Page 125

“Motherfucker,” Asher mutters.

“Honey, are you okay?” Autumn asks me.

I shake my head, because no, I’m really not. My heart is splintering, my body shaking, but underneath it all a new heat is rising in my chest. Not sadness this time. Not fear. Something sharper. Stronger.

Fury.

At him for shutting me out. For Vin for hurting the man I love. But most of all for myself.

How many times am I going to break for a man who won’t open up to me?

WEST

I’ve been holding this glass of whiskey for the last half hour, but I haven’t managed to swallow a drop. Instead it’s clutched in my hand, my knuckles bleached, because it might be the only thing stopping me from picking up the cellphone that’s on the coffee table in front of me and calling Eden.

To tell her everything that Vin threw in my face. The dossier – a copy of which he gave me as a parting gift. The proof of the kind of man I’ve always been when nobody’s looking.

I want her to hear me say I love her. That I meant every promise I made. But if she knew all of it, she’d never look at me the same. And maybe that’s the part that terrifies me most. That I’m not being noble by ending it before Vin destroys it. Maybe I’m too much of a coward to let her see the real me.

The whiskey glass leaves a ring on the table when I set it down. My hand hovers over the phone, trembling, useless. I can’t do this. If I talk to her, I’ll have to tell her it’s over.

Before I can go back to wallowing, a knock on the door shatters the silence. I frown, checking my watch. I haven’t ordered food yet.

If it’s Vin or one of his asshole goons, I’ll explode.

I walk across the apartment, every step echoing too loud in the silence.

Another knock. Harder this time.

I undo the lock and pull the door open, jaw tight, ready for anything.

Except what I’m not ready for is Hudson, Asher, and Parker filling the hallway like they own it.

Before I can even ask what they’re doing here, a fist flies through the air, connecting with my jaw. I reel back, the taste of copper already spreading across my tongue.

“That’s for sleeping with my sister,” Asher spits, his chest heaving.

I drag my hand across my mouth, stare at the blood smearing my knuckles. I should fight back. God knows part of me wants to. But another part – the part that replays Eden’s voice cracking on the phone – says I deserve this.

The second punch comes faster. My head snaps to the side, pain blooming across my cheekbone.

“And that’s for breaking her heart.”

I steady myself on the back of the couch, jaw throbbing. “You finished?” I rasp.

Asher grabs my shirt, yanks me close, and instead of a third hit, he hauls me into a bruising hug. His voice is rough in my ear. “And this is because I love you, you fucking idiot.”

It’s the last part that breaks me. “You shouldn’t,” I tell him, my voice thick.

Then Hudson’s voice cuts in, hard and sharp. “Enough.” He pushes past Parker, his broad frame filling the space like judgment itself. “We didn’t come here for family therapy. We came here for answers. So sit down, West, and tell me what the hell happened between you and Marchetti.”

“I can’t.” I shake my head. “You all need to turn back around and get the hell out of here. Before you get tainted too.”

“Tainted?” Hudson asks. “What does that mean?”

“It doesn’t matter. None of it does. Just leave, please. Let me sort this out.”

“Does he have something on you?” Hudson probes, knowing where all my weak spots are. “Bennett told us about Leona. It can’t be that.” He lifts a brow. “And at some point we’re gonna have a talk about how you don’t hide shit from your best friends.”