by Lily White
“I do hate you,” she lies. “And you hate me.”
The corner of my mouth curls. “I don’t believe you.”
“About?”
“About either of the statements you just made.”
Ivy sighs, her body relaxing against mine.
“Damn it, Gabriel. You’re not supposed to say that.”
Slowly twisting my fingers into the strands of her hair, I pull her face to mine. Our lips brush, our breath colliding, our eyes dancing together as we both fight what’s always been true.
“Hey! Romeo and Psychobitch. Get the hell downstairs. Some of us have to get back on the road soon and don’t have time for you to fuck again.”
Both our heads turn to see Tanner glaring down at us.
“You two seriously need to get a room. This crap is getting really damn old, really damn fast. Now move.”
He marches off, and we stay in place until the sound of his retreating steps is gone.
Releasing a heavy breath, I lay the back of my head against the floor and stare up at a woman who shouldn’t be lying on top of me.
This conversation is not going to be fun. But it’s still a hell of a lot safer than the one we were having.
Ivy
I don’t care how much Tanner bullies me. He can scream and yell and threaten me for hours, but it won’t make a difference. I’ve never admitted to knowing anything about my dad, therefore they don’t know for a fact that I have information to give.
Pulling a shirt over my head, I take my time getting dressed alone in the bathroom. Gabriel took off to grab his spare clothes from one of the cars where he’d left them, which has given me time to get back in character.
I’ve spent a lifetime lying and playing games. I’m a damn expert when it comes to them. This one is no different than all the others, except for the potential disaster of a shitty result.
I have no idea what I overheard that day outside my father’s office. Do I believe it was shady? Yes. Do I have a sneaking suspicion he could get in trouble for it? Also a yes.
But do I know that for a fact?
No.
Still, I feel a duty to protect him.
Obviously, the guys have crawled closer to the truth of what I know. The question Gabriel asked me in the car the other day was right on target. What connection does my dad have to a tech firm in Georgia?
I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. And that only helps me with the dumb act I have to play now. It won’t be the full truth, but it won’t be a complete lie either. Technically, I know nothing.
A knock sounds on the bathroom door a second before it swings open. Gabriel stands in the hallway looking damn good in a slate gray t-shirt and dark jeans.
His hair is wavier than usual, a disheveled mess he hasn’t tamed since we stepped out of the shower. I look him over and ignore the pang in my chest.
Like this, he reminds me of the person I knew in high school. Only he’s broader in the shoulders and chest, his body fully filled out now that he’s a grown man.
“The casual look works for you, Gabe. You should try it more often.”
Grinning, he reaches up to grip his fingers on the upper doorframe, the posture makes him larger, more intimidating. He fills every inch of that open space, owning it and trapping me in place.
“Are you ready to go downstairs?”
I’ll never be ready, but I won’t admit it.
Cocking a hip, I tilt my head. “Are you my official warden now? If so, I’d like to file some complaints about the conditions of my prison.”
“We don’t accept complaints from prisoners who make escape attempts. You’ll have to behave for at least a full month before you’ll be allowed an opinion.”
Fraud.
I can see the difference in him immediately.
Most people wouldn’t notice. It’s a subtle shift in his behavior, a smoother edge to his voice that obliterates any trace of who he really is.
Ten minutes away from me and around them. That’s all it takes for Gabriel to retreat back to the bullshit persona he uses to hide.
It’s probably for the best. Especially when I have to be a fraud just as much.
Stepping up to him, I run my palm down the hard plane of his chest, my hand pausing over the ridges of his abdomen.
Gabriel stares down at me with an expression I can’t interpret, with a mask that disguises every thought behind that emerald green gaze.
“Why do I feel like I’m being led to the execution chamber?”
His stare drops to my lips.
“Confess and we won’t have to pull the switch.”
A shiver runs down my spine at what the switch really is. I wasn’t fully surprised to discover Tanner had kept the evidence of my mistake. In his position, I would have done the same. And while what I did could be easily explained away as a bad decision made ten years in the past, it would still carry heavy consequences for my father if it were ever made public.
I did that. I allowed that to happen by making stupid decisions at the time. And I still carry the weight of it every day.
But I had my reasons.
And now I’m being marched downstairs to answer for that crime. Yet rather than hating the warden who marches at my back, all I want to do is grab onto him and never let go.
“I have nothing to confess,” I whisper.
His stare remains on my mouth as if he’s memorizing the way it moves, or maybe thinking about that addition to the benefits package he’d requested. The thought traps the air in my lungs.
“The information we recently found out says differently.”
A few seconds pass before I ask, “Do you know what Tanner has to use against me?”
When his green eyes lift to lock on mine, he can’t hide the simple fact that he does know. Instead of admitting it, he pulls his arms down and takes a step away from the door.
“We should go.”
I sigh.
Just like that, the moment is over. If Gabriel is as good at anything as he is at lying, it’s building walls that block a person from seeing the truth about what he’s thinking or feeling.
I step out ahead of him. “I know nothing,” I lie as we walk down the hall en route to the stairs, my feet quickly descending the steps while I brace myself for Tanner’s attack the instant he sees me.
It won’t matter. I’ve been up against his hot temper and blatant arrogance before. Tanner has never been what scared me when it comes to the Inferno.
My weakness has always been, and will always be, Gabriel.
That’s why I can step down into the living room with confidence that they won’t be able to pull anything out of me. If anybody is being aggressive about this situation, it’s Tanner, and he can fuck right off with his short-tempered bullshit.
Let him scream. Let him yell. Let him threaten to expose me for the fraud I am. There isn’t a damn thing he can do to make me talk.
“I need you to tell me everything there is to know about why your father was in touch with my father’s company.”
My eyes lift to see Luca standing in front of me, her eyes wide with expectation and brimming with tears, her light brown hair falling soft around her shoulders.
“He’s dead,” she says. “You should know that. Somebody killed him, and I have no idea what can be done about it. So I need to know everything, if for no other reason than to understand why the last member of my family was taken from me.”
Except that.
What she just said might be exactly what drops me to my knees to confess everything and beg for forgiveness. The honesty in her voice might be exactly what makes me talk.
Tanner stands behind her like a bulldog ready to attack, the rest of the guys still lounging on the couches throughout the room.
Poor Emily still sits between the twins, but her focus is entirely on me at the moment. She has no clue about any of this. I’ve purposely kept her in the dark.
I’ll have a ton of explaining to do when Emily has the chanc
e to get me alone again.
“Please, Ivy. I’ve done nothing wrong to you. And I have the right to know.”
Eyes sliding back to Luca, my shoulders wither at the sight of the pain in her expression. I know nothing about her father dying. And I hope my father had nothing to do with that. My dad might be shady at times, but he’d never sink low enough to murder someone.
Although, what I do know might be just as bad.
Gabriel is a wall of heat at my back, his hand sliding over my hip, fingertips curling down as he tightens his grip and holds me in place.
One would think he’s preventing me from shoving Luca aside in a bid to run and escape. But that’s not the feeling I’m getting.
If anything, he’s touching me to lend me his strength.
For the first time in his life, the broken prince is lifting the spoiled princess up from where she kneels on the dirt. He’s helping her stand instead of being the monster that does everything in his power to destroy her.
I lean back against him, accepting every small part of himself he has to give.
Before saying a word, I need to confirm that we’re talking about the same person.
“What is your father’s name?”
“John Bailey,” she answers immediately, such open desperation in her voice that it pains me to hear it.
It also proves what I overheard that day was, in fact, about her dad.
“I know nothing about your dad dying,” I admit.
Tanner steps forward to hear it, his jaw tightening as if he doesn’t believe me. Luca lifts a hand to hold him back.
“What do you know?” she asks.
“I’m not entirely sure,” I finally say.
Now cornered by the obvious pleading in her expression and the weight of the guilt that’s crushing me, I decide to fess up so that she has some idea of what must have happened before her father died.
“I only overheard two names that have anything to do with your dad. I have no idea who they are.”
“And those are?”
“Jerry,” I admit.
Her posture straightens at that, every person in the room staring at me with unwavering attention.
“And what’s the second name?” she asks softly.
I drag in a breath, not understanding what any of this means or how it’s important.
“Everly.”
Every person goes dead quiet. Everyone that is, except Jase.
“What in the actual fuck did you just say?” Pushing to his feet, he storms toward me.
Gabriel pulls me back and takes a protective step forward to prevent Jase from getting close. The two men stare at each other for a few tense seconds before Jase backs down and his eyes shift to me.
“You better start talking, blondie. Because you just said the one name that I needed to hear.”
Gabriel
Jase is a smart man to back down.
As soon as he stormed forward, I rounded Ivy’s side, ready and able to kick his ass if he said the wrong thing or even attempted to lay a hand on her.
It was instinct for me to do so. To protect her. To lay claim on a woman that no other man will touch unless he wants to deal with me for it.
Without thought, I’d stepped forward as a wall Jase would have to break through to get to the person he was after.
Ivy is mine.
Always has been.
Since the day we met.
Unfortunately for the Inferno, that means there’s another woman capable of coming between us.
Another woman worth fighting over.
We rarely throw punches over any woman, not that we don’t throw them for other reasons. But if it is over a woman, that means she’s stripped one of us bare.
I didn’t mean to show the truth in that, but Jase left me with no choice. And when I glance over at Tanner to gauge his reaction, all I see in his expression is calm acceptance and a hint of concern.
It’s surprising. I’ll admit that. But then, that’s what best friends are for. And if anybody would understand what I’m doing right now, it’s him.
He just went through it with Luca.
Tanner has a right to be concerned, though. This is Ivy, after all. If any woman is capable of beating me at my own game, it’s her. Only because she knows too much and she’s had plenty of practice over the years.
Ivy stares over at Jase, hesitation in her expression because she has no idea what she just said to us. The room is perfectly quiet, the tension so thick we’re drowning in it.
Interestingly, it’s Ezra who breaks the silence, the deep sound of his laughter slicing right through it before he says what I’m sure many of us are thinking. The man of few words perfectly vocalizes the truth of our situation.
“Holy shit. This keeps getting better and fucking better. What the hell is going to happen next? We’ll all find out that Everly has a secret evil twin? Or no, I’ve got it. That Luca’s father isn’t really dead?”
Luca flinches at that, and Tanner spins to face Ezra with a growl crawling up his throat.
“Not funny, asshole. Shut your trap before I shut it for you.”
Grinning in challenge, Ezra is missing all the fucks when it comes to the threat of violence, his body relaxed and his arms bent as he rests his hands behind his head, almost daring Tanner to try something.
Apparently, Ezra’s not the only one enjoying this. Without saying a word, Shane stands from the couch where he’s sitting to cross the room en route to the kitchen. All our stares follow him as he disappears inside then reappears a second later with a bag of popcorn in hand.
I roll my eyes when he drops back down on the couch next to Sawyer, opens the bag and grabs a handful.
Ignoring him, Tanner turns back to us, his arm wrapping protectively around Luca.
“I know I’m the last person you want to talk to right now, Ivy, but I don’t think you have any clue what you just admitted. So we’re going to need for you to start at the beginning of whatever the hell it is you know, and tell us every fucking detail.”
Satisfied that Tanner is being somewhat respectful towards her, I step back and take my position behind Ivy.
It’s a little surprising to see him back down even that much, and I think it has everything to do with his understanding that I just dragged Ivy into the family.
Even if she doesn’t know it.
And even if I’m not willing to openly admit it yet.
You can say a million things about Tanner, but once someone is family, you can never say he doesn’t watch over them.
Ivy steps closer to me, her back against my chest, her body tense. I place my hands on her hips because I can’t stop myself from claiming them. Touching her is becoming second nature, something so natural that I don’t even realize I’m doing it.
I’m not sure what to think when her body relaxes to feel that small contact.
“I’m not really sure what I heard. It was just one conversation, and I only heard one side of it. I just happen to remember those names.”
“Something made you remember them,” I say. “What was it?”
She shakes her head, clearly torn about what she knows.
“My father didn’t murder anybody.”
My fingers squeeze her hips.
“We’re not saying he did. But there’s more to this than his death, and you apparently know something about it.”
Stepping away just far enough to turn to look at me, Ivy’s blue eyes meet mine.
It’s obvious she’s torn between her loyalty to her father and her desire to appease us. I can’t understand it, can’t sympathize. I have no loyalty to my family and have every intention to destroy them.
I’m not sure how to bridge the gap between what she feels for her family and what I feel for mine. But I have one idea.
Not wanting to admit in front of everybody what Ivy knows, I suspect it’ll be the final push she needs to give us this information. So I do it anyway.
Locking my gaze with hers, my voice is so
ft when I admit, “What you know might help us get revenge on our fathers. We’re not after your dad. We’re after something Jerry has that we want.”
Ivy flinches at that, her thoughts undoubtedly going to what she saw the night of the party at my house, and to the little boy with bruised eyes.
Anger and hatred are clear in her face, not at me, but at the men she witnessed abuse me.
“This will ruin your dads?”
I nod, loving how she spit out the last word like it was filth.
Her lips pull into a scowl before slowly tipping up into a conspiratorial smirk.
“Why didn’t you tell me that to begin with? It would have saved us a lot of trouble.”
She turns back to Tanner.
“Okay, so like I said, I only heard part of the conversation. I was walking down the hall outside his office, and he was talking to some guy named Jerry. At first, they were talking about that girl, Everly, I mentioned. Apparently, she was at Yale for a specific reason, but then had to leave. I didn’t hear why, but from what my dad was saying, it was bad.”
We all glance at Jase to see his jaw is locked and he’s glaring at Ivy. And while I assume everyone in this room thinks Jase is the only bad thing that Everly was running from, I also happen to know the other reason.
Mainly because that reason was me.
Everly was how I got a message to Luca’s father that his life was threatened. That message also included the warning that he needed to get Luca away from Yale immediately.
It was stupid of me to do, and went against my loyalty to what Tanner was attempting to accomplish. But I always liked Luca, and at the time, we didn’t know that what her father had would be important to us.
We only knew our fathers wanted her under control.
I made a judgment call because I didn’t want someone like Luca hurt by our families’ bullshit. Unfortunately, Tanner found a way to get her under thumb again, and when he used that to help the twins, I couldn’t blame him or do anything about it.
Tanner clears his throat and ignores the fact that Jase’s head is about to explode.
“What was so bad about that for you to worry about telling us?”
Ivy sighs. “I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”