Page 55 of Deceit
Fuck him and his impenetrable walls, and fuck him and his cold heart.
Shaking the image of Exotique out of my head, I returned my gaze to stareout of the window, refusing to let thoughts of Miles ruin my day with Rafe.
When the car came to a stop, Rafe was already waiting, his own securityhovering a short distance away. Unlike me, Papa insisted he always had four guards with him, but they were far more discreet than the guards I’d been appointed.
I leaped out of the car, ignoring Rob telling me to wait so they could checkthe area was safe, and jumped into Rafe’s arms.
“Rafe! I’ve missed you!”Happy tears pricked my eyes when his armswrapped around me and he spun us.
“Missed you too.”He pulled back so he could look down at me, a huge, affectionategrin stretching across his face.
A small gasp left me when I took in his features.“What happened?”I brushed my thumb lightly over the fading bruise under his eye before noticing the cut on his lip, my brows furrowing in concern.
He waved a hand over his face.“What, this? This is nothing, you should seethe other guy.” He tried to laugh, but I knew my brother too well; he was playing it down.
“Don’t do that,” I scolded. “Tell me what happened.”
His eyes closed briefly, and when they opened again, all traces ofattempted humor had vanished. Taking my hand, he pulled me away from where Rob and Connor lingered nearby.“Walk with me.”
As we started along a paththatdisappeared into thick trees, I felt mybodyguards follow. I spun to face them.“I’d like to be alone with my brother. You can wait here.”
“No can do,”Rob replied, a smirk appearing, no doubt at my failed attemptto sound authoritative.“We’ve got our orders to stay with you.”
“I’m quite capable of looking after my sister,”Rafe snapped.
Rob shrugged.“Take it up with Mr. Wolfe.”
He glared back at my brother, who tensed beside me. I rolled my eyes.Fucking Miles wasreallydetermined to ruin my day. I released Rafe’s hand and looped it through his arm, hoping to prevent him from squaring up to Rob.
“Fine. Follow if you must, but the least you can do is give me some privacywith my brother.”
Rob’s eyes darted from me to Rafe before he nodded his head once. Takingthe surprise win, I twisted us back to the path, this time heading off with a gap between us and my guards.
“What happened?”I asked as soon as there was enough space for us not tobe overheard.
Rafe sighed.“Can we talk about you first? How are you doing? I’ve beenworried about you.”
I squeezed his arm.“Nice try. I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”
“I’ll always worry, Sofe. It’s what big brothers do.”
I smirked. He always played the big brother card,eventhough there wereonly four minutes between us.“And little sisters worry too. Now, stop avoiding the question. Who didthatto your face?”
His lips pursed, and my heart plummeted. Did Papa dothat? I’d neverknown him to be violent to Rafe, but I also knew Rafe kept a lot from me.
“Promise me, when I tell you, you’ll keep calm,”he said, doing nothing toquell my worry.
“Rafe, you’re not helping my anxiety here.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise,”I snapped, pulling him to a stop between two tall trees. In myperiphery, Connor and Rob stopped too, still respecting our privacy.“What’s going on?”
Rafe’s eyes shuttered closed, and when they reopened again, they were fullof resignation.“Pa’s finally entered me into an arranged marriage.”
My brows shot high as relief coursed through me.“Oh. That’s…well, I knowit’s not what you wanted, but-”
“It’s to Vanessa King.”
