Claimed By My Ex's Evil Rival

4.

Sloane

“Did you just slap me?” Jace demands.

He's staring at me like I've just slapped his last remaining brain cell out of his head. Honestly, good. Maybe now he'll experience a spiritual awakening and develop a f*****g personality. His cheek is turning red, and for one beautiful second, I consider doing the other side for symmetry.

Thea stands beside me with her lips pressed together, looking suspiciously like she's trying not to laugh.

“No, babe. It was just a love tap.”

“Sloane!”

“What? You wanted a joke, didn't you? Apparently, I can't take one.”

“What's going on here?”

The new voice cuts through the corridor, and we all turn. A woman in an elegant cream coat hurries toward us with a cheerful expression. Behind her walks a tall, distinguished man in a perfectly tailored suit, with silver at his temples, stern features, and an expensive watch.

Oh, right. Victor and Margot Hayes, Jace's parents. Well, his mother and stepfather, technically. I haven't seen Victor Hayes in five years, not since Jace's mother remarried and he moved out of our neighborhood to live with his stepfather in that fancy mansion of theirs.

Margot spots me, and her entire expression softens. “Oh, Sloane, sweetheart!” She comes straight to me and pulls me into a hug, which almost makes me cry harder.

“What happened?” she asks, rubbing my back. “Oh, honey, look at you.”

“I'm fine.”

“Don't you dare give me that nonsense. I've known you since you were a little girl. I know your fine face, and that is absolutely not your fine face.”

I sniff, and Thea supplies, “It's a terrible face. Very tragic.”

Margot shoots her a bewildered look before turning toward Jace and Alessia. The warmth drains from her expression so quickly I almost hear a record scratch. “Jace Hayes, what have you done?”

“Mom, she slapped me!”

“And I'm sure you gave her a very good reason.” She looks at Alessia. “And you. Why are you standing here?”

Alessia's perfect smile wobbles. “I was only trying to help, Mrs. Hayes.”

“By kissing someone else's boyfriend?”

The corridor goes deliciously silent. Holy s**t. I'm not even surprised. Margot has always had a soft spot for me. She's rooted for Jace and me since we were practically children.

“I'm sorry,” Alessia murmurs. “It was a misunderstanding.”

“Then you should have understood where to keep your lips.”

Thea makes a strangled noise beside me, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. If I start now, I might never stop.

Alessia's face turns pink as she mumbles something about finding her friends, then practically speed-walks away in her expensive little shoes. Goodbye, Barbie. Enjoy your walk of shame.

Margot cups my face. “I'm so sorry, sweetheart. You didn't deserve any of this. Whatever happened between you two, Jace should never have spoken to you that way.”

My throat tightens as Jace stands three feet away, glaring at me.

“Come home with us,” Margot says. “We'll have some tea, get you settled, and talk about this properly.”

“That's really kind of you, but..”

“Nonsense. You're coming.”

She's so cheerful about it that refusing feels like turning down an invitation from the queen. For a moment, the tension eases. Margot keeps an arm around me, and even Jace seems to have run out of things to yell about.

Then a guy's voice drifts through the corridor. “Touching. Really. Nothing says family values like offering the girl some tea after your son humiliates her in front of half the university.”

I turn and promptly forget how necks work. f*****g what?

The guy standing a few feet away is tall, broad-shouldered, and built like he's been personally engineered to ruin women's standards. Messy black hair falls over his forehead, and his jaw is sharp enough to cut glass. His black shirt stretches across a chest that makes my brain briefly forget the English language, but it's his cat-like, intense, almost predatory eyes that get me.

Who's he?

His gaze catches mine, and he doesn't immediately look away. Instead, his eyes travel slowly over my face, linger on my trembling lips, then move down my body before returning to my eyes. My stomach does something deeply unhelpful. Oh, f**k off, hormones. My relationship just died. We are supposed to be in mourning.

His expression doesn't soften when he notices my tears. If anything, something in his eyes turns colder. Then his attention shifts to Margot.

“Tea won't fix the problem, Margot. Neither will a hug and a sympathetic speech. Her boyfriend has been hiding her because he's worried about what people will think of his girlfriend. He looks down on her, parades another woman around in public, lets her kiss him in front of an audience, then blames his girlfriend for being hurt.”

His eyes flick to Jace. “And when she finally stands up for herself, he insults her and tells her nobody else will want her. That's not a relationship problem. That's a character problem.”

My mouth falls open as absolute, beautiful f*****g silence fills the corridor. How the f**k does this Adonis know the entire plot? Was he hiding in a ventilation shaft? Did someone give him the director's cut?

Jace's face darkens. “Mind your own f*****g business.”

The guy doesn't even blink. “I'm trying. Unfortunately, your stupidity is loud enough to make that difficult.”

What the f**k?

Victor steps forward, his expression hardening. “Ryker. Leave. Now.”

Ah. So the walking Greek statue's name is Ryker. He doesn't move or even seem to acknowledge Victor's command. Instead, he slips his hands into his pockets and gives the older man a look of mild disinterest.

“Of course. The meeting is over as soon as someone says something you don't like.”

“Watch your tone.”

“My tone is the only thing keeping this conversation civil.”

Victor's jaw flexes. Okay, they seem to know each other.

Ryker continues calmly. “You've spent years polishing Jace into the perfect golden boy. The star player. The family legacy. And look what you've produced. A man who thinks a woman is an accessory to his reputation and that apologizing is beneath him.”

“That's enough,” Jace snaps, stepping forward.

Ryker turns his head toward him. “Sit down. The adults are talking.”

“You…”

“See? That's the problem. Daddy gives you a hockey stick and an audience, and suddenly you think you're a man.”

Jace lunges half a step, but Victor catches his arm. My eyes widen as I realize this isn't some random family argument. These two genuinely hate each other.

Ryker finally looks at Margot, and the temperature in the corridor seems to drop another few degrees. “And you. You're the worst kind of enabler.”

Margot's smile disappears.

“You want to wrap her in a blanket, give her tea, and make the evening feel better. That's lovely. But where was all this concern when your son was hiding her? When he let another woman play his girlfriend in public?”

Wait, he's got a point.

Margot opens her mouth, but no words come out. “You don't get to fix five years of disrespect with a cup of chamomile.”

Ouch. I feel that one in my own soul.

Victor's face turns scarlet. “I've had enough of this disrespect.”

“Then stop earning it.”

Victor turns sharply and strides away. Margot looks torn, glancing at me with an apologetic expression before hurrying after her husband. “I'll call you later, sweetheart,” she promises.

And just like that, the parental supervision disappears, leaving me, Thea, Jace, and the ridiculously attractive guy who has just verbally dismembered an entire family without raising his voice.

I look at him again. He's even more intimidating up close, with broad shoulders, an unreadable expression, and a gaze that keeps finding me with an intensity that makes my skin feel too tight. There's something familiar about him, too, though I can't figure out what. Naturally, my stupid brain decides this is the perfect time to become curious.

“Okay,” I say. “Who are you?”

Jace immediately steps between us. “Stay away from him, Sloane.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“Ryker's a f*****g w***e. He doesn't give a s**t about anyone but himself. You don't want to get involved with him.”

Ryker's mouth curves into a slow, humorless smile. “That's rich coming from you. At least I don't pretend to be in a relationship with someone while treating her like a dirty secret.”

Jace's fists clench. “I'm warning you.”

“And I'm bored already.”

Ryker steps around him, bringing himself directly in front of me. His gaze drops to my face, then travels down and back up with deliberate slowness. He doesn't touch me, but somehow his attention feels like he's undressing me.

“Jace's right about one thing,” he says. “I'm not a nice man.”

My pulse skips. “Good thing he's my ex,” I manage.

His eyes sharpen, and that almost-smile returns. “Exactly.”

Jace steps forward. “Don't f*****g talk to her.”

Ryker finally turns to face him fully. “You broke up with her, little brother. You don't get to dump her, humiliate her, and then dictate who she's allowed to speak to.”

I stare at him, then at Jace, then back at Ryker. Wait, what? Little brother?

Jace has a brother who looks like that?

What the actual f**k?