Page 50 of Betrayed
Gregory raises his cup. “To the bitter end.”
Lucian smirks and shakes his head, stepping back into the warmth as if we’re on a reunion vacation with his brother. And I wish we were. But we’re not.
Gregory’s here, and he doesn’t seem like he’s leaving anytime soon. Cass and Ryan are home, safe and guarded by the Bachmans.
Some patchwork family seems to be rising from the ashes of our pasts.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Erin
I’m about to do something I wish I didn't have to, but I think it's for the best. I’m going to sneak around a bit to fix things, even if it gets me into trouble with a broad-shouldered mafia man with a spanking hand.
I’m ready to end this so Gregory and Lucian can have the reunion they deserve—safe and sound. With my past behind us and Gregory still protected from the world that Lucian worked so hard to shield him from.
Today I must pivot. Again. I hope I’m doing the right thing.
It starts with convincing Lucian that he’d be capable of showering alone for once, so I can clean the kitchen.
I need a stolen moment with Lucian’s unlocked burner phone.
And a call to Bayne.
Bayne called Gregory and brought him here without asking Lucian, so maybe he’ll bend the rules for me. He’s apprehensive at first, but when I explain my plan, he’s game.
Then, I grab my burner phone and call Mary. I ask for her help. She’s scared, but eager. I connect Bayne and Mary so they can hash out the logistics.
Then I go to the fridge.
Funny, the random things you can buy on the streets of New York when you have a little extra cash. I stare down at the chilled syringe as I slide it into my purse, nestled by my knife.
Everyone has an Achilles heel. Mine is Lucian.
Caleb’s is insulin. Drinking too much can be dangerous for people with diabetes. He knows that, but he drinks like a Scot, anyway.
Too much alcohol followed by a heavy insulin injection? It can cause his blood sugar to drop dangerously low for hours—enough to trigger seizures, brain damage, or even death.
If the syringe I brought all the way from New York doesn’t kill Caleb, at least it can incapacitate him long enough for me to finish him off with the knife.
I’m not naive enough to think I’m a killer, but I hope that in that moment when I need all my bravery and anger to come together, that I can be fueled by vengeance to make me strong enough to end him.
Bayne says that I’m only there to lure Caleb. That the Kings will take it from there.
But I’ll bring the syringe and the knife, just in case.
Then I’ll beg Lucian for forgiveness, and he, Gregory, and I will hang out in peace. Get to know one another.
Later, I say I have a headache, and go to the room. Lucian and Gregory are chatting in the living room. I slip out the window into Bayne’s waiting arms.
Now, I sit in the back of the van, heart pounding like I’ve already been caught.
Everything about this is wrong. The dress I packed, the sexy black one Lucian bought me from Posh. The smoky eyeliner. The red lipstick.
I should be wearing this on a date with Lucian, his arm protectively wrapped around my waist. I hate lying and hiding things from him, my stomach clenching with guilt, but this was my plan, and I’m sticking with it.
My dark hair slicked back into some twisted version of a femme fatale—the way Caleb liked it best—when inside I’m a shaking girl with too much to lose.
“You okay?” Bayne asks from the front seat, voice thick with his Shetland accent. He’s got a smirk that belongs in a fight club and a knife on his hip that makes me believe he’s used it more than once.
