Page 29 of My Beautiful Sin

“Do you trust me?”

I meet his eyes as I cross my arms over my chest. “Do you trust me?”

“I do,” he says easily. “But I think your perspective is tainted by friendship.”

“And yours isn’t?” I frown, remembering my earlier question. “Does Ronan know about Peter? For that matter, does Anna?”

His head snaps back, but he recovers quickly. Still, it’s enough to confirm that the question surprised him.

“I know Tamra does,” I say. “But I don’t know about them.”

“They know,” he says simply.

“You trusted them with that big a secret because you knew what kind of people they were.”

“Ronan, yes. With Anna, it was different. She knew what I’d been ordered to do before I did.”

“Oh.” I frown as I rearrange things in my mind. “So she—”

“My father sent her here with the order for me to kill Peter. And after she told me, that’s when she ran for Chicago and enrolled in Northwestern. It was the final straw that made her escape my father to try to start a new life. As for Ronan, he was there when Alex became Devlin. He was my friend, my confidant, and my brother in arms. I—”

“Trusted him,” I say softly. “I get what you’re saying. But it’s the same with me and Lamar. And it’s not just trust, Devlin. You can talk to them—I mean really talk. Nothing’s changed now that I’m in your life. But for me it has, because I can’t talk to Lamar anymore. Not really.”

I hadn’t expected to say any of that. Hell, I’m not even sure I was aware I was feeling it. But the words pour out, almost choking me with their power. I still have Brandy, but gaining Devlin means I lost Lamar. He’s still in my life, of course, but only in the censored version.

I watch as irritation flickers over his face. Then he draws in a breath, and slowly nods. He bends forward and presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m not used to...”

I wait, but apparently he’s not going to finish that sentence. “Used to what?”

“To being with a woman who matters to me. Come on.”

My heart is swelling so much it takes me a minute to realize that he’s tugging me back toward the Cask & Barrel. “What are you doing? I told you it’s just the three—”

“Trust me,” he says, then pulls open the door. I want to object, but I do trust him, and I want to make sure he knows that. So I draw in a breath, hope Lamar and Brandy aren’t going to lose their shit, and follow him inside.

He pauses inside the doorway, then cuts a path through the crowd. Some of the patrons turn and look, pointing and taking pictures. Devlin Saint is a known quantity—and mostly known as a recluse. The fact that he’s out—and with the woman who’s supposedly pulled him off the market—is enough to make the photo hounds perk up and start snapping.

“Hello, Instagram,” I mutter as Devlin barrels on.

Brandy’s got her back to the room and is deep in a story, her hands moving as she describes either making muffins or a purse—or possibly petting Jake. Lamar is laughing, but the sound catches in his throat when he sees us.

“Saint.” The word is flat. Emotionless.

Brandy twists around, her eyes wide with surprise before cutting to me. I see the question—and the accusation—and I can only shrug and raise my hands and hope that whatever Devlin says now will get me out of the doghouse with my friends.

Lamar and Brandy exchange surprised glances as Devlin settles into the four-top’s empty chair. I follow his lead and slide into mine.

“You know about Alex?” Devlin asks, his attention on Lamar.

Lamar’s brow furrows, but to his credit, he rolls with it. “I never knew Alex, but Ellie told me about him. Back when we were in the Academy, we exchanged notes on our past relationship disasters.”

I see Devlin wince, but I can’t tell if Lamar notices or not.

“Right. Well, I think it’s only fair that you know the truth. I’m Alex.”

“Oh.”

I can tell right away that Lamar’s response is only perfunctory. He has no idea about the magnitude of what Devlin just said. Then his eyes widen and he says, “Oh,” and I realize that it’s all clicked. “Why are you telling me—”