Page 8 of Seduction

I look at him like he’s insane. “Do you have a fucking death wish? No. We leave that for her to open tomorrow after we tell her about all this.” I take a deep breath. “Right now, we need to figure out who the fuck is helping this fuck go unseen, so we can find Brent.”

He nods, taking a breath. “Right. I just hope whatever is in this letter doesn’t fucking break her.” His voice cracks and I look over to him.

“You and me both, brother. You and me fucking both.”

Haliee

Waking up alone in a strange room was not how I planned on starting my day, and for a split second, I forgot what had led me here in the first place as Hope curled up against me.

The second I really opened my eyes and heard the guys downstairs, everything from the night before came flooding back like a bad dream.

Lukas lied to me. They all did, at least by way of omission.

At any time, they could have chosen to tell me that Creed was behind that little stunt, but they didn’t. They should have known with my past, that something like that would haunt me until I had the truth.

Sighing, I sit up and pull Hope to my chest. How mad can I rightfully be with all of them though?

Lukas? One hundred percent because he was my boyfriend, and he should have told me. Creed? I can’t even really expect any different. Pretty sure the fucker would still do that to me now, when he actually cares for me.

The rest of them, even Ollie, were more or less just keeping their mouths shut to avoid conflict, and I get it. So, while I can be annoyed and frustrated, I can’t be mad at them for it. I can be mad about Dad, though.

Taking a deep breath, I stand up and force myself to leave the safety of the bedroom and walk down the stairs. Everyone is whispering when I walk into the room, before all sets of eyes are on me.

“Hey, Scratch.” Luke comes to me, pulling me into a hug, and I let him. “How did you sleep?”

I shrug, taking a deep breath of him before pulling back. “Fine.”

He looks sad and hurt that I pulled away, and I hate that I keep hurting him like this. I just don’t even know how to best process everything I’m feeling.

I just want to get back to feeling like I can trust the man I love, because deep down I know I can. I’m just hung up on my emotions right now.

“I love you, Scratch.” His voice breaks, and my eyes well up with tears.

“I love you too, Lukey pookey.” I giggle at the grunt of annoyance he makes at Creed’s nickname for him, tears running down my face. “I’m just kind of freaking out right now. I need a little time.”

He nods in understanding, looking less dejected than he did a moment ago, and it somehow makes my heart feel lighter. I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want to hurt any of them.

“Uh, I think you should sit down. Matt and Creed went to your house last night to see if they could find anything.”

I suck in a breath and follow him over to the couch, where Ollie has moved over to make room for me. “You found something?” Please don’t say you found his body. I can’t live in a world where Dad isn’t a part of it. I just fucking can’t.

“We found these.” Matty coughs, handing me a bunch of papers and I search through them, crying harder with every one.

“This is what he was hiding? Why he was so distant lately?” I look to Luke for confirmation, and he nods.

“It has to be.”

Poor Dad.

Why didn’t he tell me any of this? If Dimitri had found us, he should have told me. He promised he would be careful and watch his back.

“There’s something else,” Matty says, looking at me like he wants to wrap me up and hold me so I don’t break.

God, do I look like I’m about to break?

“Wh—what?” I lay the threats down on the table, my hands shaking as he looks from me to Lukas.

“A letter to you, Scratch.” No. “We’re going to give you some space. Most of us are going to head over to your place and make sure we finish the cleanup, so no one sees all the bodies Creed and I dropped. Ollie and Torren are going to stay with you though. Is that okay?” Luke grabs my chin, bringing his forehead to mine.

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