Page 116 of Deathless & Divided

“You lied to me.”

Damian shook his head. “I have never lied.”

“Oh, really?” Lily pointed at the shell of a vehicle Damian had been working on. “What do you call that? All of the stuff that’s been happening, you’ve been doing that. You knew and didn’t tell me. My friend’s mother and your own cousin! You’re a sneaky, lying—”

Damian stepped forward, clamped a hand over Lily’s mouth, and grabbed her tight. “Hush. I did not do all of it. In fact, I did very fucking little. The only thing I did do was keep you safe while it was happening. Goddamn, Lily, stop it and listen to me.”

She struggled in his hold, mumbling curses and anything else she could think to spew at him. She didn’t want him touching her or near her. There was no excuse or reason worthy for what was happening around them. Nothing would ever justify useless blood spilling or the heartache of others.

“Listen to me,” Damian demanded.

“Fuck you,” Lily spat, finally getting her face away from his hand.

“Lily, please listen to me!”

Lily bit his palm. Damian shouted his pain, jerking back away from Lily. She took the chance to put more distance between them. From the top of her head all the way down to her toes, she trembled in her rage.

“I was there,” Lily hissed.

Damian nodded. “I know.”

“I was there, Damian! For the shooting, I watched those people … Was that part of the plan, too?”

“No one would look to Dino if you or Theo were at the locations when the scenes went down.”

Locations?

Locations!

“More than one?” Lily asked, feeling like the air was being squeezed from her chest.

Damian’s cool demeanor didn’t change as a million and one emotions washed through Lily. His statement clearly implied more than one. The only other incident Lily had been involved with was the restaurant shooting when Mia died.

The vague conversation and passing looks shared between Damian and Dino when Lily arrived home after the shooting rammed into her mind with an almost painful quality. It taunted her.

How could you not know?

How did you not see?

“He didn’t,” Lily whispered.

“Yes,” Damian said quietly.

“My God! Eve’s mother—”

“Was a mistake,” Damian interjected quickly. “Dino aimed high, meaning to hit above the heads at the table just to get some shit stirring and questions being asked. He wanted a fuss kicked up and some suspicion inside the Outfit, nothing more. Mia must have been standing when he did the drive-by. Laurent, too. It makes sense considering Serena’s spiel. Maybe the argument continued after we left the table.”

Was that supposed to help Lily?

It didn’t!

“Riley focused in on the Poletti boy’s death and wouldn’t let that go,” Damian explained. “He took the shooting as retaliation on Terrance. It grew from there. Dino went with it. It was never supposed to get this big.”

“You texted him that day,” Lily said, remembering that fact.

Damian’s jaw tensed. “Yes.”

“Why?”