AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Zeke bristles.
“How bad is it?” I force out the words.
Xander’s eyes remain fixed on the page, and his mouth opens but nothing comes out. A look of horror twists his features. What the fuck did she say about us?
“Fitch!” Zeke’s harsh tone doesn’t seem to penetrate Xander’s haze. His knees buckle and he sinks to the floor. The pages of the magazine rustle loudly in his trembling grip, and Zeke snatches it away. Xander drops his head into his hands and lets out an anguished wail.
Concerned for him but needing to know what elicited such a reaction, I jerk my chin at Zeke. He holds up the offending article so we can both read it. The headline stands out in neon pink writing.
The True Horror of the New York City Puppy Trade
The words blur together, and I nearly join Xander on the floor. “What the fuck?” I whisper.
“Nothing…” Xander groans, his voice muffled by his hands. “Not a single fucking word about us.”
Blinking to clear my vision, I quickly scan the article, looking for any mention of us. Any justification at all for the way we treated her. But Xander’s right. There’s nothing.
My eyes drift to the bottom of the second page—by Lily Sloane.
My Lily. Our sweet, beautiful Lily.
What the fuck have we done?
ChapterForty-Five
XANDER
Iblink at the double-page spread, torturing myself with the pictures of pitiful-looking mama dogs, surrounded by their litters and locked in flea-infested cages. This is what Lily was writing about. Of course it was never about us. Why the fuck would she write an exposé on us? She fucking loves us.
Well, shelovedus. And we royally fucked it all to hell and back.
West has his head in his hands while Zeke paces up and down the kitchen.
“So she wasn’t writing an article about us. She wasn’t trying to fuck up our deal. But shewashiding something,” West says. “Her connection to Nico Constantine. What the fuck is that about?”
Zeke stops pacing. “I’ll look into it.”
“Because you did such a stellar fucking job last time.” I snort. The pain that’s etched on his face makes me want to take it back, but I don’t. They fucking caused this. I should have trusted my gut and forced them to speak to her.
“I didn’t have enough time. I’ll…” He clears his throat. “I’ll find out.”
I shake my head. I don’t have time for Zeke’s guilt right now. I want our girl back, and I want her back today. “Your PI said she looked really happy before and after she met this guy, right? That’s why he thought she was going to his room to get laid?”
Zeke frowns. “Yeah.”
“So, he’s obviously someone she cares about. I don’t believe for a single fucking second that she was cheating on us. Where would she have found the time or energy? So he must be a relative. Brother, cousin, uncle?”
West hurries out of the room, muttering under his breath.
Zeke and I stare at each other for a few beats before we go after him. We find him in his office, firing up his computer.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I read something a few years back…” He types on his keyboard, his eyes narrowed on the screen. “Constantine had two kids. Twins.”
“Yeah, and?” Zeke replies.
“The daughter. I’m sure I read that she died.”
