Page 51 of Crown of Lies

Despite the conviction in my words to Emmett, doubt starts to creep in. Am I really doing the right thing? Or am I about to make the same mistake I made when I first agreed to this alliance?

Can I ever truly trust these men? The Princes were our enemies not so long ago. Now I’m in bed with them, literally and figuratively. I’ve let them mark me, claim me, share me.

But for what? To keep the peace? To protect my people?

I force those thoughts out of my mind as I walk back to the tattoo parlor. I can’t keep second-guessing my actions. Not now.

When I push open the door, Atlas is still inside, tidying up the station where he inked me. His head snaps up when he hears the door, his eyes meeting mine. As soon as our gazes lock, every sensation that got pushed to the side at the shock of being discovered by Emmett comes flooding back. The feel of him inside me, the way he touched me, the way he made me beg—it’s all still fresh. Jesus, I can even still feel the sticky wetness between my thighs.

My jaw tightens as I do my best to ignore the phantom feeling of his hands all over my body.

I have to harden my heart. I can’t afford to get caught up in the memories. Not when I’m this close to him, when the scent of him fills my lungs, when his eyes are on me.

I paste on a neutral expression, holding my ground as I meet his gaze.

“Emmett’s not going to say anything,” I announce, my voice carefully controlled. “He won’t tell anyone what he saw tonight. I made sure of it.”

Atlas raises an eyebrow, his eyes searching mine as if looking for cracks in my mask. “What did you tell him?”

“It’s handled,” I say, although it’s not really an answer to his question. “He won’t breathe a word of this to anyone. There won’t be any questions, no rumors, nothing.”

Atlas opens his mouth, a muscle in his jaw working as he seems to debate his next words. I continue before he can, addressing the elephant in the room.

“As for the tattoo…” I gesture toward my ribs, now covered by my shirt. “I’ll keep it covered. No one will see it.”

A shadow passes over his face, and he presses his lips together, his jaw hardening.

I keep my expression closed off, determined to maintain my distance, even as every inch of my skin still throbs with the memory of his touch.

“We should go,” I say, my voice sounding hollow even to my own ears. “It’s getting late.”

Atlas nods, his face a mask of indifference. He grabs his jacket from the back of a chair and shrugs it on, his movements stiff and mechanical.

We step out into the cool night air, the silence between us heavy and oppressive. It feels like we’re miles apart, even though we’re walking side by side down the empty street.

And I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t even know if I want to try.

16

NICO

I pacethe length of the living room, phone pressed to my ear, as the pieces of bad news keep falling into place. Seems like everyone and their fucking mothers are trying to take advantage of the fact that our clubhouse is now a pile of ashes. It’s a sign of weakness in a world where the weak get eaten.

Quickly.

“So, what you’re saying is, we’re getting squeezed from two sides,” I grind out, my eyes narrowing as I take in the news. “They smell blood in the water, and they’re coming for us.”

“Yeah, that’s about the size of it.” The voice of one of my top lieutenants crackles over the line, sounding tense and worried. “One by one, our enemies are making their presence known. And they’re getting bolder by the day. We’re not just talking about the occasional drive-by to look for holes in our armor. We’re way past that. Now they’re settling in.”

“Fuck,” I mutter. “Fuck. We need to push back. Show them we’re not backing down. Not an inch.”

“That’s just it, Nico. We’re spread thin here. Maybe a little too thin. A lot of the guys are still dealing with the aftermath of the fire. Some of them still haven’t even found places to stay, now that our safehouses have had to handle the overflow. Thisisn’t exactly the best time to ask folks to go above and beyond, you know? We just don’t have a lot of extra hands for this kind of fight.”

My gut twists. He’s right, and I know it. We’re not in a position to mount a strong defense, not right now. But I can’t just sit here and let these gangs take what’s ours. We need to fortify our position, send a clear message.

“Fine,” I snap, pent-up tension buzzing under my skin. “Keep your eyes and ears open and keep me in the loop. I’ll set up a couple more safe houses, but I want you to put out the word that we’re as strong as ever and we welcome the chance to prove it.”

Yeah, we both know it’s a fucking lie. And no, I hope like hell that I don’t have to back up my own tough talk anytime soon.

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