Page 53 of (Un)Rivaled

And maybe it was the lingering effects of all the alcohol, but I wasn’t upset, wasn’t nervous. In fact, marrying Devyn seemed like the first right thing I’d done in a long time. There had been a void in my world since Devyn walked out of it. We were meant to be, I had no doubt. There was no other explanation as to why we felt so fucking right together. I’d never admit it out loud, but I’d always believed in soulmates. You would too if you’d grown up with my parents. There was no way two people would connect like that if there weren’t cosmic forces bringing them together.

And for a while, I convinced myself I wasn’t made for that kind of love. I was too quiet, too set in my ways, but in truth, I’d met my soulmate before I even knew myself. I just had to wait for my brain to realize it.

Staring down at my wedding ring, I shook my head, loving the weight of it on my finger. Marriage was something I’d always imagined way in the future, after my career came to an end, something I’d find when I was more settled. If it was anyone else I’d married last night, I’d be already calling my lawyers, demanding to get out of this mess. But Devyn was the one who put this ring on my finger, and now, I never wanted to take it off. Fuck, I wanted to tattoo a band underneath it, making sure her claim on me was there for the world to see.

As I heard the television flick on in the room behind me, I pushed off the door, determined to get Devyn everything she needed. Day one of our marriage, and I was already planning on showing Devyn why I was a safe bet.

I walked down the hall toward the elevator. When I pressed the button to the lobby, my phone chimed in my pocket. I frowned as I pulled it out and read the text on the screen.

LW

He knows.

As soon as the words sunk in, my blood ran cold. My heart pounded in my chest as I walked into the elevator, slamming my hand against the far wall. There was no fucking way. The devil worked fast, but there was no way he could already know. Shit, Devyn and I barely figured it out, and we were the ones who exchanged vows. She had to mean something else. But no matter the meaning, we were fucked. If David had picked up on our investigation, nowhere would be safe from his reach. Our power laid in our anonymity. The moment he caught on to our schemes and plan, we were done.

I glanced up at the descending numbers, trying to figureout what the fuck to do. Shit, my head was in no state to process any of this. I should be in bed, showing my wife why we were perfect for each other. Instead, I was having a panic attack in the middle of an elevator, praying this was all a bad dream.

My phone rang, and I could see the same number calling now, probably trying to fill me in on the situation. I couldn’t deal with this, at least not yet. I wasn’t ready for reality to ruin the morning.

But all of that came crashing down when the elevator arrived at the lobby and the doors opened, revealing a very pissed off Laurel Winters on the other side. She pulled her phone down from her ear and narrowed her dark green eyes at me.

As she approached me, I searched for any similarities to my wife, but Laurel was so different from her sisters. Although they were all tall and slim, Laurel was sharper, like her entire frame was cut glass. She’d dyed her hair dark in high school, so her dark green eyes were even more striking. They made you feel like she could crawl inside your soul, learning all your darkest secrets without even trying.

Where my wife had the same calculated stare, there was always a flash of life in Devyn’s expression. Not everyone saw it, but it was one of my favorite sights in the world. When her lips turned up in a smile, it was everything, but Laurel held none of that warmth. It had been whittled down over the years, her light dimming more the longer she was under David’s thumb. It was like she was just going through the motions, her need for revenge the only thing keeping her going.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I walked out to greet her, wishing I could stop time and never leave the hotel room.From the look on Laurel’s face, I knew this conversation was going to be a painful one.

“I hear congratulations are in order,” Laurel said, tucking her phone back in her purse. “Or is it best wishes for the groom?”

“How could you be so stupid?”

Laurel looked around the crowded bar, making sure no one was listening in on our conversation. She shook her head and took a long sip from her wine glass. It was too tempting to order a drink of my own, to try to ease my hangover a little bit. But I was already wasting time away from Devyn, and I didn’t want to stumble back into our room smelling like booze. I needed my head clear if I had any chance of convincing her to give us a shot.

Laurel exhaled slowly and squeezed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “You are supposed to be keeping your distance from Devyn.”

“I know,” I said through gritted teeth.

“That was your job. To make sure my sister stayed as far away from this investigation as possible. To make sure she wouldn’t be collateral damage if this all blew up in our faces. So please, explain to mehow the fuckthat equates to marrying her?”

I shook my head. “I told you, we weren’t thinking.”

“No, shit,” Laurel hissed from the other side of the table. “You’re lucky I intercepted the message before David heard it. Gives us time to clean this up before heeverfinds out.” She emptied the rest of her wine glass and then signaled for another round.

I arched my brow at her third drink. “You sure you want another?”

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion,” she bit back. “And yes, I am sure. Considering I was in the middle of a major merger when I got the alert about my little sister’s impulsive nuptials and then had to rush to this godforsaken city before you did anything else stupid, I think drinks are called for.” She waited until the waiter placed her refilled glass on the table and walked away before turning back to me. “You need to end this.”

“No,” I ground out. “Not going to happen.”

Laurel leaned forward. “Let me remind you, you came to me. You wanted to help take down David, and now, we’re in this. Together. There’s no deviating from the plan now. Not when we are so close.”

Fuck. I hated that she was right. When I first crossed Laurel’s path a decade ago, I had no idea what I was signing up for. All I wanted was to destroy David, to make him pay for hurting Devyn. I’d never be able to pull that image from my mind, the one of her broken and bleeding as she crawled through my window. I hated that all I could do was hold her and promise myself I’d make the bastard pay.

When I showed up in their apartment the next morning, David was nowhere to be found. Instead, I stumbled upon Laurel in his office, copying files from his private server. She tried to make an excuse, claiming she was working on a school project, but it was too late. I’d seen enough, and stupidly, I offered to help. Laurel was apprehensive at first, especially considering I was only a high school sophomore. At four years older than us, Laurel wasn’t around much growing up. She wasn’t as close to Devyn as Calla, probably because of their age difference, but something in my eyes must have called to her,because before long, we were working together and hiding what we were doing from her sisters.

“I’ll talk to Devyn,” I conceded. “Let her know what’s going on. You know she’d want to help–”

“You don’t think I know that?” Laurel said, her voice softening. “I’ve thought about telling her and Calla a million times. But imagine what would Devyn do with the information we gathered. Would she sit on it, or would she go running at David with no regard for her own safety?” I grit my teeth, too aware of the answer. Laurel sighed. “That’s what I thought.”

---