Page 137 of Wicked Lord

“I saw Lorelei earlier.” She winced as if she hadn’t meant to let that little detail slip. “She was headed to the country club.”

“So what?”

Cordi’s gaze darted away, and she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. “Lorelei was definitely drinking.” She snatched the tequila shot Gage had been guarding and downed it in one quick gulp. “And, well, I’m pretty sure she was meeting that asshole, Brock Haversham.”

The anger I’d been trying to choke down erupted inside me like a geyser, and my hands balled into fists, crushing the miniature candy bar. “Is that so?”

Maybe it was the copious amounts of alcohol I’d consumed, but stopping by the country club seemed like the best idea. That prick Haversham might have thought he won, but I wasn’t letting my girl go that easily.

I strolled into the country club, dressed to the nines in an Italian suit by some posh designer I couldn’t remember, my hair gelled, and reeking of old money like every other filthy-rich member. Even though I was two drinks away from being completely hammered, I had every right to be there.

Haversham didn’t.

He was an interloper in Copper Cove, and someone needed to remind him that he wasn’t at the top of the totem pole.

The Serpents & Daggers owned this fucking town.

Several members and staff nodded in my direction, clueless to the violent rage simmering in my bloodstream. As I walked into the immaculate dining room, the silverware and imported crystal glasses shining under the extravagant chandeliers, my gaze instantly found Lorelei.

My heart squeezed and threatened to crack under the weight of my pain. Her eyes were dull and glazed over as her father andBrock yammered, and her mother pretended to eat a salad while guzzling down a martini.

When Brock leaned over and whispered in her ear, Lorelei elbowed him off with a scowl. My eyebrows shot up my forehead. She wasn’t even pretending to tolerate him.

Good girl.

Lorelei tossed her napkin on the table, stood, and shoved her chair back so hard it almost toppled over. Brock grabbed her arm, his teeth baring as he spoke. Instead of cowering under his fury, she gave a saccharine smile and ripped her arm from his tight grasp.

I remained on the outskirts of the dining room and followed her as she snagged two glasses of champagne from a tray. When I found her in a dark corner near the service entrance, she was guzzling down one of the glasses. Before she could start on the other, I stole it from her dainty hand.

“Nice running into you, blondie.”

She spun around, her eyes wide and mouth gaping. “Axel, w-what are you doing here?”

“Did you really think I’d let you walk away that easily?”

The shock wore off, and her expression hardened as she set the empty glass on the cart next to us. “I have nothing more to say to you.”

I blocked her path when she tried to step around me. “Maybe I have something to say to you.”

She tried to snatch the glass from me, but I tipped it to my lips and swallowed the champagne in one gulp.

“If you know what’s good for you, Ax, you’ll walk out that door and never think about me again.”

“I do know what’s good for me.” I dropped the empty glass on the cart. “And letting you throw your life away to marry that douchebag isn’t it.”

A biting laugh slipped past her glossy pink lips. “Stop trying to save me. I don’t need or want your help.”

“Do I need to marry you?” I jerked my chin toward the exit. “If that’s what it takes, I’ll have my family’s private jet fueled and ready to go to Vegas tonight.”

Lorelei’s eyes widened for an instant before she shook her head, tucking a lock of blond hair behind her ear. “You’ll be stuck in a loveless marriage and end up hating me.”

“Who the fuck says it would be a loveless marriage?” I advanced on her, forcing her back until she collided with the wall. “I love you, Lorelei.”

The bitterness evaporated from her face as soon as those words fell from my mouth. Her hand moved to the base of her throat. “Don’t say that, Axel. Not if you don’t mean it.”

But I did mean it.

This summer with Lorelei taught me what I’d been missing all these years, and I was a dumbass to think this was anything else. I wasn’t exactly sure when it happened, but I fell in love with her at some point during all this pretending.