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“I will. Promise.”
When she was gone, driving off in Winter’s car, I closed the front door, running my hand over my face with a groan. “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.
“You’re not letting her go,” came a voice from behind me, a statement rather than a question.
Turning to face Caiden, I picked up my bike helmet. “I’m giving her a head start, and then I’m going. I’m giving her the space she wants, but I have to be close.”
“I get it. Want some company?”
“I—”
“Code blue! We need to get down to the offices right now!” West’s shout echoed down the corridor, and Caiden’s eyes widened.
“What the fuck is itnow?” he growled.
“There’s some shit going down,” West panted as he skidded to a stop in front of us. “Some fucking new leak. They want us to prepare for a big story being broken tomorrow. The lawyers are on it, but Dad wants us there.”
“Fuck. This timing is—fuck. If it’s Hyde again, I’m going to fucking kill him,” Cade ground out.
“Get in line.” I began tugging on my leather gloves. “I need to get to Fallon.”
West shook his head, a grim look on his face. “It’s not Hyde. They said it’s an inside job. Someone sold us out.”
“Z, you’d better come with us in case any shit goes down. Stop at the graveyard on the way, yeah?” Cade gripped my arm. “Tell her what’s going on.”
“I’m going.” I grabbed the second helmet. “Meet you at the offices.”
TWENTY-SIX
Ten o’clock on a Monday morning, and the cemetery was empty other than a lone figure standing next to Tim’s grave. My heart clenched as I took in my brother, a serious figure in a grey wool overcoat. He had his hands in his pockets and his collar turned up to protect him from the autumn chill. A bouquet of flowers in autumnal colours lay at his feet, propped up against the headstone.
“Joe.”
He turned around as I approached, giving me a wary glance. “Fallon. Thanks for coming.”
I didn’t reply to him straight away. Instead, I knelt down in front of the grave, carefully placing my own flowers next to Joseph’s. “Hi, Tim,” I whispered. “I miss you.”
Joseph crouched down next to me, running his gloved finger across the letters of Tim’s name.“I miss him, too.”
We both stood, and he pointed down the path that wound through the cemetery to a small, circular area with benches and an ornamental pond. “Can we talk?”
I nodded, and he set off down the path. When we reached the benches, he came to a stop but remained standing, turning to face me. “Okay. I need to explain the article. You have to understand that I was so angry when I heard about your relationship with Zayde Lowry. You’d betrayed us all by sneaking around with the very worst person imaginable.”
A burning anger filled me. How dare he? “Joseph!”
He held up a hand. “Please, just let me finish, then you can have your say. I called him the worst person imaginable for two reasons. The first reason is obvious. He’s one of our rivals. Every single one of us accepted the fact that we can play nice in public while we stab each other in the back, except for you. And him. It’s just—” He shook his head in disbelief. “—I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, Fallon. Of all the people, of all the fucking options open to you with your status, you had to pick him?” His voice rose, and he clenched and unclenched his fists. Breathing out heavily, he made a visible effort to calm himself before continuing. “The second reason is that even if we didn’t have this rivalry, he still wouldn’t be a suitable match, and deep down, you know that. He grew up on a housing estate, in a council flat. His mother was a whore and a drug addict. He’s not worthy of being with someone like you. He came from nothing, and despite Michael Lowry’s status, he’ll never be one of the elite, not like us.”
My blood was boiling. I couldn’t stay silent any longer. “I. Don’t. Care. I don’t care that he’s part of some stupid rivalry, which, by the way, only you and Dad seem to be holding on to, and I don’t give a single fuck where he grew up or what his status is or isn’t. I feel beyond lucky that he’s chosen me. I love him, and that’s never going to change.Never. Do you hear me?”
He recoiled at the rage in my tone, his jaw dropping. “You…you’ve changed. I remember a time when you’d actually listen to me, but I don’t…you’re like a different person. Do you even understand the consequences of your choices? You actuallylovethis person?”
“Ihavechanged. I’m not a naive child, Joe. I’m capable of making my own decisions, of understanding them, and I will always choose him. Every. Single. Time.”
“Fuck.” His shoulders slumped. “Please, Fal. Don’t do this. Our family’s falling apart. We need to pull together. Otherwise, we risk losing everything that the Hydes have worked for, for generations.”
“My decision is final.” I stepped closer to him, waiting until he met my gaze again. “So that was why you decided to release the article? Because of my relationship with a man that you don’t approve of?”
He couldn’t hold my gaze, and alarm bells started ringing. Shaking his head, he ground a fallen leaf under the toe of his shoe. “The article wasn’t my decision. I was just…I was so angry and betrayed, like I said. I went to visit Dad—remember I told you I was going to see him after I’d been to the grave—and the whole thing came out. He was…incensed was probably the word. He told me about a contact he had at that sleazy tabloid and made me agree to speak to him and get the paper to run the story. The guy owed Dad a favour or something, I guess.”
