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“She was,” I answered. “Up until Jennifer reminded me that the diamond necklace that I gave her meant something and that I couldn’t just keep brushing her off.”
Fox let out a low whistle. “Damn.”
Rylee started pacing, but Stone quickly grabbed her and yanked her against his body. “I should have kicked Laney’s ass when I had the chance,” she fumed.
“Okay, so this is obviously August’s handiwork again,” Saxton said. “It’s too much of a coincidence for it not to be. First, he tells you that he’s going to ask her out, and then Laney is encouraging Jennifer to force a friendship with you. Maybe that punch bothered him more than he let on if he’s out to ruin things for you.”
“Hold up, you punched August?” Kincaid asked. After quickly recapping what happened, the girl just looked at me before saying, “Okay, there seems to be a lot to unpack here.”
“I say we kill them both,” Stone said, and the seriousness in which he said it told us all that he wasn’t being facetious.
“That still doesn’t get me Sutton back, Stone,” I pointed out. “While I’d love to put Remington into the ground, that doesn’t solve my problems with Sutton. I already fucked her over once. Do you seriously think she’s going to forgive me a second time?”
“That’s why we’re here, huh?” Saxton remarked.
I nodded. “Yep.”
“Okay, I’m obviously missing something,” Rylee piped up. “Why are we here?”
“The only chance Ross has of getting Sutton to forgive him is to tell her the truth about everything,” Kincaid told her. “The problem with that is that it’s not only his secret to tell.”
“Even if I bow out of the organization now, Sutton is going to want to know everything, and quite frankly, it’s no less than she deserves,” I said. “But I can’t do that. I can’t break those contracts, no matter if I remain a member or not.”
“I get where you’re coming from,” Stone said. “I do. However, we all know that there’s no way the organization is going to just let you walk away by choice. You’re a Carmichael. It’s one thing if you fuck up beyond what is redeemable, but to just give it all up?” Stone shook his head. “It’s not going to happen.”
“He’s right,” Fox added. “You’d have to…shoot The Pope or some crazy shit like that, and even then, I’m not sure they’d let you go.”
“You know too much,” Saxton chimed in. “And you’d be the first person to ever walk away willingly. Between Stone and Rylee having the first Hera contract, the marriage, and the discord with August, if you tell Alexander that you want out, there’s no telling what he’ll do. He’s not going to admit to the governing panel that he's lost control of his initiates.”
I ran my hands through my hair and pulled.“Fuck.”
“Okay, I realize that I’m new here, but…what’s the problem with telling Sutton the truth?” Rylee asked. “I mean, I get that legally it’s an issue with NDAs and contracts signed, but if you trust her, that shouldn’t be an issue, right?” Her head swiveled as she looked at each of us. “I mean, what happens when members marry at a later age? Do they not tell their wives anything?”
“Actually, when a member marries, his wife is required to sign the same contracts that you girls signed,” Fox answered. “Well, except yours, Rylee.”
“The only problem with that plan is that I can’t get Sutton to talk to me, much less marry me,” I reminded them.
“Would you marry her?” Stone asked.
“I love her,” I told him honestly. “I…it might be too soon, but I love her. So, yeah, I’d marry her.”
“Saxton?”
He looked over at Kincaid. “Yeah, babe?”
She didn’t say anything. She just looked at him, and it was like they were having their own silent conversation. It also didn’t go unnoticed how Fox tensed up when Saxton called her babe. Even though Saxton said they’ve been best friends since the second grade, Fox clearly had some issues with their relationship. However, since I had no idea what Fox and Kincaid had going on, I was lost to it all.
Finally, Saxton looked over at me. “If you love her, Ross, I got no issues,” he said. “If you trust her, then I’m fine with breaking the confidentiality of it all.”
The air in my lungs got stuck as I looked over at Kincaid. Whatever she was to him, she was someone extremely important for Saxton to risk his future for mine. She had silently told him what she wanted, and he’d heard her clearly.
“Fuck them,” Stone said. “I’m fine with it, too.”
It was hard not to feel humbled. A month ago, I didn’t know these guys. Not like this, at any rate. We knew each other by sight, reputation, and banal conversation. However, now, they were in my kitchen, and they were telling me they were willing to fight with me on this.
Still, it had to be all or nothing. I looked over at Fox. “You don’t owe me anything,” I told him.
He glanced over at Kincaid, then looked back at me. “I got your back,” he said, and my knees were struggling to hold me up. “On one condition though.”
