Treachery

Luca is a better game player than I knew. And stubborn. In a way, she reminds me of me. Maybe not as treacherous. Not as cruel.

While I’m the type who will raze the world without worry for who it hurts, Luca has a soft heart and a glowing spirit. She’s a saint while I’m a si

But still, that woman can play.

And play she does for the next two days, driving me nuts when she won’t let me near her, expertly dodging every attempt I make to trap her in place.

I learn from her, though. Watch her. I’ve become a damn stalker in my own home, constantly trying to stay in her sight and wait around every corner.

Three kisses.

That’s all she’s given me.

I stare across the living room now where she stands talking to Ava, and I decide that this game she likes to play ends tonight.

Everybody here is leaving in an hour.

Gabriel has a date.

Ava has work in the morning.

The twins are who the hell knows where, and Shane is at a bike show.

That leaves Jase, Mason, Sawyer and Taylor to chase off. But it won’t be a problem. Not when I’ve already taken them aside to remind them just who runs this show.

“Are you listening to me, Ta

No, the fuck I’m not. I’m too busy ru

Gabriel smacks my shoulder, and my jaw tics as I glance at him. “What?”

“Could you stop eye-fucking Luca for one goddamned second to listen to me about what’s happening tonight?”

Like I give a fuck about his shit with Ivy. That’s our fathers’ issue and his game. It has nothing to do with what I plan to do to Luca as soon as I get everybody out of my house.

“Fine. Tell me,” I bark, my eyes sliding back to a woman across the room that is now laughing at something Sawyer had to say. I’m going to kick his ass for this eventually.

“Ivy told me she’s refusing the price you gave her. She won’t spill her father’s secrets for us to hold over his head so he’ll drop campaigning for the new financial laws that will sink our family’s enterprises.”

Good. Let it all burn. Maybe the loss of cash will hit our families where it hurts, and the assholes that raised us will drop dead from the shock.

“We already knew this,” I answer, unsure why he thinks I need to hear all of it again. “And we decided to start the gauntlet a few days ago.”

Oh, nice. Now Luca is smiling and laughing at Taylor like they’re suddenly besties.

He dies, too. I’m done with this.

“You can’t kill Taylor. Without him, we have no hope of finding what’s on the servers.”

My head snaps his direction. “How did you know I was thinking that?”

“Probably because you’re always thinking that every time someone goes near her. Drop the alpha shit for a second, and listen to me.”

Luca glances my way, but just for a second. Seeing the look on my face, her thighs tighten, and she looks again.

I refuse to stop staring.

If she’s uncomfortable being hunted, that’s her problem.

It’s cute how a blush runs over her cheeks. I’ll chase that color down her body in a few hours.

“I meet up with Ivy tonight for di

“Sounds good.” Not that I care.

Gabriel has wanted to tap Ivy for over ten years now. The only reason he hasn’t succeeded is she’s as shifty as him. The battle between the two of them was entertaining as hell back in high school. Whatever he tossed at her, she tossed back. Their pranks against each other were epic.

“While I’m there,” Gabriel continues, “I can discreetly search her place for anything we can use against her.”

Luca glances at me again. I flash her a wolfish grin. I’m a hungry man tonight, and she’s about to be di

“That sounds like what we normally do,” I say. “Why are you telling me this?”

Turning my head to lock eyes with him, I ask, “Do you need emotional support? A pep talk? Are you scared of the big bad socialite and need me to hold your hand?”

Gabriel lights a joint, something he only does when he’s frustrated. He breathes out two thick streams of smoke from his nostrils. It must be something about the date with Ivy. The only time he lights up anymore is when his nerves are rubbed raw.

More smoke pouring over his lips, he sits back in his seat and stares at me.

“I’ll keep from bringing up how just a few days ago, you were hiding in the office because a big bad book nerd threatened to shove her fist down your throat.”

My eyes slide to the book nerd in question.

She’s not as i

“I think that in order not to bring something up, it’s required you shut your whore mouth.”

He laughs and takes another hit.

“Plus, I wasn’t hiding for my benefit. It was all for hers. There was no telling what I was capable of doing every time she threatened to remove my balls.”

“Has she touched them lately?”

I’m about to shove that joint up his ass.

“What’s the deal, Gabriel? What do you need me to know before you embark on this date with Ivy?”

“She’s picking me up from here,” he answers, his voice strained as he holds in a hit. “Ivy insisted on it, women’s lib and all that crap, and I told her this was my house.”

My eyes snap his direction again. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

Lips curling into a grin, he admits, “I don’t trust her. And I’m sure as hell not giving her my address just in case she starts her shit again.”

I’m ru

Back then, it wasn’t our problem. Our houses belonged to our parents. Our cars would be replaced. Nothing carried much importance because we didn’t work for it ourselves.

But times have changed. I worked for this house...kind of. Busted my ass creating a firm that brought in a few million in the first year we had it. Now it brings in more money than we can count, each one of us climbing higher up the ladder of who has the most money and power in this city.

No. We aren’t even close to the influence our fathers have amassed. But we will take that from them eventually.

“If she does anything to my place, I’m rubbing your nose in it and making you clean it up.”

Soft laughter shakes his shoulders as he stubs out the joint in a small ashtray.

“I’m sure she’s grown beyond that in her old age.”

“She’s twenty-seven. That’s not old.”

“It’s old enough. Now all she cares about is her public image. Ivy wouldn’t be caught dead fucking up. Her precious daddy wouldn’t stand for it again.”

Gabriel is looking at this entire picture through rose-colored glasses, but that’s for him to figure out.

“Whatever, just as long as you get her under control, it should be enough to get Warbucks off your ass. What you do with her in the meantime is your problem.”

Eyes back to Luca. Where they should be. Where they will be for the rest of the night when all these jackasses take off.

I didn’t used to mind having the entire group around all the time. I’d becomes accustomed to the constant noise and rush of people back when we partied in school. But lately, I’ve wanted to slow down a bit. I’ve learned to enjoy the silence of an empty house, and I can finally appreciate a few uninterrupted hours with a woman that I can’t get off my mind.