Page 84 of Cruel Secrets

If Noah showed up.

I have a hard time believing that my brother would risk showing his hand for me. I’m not worth everything else he’s trying to accomplish, but then there’s still the issue of his pride.

I don’t know which would win.

Royce sighs and steps between them again, giving them both a gentle push backward. “Nobody is going to start slaughtering people to end a war. It’s not worth it and it’s not going to help anything. You both know that, so why the hell are we doing this right now?”

Aiden rounds on Royce, his fist cracking into the side of his face.

Royce was expecting it, though. He barely flinches, instead waiting to see if there’s another one coming or if he’s done.

“You’re a disgrace to this family,” Aiden says, spitting the words at him. “You slept with the enemy when you were supposed to be watching over her. How the hell can I trust your judgment now?”

Royce wipes blood from the corner of his mouth. “The same way you’ve trusted it without question for the last two and a half years, since that’s when I first got together with Gia.”

I groan and bury my face in my hands as the attention in the room turns back to me. “Don’t drag me into this.”

“You’re into this,” Skyla says, practically gleeful as she claps her hands. “And now that the cat’s out of the bag, Aiden can get back to removing his head from his ass.”

I bite back a smirk as Aiden whirls around, his attention fully off me and back to her.

As long as the rest of the Lynde siblings are more like Skyla than they are like Aiden, I might not have such a hard time getting along with the rest of the family.

Royce lets out an exasperated huff. “Enough of this. We need to talk about the attack and what we’re going to do next. Skyla, you’re supposed to be resting until Ellie gets here.”

“You don’t get to talk right now.” Aiden points a finger in Royce’s direction. “Not after all the harm you’ve done to this family.”

“I didn’t know who Gia was when we got together.” Royce looks like he’s on the edge of a cliff and thinking about throwing himself onto the jagged rocks below.

“And once you did, you sure as shit didn’t tell me about it.” Aiden shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Not that I should be surprised, considering you didn’t know the person leaking the information to Noah has been the one moving around with you from place to place.”

Royce’s eyebrows pull together as my stomach turns.

I’m going to throw up. I know I am.

Royce glances to the door as a man I don’t recognize comes through the door, hauling Matt with him.

“You fucking bastard!” I lunge at him, fist snapping into his nose as the man pulls him upright.

Matt laughs, his head cracking backward and blood running down his face. “Is that the best you’ve got, traitor bitch?”

“I’m the fucking traitor? Look at you!” My fist snaps forward again, catching his mouth and splitting his lip. “You fucking piece of shit. I trusted you with my daughter!”

Skyla loops her arms around my waist when I go for his neck. She hauls me back and shoves me down onto the couch, standing in my way. “You’re only going to hurt yourself.”

“No. I’m going to kill him!”

Royce steps in front of Matt. “I trusted you to protect my family. You were my friend. I gave you everything that you could’ve asked for and this is how you decide to thank me?”

Matt spit a mouthful of blood at his feet. “You’ve done nothing but make my life miserable. Your family thrives on keeping people under their thumbs. You’ve never given a shit about the people who work for you.”

Looking to the man holding Matt, Royce gives a jerk of his chin toward the door. “Take him outside, please, Dominic. I’ve had enough of this.”

Matt scoffs and shakes his head, looking directly at Aiden. “If you think my keeping secrets is bad, you should ask your brother what else him and his little bitch have been doing behind your back.”

Dominic drags him out of the room and Royce follows, stopping long enough to grab a gun from the console table in the front hall before slamming the door shut behind him.

Aiden turns to me, his eyes narrowed. “If you do anything to hurt my brother, I’m going to kill you myself, are we understood?”

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