by Lily White
“Great,” Jase growls. “Any fucking day now would be helpful.”
Ivy shoots her gaze to Jase.
“Shouldn’t you be off getting your herpes treated or something, Lust? Shut the hell up, and let me get to it.”
I struggle to contain my grin, my eyes locking to Jase’s when he moves as if he’s going to rush at her again. Thankfully, he reconsiders it when he sees just how serious I am about protecting her.
Her eyes return to Tanner.
“Anyway, after they finished that part of the conversation, my dad told Jerry he needed to destroy the business. Dad said he didn’t care if his wife was dying or that it would leave John with nothing. He also said, ‘John Bailey cannot know why this happened.’ I’m not sure what that means, but that’s why his name is familiar. I didn’t want to tell anyone because I think it’s wrong my dad ordered that. I thought he was using his position as Governor to hurt people.”
Luca’s expression twists with grief, and she turns to bury her face against Tanner’s chest. His hand softly brushes down her hair as he curses beneath his breath and shoots his gaze to me.
“What do you make of this? Has Warbucks said anything more about what information he wants on Governor Callahan?”
“Not a word.”
Although now that I know this much, I have every intention of digging deeper.
Ivy turns to me.
“What information did you all think my father had? And why would your father want it?”
Thankfully everyone who grew up with us knows Warbucks is what we call my father, and I don’t have to take the time to explain it to Ivy.
“He said it had something to do with a new financial law your dad is pushing.”
She smiles.
“Oh, that. Yeah, he’s pushing it because of your fathers. I can’t blame him for wanting to hurt them. The men who raised you are monsters.”
My gaze lifts over her head to look at Tanner.
With one arm still wrapped around Luca, he stabs a hand through his hair, openly aggravated with this new twist.
“From what I can tell, we need two things. One, we need to know exactly what Warbucks is looking for. After hearing this, I think it has nothing to do with the law being pushed, and he’s just using that as an excuse. And two, we need to know why Ivy’s dad was involved with Jerry Thornton.”
“Three things, asshole.”
We all turn to look at Jase.
“We need to know where the hell Everly is, and now I’m a hell of a lot more interested to know what it means that she was at Yale for a specific reason.”
As usual, Jase is only focusing on the Everly thing, but in this instance, I can’t claim his concern is trivial. Hearing that there may have been more to Everly’s presence has me wondering as well.
“I need a drink,” I announce, the events of the night draining me.
My gaze seeks out Emily where she’s seated between the twins.
“Is there alcohol anywhere in this cabin?”
It’s just like Emily to sneer in my direction. Ivy and I might be on better terms, but her red-headed sidekick and I never got along.
I half expect her to tell me to go fuck myself, but instead she points to the rooms beyond the stairwell.
“There’s a liquor cabinet in the den.”
“Thank you,” I say, meeting her eyes.
Although Emily and I will never be best buddies, she’s still important to Ivy. If there is ever a chance that what’s going on with Ivy and me can be something more, a war with her best friend wouldn’t make it easy.
Emily’s eyes flick to Ivy and back to me before she grumbles, “You’re welcome.”
It’s as civil a conversation as can be expected at the moment.
Stepping away from Ivy, I leave the living room and head into the den.
Thankful for the brief silence, I find the liquor cabinet, and I’m pouring a whiskey when Tanner steps into the room behind me.
His voice is cautious when he asks, “Did you just do what I think you just did out there?”
I laugh and take a sip of my drink, my eyes closing as it makes a smooth path straight to my bloodstream.
“That was probably the most cryptic statement I’ve ever heard. I’ll be sure to order you an award for it,” I say after swallowing.
Tanner blinks in my direction.
“Stop shitting me that you don’t know what I’m talking about. You stepped in front of Ivy...for a second time, I might add. The first time I thought was to shut me up-“
“It was.”
“Fair enough, but the second time?”
“Jase’s temper was a little too hot for my liking.”
Tanner doesn’t buy my answer for even a second. Which sucks for me because I really need him to believe that. Mostly so I can believe it myself.
“What’s going on, Gabe?”
Finishing the drink, I pour another.
“I don’t know. Are you asking this so you can bitch at me and warn me about her, or because you need to know how to behave?”
It’s rare Tanner and I are ever careful with each other, which is why it bothers me more that his voice is softer than usual.
“Is she family?”
I slam the second drink and turn to face him.
“I don’t know”.
His dark green eyes lock to mine. “Should I consider her that until you do know?”
Fuck my life.
I’m not cut out for this shit.
I pour a third drink before answering him.
Seeing that, Tanner laughs.
“I’ll take that as a yes. And how the hell do you plan to drive tonight after taking half that bottle out?”
“I don’t,” I answer after another healthy gulp. “I’ll stay here tonight and leave tomorrow.”
Leaning back against the wall, he crosses his arms over his chest.
“Fine. But once you get back tomorrow, we need to figure out what to do about this new turn of events.”
Finishing the third drink, I eye the bottle for a fourth, but decide against it.
“I have an idea about how to figure this out.”
As soon as I hear Ivy’s voice, I forget my better judgment and reach for the bottle while Tanner glances over to where she stands in the doorway.
“No offense, Ivy, but you have no clue what’s going on here.”
Her eyes shoot to him. “That may be true, but I do know when I see a game being played. Someone is lining up all the pieces around your group at the moment.”
Not all games, I think, my thoughts going back to how she ended up here in the first place.
Tanner looks to me thinking the same thing, and I swallow what’s left of my fourth drink.
How the hell will I ever explain it?
His gaze snaps back to Ivy as if intuiting my thoughts. “What’s your idea?”
“We ask our dads for more information,” she says with a shrug.
Tanner laughs softly at that, his shoulders shaking when he turns his head to stare at me. “That’s cute.”
“No. The fact you don’t understand what I’m saying is cute. This might be a good time for you to stop thinking you’re the master player, Tanner. It also might do your ginormous ego some good to realize you can be played just like everyone else.”
My brow cocks at that, but I say nothing.
Attention sliding back to Ivy, Tanner grins. “And who do you think is playing me?”
One thing I like about Ivy is her refusal to back down. I only wish she would be a little more selective about the times she chooses to show that side of her.
“If I had to guess, I would say it’s your fathers at the present moment.”
“At the present moment?” Tanner asks, his voice disbelieving.
Ivy grins. “You’ve been played in the past. I’m pretty sure of that. But your arrogance kept you from seeing it.”
Tanner’s shoulders square at the challenge in her comment. “When the fuck h
ave I ever been -“
“Ivy,” I say, cutting off the argument I know is coming between the two of them, “why do you think we can simply go to our fathers for more information?”
Her blue eyes sweep my direction.
“I never said it was simple. But your recent media leaks actually may have been a good idea. Despite how fucked-up they were.”
“And the reason for that is?”
She laughs. “We both know you can’t bullshit a bullshitter. But you can make them desperate enough to accidentally leak information in their attempt to keep bullshitting you.”
Tanner laughs. “You’ll need to switch the name on that cryptic award, Gabe. I think Ivy just surpassed me.”
Ignoring Tanner, I keep my eyes locked with Ivy’s, her idea making sense the more I think about it.
She’s such a devious mind, which only reminds me that I still need to watch my back around her.
“Actually. It’s a good idea,” I say looking back at him.
“It’s not an idea at all,” Tanner argues.
It’ll take a better-structured plan for it to work, but Ivy just laid out the bare bones.
“It’s the best one we have. And Ivy and I know exactly how to get what we want.”
Staring at me like I’m an idiot, Tanner asks, “And how’s that?”
Speaking in unison, Ivy and I remind him of the one talent we both have that might help us pull this off.
“We lie.”
Ivy
This situation keeps getting more complicated. It feels like every plan I make to evade or avoid Gabriel blows up in my face.
At the start of this, I hadn’t planned to rat out my father. In fact, I had every intention to keep what I knew about him to myself. Hell, I was even willing to lie and make up something that couldn’t be proven in order to dodge the price Tanner wanted from me.
But then they pulled out their secret weapon.
Facing Luca’s sad face and wet, hot tears shoved me to my knees. I couldn’t help myself after that. I sang like a fucking canary, just tweeted that information all over the place because I couldn’t stand not being able to help her.
It wasn’t just that, though. The moment Gabriel told me the information I had could potentially hurt their fathers was the same moment I became Team Inferno, a fact I’m not completely comfortable admitting.
I have no idea where any of this leaves me, or what it means for the war I know is still ongoing with Gabriel. All I know is that I’m willing to call a ceasefire if it means I can help take down the assholes who raised him.
All I’ve ever wanted was to see Gabriel freed. It’s why I wouldn’t stop fighting as we grew up. Why I dug my claws in and held on despite how cruel he could be.
Does that mean I didn’t hate him for what he did?
Hell no.
I couldn’t stand him for most of our lives.
But the thing about hate is that it’s easily transferable when you discover a more fitting target than the one you had.
The night I saw those men hurt Gabriel was the night I decided I hated them more. And everything that happened after that was simply a matter of me finishing the war.
Still, that doesn’t mean things aren’t hella awkward or as shaky as a chihuahua on meth. There is no stable ground for me to stand on at the moment, but rather than running off, I’ve decided to buckle down.
Tanner and the majority of the Inferno took off an hour after I spilled my guts like a busted dam about the conversation I’d overheard near my father’s office.
And while I wasn’t upset to see them go - especially since Tanner and I were dancing around each other in some weird truce that wasn’t really a truce - I was definitely weirded out by the fact that Gabriel and the twins chose to stay.
Mostly, I didn’t like the twins being here, which is why I made up some excuse about not trusting Gabriel in order to convince Emily to sleep in my room with me.
Thankfully, she bought it, and I didn’t miss the relief in her expression to accept the offer.
The twins ended up taking the two other rooms, and Gabe crashed on the couch downstairs, which was all well and good with me. I’m not sure I can close my eyes around him, or if he would feel safe closing his eyes around me.
Seeing the relief on Emily’s face to sleep with me only made me trust the twins even less.
Something is going on, but despite my repeated attempts to get Emily to open up about it, she refused.
Now, it’s the next morning, and I’m sitting in the living room staring out at the side balcony where Emily is in a heated conversation with Ezra. Or maybe it’s Damon.
Honestly, I can’t tell them apart, but regardless of who it is, I don’t like it.
“We need to talk about our living arrangements before we head back to town.”
Peeling my eyes away from the conversation occurring outside the French doors, I turn to see Gabriel coming down the stairs in only a pair of jeans.
His tousled hair is dripping at the ends since he just got out of the shower, the drops of water splashing down to roll over his shoulders and down his bare chest.
It’s unfair how beautiful he is. I can’t help but stare as he approaches me, his lips tipped into a knowing grin when I finally force my eyes back to his face.
“See something you like?”
It’s habit for me to deny it.
“No, I was just thinking that you’ve really let yourself go lately. Not even thirty years old and you’re already past your prime. Such a shame.”
He grins down at me, the curl of it calling me out for the liar I am.
“I’ll be sure to cry about it the next time you’re riding my cock and praying to God.”
“I’ve never prayed,” I argue.
“Sure you haven’t, but that’s not what’s important at the moment. We should discuss our living arrangements.”
He drops down on the couch beside me, and I shove his chest back so he’s not obstructing my view of the porch.
“What living arrangements?”
My eyes lock on Emily’s face to see her cheeks are red. What the hell are they arguing about?
Gabriel’s voice recaptures my attention.
“I figure since we’re so desperately in love, you’ll want to stay at my place so we can explore your newfound religious conviction.”
My eyes snap to him.
“First, you’d actually let me stay at your house again? That’s dumb. Second, we’re not in love, we just play a real couple on TV, and third I don’t pray.”
“I’ll record it next time for proof.”
“You will not. Plus, I never said there would be a next time,” I argue just before I hear Emily shouting something outside, and my eyes snap back her direction.
“What is going on with them?”
Gabriel glances over at the porch, then back to me, obviously not as concerned about the argument between Emily and one of the twins.
“There will be a next time. Especially considering I’ll have to tie your ass down to keep you from causing more damage at my house, and it would be a pity to waste the opportunity.”
Lifting my hand to his mouth, I shut him up.
“Shh, I’m trying to listen.”
Gabriel knocks my hand away before his fingers touch my chin and direct my face back to him.
“You’re listening to me at the moment.”
“You know what? Both of you can fuck off if you think that’s what I’m doing! I’m sick of this!”
My head snaps back Emily’s direction, a vein of anger unfurling in me to see tears in her eyes that she slaps away seconds before turning to run down the stairs leading from the porch.
Oh, HELL no...
I’m on my feet a second later, the room and everything in it disappearing from view as I throw the French doors open and step in front of...whoever the hell this is...to prevent him from chasing after her.
“What did you just do to her?”
Amber eyes n
arrow on my face, his nostrils flaring as he attempts to sidestep me in pursuit of my bestie.
Sorry, pal, but that’s the last thing I’ll let happen, even if it means I die for it.
Slamming my hands against his chest (which, I should mention is as hard as a brick fucking wall), I shove as hard as I can and only manage to knock myself back.
That’s fine, though. At least, he’s no longer chasing her and is now directing all his rage and death glares at me.
Pointing a finger at his face, I realize I have no clue who he is, but I take a guess to start this conversation.
“Listen, Damon-“
He growls down at me.
Not the good kind of growl either. You know the type. The one that makes your thighs clench and your skin a little sweaty. No. This is a growl that means he’s about to rip my face off and wear it around as a Halloween mask.
“I’m Ezra,” he says on a voice so deep and razor sharp that it’s carving the name directly into my skin.
Still, I won’t back down. I’m protecting my friend. He can step off with his aggressive, alpha male, bully bullshit if he ever wants to get near her again.
With my sweet smile in place, I tilt my head.
“Oh, you’ll have to excuse me for not being able to tell. But then, that’s probably because the two of you like to switch out for each other when seducing all the ladies, isn’t it?”
He knows exactly which lady I’m referring to, and if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll back the hell off.
Sadly, he doesn’t, but I keep going anyway.
“You’re going to tell me what the hell is going on with you and Emily. And when you’re done doing that, you’re going to explain to me what you plan to do to put a smile back on her face so I don’t personally kick your ass.”
Ezra laughs at that, but not in the funny ha-ha way, more the you’re about to die way that would make a normal person piss their pants.
I like to think I’m confident he won’t pick me up and toss me headfirst off the porch right now, but the evil grin that stretches his lips says differently.
“What’s actually going to happen here is you’re going to get out of my way in the next second or I’ll move you.”
A smart person would move.
Unfortunately, I’m not that person.