Page 99 of Fool Me Twice

“We weren’t.” Fix tried to defuse the situation. Cane had noticed it was his default setting.

“And lying now, too!” Hart raised his voice, his face contorting into a grimace. “I heard you. Getting out of hand. This isn’t me. Who do you think it is then? Since you both know me so well.”

Cane wanted to argue with him, he wanted to jump in and reason with him, but he was so angry about being kept in the dark, so hurt by it that he couldn’t even bring himself to look at Hart properly for fear of what he might say.

“You were eavesdropping?” Fix asked, seemingly incredulous at the thought of Hart stooping so low.

“I have every right to know when it’s about me,” Hart said.

The words were like a key to a lock, and the next sentence fell out of Cane’s mouth unbidden, but dripping in venom. “That’s rich coming from you.”

Hart looked at him, mouth open wide. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

That he had the nerve to look him in the eye tore Cane up. Made the anger burn hotter.

“Arianna Layton?” Cane sneered at him. “Ring any bells, Hart? Apparently, she has something to do with my case, and yet there’ve been crickets from you. You couldn’t find the time to mention that little piece of information, but you had all the time in the world to ask me to fuck you repeatedly over the last few days.”

“I…” Hart clicked his mouth shut.

“You what?” Cane said. “Thought I didn’t need that information? Thought you could decide for me?”

“I forgot!” Hart snapped back, eyes wild as he looked at Cane, clearly still defensive, almost mad with it.

“You forgot?” Fix asked, worry written all over his face.

“Yes, I forgot. Is that a crime?”

“Not a crime,” Fix said. “But clearly a symptom of something. Hart…you don’t forget things about your work. Not things as important as that.”

Hart spun on him, advancing. “So now you’re saying I’m bad at my job?”

Fix backpedaled, raising his hands in the air. “I never said that—”

“Well you’re saying something, Fix,” he said, vibrating in place. “Clearly it’s something when all of a sudden you two are all friendly, having coffee and talking shit about me when just three days ago you could barely stand to be in the same room with each other.”

“Hart,” Cane said. “Calm the fuck down. If anyone has a right to be mad here, it sure as fuck isn’t you!”

“Clearly it’s something when I’m being accused of keeping secrets on purpose,” he continued, like he couldn’t stop, like he hadn’t heard Cane at all. “You all obviously think it’s fucking something, so how about you say it to my face.”

“What the fuck is going on here?” Ash asked loudly, walking unknowingly onto the battlefield with Black hot on his heels.

Fucking fantastic.

“Nothing,” Fix said. “It’s nothing.”

“No, it’s not nothing,” Hart snapped, whirling toward Ash and Black, who recoiled visibly, taking a step back and away from him. “It’s national Shit on Hart Day and you’re welcome to join.”

“That’s a new one,” Black said uncertainly, clearly trying to ease the tension like he seemed to do often, but failing miserably at it.

“Apparently I’m fucking shit up left, right, and center, and we’re gathered here now so I can be in the know about all the things I’ve done wrong lately,” Hart said, holding his arms out. “So have at it. You had a lot to say the other day.”

Black frowned, looking at Fix for guidance, who just shook his head to get him to stand down. But Ash, the fucking hothead, clearly was not picking up any of the signals. He’d mostly been out of the house since the argument, presumably staying at Morgan’s. This was the first time the two brothers had met since then, and it was like someone had just pressed play on them again, starting them right back at the same place.

“Since when do you swear, Saint Hart?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s not very becoming of you.”

Hart exploded. Like that one tiny thing was enough to set him off completely. “Since I’m a fucking adult and free to do whatever the fuck I want!” he yelled, squaring up to Ash.

Ash, on his best day, didn’t like people getting all up in his face.

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