Treachery

“If I do that, then I’ll have to admit what our fathers have been doing. That I’ve known what they’ve been doing, and that they set me on her in the first place.”

He grins. “Which is exactly what you should do at this point. Perhaps Luca will be more willing to help if she knows why we need what she has. It’s time you tell her the truth.”

A bark of laughter shakes my shoulders.

“The truth? That’s rich, especially coming from you.”

“Sometimes a half truth is the best lie of all. It’s enough to pull her to our side while also putting up a fight for herself. Tell her this isn’t about Everly-“

“Maybe for you fucks,” Jase snaps.

We ignore him, Gabriel taking another sip before saying, “Luca’s not unreasonable, Ta

I don’t like it.

Fucking hate it.

My feet pace again as I fist my hands at my sides.

Of course, Gabriel doesn’t shut up. He’s not capable. The man can argue a brick wall into submission.

“Plus, I have a feeling you need to protect her as much as she’ll want to protect you. Give her as much information as she needs to help the process along.”

My lips curl. “Luca doesn’t give a damn about me.”

Gabriel laughs, and I look up.

Shaking his head, he stares over at me like I’m an idiot.

“I think it’s time you both drop this hate shit you have going on, and accept the fact you are practically made for each other. I’ve never seen two people who are more stubborn than Luca and you.”

I can’t argue with him there. Knowing it, he grins before finishing his drink and setting the glass back on the bar.

“You care about her, Ta

Every one of them groans and nods.

“- and she’s the first woman that has ever happened with. So man the fuck up, and do something about it. We all have fucking trust issues because our fathers are dicks, our mothers are gold-digging whores, and a large majority of the women we’ve known in life are bottom shelf Tinder sluts only good for one fuck. Everybody wants something from us, which makes it hard to trust, but if anybody has ever defied that description, it’s Luca.”

He’s not wrong about that. But there’s still the little issue with me forcing Clayton on her, calling the shots on her divorce and everything else I’ve done that will only make her hate me.

I don’t have to say it. Gabriel knows me well enough to see it written all over my face.

“She might forgive you. Will she be mad at first? Of course. But she’s always mad. You have that effect on her. She’ll get over it. Luca has a heart of gold, just like Ava. But you won’t know unless you fess the fuck up. She’s stuck here for the time being because someone wants her dead. You might as well use that to your advantage. Just expose everything now and let her work it out while she’s within reach.”

It’s not a bad idea. But she will be mad. Fucking livid.

Then again, I always think she’s more fun when she’s that way.

This can still work out for me.

Still not entirely on board with this idea, I decide to give it some consideration.

For now, I need to find Priest and have him tell me exactly what happened in the parking lot with that SUV. When I’m done doing that, I need to call my father back and find out what William meant by threatening Luca. And after that, I need to kick all these jackasses out of my house so I can prepare for the showdown with Luca that will happen once I tell her the truth.

None of this is going to be easy. More likely than not, she’ll attempt to murder me and burn my body when she finds out what I’ve done.

But Gabriel is right, she won’t be able to escape since she has nowhere to go.

Someone is trying to kill her.

Luca is smart enough to understand the severity of our situation.

She’s not insane enough to walk out into the world when there’s every possibility she’ll end up dead as a result.

It’s a given she’ll scream at me. Most likely throw something at me. I’d also wager to guess she’ll demand I never speak to her again.

But that’s okay.

She’s done all of that before.

And I have every intention of using all of that to my advantage.

I’m an expert at pissing Luca off.

But as the years have shown me, I’m also pretty damn good at calming her down again.

I need a game plan to make sure that happens.

One that she can’t resist.

And one that she’ll never see coming.