Page 58 of Twisted Kings

Verity giggled and picked up a fork.

Landon dropped down into the chair next to me and grinned as Milo placed a plate in front of him. “Do I get a smiley face plate too?”

“No, you’re an adult,” Milo replied in his serious voice, completely missing the fact Landon was teasing him.

“Damn, that’s unfair.” Landon laughed.

Verity laughed even harder. It was hard to work out who was the more mature one, Verity or Landon.

Then the door at the back of the room opened and Thea walked in, hand in hand with Kyril. Our eyes met and everyone else faded away.

She looked the same, but different. A little less curvy, but that was hardly surprising given what her father had done to her. Milo had told me some of the details about her ordeal when we messaged.

It made my blood boil to think of her being locked in a cell for well over a week. What kind of father would do that to his daughter?Oh, wait. A man like my father, who had no problem sending his wife to a shady medical clinic that carried out questionable treatments on vulnerable people.

From the defiant way Thea held my gaze, it was obvious she expected me to hurl more accusations her way. The last time we’d seen each other, I’d been angry. Hurt. Furious. Betrayed.

Now I was none of those things.

It had taken a while, but from what I’d learned from Milo and Kyril, Thea was as much a victim in this as we were. Dario was still firmly on my shit list, which was something I planned to tell him once we had a moment alone, but Thea wasn’t my enemy.

“Take a seat, baby,” Landon said, patting the empty chair beside him.

Verity’s gaze flicked between Landon’s hopeful smile and the way her sister leaned into Kyril. She looked almost amused, which made me see for the first time that perhaps she wasn’t as immature as I first thought.

“Milo made stew,” she announced before forking up some meat. “It’s not awful.”

Thea smiled softly at Verity. “Good. Make sure you eat it all.”

I noted the way Kyril kept hold of her hand as she walked across the room. They’d grown closer. My fierce, unhinged friend was far more relaxed here, which was interesting.

He caught me watching them and smirked.Smug asshole. Thea pulled away to take a seat next to Landon, who looked delighted. Kyril scowled briefly, then moved around the table to sit next to me.

Dario kept his head down. He acted like a kicked puppy, which was odd. The obnoxious guy from college who’d made it his life’s mission to irritate the fuck out of us was long gone.

As I picked at the food on my plate, I noticed how his watchful gaze swerved in Thea’s direction every few minutes, which told me all I needed to know. The guy was still obsessed with her.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Landon asked.

Thea’s head bobbed up. She seemed tense, like a rabbit ready to flee at a moment’s notice. Was that because of me?

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. It’s Christmas Day. We need to do shi… stuff.” Landon winced at the near miss.

Thea shrugged. “Dunno. Ask Milo. He’s the planner here, not me.”

“I have everything in hand,” Milo confirmed. “Dinner will be served at 1 PM.”

Landon snorted. “Does Martha Stewart need any help?”

“Who’s Martha?” Verity’s fork paused half-way to her mouth, while Thea sighed.

“Landon’s joking, Ver. Ignore him.”

I focused on my food while the conversation ebbed and flowed. Every few minutes, Thea’s gaze drifted over to me. Was she waiting for me to launch a verbal attack? From the tension in her body, I guessed so.

The food was delicious but my appetite stuttered and died. Exhaustion rode me hard. I desperately needed to sleep, but before I headed to bed, Thea and I needed to talk.

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