Page 66 of Seizing Control: Part One

The love coating Crystal’s Gaelic endearment makes me blink. Twin trails of tears run down my cheeks. As her gigantic husband sweeps her off her feet—literally—Crystal flicks her fingers at me in the universal signal to scram. Through my tears, I blow her a kiss, then I return the pressure on Gabriel’s hand to assure him that I’m not going to let that secret out of the bag, and head for the stairs. As I ascend to the next level, it hits me... how does Gabriel know the truth about Topher’s death?

Mentally setting a reminder to ask him about it the next time I get him alone, I softly open the door to the bedroom Sander is sleeping in. My best friend and my twin brother were asleep when I checked on them on my way downstairs earlier, the sedative Doc gave Sander and the drug to counteract whatever Dad had injected into him that Hunter created knocked him out straightaway. Toker had carried him to bed after it was decided that he should come here to be monitored, instead of heading back to the house he shares with Cub and Everett.

“He’s still sleepin’,” Nadia informs me in a whisper.

She sits up slowly, then takes her time climbing off the bed to avoid disturbing Sander. I hold my arms wide when she approaches me, my invitation clear even as I expect her to rebuff my offer of comfort. Sniffing, my best friend surprises me by walking directly into my embrace and circling her arms around my waist. Barefoot while I’m in heels, her cheek rests at boob height, and she makes the most of it, pressing her face into my cleavage and nuzzling me like I’m her favourite pillow.

When Nadia feels me stiffen in anticipation of pulling away from her borderline inappropriate cuddle, she murmurs, “He’s been callin’ for you in his sleep. Apologising for fuckin’ you over and mumbling about your mum.”

“Damn.” I don’t have the words to explain how much it hurts to know that my twin has needed me while I’ve been too caught up in my inner turmoil over Zeke and Slash to notice. “You should’ve woken me up.”

“You’ve been through hell... you needed sleep too.”

“I’m so scared.”

Nadia tilts her head back so she can look me in the eye. “That’s to be expected.”

“I’m also furious at them both.”

Lifting her eyebrows, she asks. “Slash and Venom?”

“Yep.” I shake my head and screw up my nose. “Zeke is sacrificing himself for me, and Slash is helping him do it.”

After rolling her eyes at me, Nadia pushes my arms away and strides over to grab her phone. “That All-seeing Skye profile posted again.” She grimaces, a deep line appearing between her eyebrows as she hands me the device. “Somehow she knows about Alex’s body and Hades’ role in Joseph Kingsley’s death. I thought Gabriel had everything hidden behind a gag order—how can she get away with posting about it?”

As I scroll back through the latest posts, I tell Nadia, “Gag orders only affect registered media outlets. Unfortunately, social media organisations aren’t liable for what users post. All we can do is request they take it down, not that that will put the cat back in the bag once the information is out there.”

“How fuckin’ stupid... surely there’s something that can be done to stop her?”

With a half-shrug, I concede her outrage, even as I know there’s nothing that can be legally done. I scan the posts, startling when I reach the photos she posted of Zeke grappling with the brunette covered in tattoos. My first love’s newest tattoo surges into my mind’s eye and the same hypocritical fury I felt yesterday floods me. “You up for a little day trip?”

“Ooooo, that was your troublemakin’ voice,” Nadia crows. She claps her hands together and shimmies on the spot. I laugh as quietly as I can manage at her weird dance—a strange blend of Irish jig and moonwalk. It shouldn’t work but somehow does—kind of like our friendship. “We’re gonna start some shit, aren’t we?”

“No, we’re going to do some snooping.”

“Does it have anythin’ to do with Miss MMA Boss Bitch? The one with the purple tulip tattoos?” I swallow down the bile that floods my mouth at the thought of this woman sharing a tattoo with Zeke. “I tried to accidentally—” Nadia makes air quotes around the word. “—run into her yesterday, but Isaiah got sus and we left the farm before I could.”

“Well, Crystal knows I’m up to something, so she’s cleared the decks for us,” I tell my best friend as I head for the door. “Come on, you can borrow some of my clothes.”

I pretend not to see the light kiss Nadia presses to Sander’s cheek.

My brother’s struggle is a problem that I’ll have to tackle soon.

Along with Everett’s ongoing silent treatment.

Right now, I need to scope out the woman Zeke’s built a connection with during his stint in Sydney. Not that I’m jealous, per se. I’m more curious. He’s always been a closed book, a bit of a loner, never really interested in expanding his circle beyond the Shamrocks. I can’t remember the last time Zeke made a friend who didn’t wear a cut.

“I saw her from a distance,” Nadia informs me as she skips into my closet. Articles of clothing start flying out of the double doors, and my best friend makes quick work of picking an outfit. As she emerges, clad in a bandage dress and a pair of my over-the-knee boots, Nadia runs her gaze from the top of my head to the red-bottomed high heels on my feet. “Miss MMA is very pretty. Kinda short. Petite, even though she looks strong enough to bench press us both. Not Venom’s type at all... or Slash’s.”

Knowing that I need to deflect her attention before she starts a conversation that I’m not ready to have, I change the subject as I follow her into the ensuite bathroom. “Apparently Isaiah’s fallen head over heels for one of the women travelling with them. A sister of an old lady.”

Screwing up her face while she rummages through my make up shelf, Nadia takes a moment to answer me. “Probably the Asian girl... Saki, I think her name is. Her sister is Ami. She’s connected to Viper somehow.”

“Diablo’s nephew?”

“Yep.” She dabs her face to blend the concealer she’s dotted under her eyes. “He’s no longer a scrawny little shithead, let me tell you... anyway, Ami’s a few years older than Viper, I think, and she doesn’t seem as smitten with him as he is with her.”

“Sucks for him—he’s a good guy.”

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