Page 12 of Playboy’s Purgatory

Scratch shoots me a look of displeasure, but he doesn’t tell Lola to move along or remind her about the rules on family day.

“I didn’t know she was coming today,” Lola almost hisses next to my ear, smart enough to keep her voice quiet.

My eyes narrow as they sweep over the backyard and spot Vanessa. Just as I’m about to do another sweep, because I know Lara won’t be far behind, the air changes and I already know. She’s here.

Lola stiffens next to me and my jaw clenches. When I look over at Lara, she’s surrounded by a few Old Ladies and Opal, Snake’s sister, and the person we can’t live without because she keeps the clubhouse running. She’s the queen of the ant colony, as it were, and we all respect the fuck out of her for it.

It can’t be easy putting up with all of us, but she does it. Sometimes she even does it with a smile.

Lara’s eyes scan the area, but she doesn’t look at me. When she sees Vanessa, something softens on her face. They share a long look and part of me wonders what they’re communicating silently. The love between them is obvious and Lola makes a choked sound next to me like she’s seeing the same thing I am, and it hits deep.

I can see the nervousness on Lara’s face even though she tries to hide it under a smile. For a second, I wonder if I’m the reason she’s nervous, but then her eyes flick in my direction and they flash with something the second she sees Lola. A warning? A promise?

Lola flinches slightly even though she tries to cover it with a nervous giggle. When I glance at Scratch, he has one eyebrow raised as if he’s watching a show.

Dad walks up to where Opal and Lara are chatting and my stomach drops. I don’t think Lara and Rumble have ever interacted before, and I want to move closer to find out what the fuck they’re talking about. It’s not like the two of them could have anything in common.

My spine straightens and Lola scoffs softly. “Give her two minutes and a few smiles and she’ll charm him,” Lola’s voice is low, the warm air from her lips sliding along my neck. “If she makes him laugh,” her lips smack together slightly as she lets the rest of the words go unsaid.

She sits back with a look of knowing on her face, as if she’s seen it play out before. I study Lola’s face for a moment before glancing at Scratch. It looks like he’s going to say something before Whiskey comes up and pulls him into a conversation.

While draining my beer, I watch Lara. They’re both smiling, the conversation between them clearly more interesting than I would ever think it’d be. When his head tips back and he barks out a laugh, something snaps inside of me.

Rumble has never even had a conversation with Lola. Ever since my mom tried to trap him, he stopped touching club whores. He basically treats them like they don’t exist, with no engagement at any level. I get it, but he doesn’t have to be so damn cold and dismissive; it’s brutal.

Now he’s laughing with Lara. I think I hear Lola say something, but all I’m aware of is the sound of my heart pounding and the blood rushing through my veins.

I stand up quickly and feel Lola’s fingers graze my wrist as I stride toward where Lara and Dad are talking. I’m locked in on them and don’t pay attention to anyone as I pass. But I feel the eyes.

“How about I go and get you a drink, Miss Lara?” Dad offers, his drawl full of charm which would make me smile in any other situation. Right now, it just makes my scowl deepen. “Is beer okay or would you like something else?”

“Beer is great,” Lara tells him. “I can have one and then I’ll go with soda or water or whatever.” There’s a smile in her voice as she talks to him.

He slips away right before I step close enough for Lara to be unable to ignore me. I don’t glance around to see who else is close by.

All I’m capable of doing is leaning closer to her and dropping my voice, “The last time you were here, I told you that you didn’t belong here. It’s still true.”

Her eyes flash with something but she doesn’t back down. She never backs down.

Instead, she crosses her arms across her chest and looks up at me like she’s daring me to walk away. Hell no. Not going to happen.

“I know what you’re doing and why you’re here,” the edge in my voice is dangerous, but she doesn’t heed it.

Lara simply arches an eyebrow. She doesn’t even press her lips together. Her face is calm, too fucking calm.

“You’re just here to shove your life in Lola’s face because you think it puts her in her place,” I sneer the words. “Everyone else might be fooled, but not me. You parade your business in front of her. You parade your daughter in front of her. You force her to watch as you play your part perfectly in the spotlight. No one else notices who you stepped on to get there, but I do.” I’m on a fucking roll, the words tumbling out of me, without noticing how quiet everything has gone around us. My tone turns mocking, “You’re a cruel, fucked-up woman, Lara. Haven’t you had enough? Aren’t you fucking embarrassed?”

She takes one, slow step back, her blue eyes hardening with a resolve I’ve never seen in them before. Not even when I’ve said things to her in the past.

“Are you done?” Her question feels like a punch to the gut with how hollow it is.

Her gaze flicks away from me and when I glance over, I find Vanessa making her way closer before stopping a few feet away. She looks between us, but there’s no fear on her face. It’s almost like she already knows what is coming.

That has my stomach dropping for some reason.

“Do you want to, finally, know the truth?” Lara’s question is pure provocation. A dare. A gauntlet. Her voice drops to a whisper, the question broken, “Will you even believe me?”

A laugh comes out of Lara, and it’s a bitter, twisted sound. I don’t like it; it doesn’t match her at all. The thought has me blinking and locking my eyes on her. Only her, even as I feel my brothers shift around me.