Page 45 of Covenant

“Exactly!” The volume of the word stuns us both. We stare at each other with wide eyes, and I wish for a second that I knew what he was thinking, what was happening behind the walls he’d constructed since we were teenagers.

“Exactly,” he repeats, stepping backward and loosening his tie. He’s no longer looking at me, pretending to find my gardening interesting. “That’s how I know you wouldn’t have used that money to take care of yourself. You would’ve funneled it all into rebuilding Jackson’s life for him.”

I want to argue with him, but I can’t. “So? What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. But you deserve to be looked after too. If you won’t do it, then I’ll damned well do it for you.”

“But why?” I’m shaking now, but I’m not sure if it’s from anger. It’s no longer riding me as another long-forgotten emotion replaces it—confusion. “Why are you doing this? Hang on—did you ask for me to be your husband?”

“Of course not,” he rubs his hand over his eyes wearily. “But there’s no changing the fact that youaremy husband now. And as such, I’m going to take care of you, whether you like it or not.”

I want to scream at him that I don’t need to be taken care of. That I was managing perfectly fine until he showed up. That I would’ve used the leftover money to get my feet back on the ground once I had Jackson’s life sorted.

Would you, though?

That’s what stops me from speaking. All of my plans had been centered around getting Jackson the rehab he needed, a place to live that could accommodate his needs, and tuition fees for his college courses.

I hadn’t made a single plan for myself. I didn’t need one. Jackson comes first. He’s all I need to worry about.

Or so I thought.

“I think it’s time you look closer at why you’re mad at me,” Matthias says quietly, his hands returning to his pockets. “Maybe it’s time we talked about that night. About what you think happened.”

Just like that, my rage flares once more. It patches over the walls that Matthias almost cracked through. “We don’t need to talk about it. I don’tthinkI know what happened, I know. I know you set me up, and you let me take the fall.”

Everything I’ve been holding back, the thing that hurt me the most, comes flooding out of me. “Then, I don’t see you again for over a decade. A fuckingdecade. We were best friends, and you vanished off the face of the planet. Do you have an explanation for that, huh?”

Matthias swallows, his throat clicking. “I do. Question is, are you finally ready to hear it?”

Blood is thundering in my ears. I can’t. I can’t do this right now. I’m too angry. Too upset. There’s nothing he can say that’ll change the past.

So why even bother?

He laughs bitterly. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

He spins on his heel, his long strides eating up the ground. He’s almost to the back door before he stops, speaking back over his shoulder. “We have a gala to attend tonight. You better practice looking at me with something other than hate in your eyes, husband. People need to buy this.”

“I know how to play my part.”

“Good,” he turns away from me. “Like you said, we played well together once.”

12

MATTHIAS

AGE THIRTEEN

Summer used to mean months under my father’s thumb. Weeks of boredom as I tried to avoid his attention. Days that dragged, making me long for autumn to return and the safety of school. Anything to get me out of the house and away from him.

I don’t know why Father hates me so much. Dalton thinks it’s because I look like Mom. He’s the one who seeks me out whenever Father goes too far, when I’ve upset him by saying the wrong thing or letting my emotions show.

I’m learning it’s better not to say anything, to keep my head down and hope his gaze passes right over me. Unless it happens to land on Dalton or Harley.

Then I’ll provoke him. Anything to keep my little brothers safe.

He never used to be like this. Once, our house bustled with joy. Mom’s baking could be smelled wherever you were. You couldn’t sneak past her without her pulling you in for a tight hug, tickling you until you begged for mercy.

Wylder would be at the dining room table, studying away. Cade and Samson would be engaged in a battle of wits, getting up to mischief all over the house. Dalton, Harley, and I lived mostly in the garden, childish games filling our days.

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