Page 22 of Crown of Lies

Nico holds Atlas’s gaze as he speaks, and there’s some undercurrent beneath his words, as if he’s trying to convince his two seconds to trust him—although I don’t know why. Aren’t they always on the same page? Thinking with one mind at all times? That’s how I got into this fucked up situation in the first place. The odds were three against one from the jump, and I’ve always been outnumbered.

Atlas hesitates only for a second, then nods. “Yeah. We’re with you, Nico.”

Killian makes a noise of agreement, and Nico steps forward to grip Atlas’s hand. Then he jerks his chin toward the living room.

“Come on,” Nico says. “We have some information to share. We can start at the beginning.”

He heads toward the living room, and Killian and Atlas move immediately. I follow after him, with Killian and Atlas flanking Nico and me.

I huff a breath at the feeling of them moving behind me like shadows. Message heard loud and clear.

Truce or no truce, none of them trust me—and the feeling is entirely mutual.

Nico takes a chair, and Atlas stands off to the side. Killian sits, and of course that leaves two options to me—I can stand too, or I can sit on the couch beside him.

Stubbornness tells me to stand.

The jelly-like wobble in my legs, however, tells me I need to bite back my pride and sit the hell down.

Besides, this is still my house and my furniture, so if anyone should be sitting on it, it’s me.

As soon as I take my place on the opposite side of the couch from Killian, I could swear my whole body lets out a sigh of relief. Between being chained up, interrogated, and fucked beyond reason, this is the first crumb of true comfort I’ve had in days.

As I get comfortable, or at least try to, Killian shifts beside me. I glance to the side, and although his eyes aren’t on me, he takes in a deep, shuddering breath.

My stomach clenches.

Oh god. He can smell me.

He can smell the sex on my skin. I know it, even though it’s crazy to think so. But Killian has always had a knack for noticing things about me that other people don’t—not even myself.

I shift beside him, trying to ignore… well,him.The awareness that I have of him, knowing that he’s silently cataloging everything about me. From the messiness of my hair down to the fact that my clothes are just as disheveled as I am, my upper body still covered only by my bra. I can practically hear his brain putting together the pieces, assembling the puzzle that paints the exact picture of what Nico and I just did.

A flush creeps up my cheeks, but I grit my teeth, keeping my chin lifted. It’s none of Killian’s goddamn business who I fuck anymore, and I was just doing what I had to, looking for an opening and taking advantage of the way Nico’s guard dropped after he fucked me.

Some tiny part of me knows that having sex with Nico wasn’t a tactical decision in that moment, but I refuse to acknowledge that part—just like I refuse to acknowledge the tense aura that feels almost like jealousy radiating from Killian.

Forcing all of those confusing thoughts out of my head, I turn to Nico.

“Alright. You wanted to share information, so share,” I say coldly. “I want to know what’s been going on—from the beginning. I can’t help you unless I know the full story.”

The room goes quiet for a moment after I speak, and my exhausted body braces for a fight as I wonder if Nico has changed his mind about the truce already.

If he goes back on his word, I really will kill him this time.

But then he looks at Killian and Atlas, nodding to each of them.

“The Saint reached out to us first through an intermediary,” Atlas starts. He doesn’t even look at me as he speaks. “That in itself was a bit unusual. Most of our dealings aren’t so…”

“Smoke and mirrors,” Killian finishes.

Atlas nods. “This intermediary never showed their face, but they informed us that an interested party was curious about whether or not we were available to do work for hire.”

“I initially told the middle man no,” Nico continues. “We’re not mercenaries, and even if we were, that’s work for enforcers, not the three of us.”

“But when your name was mentioned, someone got a little curious.” Atlas looks to Nico pointedly, and Nico shrugs, huffing a breath.

“It’s not every day that someone is as interested in your sworn rival as you are,” he says. “It seemed like a job that would benefit us as much as our employer.”

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