Page 76 of Cruel Secrets

Skyla nods, taking in the information, the look in her eyes distant. “You’re uneasy about all of this.”

“Right now, I don’t know who to trust beyond you and Royce.”

Her sigh fills the silence that stretches between us. “There’s going to be a time where you have to decide if you’re with us or against us, and you won’t be able to keep a neutral position on anything happening, you know that, right?”

I huddle closer to the house, pulling my arms in close to my body. “I chose Royce the night I snuck out of Noah’s house.”

“Would you do it again?”

There’s a tight pull in my chest at the question, but I nod. “I would do it a million times over if that’s what it took.”

“Would do what over?” Royce asks, stepping through the sliding door with a mug of coffee in his hand. “It’s too early for the pair of you to be up and scheming already.”

I force a smile and shrug. “I don’t think that it’s too early. There are plenty of things to scheme about and not nearly enough time to do it all.”

Though I know I should tell him about the messages from Zoe and the feeling that Noah is going to come for us sooner rather than later, I can’t. The words die on my lips as Skyla nudges me.

It’s too early to do this. Maybe I’m worrying about nothing.

Or maybe I’m not worried enough, and Noah is already lurking too close for my liking, waiting for his chance to strike.

Skyla clears her throat and heads for the door. “I’m going back in; the two of you should probably think about it too. It’s going to get a lot colder.”

Royce hums and sips his coffee, staring at me over the rim with questions lingering in his eyes. The corners crinkle as he lowers the mug. “You want to tell me what the two of you are doing out here this early in the morning?”

“I needed to talk to her. She wakes up early.”

He sighs and puts the mug to the side on one of the little tables, stepping closer to me and invading my space. I glance down at the joggers he wears, the outline of his cock visible.

“Don’t even think about it,” he says with a chuckle, fingers pressing beneath my chin and forcing me to look up at him. “I’m not a piece of meat you can objectify whenever you want, Gia.”

“Damn it,” I say, tone teasing as I lean into him, trying to capture the easy feeling that used to be between us back in the day. “I was thinking that dragging you back upstairs and spending the rest of the day in bed would be a good idea.”

He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear before his lips brush over mine. “Why don’t you tell me what it is that’s bothering you?”

I pull away from him, brushing by to walk into the house. “I would rather talk about it inside. It’s cold out here.”

“Alright.” He grabs the mug and follows me inside, glancing at the fire already going in the fireplace. “Did you start that?”

“Skyla must’ve before she went back upstairs.” I shed my coat and boots, heading for the kitchen as my stomach lets out a terrifying growl. “What do you want for breakfast? I was thinking that pancakes would probably be a good idea.”

He follows me, pulling out the ingredients we need from the pantry while I grab the ones from the fridge. “Gia, you can’t dodge the question forever. I can tell that something is bothering you and there’s nothing I can do to help if you’re not willing to tell me what it is. And I do want to help, you know that, right? After all of this, I’m not going to sit by and let you go through whatever is going on in your head alone.”

I pull out a large white mixing bowl and set it on the counter with a dull thud. “I know.”

“Then talk to me.”

“I’ve been getting messages from Zoe. They don’t make much sense. Most of them are fragments of sentences at best, but the general gist of them is that Noah is getting close to making whatever move he’s been planning.”

Royce comes over and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me back against him as I measure out the dry ingredients. “My family has it under control.”

“I don’t think they do.” The lump in my throat makes it hard to speak as I lean into his touch. “I know that you have faith in your family, but Noah is something else entirely. He’s a monster at best.”

Royce stiffens, his lips pressing against my temple, though the movement feels mechanical. “He and I are the same person. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“At the end of the day, you’re nothing like him. You might both be bloodthirsty and ruthless, but I’ve seen you care for others. You have compassion. There are lines you aren’t willing to cross—even if they are few and far between—but I can’t say the same for him.”

“My family is going to be here in the morning, and then we’ll take care of everything,” Royce says, his tone firm as he glosses over what I just said. “We’re going to have a meeting and figure everything out.”

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