Page 39 of The Heart of a Villain

Lavender giggles at this, the syrup dripping through her fingers as she holds the waffle and eats it. “Funny. She’s funny, George!” she says excitedly. “Aileen Scott.” She utters my full name once again, frowning, and I half expect her to go back to her status quo, but she doesn’t. “Pretty name.”

“Thank you.” I quickly finish my eggs and avocado before washing it down with tea, all while George continues to loom over me. “What now?”

“Jade usually talks with Rush, stays in the guest room that’s in the west wing, and leaves the next day.”

I blink at this.

“He’ll drink, walk around the territory, and might make a pass at the maids who will tell him to go to hell.” He waits a beat, letting all this information settle in my mind. “There are those who say yes, though, so it would mean he’d be loud in his room.”

I grimace, hating the image he’s painting in my head. “Why are you telling me all this?”

“Make sure to avoid him at all costs and control that signature Scott temper. And whatever you intend to do, do it in such a way he won’t notice.”

We stare at one another for a moment while Lavender hums something quietly, reaching for another waffle.

“You don’t like him,” I conclude.

“My emotions don’t matter. Remember what I said. Do not ever stay alone with that asshole.” His warning hangs in the air, adding gasoline to the fire that’s my endless curiosity because if the staff hates you… what have you done in the past to warrant such emotion?

I don’t get to dwell on it much, though, as Lavender tears a tissue, wipes her hands and mouth, then gets up. “I want to paint now.” She focuses her eyes on me, her scarred cheeks twitching. “Want to see?”

The invitation is only on the table because I defended her and in this earned her trust that trumped over whatever hate she feels toward my family.

George clearly doesn’t think it’s a good idea. “Lavender, honey—”

“I would love to.” I gulp some more of my tea and put it back on the table as Lavender dances off to the stairs, while I wonder what other secrets I’ll uncover.

Why ask Jesse about the past if I can hear it straight from the source?

I will uncover all the Wright secrets, and hopefully one of them will save my father.

Even if it means breaking the villain who consumes me.

Rush

The minute we enter my office and my uncle shuts the door, I spin around to face him and warn, my voice cold and promising menace, “Don’t ever threaten her again.” The beast inside me still roars at the sight of my woman acting like a shield for my sister, who wouldn’t calm down in his presence, no matter how many times I’ve tried to defuse the situation.

One of the reasons I forbade him to come here more frequently than once a year, and he’s only allowed to stay a single day due to the extensive travel.

He might be my uncle, but I don’t share any deep emotions toward him, and my siblings will always come first.

Even Rafael, with his fucked-up behavior and desire for power that wipes away anything and anyone in his wake.

“Family comes first, boys. Never allow anyone to hurt one of our own. Because a man who cannot protect his family is not a man worthy of life.”

I smirk at my father’s voice playing in my mind from one of our trips when he taught us how to fish. We stayed all night on the beach, studying the stars and looking at the horizon and the magnificent yet dangerous ocean.

A man we both considered a hero, who fell from that pedestal spectacularly during his last year on this earth, when a monster possessed his body and turned him into a man unworthy of living, as he became the greatest danger to his family on his own.

I drop on the chair, and Uncle huffs, fishing for his lighter, then flicking it several times before putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it up. “She’s a Scott,” he says as if it’s a slur, greedily inhaling the nicotine before sending the smoke flying. “She deserves to be treated like dirt, not a princess!”

I clench my fist, yet show no outward reaction to his words, knowing full well how he studies my every expression and move, trying to gauge my feelings on the matter and if Aileen has any hold on me.

And if life in the wild taught me anything, it’s to never show your weakness to the vultures, as they will not hesitate before attacking it.

Once upon a time, my uncle appeared in my life and uncovered the truth Lachlan so desperately wanted to hide, sending me into a spiral of madness and deep need for revenge.

However, the truth of the past didn’t make me blind to my uncle’s flaws, his greed, or how my father, his own twin, never trusted him.

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