Treachery

Luca

As it turns out, all of the Inferno men are in attendance, several of them glaring at me from behind narrowed eyes as Ta

Ignoring the typical stares of Damon and Ezra, as well as the angry expression marring Jace’s normally beautiful face, I seek out the one person in this room I’d developed a friendship with back when I first met him.

Gabriel stands from his seat as soon as our eyes meet, an easy smile gracing his handsome face as he walks toward me with a scotch in his hand and his tie hanging loose over his shoulders.

He hasn’t changed since I’d last seen him, and I can’t help but smile back as he takes me into a hug.

“Luca Bailey, how have you been?”

“I’ve been better,” I answer, my arms wrapping around him as I breathe in the woodsy scent of his cologne.

“Please tell me you had nothing to do with Ta

Pulling away from me, Gabriel swallows the last of his scotch and sets the empty glass on a side table. He runs his fingers through his tousled brown hair and pins his green gaze on my face.

“I was wondering why I’d heard you agreed to go anywhere near this asshole.”

I’m not sure I can believe Gabriel is entirely i

Of all the men in this room, he’s the only one that doesn’t shake me to the core. Well, maybe Sawyer as well, and Mason isn’t so bad, but I never really got to know them while I was attending Yale.

“You’re lying,” I finally answer him.

His mouth pulls into a smirk, those gorgeous green eyes he’s inherited from his father lifting above my head to look at Ta

“Is she ru

Confusion floods me and I know better than to ask.

Still, everything about these guys is a question. So much so, that you never know if they are talking about you directly in front of you.

“What do you mean ru

Gabriel’s eyes meet mine again, humor glimmering in the green.

Turning, I glance at Ta

“As in gauntlet ru

My voice must have spiked with frustration because Gabriel grabs my shoulders, giving them a small squeeze so that I’ll turn back to him.

“We’re not talking about you, love. We’re discussing another aggravating as all hell woman who is about to pay dearly for all her past sins.”

After winking at me, Gabriel’s eyes lift to Ta

“Did you call in the debt?”

“Yes. I left her outside to be comforted by her fan club.”

Ivy.

Now I know who they’re talking about, and I also know why her face had turned a sickly shade of green while Ta

“Well,” Gabriel said, hands reaching to unbutton the top of his crisp white shirt to reveal a triangle of ta

“Then it sounds like it’s my turn to play good cop.”

He plants a quick kiss on my cheek, his lips brushing my ear when he says, “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon. You look as beautiful as ever.”

Gabriel saunters off, leaving the room quietly while his words reverberate in my head.

A thought comes to me, my teeth grinding together to remember how many times Ta

Spi

“Good cop?”

His lips twitch more.

“As opposed to your bad cop, I assume.”

He tilts his head to the side, his mouth moving as if to answer, but whatever he was going to say is lost to the irritated voice behind me.

“Okay, if we can stop pretending like this is a happy family reunion and get down to why Luca is here, that would be fan-fucking-tastic.”

Recognizing the deep voice as belonging to Jase Fucking Kesson, I turn to lock eyes with the arrogant bastard.

“Normally, I would tell you to piss in the wind, but for once in my life I agree with you.”

He flips me off before I turn back to Ta

“Why am I here?”

Our eyes lock, and I try to ignore the shiver of memory that rolls through me. I can’t help myself, though. Despite how much I hate this man, I can’t deny he’s been the subject of many a nighttime fantasy of mine.

It’s pathetic that the one night we’d slept together has been the highlight of my sex life, and what does it say about me that the one time I’d made love to my husband, it had been Ta

It means I’m an idiot, that’s what it means.

Gently grabbing me by the shoulders, Ta

“Where is she, Luca? Where is that little bitch who thought she could screw with my life and then run away?”

Now I understand why Ta

My knees almost buckle beneath the weight of Jase’s question, a secret I’ve held for so long that I swore I’d never reveal.

If Ta

The price isn’t about Ta

The scruff of Ta

I haven’t had a drop to drink, and yet the room is suddenly uncomfortably warm, the walls and ceiling spi

Of all the demands they could make of me, this is the worst possible one.

Shaking my head in refusal, my voice is a bare whisper.

I should have known it would eventually come to this. There is no way they would simply accept that Everly ran from them. That she had succeeded in hiding from them. That it had been my family who had helped her pull it off.

My only hope is to play stupid. “I don’t know where she is.”

My voice wavers over the lie, the heat of Ta

Jase shakes his head, a menacing grin stretching his lips as his eyes lock to mine.

“Sorry to tell you this, Luca, but you and I both know that was the wrong answer.”

Still refusing to tell the truth, I fight back the tears that threaten my eyes. Hiding Everly had been one of the last things my family did before my mother passed, and before dying, she’d made me swear to never tell any of the Inferno men where Everly is.

It seemed there was some bad blood between my father and few of the families that these boys belong to.

However, when I’d asked for the details, my father always shut me down, promising me it was better I not get involved.

I assume he didn’t believe he’d be dead a year after my mom. I assume he didn’t realize I would be alone with a group of men who could tear my life apart and make my future an absolute hell.