Treachery

Luca

“I have to tell you something.”

Taking a seat on one of the tall stools by the kitchen island, I watch Ta

His hair is still wet from the shower he dragged me to, my body tingling with the memory of him dropping to his knees, parting my legs and driving me to another orgasm with his tongue as the water poured down on us.

When he turns back to me and my gaze traces a drop of water that rolls down his bare chest, my teeth lock over my bottom lip because I can’t get enough of him.

Opening my bottle for me, he hands it over, watching me swallow some down before drinking his.

“You know, the last time we sat like this, you were telling me I’m a hostage,” I joke. “Hopefully, whatever we have to talk about now won’t be so bad.”

His eyes meet mine, but what I see behind them isn’t the humor I was expecting.

Hating the silence between us, I keep talking. Ta

“Gabriel told me you went to talk to Priest. Was it bad news? Did somebody do something to my car?”

Setting the water bottle down on the counter, he stares at it, slowly spi

“I was asking Priest about the SUV that tried to run you over. I wanted to find out what he saw.”

“And?”

He breathes out heavily as his eyes lift. “And he thinks they were attempting to hit you intentionally.”

My heart shudders with a painful thump, fear skating down my spine until it’s difficult to breathe evenly.

“Why would somebody want to hurt me?”

Ta

“That’s what I need to tell you.”

Damn it. I was hoping this wouldn’t have something to do with him.

“Spit it out.”

He hesitates, runs a hand through his wet hair, his nostrils flaring as he fights whatever it is he needs to say.

But then it just comes pouring out, every confession tearing away a piece of me, every word revealing just how little I know about him.

“We cornered you at Yale on purpose. And not because you have something I want. At least, not that I wanted then. But because your father has something my father wants.”

I can feel my heartbeat in my throat, the rush of blood like white noise in my head. “That’s why you kept trying to make a deal with me?”

He nods. “That’s why I intentionally targeted you. I sent Clayton your way before I met you that first night. And Jase dated Everly for the same reason.”

Eyes wide, I stare at him. “What?”

Ta

“I knew who you were before you knew me, and we set up everything to gain control of you.”

My thoughts race back to that time period, to the way everything had lined up so perfectly to throw me into his life.

“Why?”

“Because that’s what was demanded of me. My father wanted something, and I was assigned to get it. That’s what they always demand of us. Since we were teenagers.”

“But why-“

“Because our fathers are criminals, Luca. They’re a bunch of assholes who don’t give a fuck about anything besides money. All nine of us have never been anything to them but tools. We were raised to play games, fuck over whoever gets in our way, and then move along once we have what we want to do it to another person. That’s my life. That’s Gabriel’s life. And everyone else in my group.”

It’s just another thing I should hate him for, another bunch of lies and manipulations, but at the same time I want to cry for him because I can see how much his father hurt him. There’s hatred in his eyes. Pain. I want to reach out and wipe it from his face, but I fist my hand instead because I know there’s more to this.

“What does that have to do with everything that’s happening now?”

Pursing his lips, he spins the bottle between his hands, his body leaning over the island, his eyes level with mine.

“I think my father is trying to kill you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because they killed your dad to get whatever he has on them. And whatever he had is on the servers you now have.”

No.

I can’t accept this.

Don’t believe it.

Refuse to fucking sit here and listen to this.

Jumping up from my seat, I don’t miss how Ta

“Did you know they were after my dad?”

My eyes snap up to him. Pin him in place. Hold him there as I silently beg him to deny he knew what would happen.

The slow blink of his eyes answers my question without him saying a word, the way his shoulders tense.

It feels like a knife is sinking into my stomach, and I double over. Ta

“Don’t come near me right now. Don’t touch me.”

He says nothing, just stands there, watching me crumble.

Straightening my posture, I fight to keep moving so I don’t fall over. I want to think this is the worst of it, but judging by the way he patiently waits for me to pull it together, I somehow know there’s more.

“Just get it out,” I snap, my voice echoing across the kitchen. “All of it. Just tell me everything.”

“You might want to sit down-“

“Just tell me,” I scream.

Ta

My feet stop at that, an idea flickering in my head that can’t be possible. Not even Ta

Or can he?

“How?”

Reaching up to rub at the back of his neck, he sighs. “This isn’t going as well as I hoped it would.”

I spin to face him. “You fucking think?”

Pausing, I stare at him with my teeth locked together, pain shooting down my jawline. “How did you get me out of Georgia?”

“Clayton owed me four favors before I met you.”

No...

He wouldn’t have done this to me.

Nobody can be that cruel.

“He paid the first by dating you at Yale.”

I refuse to hear this.

Absolutely fucking refuse to believe it.

“He paid the second by breaking up with you at Yale.”

Voice shaking, I try to fill in the next blank. “And the third by getting back together with me at Yale?”

A small shake of his head. “No, that was all him, but I think it was because he didn’t want me to have you since he was pissed off at me.”

“The third?” I demand.

He pauses for a few seconds, his voice stone cold when he admits, “He paid that by marrying you and moving you away from Georgia.”

The room spins around me, and I stumble back. Ta

“And the fourth?”

I’m not even sure I want to know or that my mind can handle it. But I demand to know regardless, demand to hear just how thoroughly he fucked up my life.

His jaw is tight again, his head angling down as his nostrils flare. “The fourth he paid by divorcing you and letting me handle the case.”