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Arie nods. Then, we stand in uncomfortable silence. I don’t exactly know how to approach this. I want to be able to trust Lucas, but frankly, after what he pulled, that trust is obliterated, and I’m not sure I can get it back. At this point, all I can do is take him at his word and pray like hell that he isn’t going to cross me again. Maybe he did; maybe he didn’t. But if he’s under my watchful eye, it will take a lot more than what he did last time to get past me.
“Why are we here?” Arie asks, breaking the silence.
My eyes meet hers. They appear round and confused, maybe tinged with a little fear.
“Has your brother talked to you yet?” I ask.
She shakes her head. My gaze shoots to Lucas, who pales slightly. He knows he’s fucked up. This should have already been worked out. Why is he stalling?
“What is holding you back from agreeing to my terms?”
He swallows, and then his tongue darts out to wet his lips.
“I can’t do that to Arie,” he says, throwing one hand out toward her.
Her head whips to him. “Can’t do what?” she asks. Without waiting for an answer, she continues, “My whole life is men making decisions for me. Just once, I wish someone would let me decide for myself.”
“I made it quite clear to your brother that the only way you would be welcomed back within our ranks is if you two moved in with me. I can’t trust Lucas anymore, and I’m not sure I can trust you. You might have had nothing to do with what went down at the flower shop, but you are, by default, a Castle, and I can’t put my life in your hands again without reassurance that nothing nefarious is being planned behind my back.”
Arie stares at me for a long moment, her jaw working back and forth. I’m not sure she even realizes she’s doing it.
“We won’t do it,” Lucas says, his tone resolute. “We can’t. But we are one hundred percent behind you.”
I nod a few times, taking his words in.
“Okay,” I say, getting closer to him.
Geo watches me, his eyes narrowed. He knows I don’t give in that easily. I reach into my jacket pocket and extract my gun, aiming it straight for Lucas’s head.
Arie lets out a scream before slapping a hand over her mouth, Geo inches forward, and Lucas freezes.
I walk toward Lucas until the barrel of the gun is pressed to his temple. “Does this change your mind?”
The door to the compound opens, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Ginny and Dean go inside, then immediately stop at the scene in front of them. No one says a word. Arie hiccups with a sob, the sound ringing out around the room.
“I told you there wasn’t another choice. Either you agree to become my bitch or you die. This is war.”
I can see Lucas’s pulse pounding at the base of his throat, and a light sheen of sweat breaks out across his forehead. His eyes flicker to mine, then away, toward Arie. He’s not getting out of this, and he knows it.
“Answer why you are so hesitant. Are you scared of your father? Of him coming after you?”
A subtle shake of his head. I press harder with the cold metal. He grimaces.
I’ll give it to him. He has balls to remain silent this long under the heavy weight of a bullet staring him down.
Arie is full-on crying now, and Geo is at her side. It doesn’t really matter what he does though. It only matters that Lucas agrees to my terms. That he sees who is in charge here. That he doesn’t think he can get away with going behind my back and doing whatever he sees fit. He almost got me killed.
I almost got me killed.
If only he had been up front.
“Fine, fine. I’ll pack up my stuff and be there tonight.”
“Will you tell Paul?”
“Yes, once I’m gone. If not, he will physically detain me. He will probably try to come after me.”
“I have new security measures in place,” I say, thinking of the new fence and guards on duty.
