Page 47 of Fierce Monarch

“He apologized. Said he didn’t mean for this to happen. Told me he still loves me.”

She laughed like it was a joke, but I knew Mari too well for that. She was still smarting from Nate’s betrayal. Pretty sure she always would. “Do you believe him?”

Silence followed, and then, quietly, she whispered, “I don’t know.”

She wanted to, though. I knew, and when I looked up, I could see there was no doubt that Dominic did too.

What we were going to do about that, I wasn’t so sure.

“I’m sorry for hiding from you.”

“We get it,” Dominic said, pushing her hair out of her face. “It sucked, but we understand.”

She shook her head and burrowed into us. “I won’t do it again.”

“Yes, you will. It’s how you process.” I kissed her spine and shoulders, tightening my grip. “As long as you come back to us, it doesn’t matter.”

“Always.”

I smiled at the happy sigh she gave as she wiggled to get comfortable between us.

“No more lies, though. I can’t handle it again.”

“No more lies,” Dominic and I agreed.

But the secrets we carried between us labeled us frauds.

Chapter Thirteen

Mari

With Nate’s reveal, I’d left one person to simmer.

Derek, the poor fool, had been slowly losing his mind, looking over his shoulder as if the boogeyman was coming. He was right.

The Seattle morning was crisp and cold, perfect for a snatch-and-grab in public. People were too focused on their first cup of coffee and getting out of the rain to pay attention to a single work van and a screaming man.

“You can’t do this to me! I haven’t done anything. Please!” The ranting was immediate and jarring. A nod at Dominic had Derek’s hands and feet bound, his mouth gagged.

Ah, blissful silence. If you ignored the grunting.

We took him to the mansion, mostly because I needed the Celestine to be free of Cash and Nate, but also because, while we had an interrogation room set up in our new home, I didn’t want to use it yet. Not for this.

I wanted to christen it with someone bigger.

Dominic and Greyson hauled him inside, setting him up in the same chair we’d put his buddy in. It felt poetic to have them meet their ends in the same space, albeit separated by time. I busied myself with the instruments around us while they worked, trying to forget all about the last time we’d been here.

How Nate had disappeared and left someone else in his wake. How I’d had to bring him back from the brink.

Or had I? Was that a lie too? He’d looked haunted, but I knew better than to assume that Nate was anything but a good actor at this point.

Treacherous, lying Beckstrom bastard.

When I was finally ready to make my little friend squeal, I’d worked up a full head of steam and was beyond ready to go.

Too bad Derek wasn’t interested in my sorts of games.

“Look, I heard Cash called him home. I’ll give you whatever information you want.”

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