Page 117 of Pretty Little Lies

His jaw locks, but he knows he’s outnumbered in this room.

Outside of it, however, might be a completely different story.

“You can understand my worry with how I wouldn’t want anyone besides my own son marrying my?—”

I scoff. “Now you’re just makin’ it sound too hillbilly. Stop while you’re ahead.”

“Stop altogether,” Reeve adds in. “She’ll move the way she wants to move. No one is going to tell her what to do.”

Emilio shakes his head a bit, obviously not keen on the idea, but he has no other choice. I guess Reeve and I have officially locked in as Bay’s bodyguards and Emilio is going to have to go through us to get to her. “Marriage will make sure Matteo De Leon stays off her back.”

“We already do that,” I mention. “And she’s still free.”

“And what about her sisters and her crippled make-believe father, Roger? Are you gonna save them too? Keep them all out in the open in South Shore? I got through just fine, my boy. What makes you think someone won’t take out the only heir of The Landings?”

“We’ll handle it.”

Emilio leans back in his chair and takes more pressure from the gun, not seeming to care about it anymore. “Cairo on board with this?”

“Cairo doesn’t care.”

That’s a lie.

“Cairo doesn’t like baggage. Why do you think he hasn’t married the Muncy girl yet?”

“Because she’s a cunt?”

“She’d be good for business. Keep Muncy on a leash.”

“I thought you had that covered.”

Emilio smirks. “I do. However, with a woman like Bay comes problems. And…” He shoves himself up to stand and meets me eye to eye. “Your brother is getting a little stir-crazy already. Tell me, what will he do if she wants to leave? Is he going to hold a gun up to her, too?”

“You’re gettin’ it twisted, Wildes,” Reeve sneers. “I won’t miss you when you’re gone after I blow you away. With her, I might die, but at least she’ll still roam this Earth free. And I know how it feels to live in chains by my own fucking mother.”

Emilio slowly turns around, going head-to-head with Reeve and his gun. “You say that now…but wait until she starts fucking other men behind your back. If she’s anything like her mother…you’d be surprised at what you might do.”

“You must’ve not have fucked her good enough.”

My father takes a step toward Reeve and my heart races because my boy is starting to edge off his easy-going persona and into a fucking rage-filled blur. “You’re a nothing. You holdno title. Your mother is a cheap coke dealer who couldn’t run a fuckin’ puppet show. Do you think my daughter is gonna stick with you? She runs with men who have something to off. Power and respect amongst men. You’re just a third wheel because my son and his friend decided to take you in because you belonged nowhere.”

“I’ll remember that when I pick up a fuck.”

Emilio doesn’t respond, striding from my office and not bothering to push on the subject.

However, we’re not done. If I don’t pick this up or even Cairo, Bay is possibly going to be locked down with my brother.

I just don’t know how Emilio is going to do that yet.

“You’renotmarrying, McQueen.” I slice my gaze over to my best friend who’s already dropped his gun at his side.

At least there’s that.

“I won’t, brother,” I promise. “You get to hold the husband title.”

He gives me a curt nod, and then walks back to his seat that he’s abandoned. Cairo was right.

Shit’s getting too complicated.

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