Page 177 of Tempting Fate

Again, our fathers and Hunter believe it’s highly unlikely.

I’m not willing to gamble Lily’s freedom on their gut feeling.

“Oh, it’s urgent all right, little Cherub,” Brutus tells us. He leans back in his chair and folds his hands over his stomach. The smirk on his bandaged face is at odds with his next statement. “I learnt somethin’ rather disturbin’ last night.”

“Did you just?” Lily rolls her eyes at his theatrics. She touches her phone. I check the time when her screen lights up since Brutus made me stick my device in Cub’s box before he’d let me in. Turns out we’ve been sitting here, silently stewing on Brutus’ intentions while ignoring each other, for more than half an hour. “Are you going to tell us anytime soon, or should I tell Gabriel that I’m going to be longer than expected because my dad is incapable of reaching the point?”

When Brutus doesn’t react to her sarcastic pronunciation of “dad”, my gut lurches. He usually flinches when Lily distances herself from him. At the moment, he seems to relish it. Almost like he’s ready to set her permanently adrift.

“Brutus,” I venture in a tight voice. “Maybe we should talk first?”

Lily snorts. “Why? I already know about the deal… what could be worse than that?”

“Well, that’s the best news I’ve had all day,” her father offers with a slimy grin. “Now I can get to the fun stuff without needin’ to backtrack through all the muck you two have tried to rake over the past year.”

“We’re the muckrakers?” Lily asks with a scowl. “You’re a fucking rat who sold out his own club… it doesn’t get much muckier than that.”

Brutus acts like she hasn’t spoken. “I hope you got your fill of each other on that balcony… hope it was worth the price you’re about to pay for breakin’ our agreement.”

My palms slap against the solid oak table as I push to my feet. “That was months ago. We haven’t been near each other since.”

“Bullshit.”

Lily’s eyes turn big and round at her dad’s vehement denial. “Nothing happened last night, either. We had an argument, and I went home. That’s it.”

“It’s true,” I confirm. “The scene in the bar is as far as it went.”

Brutus pins me to the spot with a knowing glance. “The scratches on your neck and the bruise on your chin tells me otherwise.”

“Dad,” Lily protests. “I hit him. We didn’t do… that.”

“Last night was simply the final fuckin’ straw,” Brutus interjects over her defence of our actions. “I’ve been watchin’. So have my men. My gut said it was only a matter of time before you both betrayed me again… Isaiah’s loose lips around Sander just confirmed it.”

“Sander?” Lily says her twin’s name with confusion. “He isn’t even speaking to you.”

“He is now.” Without explaining further, Brutus hits the button for the intercom that’s wired into the wall behind him. “Bring him in.”

The double doors behind me swing open, and Cass all but carries a heavily beaten Sander into the chapel. The younger black-haired man is handcuffed, his top lip bleeding. His clothes are creased and bloodstained, and Sander looks like he’s about to pass out at any second. The odd angle he holds his left leg as he limps forward makes me think it’s broken.

“What the fuck?”

Brutus’ twin brother has the good grace to look sheepish in the face of my rage.

He was supposed to be on my side, so seeing him with Sander is a gut punch.

I stomp over to the two men and rip Sander free of his traitorous uncle’s grip. A closer look at Lily’s twin pushes me over the edge. Seizing hold of his shirt front, I pull his face to mine. “You’re fuckin’ high.”

“What? No!” Lily is on us in a flash. Pure agony is all I hear when she says, “Sander… after all this time. Why?”

“I didn’t shoot up, they did it to me,” he whispers hoarsely. His throat is raw from what I figure is a night spent screaming for help in the bunker or one of our sheds. “But it’s my fault. I fucked everythin’ up… thought I could fix it with them before anyone found out. All I did was make it worse.”

“What did you do?” I demand.

Brutus bangs his gavel. “If everyone would take a seat, we can get this over and done with and move onto the upcomin’ celebrations.”

“Celebrations?” Lily whirls on her father. “How can you have anything to celebrate?”

“By the end of this meetin’, we’ll all have things to celebrate.”

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