AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grayson shook his head, his eyes darkening. “Okay,” he said. “Okay, I like danger. But when it comes to you? Absolutely not. I would do anything to protect you.”
I scoffed. “Right,” I said. “Anything except talk to me.”
Chapter Twelve: Teo
Ihad always known my house to be a sanctuary, a place removed from the chaos that we dabbled in daily. But now, with the moon high and relentless and the electric neon lights casting deep shadows across the marble floors, it felt like anything but. I stood there, fists clenching and unclenching at my sides, as Grayson’s confession echoed off the walls.
He’d left the sliding door half opened and I had heard everything.
I opened it all the way and took a step toward the pool. “Grayson,” I started, my voice low, barely containing the torrent of anger brewing inside me. “You wanna tell me why you thought planting Sofia’s phone at Brady Thompson’s was your call to make?”
I should’ve probably waited to confront him until we were alone, but I wasn’t going to do that. Not when he had fucked up so monumentally.
He shifted, the light catching the edge of uncertainty in his eyes before he masked it with the kind of cool that only pissed me off more. “Boss, listen—“
“Listen?” I cut him off, stepping closer so I could see the truth in his gaze whether he wanted to give it or not. “You went behind our backs.”
Grayson looked pale, despite how hard he was trying to keep his chin up. "I was just trying to protect her."
“Protect her?” My laugh was bitter, sharp as broken glass. “Or control her? ‘Cause last I checked, she doesn’t need a keeper.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” Grayson said.
“Whoa,” Jace said. I had no idea where he had come from, but I was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that Victor, Jace and Sofia were watching us, and I most certainly couldn’t let Grayson disrespect me like this.
“Guys, is this really necessary?” Sofia asked.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Jace put a hand on her shoulder.
The air between us crackled, charged with unsaid things, a history of moves and countermoves. Then, something snapped—a flicker of defiance in his eyes, maybe, or the set of his jaw.
He glared at me. “Sometimes, you gotta make the hard choices,” Grayson said, stepping into my space. “Even if they’re not popular.”
I let out a derisive snort, my lips curling with contempt. “Hard choices?” I growled, stepping forward until we were nose to nose. “No, Grayson, you made a selfish one.”
With a sudden burst of aggression, I shoved against his chest and he stumbled backwards, caught off guard. It was meant as a warning, but Grayson bristled and squared his shoulders, his jaw clenching tight. He should have known when to back down.
He should’ve known when to call it.
He should’ve simply apologized.
Instead, in that moment, I saw the familiar fiery determination in his eyes, the refusal to back down.
“Keeping her safe is all that matters,” he replied, his voice rising to match mine.
“By lying to her?” I said. “By breaking her trust?”
“It’s better than letting her walk straight into danger!” Grayson said.
That was the final straw. The line had been crossed and I couldn’t hold back any longer. My hand flew out and gripped the front of his shirt, bunching the fabric under my fingers. Ignoring his shocked expression, I hauled him towards me. He tried to scramble away, his movement enough to trip me over, and we tumbled into the pool behind me.
The shock of cold water engulfed us both as we sank beneath its surface. For a moment, all the noise and chaos fell away—the mission, the secrets, the damned Viper—reduced to muffled sounds underwater and the primal need for oxygen.
We broke through, gasping, flailing—two grown men in a ridiculous tangle of limbs and fury. Grayson coughed, pushing wet hair from his face, his expression one of disbelief. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“Me?” I spat water from my mouth, glaring at him. “I should drown you right here and now, you fucking asshole!”
“Look, I…I did say I was sorry,” Grayson said. “I apologized.”
