by Lily White
A bark of laughter shakes her shoulders.
“Let me clue you in to something, Gabe. Women can be mad about different things all at the same time. It’s a special talent. So why wasn’t she mad about you setting her up?”
“What does it matter?” Tanner barks. “The problem we’re facing now is that we just lost all leverage to drag information out of her dad.”
“Of course, that’s all you’re worried about,” Luca tosses back.
Tanner grins, but the expression flattens on his next thought. “He’s just as dirty as our families.”
When his stare meets mine, I nod in agreement. “All this time, I thought she was the spoiled princess. I never guessed she was as trapped as us.”
I’d treated her like crap the entire time, too. It’s just another thought that tightens my fist, sets my jaw, and makes me want to go back in time to see what had been standing in front of me all along.
The front door slams open, several sets of footsteps heading our direction. I turn to watch most of the guys shuffle in. It’s convenient we all live so close to each other. It makes moments like this possible.
After they all take seats around the room, I notice one is missing.
“Where’s Ezra?”
Damon’s amber stare shoots my direction, anger bright behind his eyes. “Not here. Let’s just get this over with so I can get back to what I was doing.”
Something has been rubbing at the twins for the past few weeks, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed.
We’ve kept an ear out to make sure their father has refrained from calling them, but with the promise of keeping Luca under thumb now gone, our leverage over William is gone too.
“What’s up with you?” Tanner asks, his careful gaze pinning Damon in place.
Damon sits back in his seat and runs a hand over his head, his legs stretched out in front of him. Despite the relaxed posture, it’s obvious to everyone he’s on edge.
“Let’s stop worrying about me and get to the reason you told everybody to come over.”
My brow cocks to hear the razor edge to his voice.
The problem with the twins is they are live grenades that must be handled properly. Judging by the air around Damon now, it’s only a matter of time before he explodes.
Tanner senses it as well, his body going still as he watches Damon with concern.
The only way I can diffuse this for now is to redirect Damon’s attention.
“Ivy’s father has video of her torching his pavilion ten years ago. He told me that if we don’t back off, he’ll leak the tape and arrest her.”
“And that’s our problem, why?”
My eyes cut to Jase where he leans against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Sadly, if it doesn’t involve Everly, he couldn’t give a fuck. So I go that route.
“Her dad has a link to your girl. You might want it to be your problem if you hope to find her again.”
Despite our exchange, Tanner is still eyeing Damon. He only pulls away from the stare down when silence falls across the room.
Dark green eyes meet mine. “We need something against the Governor to lock him in place.”
“I might be able to help you with that.”
My gaze shoots past Tanner to watch Ivy, Emily and Ezra walk into the room, a mixture of anger, guilt and worry dousing my blood as her blue eyes meet mine.
She smiles, her expression the sweet one that has driven me mad for years. “You look surprised to see me. Did you actually think my father could keep me locked in a cage?”
No. But I once made the mistake to believe you were happy to be trapped on a pedestal.
It’s both a relief to see her and maddening. Until we know how to keep her dad from following through with his threat, she needs to stay away from us and do what it takes to keep him happy.
Pissed off that she would risk herself, I begin to storm in her direction to tell her so.
Before I make it halfway across the room, Damon lunges from his seat and attacks Ezra, the two brothers throwing punches, their bodies slamming against a wall by the time any of us have the chance to react.
“What the fuck?” Shane yells as he launches forward, his hands gripping Damon’s shoulders to pull him back as Tanner moves to grab Ezra.
It sucks when the twins get like this. They are so far gone and seeing red that it takes all of us to intervene and tear them apart. By the time three of us are on Damon and the other four on Ezra, blood runs down both their faces, their eyes locked in battle.
From the foyer, I can hear Emily crying. Neither Luca nor Ava are in the room, so they must have run after her.
“Someone is going to tell me right fucking now what the hell is going on with you two,” Tanner demands.
It doesn’t pull the twins out of the death stare they have locked on each other, and I growl because this bullshit is not helping.
The front door opens and closes before Ivy and Luca reappear. Ivy turns to glare at the twins, her lips a thin line of anger that means she’s about five seconds away from making this worse.
“Fuck this,” I snap. “Shane, Jase and Sawyer, take Damon to the kitchen. Taylor and Mason, take Ezra upstairs to a bathroom. Get these assholes cleaned up, and then keep them separated until we can deal with the problem.”
I storm around them to grab Ivy’s arm and drag her through the foyer to the front door before she can jump in to get in the twins’ faces. The tension I feel rolling off her means she has every intention of doing just that.
Ripping her arm from my grip as soon as we’re on the porch, she spins to face me. And being this close finally, I see something else that slams my teeth together, pure rage crawling down my spine.
I close the distance between us with one long step and reach up to brush my thumb over her cheek. “Did your father do this?”
Three faint bruises mar her skin, the discoloration not entirely noticeable unless you’ve spent hours memorizing her face like I have.
She jerks away from my touch, her hand lifting to her cheek. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” I growl, suddenly reconsidering the idea that she needs to go back home until we figure this out.
Now, after seeing that, there’s no way in hell I’ll let her out of my sight.
“I’ll fucking kill him.”
Her eyes dart to mine, a storm of thoughts tumbling behind them. Interestingly, she picks up on the exact accusation whispering through my head, her expression softening.
“You didn’t cause this, Gabe. It’s not your fault.”
I almost laugh because, of course, Ivy would know exactly what I’m thinking. She’s always had the annoying ability to see beyond the mask.
But maybe that’s what happens when you tie yourself to a person either in love or in hatred. Both emotions are so deep and insane that you can’t help but study the person who draws them out of you.
She knows me as well as I know her.
Even if I never believed I wanted to.
“It is my fault,” I say, pacing away. “If I hadn’t set you up to do what you did-“
“Do you think I didn’t know it was you?”
“Of course you know it was me, I told you.”
She laughs, the sound one quick burst of sound before she shakes her head. “I knew before that.”
My head snaps her direction. “I’m not following. You knew after you asked for the favor?”
She shakes her head and wraps her arms over herself. “That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier today.”
Suspicion douses me, and I don’t like the way Ivy is looking at me like she has something to hide.
“Tell me what, exactly?”
Her eyes dance away, lips rolling together before she drags that guilty gaze back to me.
“I set you up, Gabriel. The only reason we’re standing here right now is because of me.”
Ivy blinks her eyes, but when they open again, her lips fall apart just slightly, a breath leak
ing over them before she admits, “You’re not the only fraud here. I’ve been one since the day we met.”
Ivy
Have I ever mentioned how much of a clusterfuck my relationship with Gabriel has been?
Since the beginning, really. On a bright summer day in the middle of my mother’s garden. We were surrounded by sunshine and flowers. I was in my favorite dress. And when he walked up to me and I saw his face, I knew I’d found my prince.
Even if he was bleeding.
Even if he was bruised.
Even if he was already broken beneath the weight of his horrible family.
There he was, the boy I would never forget. Never stop chasing. Never let go.
But instead of our fairytale beginning with Once upon a time, it was dipped in misery and spun through with lies.
A broken prince.
The spoiled princess.
And a war where the players had two different objectives.
He hid behind the mask of never being hurt. And I hid behind one that pretended to hate him.
When the time came for me to let him go, when our senior year was almost over and I knew he would leave, I did the only thing I could to latch on to Gabriel.
It was my biggest lie.
And one I refuse to regret now that we ended up here.
Gabriel’s spine straightens at what I said, the mask slipping into place not because he can hide from me but because he feels threatened.
“What do you mean you set me up?”
There’s an edge to his voice that cuts a faint line in the sand. It’s a defensive tone as he sinks back into character. Already, his lips are curling into the arrogant smirk that has driven me crazy for years. His green eyes are sharp, assessing, his posture so much taller as he stares down at me waiting for my response.
Opening my mouth to answer, I can’t find the air in my lungs to get the words out. My heart is pounding in my throat, my fingers curling into my palms.
It’s not even that big a deal. Yet it’s still a game I used to ensnare him because I knew it would drag him back.
It’s just another lie that hangs between us, heavy, bloated and festering.
“Stop imitating a fish, love. You’re cute with your mouth opening and closing like that, but it doesn’t answer my question.”
Gabriel steps toward me and I have to crane my neck to look up at him. Like this, he’s a menacing presence, a tension that could snap at any moment and tear my world apart.
“What have you done?” His voice is far too soft to be comforting.
Sucking in a deep breath, I clench my eyes shut and summon the nerve to admit just how much I was willing to risk myself to ensure I would see him again.
A voice at my back steals our attention before I can get the first word out, Gabriel’s eyes cutting over my head as I turn to see Emily running up to me.
“Are they okay?” She meets my stare before looking at Gabriel. “Did you stop the fight?”
His eyes crawl back to me as I turn to face him. They search my face until locking on my gaze with restrained anger rolling behind them.
Without looking away from me, he says, “Emily, I’m going to ask once that you walk away.”
“I need to know,” she begs.
His jaw tightens, his eyes finally shooting back to her, but I turn before he can say anything.
“They’re fine,” I answer for him. “The guys were able to pull them apart. You said you were leaving. Why are you still here?”
Her turquoise eyes flit to the house and back to me. “I just had to make sure. It’s my fault.”
“You both seem to be at fault for a lot of things lately.”
The deep whisper of Gabriel’s voice drags my attention back to him. There is a question and a warning in those words, accusation in his tone.
Knowing I have to get this conversation over with so he can see what I did isn’t as bad as he thinks, I glance back at Emily and offer her a weak smile.
“The twins are fine. I promise. Just take off, and I’ll call you later.”
She nods, her eyes glancing at the house once more before she turns with keys in hand to walk off to her car.
I stare after her until her shadow is indistinguishable from the rest in the distance, a breath pouring over my lips as I turn back to the looming presence at my back.
Gabriel’s fingers gently touch my jaw, green eyes finding mine with a threat clearly written in them. His voice is so gentle it’s chilling.
“What did you do?”
His thumb sweeps the line of my jaw and I shiver at the contact, my throat going dry. And, really, it’s bullshit. He’s the one who wanted what happened, I only used it to my advantage.
Even if I hadn’t known, everything would have turned out the same. So what if my decision was based on my objective instead of his? We would have ended up here regardless.
Shrugging a shoulder, I spit out the truth. Dragging it out is ridiculous.
“I knew you set me up to burn down the pavilion.”
Gabriel blinks, his damn thumb so freaking soft against my face, the pad of it brushing over the faint bruises my father left.
“We’ve established that. I’m sure you figured it out after you received the recording the next morning.”
“No, Gabe. That’s not what I mean.”
Pulling away from his touch because it’s distracting me and scrambling my thoughts, I confess, “I knew before I burned the pavilion. I knew you started the rumors. I knew you set the challenge. I knew you wanted me to ask a favor. I knew everything before I followed through with it.”
His eyes widen a bare fraction. Not enough that anybody else would see the reaction for what it is. But I know him better than most.
Stepping back, Gabriel slips his hands into his pockets, Fraud firmly in place, his posture a blank slate that says nothing.
“Why would you do something so stupid?”
His voice is barely a whisper, so damn soft, yet thunder rolls beneath it. I lift my eyes to witness the hint of rage in his stare. Only the corner of Gabriel’s mouth quirks, the beginning of a mocking grin that he wears whenever he’s about to raze the world around whoever challenges him.
That’s the ultimate truth a person has to remember with him:
Gabriel is at his most dangerous when he smiles.
He takes a step forward, and I step back out of instinct. When his head tilts just slightly and his eyes study my face, I fight to swallow the knot in my throat.
I didn’t do anything wrong, not really, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him.
“Tell me,” he demands, his voice so aggravatingly tender that my heart hammers beneath my ribs. “Why would you do something so insanely stupid?”
My back hits a porch column, and I’m stuck in place as he closes what little distance remains between us. Craning my neck, I stare up at him, my eyes narrowing on the curve of his mouth.
“To hold on to you,” I admit, my voice shaking on the answer.
Momentary confusion flashes across his expression, there and then gone again, replaced by the slow, sinuous smile that terrifies me now, even when I’d only ever seen it as a challenge before.
And why is that?
Why is my pulse so fast I feel like passing out? Why can’t I catch a breath or formulate a clear and concise thought? Why is every muscle locking down my spine now when I’ve never feared Gabriel before?
Is it because I’ve tasted what it is for him to want me? To show he cares? For him to finally admit we can be on the same side instead of at each other’s throats?
Is it because I know what that feels like, and I’m terrified of losing it?
It must be. And judging by the calm way Gabriel speaks, the utter stillness of his body, the sleepy look in his eyes as he stares down at me now, I am losing it.
“To hold onto me,” he repeats, not so much in question, but more like he’s rolling the truth of those words over his smooth-talking silver tongue.
&n
bsp; The smile stretches wider, but it does nothing to hide the rage I see in his emerald eyes.
“You should explain that one to me a little better, because what I’m hearing is that you’re an absolute idiot for doing something so fucking reckless. You knew? And yet you did it anyway? You knew and yet you set yourself up to be caught?”
His gentle voice is gone when he speaks next, the boom of sound causing me to flinch where I stand.
“Do you have any idea how I could have fucking destroyed you? What do you mean you did it to hold onto me?”
Tears well in my eyes, hot and salty, the sting clinging on as I try to blink them away. There’s a bare inch between us now, the heat of his body brushing against mine, his forearm slamming against the pillar above me as his head lowers to pin me in place.
Grasping my chin with his hand, he tilts my face to his when I try to look away.
“Answer me.”
Rolling my lips, I suck in a deep breath, my nostrils flaring as if that will help expand my lungs.
“It was the end of our senior year. I knew if I let you walk away without something holding us together I would never see you again.”
“So what?” he asks, his gaze searching mine. “Why did that fucking matter?”
“Because I never hated you,” I yell, the truth volleying from my throat with tears of frustration behind it.
“Not when you pushed me down when we were kids, not when you tortured me all through school, not when you kissed me in the middle of a storm after telling me how much you hated me. Not once did I feel the same way about you. I fought back because it was the only way you noticed me, it was the only way I could tear off your damn mask. And when the time was coming that I knew you’d leave, I took that last challenge you fucking tossed at me and turned it around so I could attach a chain to you. I knew you’d be back because none of the Inferno do favors without eventually demanding something for it. And when the price is called in, it’s not just one of you who forces the issue. All of you show up. I set that fire and then ran to Tanner because I knew it meant you would show up again.”
Gabriel says nothing, so I keep going because, damn it, this needs to be said.
“I met you when you were at your worst, and I never let go. I held on. Fought back. Distracted you. Challenged you. Fucking made you see me every time you were lost in whatever bullshit your family was doing to you. And I did it because I saw you. Not the mask. Not Fraud. Not the liar. You. So yes. I knew you could destroy me. I knew that what I was doing was the dumbest thing anybody could do. But I did it anyway because I refused to let go. I still refuse. Be as mad as you want about it. I don’t care. But see it for what it is, Gabriel. You may have had Tanner and the rest of the guys on your side all your life, but you had me, too. And that’s my lie. I never hated you. I fucking loved you from the second I saw those bruised eyes and that busted lip. I loved you and lied by pretending I didn’t.”