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Cross narrows his gaze on Oakley, and I’ve seen that stare a million times before. He doesn’t trust her. Doesn’t trust that she has been forthcoming with what she knows. Now, he has just what he needs to believe she’s been keeping things from us. “What is he talking about?” Cross mutters, his tone low and lethal, making Oakley swallow.
Oakley raises a brow at him, not liking the way he watches her. “Don’t look at me like that, Easton,” she spits, his name sounding like an insult on her lips. “This is all brand new information for me too.”
Wanting to get this over and done with, Zade continues. “My grandfather had an affair that resulted in Oakley’s father. His mother died shortly after birth and he was adopted into a different family. When my old man heard of this—”
“Let me guess,” Dalton cuts in. “He saw to it that this dirty little secret could never get out.”
“Exactly,” he confirms. “Point of the story, Oakley is the rightful heir.”
I try to put the pieces together, attempting to figure out how my father could possibly be involved in any of this when it all starts crashing in, horror twisting through my gut. If he had Oakley bound in the basement, that means he had intended to take her life. But that doesn’t make sense. My father would have railroaded Zade to protect the blood. He’d dedicated his life to his loyalty. He would never have harmed her. Not unless there was some kind of ulterior motive.
“What did my father want with her?” I question, no longer interested in thewho’s your daddyconversation.
Zade presses his lips into a hard line and sets his gaze on me.
“Just tear it off, man,” I tell him. “Give it to me straight.”
He nods, his loyalty and friendship to me put above all the other bullshit. “Your father intended to kill Oakley to keep me from being able to complete my ritual,” he states, the words coming out of his mouth sending hot coals down my throat and into my gut. “He committed treason, Sawyer. He betrayed his loyalty to the blood by professing his intention to strip Empire of our last remaining heir in the hopes I would forfeit my position as leader, leaving Empire defenseless. We would have crumbled.”
I shake my head. “I . . . I don’t understand why he would do that.”
Cross steps toward me and meets my stare. “Because without an heir or anyone in leadership, he could have manipulated his way into power.”
Zade nods, confirming exactly what Cross has said. I let out a heavy breath, knowing damn well my father is about to lose everything. “What do we do?” I ask, looking back at Zade. “If The Circle finds out about this, he’s dead.”
“I’m sorry, Sawyer,” Zade says, that anguish returning to his tone. “The Circle already knows. He’ll be put to a private trial.”
My chest sinks as I stare at Zade in horror. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “You can’t fucking do that. It’s a death sentence.”
Zade takes a step toward me, a coldness seeping into his eyes. This is the man who’s about to become the leader of Empire, not the friend I grew up with. “You know damn well had that been any other Circle member, I would have slit his throat right where he was standing. Out of respect to you and your family, I gave him a chance to prove himself. And at the very least, a chance for you all to say goodbye.”
I step into him, shoving him hard in the chest. “You’re fucking killing him,” I spit. “Where the fuck is he?”
Zade closes his eyes for a brief moment, struggling with the decision he’s made. “He’s in the cells,” he tells me. “You know just as well as I do you won’t get access.”
“Let him go,” I demand. “You have the power to do that. Override the trial. You can’t let this happen to him. To me. Please, man. My father practically raised you.”
Regret lingers in Zade’s eyes and desperation has me balling my hands into fists. “It’s in motion, Sawyer,” he tells me, trying to remind me of how these things work, but I don’t want to hear it. I know it all too well, and right now, everything is working against me. My father will be executed, and there’s not a fucking thing I can do to stop it.
Dalton grunts from across the room. “Our best bet is getting Zade into power. Make sure he gets through this ritual and then he’ll have enough pull to try and save him.”
I stare across at Zade, seeing nothing but the coldest betrayal. “You sentenced him to death,” I mutter, my chest heaving with grief and knowing I have to be the one to break this to my mom and Cara. “You fucking killed him. You might as well have taken your fucking knife and slit his throat.”
“Sawyer, I—”
My arm rears back and I let it fly, nailing the fucker right in the jaw. The second my fist lands home, it’s like a rollercoaster of wild emotions spasming through my body. I hit him again and again, each punch more devastating than the last, but he just stands there and takes it like a fucking man. He’s punishing himself, knowing just how desperately we both need this.
I hear Oakley’s gasp of horror, but it doesn’t slow me down. I take out my frustration, my pain, my grief, giving it my all until Cross finally intervenes, keeping me from taking Zade’s life just as easily as he took my father’s.
My knuckles bleed, and Oakley steps toward me with wide eyes. As I take in her pitying and broken stare, I can’t help but push her away. Striding toward the elevator, I hear Dalton’s voice behind me. “Where are you going, man?”
I scoff, my heart shattering in my chest. “I have to go tell Mom and my sister that my father is about to be executed by my best fucking friend.”
“Shit,” Cross mutters as I slam my hand down over the elevator call button, the doors opening immediately. He turns to Dalton and quickly nods. “Go with him and make sure he doesn’t try anything.”
I step into the elevator, my stare locked on Zade. I hope like fuck he knows to sleep with one eye open.
Chapter 28
