Page 96 of Filthy Few

“Not at the start, I needed Thomas to trust me and the only way I could do that was to make them all think I had switched sides. I told you so many times I chose the winning side and I meant it.”

“You meant you picked our side, not theirs.” I nod. “Ezekiel?” she whispers his name as she is afraid to dare hope. I suck in a shuddering breath then push my mask up, her gaze roams the planes of my face greedily.

“He’s my best friend, witch, I may have a twin but he knows me better than her. I may have been able to fool Hayze and Archer and have them and even you believing the worst of me, but not Ez. He saw right through my act and I had no choice.”

She tears out of my hold and shakes her head, the sad look that graced her face a minute ago is replaced by loathing as she scowls up at me. “You always have a fucking choice, you were a coward!” My face slackens and my resolve hardens as I stare down at her shaking my head.

“A coward, huh?”

“Yes! What was this, a fucking game?” She doesn’t give me a chance to answer. “Waylen is dead, he’s fucking dead, Vox, and so is Ezekiel! You are selfish and self-centered and only care about yourself. Vivian is better off without you and so is my brother.” Her words knock the fucking wind right out of me. I dart forward and grip the back of her neck in a bruising hold and she flinches but I don’t loosen my hold.

“You think everything is about you, witch, newsflash, you were nothing but a toy in the middle of a war that was to be used and guess what? I fucking enjoyed every minute of using your holes,” I sneer, then release her with a shove. She stumbles backward but doesn’t fall to her ass because of the fuckerstanding behind her. “The next time you feel lonely and think the fucking worst of me, just remember it was because of me that you got your mother back.”

“That’s enough.” At the sound of his voice she spins around and at the sight of him her knees give out, but I do nothing to help her. Instead he snaps an arm around her waist as a choked sob burst free of the witch.

“Ezekiel,” she breathes his name out like it’s a fucking prayer, my best friend smiles down at her and nods. She shakily reaches out and brushes her fingers along his jaw as if checking to make sure he is real. “Oh my God,” she cries out, then wraps her arms around him and tugs him close. The sight of him holding his sister stirs emotions inside me that make me want to break shit. Unlike him, the reunion I have with my sister won’t be like this. Vivian won’t forgive me for what I have done, no matter how good my intentions were, she will hold this against me.

My sister is many things but forgiving isn’t one of them. She not only thinks I took Ezekiel from her, but she knows I am the reason Archer and Hayze left her. I may hate admitting it but I know the three of them leaving her has broken her spirit but I had to do it, I couldn’t risk her.

“How are you alive?” the little witch asks as she draws back from Ez.

He flicks his gaze to me briefly before returning it to her. “It was a dummy round, hurt like a bitch, but it made Thomas believe Vox followed his order and gained his trust.” When the witch looks at me, I keep my face blank of everything except anger and disgust. She flinches but says nothing even as Nikoa comes to stand by them.

“You knew Vox didn’t kill Ezekiel?” she asks their uncle.

He nods. “I did, we needed to get someone on the inside as my informant has gone silent and the only way to do that was to get Vox inside with Thomas.”

“The night at your house, was that staged?” she asks.

Nikoa shakes his head. “No. The fact you all fought made it easier. You were all pissed at him and that anger was real and sold Vox’s lie of switching sides and fooling Thomas.” Her shoulders bunch but she doesn’t look at me, good because I want her to feel shame for all the bullshit she put me through.

“Was Vivian in on this as well?” she asks but her voice is tinged with hurt. I fight not to scoff. She is more worried that my sister betrayed her than she is that she fucking shit on me.

Ezekiel shakes his head. “No, we made a choice to keep her in the dark for her own safety,” he says.

“She thinks you’re dead.”

“You can’t tell her, Nova,” Ezekiel implores her. “You can’t tell anyone the truth. Thomas has to believe I’m dead in order for our plan to work. If he finds out Vox was lying, then he will shut us all out. Please, I know you don’t like Mom but this is the only way to keep our families safe until we take down the Saints.”

“How are you going to do that, Ezekiel?” She backs away from him and clenches her fists. “Are you going to make me do it?” Horror flashes through my best friend's eyes.

He darts forward and grips her shoulders. “No! I would never sacrifice you. I swear we are finding another way to do this. If there is no other way then we run, do you hear me?”

“You’re not going to make me do it?” she asks again.

“I would never ask you to do that, we all want out of this Tay—Nova. Me, Vox, Hayze and Archer want to go to college and play ball. None of us want our futures mapped out for us, we want our freedom and we can’t have that while we are a part of the Saints. I would never allow you to be subjected to that shit.”

Before she can answer Nikoa cuts in. “We all need to go, Thomas has just replied.”

Chapter Fifty-One

Nova

“Go where?” I ask Nikoa.

His eyes shine with remorse. “You have to return to Thomas?—”

“No. You have Nexus,” I interject.

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