.” I stand and hurry around the couch, pushing past Sebastian, and become nose to nose with Owen. My phone buzzes, and he tilts his head and raises his brows, telling me silently that if I don’t fess up, he’ll look at my phone.

  I start to panic. I don’t want anyone to know I decided to try a dating website. I don’t even know what this woman looks like. She could be ugly and have a mole on her face with a black hair growing out of it for all I know. I don’t care what anyone says, looks matters … a lot. It isn’t the hope of someone having a great personality that has you walking across the floor in a club or checking someone out at the store because they’re holding the exact same can of sauce you like to get.

  No.

  It’s because attraction matters. It’s the first thing you notice about another person.

  I don’t want the guys to know about Finley because I’ll never hear the end of it. They will ask questions I don’t know the answers to.

  “It’s just someone I recently met, okay? It’s nothing serious. She’s just a friend,” I admit and decide to keep the details out of it by giving them a partial truth. I hope Owen doesn’t click the power button and see the notification from the dating app. I’ll be mortified.

  “I knew there was something that changed! I knew it!” Heaven claps his hands together and throws a fist in the air, cheering since he’s right.

  Owen eyes me skeptically, twirls the phone in his hand, and then offers it to me. Right before I take the phone out of his palm, he jerks his arm back. “I think you’re lying.”

  “I’m not lying. Her name is Finley.”

  “Where did you meet her?”

  “The Lighthouse Grill. You know how much I love that place,” I lie, hoping I answered quick enough for him to drop the subject.

  Owen is distracted by Jaxon entering the room again, his shirt wrinkled and his hair a mess. Looks like someone was easily forgiven.

  I take the opportunity to steal my phone from him and tuck it safely in my pocket. I swear, these guys can be such children and so fucking nosey when it comes to wanting to know someone else’s business.

  “Don’t even think about doing that again, either of you,” I say to Owen and Heaven. “Finley is not your concern, got it?” I crack my neck left to right, starting to feel caged in, in this house. The buildup of tension and anger has me wanting to plan a job, but since a few members of the team are still healing from the last heist, our hands are tied.

  The sound of the buzzer going off alerts us that someone is at the garage door. Everyone turns their attention to the one and only entrance to the house. No one should be here at this hour. We don’t know many people so, of course, we’re all on edge now.

  Owen unsheathes his knife from the holster clipped to his pants, and Jaxon and Sebastian both pull a gun out from behind their backs. Heaven is useless since his leg is broken, and he stays on the couch. He picks up the remote and clutches it in his hand, ready to throw it at the possible intruder.

  “What the fuck is that going to do?” I sneer, cocking my gun.

  “Distract him? He won’t see a TV remote coming his way. It will hit him in the face, and then Jaxon can subdue him.”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. Heaven can be … exasperating.

  Jaxon taps the screen next to the door, and his shoulders sag with relief. His gun falls to his side, and we all follow his lead, lowering our weapons. Jaxon exhales and presses the green button toward the bottom of the monitor. “What the hell do you want, Zeke?”

  “Hey! That’s the thanks I get for flying all the way out here from New York? I left the busy city to come fucking camping with you assholes, and that’s the greeting I get? Unbelievable.”

  We all groan when we hear Zeke’s New York accent. I’m not in the mood for him again. Didn’t he leave a few weeks ago? Why is he back already?

  “Let me in. I have some news, and I’m afraid it isn’t all that delightful,” Zeke says.

  “Don’t let him in,” Owen grunts, clipping his knife in the holster. “I say let the woods take him since he thinks coming to visit us means he’s camping.”

  “I heard that, Owen. I’ll remember that when I’m standing over your grave, deciding if I want to kiss it or spit on it.”

  “I already have a headache,” Heaven groans, rubbing his temples in small circles.

  “I think it’s best to see what he wants, guys.” Jaxon does the one thing we don’t want him to do.

  He presses the button to allow Zeke in.

  I need a vacation from them.

  Maybe I can go see Finley one day.

  Chapter Four

  FINLEY

  “You’re talking to a guy you’ve never met?” my friend Alicia asks as we walk out of math class.

  I readjust the book in my hand as we maneuver in and out of the busy hallway filled with all the other students, ranging from freshmen to seniors. The conversations are loud since everyone is talking to one another on the way to their next class. The lockers line either side of the hallway. The school colors are navy blue and purple, and the lockers are painted to match.

  “Yeah, so? Who cares? He’s just nice to talk to. We don’t know what each other look like, and we don’t have each other’s addresses. What’s the big deal?”

  Alicia grabs my arm and spins me around. “The big deal? Are you kidding me right now? The big deal is you’re seventeen, and who knows how old this guy is. It’s creepy. You need to stop talking to him. What if he’s a serial killer?” She pins me with her eyes, and I roll my own from her hysterics.

  “He isn’t a serial killer.” The chances of that are slim to none.

  “Oh, because you know him so well? Tell me, does he know you’re seventeen?” She flashes a smug smile, thinking she’s right.

  I give her my back and twist the black knob to my locker as I chant the code in my head. It opens with a click, and I shove my book inside. “No, he doesn’t know. I lied about my age, okay? And he might have to. Doesn’t everyone online?”

  “Will you think about this seriously for one second? How selfish do you need to be to ruin this guy’s life? What if someone finds out he has been talking to you? What if they research and see you are seventeen? Do you know what that can mean for him?”

  I frown and open my mouth to defend myself, but nothing comes out. To be honest, I have been selfish. When I signed up for this app, I knew being seventeen was frowned upon, but I didn’t think about the implications if whoever I spoke to got into trouble.

  “Of course, you didn’t think about that.” Alicia’s green eyes judge me with disappointment. “You could wait another week, you know. You’ll be eighteen. An adult.”

  “We haven’t talked about anything bad or crossed the line. It’s just been as friends, Alicia.”

  “And what are you going to do when he asks you for a picture? Because he will, eventually. He’ll want to make sure he isn’t talking to an old man jacking himself off behind a computer!”

  “Alicia!”

  “It’s true. I can’t believe you’d do this—”

  “You can’t believe it, Alicia? You have a perfect life. You have a mom and dad who love each other and wait on you hand and foot. You don’t have to be afraid to go home after school every day. You don’t know what it’s like to need a break from it all. So excuse the hell out of me for needing something other than what life has given me!” I scream at Alicia, and it causes her to flinch. My loud-mouth has a few people staring at me, and I hurriedly walk away, almost smashing against Alicia’s shoulder as I do.