Page 34 of The Oath

“As would I. We’ll look into her, though. If she does, she will be dealt with as well. I also need you not to tell Rylan about this. He will never go for it.”

“Won’t he know when I’m not here?”

“I’ll give him something to do,” he tells me.

“I don’t know, Mr. Banter. I … I don’t like lying to Rylan.”

“You care about him.” I nod my head.

“Very much.” He hums his response.

“If we were to tell Rylan what we know now, he would kill Brady without any further proof. That wouldn’t bode well for him. Do you understand?” Shit. I didn’t think of it that way. I can’t tell him. Rylan can’t know because if he kills Brady without consent from the leaders, he’ll be killed.

“I won’t tell him.” Matt smiles and nods his head.

“Good. We’ll do this tomorrow night. Give me time to get things set up and in place. We won’t let him hurt you. We just need the proof he intended to.” I nod my head, understanding what he’s saying.

Before he can tell me to go, the door flies open, and Rylan stomps in, fully dressed.

“What the hell is going on?” he asks, looking between us.

“Nothing at all. We were just chatting about the upcoming party at Chaos,” Matt tells him. Ry’s eyes come to meet mine and I just hold them. He’s looking to see if we’re lying or not, and I can’t let him see the truth. I won’t let anything happen to him. Rylan nods and runs his hand through his hair before nodding for me to follow him out of the room. I stand, never glancing back at Matt as I leave his office.

As soon as the door closes behind us, Rylan has me around the neck, shoving me against the wall.

“What were you doing in his office?”

“He just told you.”

“You were talking about the party? Why do I find that hard to believe?” He narrows his eyes at me, and I want to tell him everything. I hate lying to Rylan.

“It’s not that hard to believe, Rylan. I went to ask him if the princesses would be safe attending, as the charity event got shot up.” He watches my face for any signs I’m lying, and when he doesn’t see it, he nods his head slowly and pulls his hand from my throat.

“Why didn’t you ask me?”

“You were passed out. I didn’t want to wake you. I was going to go over to Angel’s when I noticed his door open. I just peeked in to ask.” His eyes are as black as his soul, and right now, they’re burning through me as if I’m in the pits of hell.

“Did you eat?” He changes his line of questioning.

“No.”

“You need to eat. I don’t want you out running around with Angel and not eating.” Grabbing my wrist, he tugs me along with him down the stairs. When we make it to the kitchen, his mom is there at the stove.

“Hey, Mom.” She looks over her shoulder and smiles at the two of us.

“Hungry?” she asks.

“Yeah. You mind?” he asks, nodding toward me.

“Of course, I don’t mind. Tamsyn, sit,” she says sweetly. I sit on the stool as Rylan excuses himself for a minute when his phone rings. I watch him walk out the front door to take the call before turning back to Meg, his mom.

“He seems to really care about you,” she says as she sets a plate of food in front of me.

“I care about him, too.”

“But you weren’t chosen for him,” she adds. I shake my head no. She glances around before leaning on the counter in front of me. “As a queen, there are many rules to follow, but we’re also here to help the princesses with what they need. I like you, Tamsyn. Always have. And I’m going to say something that should stay between the two of us, yes?” She glances around again as I nod my head.

“There is a way for you to be with Rylan. When the opportunity presents itself, you must take it. Jen is not good for him.” Jen is the one chosen for him? She’s a whore of the worst kind. She’s slept with half the fucking college campus, and she’s a real bitch. Not that I’m not, but still.

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