30

Adrianna
Two weeks go by without incident after our session in the woods, as I try my best to stay away from Coach and he keeps making suggestive comments, but no attempt to take me against my will again.
I tap my feet impatiently on the tile floor as I sit, freezing my ass off on poolside, waiting for Azira to arrive. One thing I hate more than anything is tardiness, and she knows it, too.
We agreed to meet here at four o’clock. It’s now ten minutes past and my patience is wearing thin. I hear the door to the pool. “Finally!”
Azira looks flustered as she dashes toward me. “Sorry, I was in detention with Luigi.”
It’s one thing after another with her lately. “Not again. What did you do this time?”
Her cheeks are more flushed than usual. “I was doing my anatomy assignment in law class.”
“Does that mean you’re too sore to swim?” I ask, looking at her through narrowed eyes.
“No, he gave me an essay to write.”
Azira is practically the color of a beetroot now and I wonder if something is going on between her and Luigi. However, that would be ridiculous. Luigi is a sadistic son of a bitch and Azira doesn’t strike me as the kind of girl to be into that.
“Thank fuck for that.” I clench my jaw as I want to get in and swim now. “Get dressed.” I nod toward the changing room.
Almost the moment Azira walks into the changing room, the door to the pool opens and Coach strides in, setting me on edge. He watches me from the other side of the pool. “Imagine seeing you here,” he says, tilting his head.
“You know I always swim every weekday after school ends.” I cross my arms over my chest. “What do you want?”
Those dark amber eyes darken as he strides toward me. A shiver racing down my spine at the darkness swirling around the usually calm and collected man.
“I want you,” he growls, grabbing my hips as if he has the right to touch me.
I swat at him, trying to push him away, but he uses one huge hand to capture them and hold me captive. “I don’t want you.”
“What happened to the good girl I was speaking to on the phone during winter break? Or the dirty little vixen who came with my cock in her mouth in the woods?”
Her eyes narrow. “I told you that changes nothing. My virginity isn’t up for grabs by you, or anyone.”
“Listen to me, Vasquez. You can play hard to get all you fucking like, but I have some information you won’t want out.”
It feels like my entire body turns numb, as the only thing I don’t want out is the fact that I’ve been betraying my family for years.
“Are you about to blackmail me into fucking you?” I ask, glaring at him.
His jaw clenches. “If that’s what it takes.” Sliding a hand into his inside jacket pocket, he pulls out some polaroids and places them in my hand.
It feels like all the blood drains from my body as I stare down at the images of me and Hernandez Estrada, my family’s biggest rival, meeting last week two towns over last week. “Where the fuck did you get these?”
He yanks them off of me and slides them back into his inside jacket pocket. “I hired a PI to follow you when I learned you leave the academy every Tuesday. He followed you over winter break and mentioned you met with some men of a rival cartel, so I asked him to follow you out of the academy last Tuesday.”
“You are a desperate and pathetic man.” I shake my head. “So what happens if I don’t fuck you?”
His smirk widens. “If you don’t obey me, baby girl. I’ll expose your treachery to your entire fucking family.”
My nostrils flare as I glare at him, wishing I could dunk him in the pool and drown him. No doubt he’d out power me, but perhaps with the air of surprise I’d come out on top. I value my life a little too much to try it out.
He pulls me even closer so that I can feel the warmth of his breath falling against my face. “Tell me, baby, tell me who owns you.”
I grit my teeth. “Fuck you.”
“No, Adrianna.” He spins me around and pulls my back against his chest, making me feel the hard length of his cock throbbing against my ass. “I’m going to fuck you, and when I do, you will wish you’d got into my bed the first time I asked.”
“Over my dead body.”
He chuckles into my ear. “That’s likely what would happen if your father knew you’ve been going behind his back and feeding information to his enemy.”
I swallow hard, knowing that what I did was wrong, even if I have no respect for my family. My decision to betray them was difficult, as I’ve always thrived in the criminal world, but I won’t be sold off like an asset. It’s not like they’ve ever made me feel cared for in my eighteen years of life. It was my only option if I want to break free of the Vasquez Cartel for good once I graduate.
Hernandez Estrada has been paying me hundreds of thousands of dollars to feed him information for the past three years. I have a few million stashed in an untraceable bank account that my family can’t touch. It’s my only way to escape their clutches.
“What do you want from me?” I ask.
His lips skate over the skin at my neck, making goosebumps erupt over my entire body. “I want you to admit that you want me as badly as I want you.”
I grit my teeth. “So you want me to lie?”
His jaw works as he steps closer to me. “Are you going to force me to rat you out, Adrianna? As I will.”
I long for Azira to walk back in here, but I know that even changing into a swimsuit takes her an age.
I narrow my eyes and glare at him. “I’ve never met a man so pig-headed he won’t accept when a girl doesn’t want to fuck him.”
His nostrils flare and he closes in on me. “If you don’t stop fighting this, then everyone will know your little secret, not just your family. The academy doesn’t take kindly to traitors.”
My stomach churns as I wonder what he’s talking about. “So you are blackmailing me into having sex with you?” I’m almost shocked, but not quite, as Coach is that fucked up.
A sinister smirk twists onto his ungodly, beautiful lips. “Perhaps.”
“Hey, leave her alone,” Azira calls, rushing toward us. Thank God she’s back, but I would have liked her to be here five minutes earlier.
Coach’s dark eyes move to her. “Sidorov, didn’t Luigi teach you a lesson? Or do I need to?”
I glance at Azira as she swallows hard. Instantly, I can tell she’s thinking about giving him shit, so I shake my head to tell her to back off.
Azira nods. “Fine, I’m getting into the pool.”
At this moment, I’m wondering why I bothered waiting for Azira before getting into the pool. I could have warmed up without her and then this asshole wouldn’t have gotten to me.
I wish she wouldn’t leave me alone with him, even though I told her to back off. “Coach, please-”
His hand slams around my throat, and I struggle to draw in oxygen. “Listen to me, Adrianna. You’ll do as you’re told from here on in or daddy finds out how naughty his little traitor of a daughter is.”
“He’d kill me, coach, please-”
His fingers flex harder around my throat. “Call me Archer from now on when we’re alone.”
I struggle to draw in oxygen, clawing at his hand.
“And I don’t give a shit what he’ll do. You know how to avoid your father and everyone else you know and love ever finding out about your treachery.”
I feel sick to the stomach that this man is blackmailing me into giving him my virginity as if it’s some trophy to be won. “You make me sick,” I spit.
He releases my throat, but before I can pull away, he grabs a fistful of my hair and angles my face up. “Such a liar, Adrianna. I know your pussy is wet from thinking about my cock.” His grip tightens. “You will meet Oak, Bly, and I in town tonight with your friends, or the truth is out. I will text you the details.”
With that, he releases my hair and storms out of the swimming pool, slamming the door behind him. I want to scream, but all I can do is clench my fists and blow out a frustrated breath, as I need to avoid awkward questions from Azira.
I’m shaking from either shock or pure anger as I walk toward the pool, putting my bathing cap on as I do. And then I put on my goggles, knowing that all I need right now is the cold water to encase me and cool me off, as I’m beyond pissed.
Diving in at the deep end, I take my rage out on the water, thrashing through it harder and faster than ever. Wishing the crystal blue surface was Coach’s face as I punch my hands through is viciously.
He’s an asshole, and if I want to beat him at this game, I’m going to have to play dirty, too.