Page 26 of Shattered Reign

“So, it’s kind of still no news is good news. This doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Which is a double-edged sword.”

I sighed instead of saying another word because what else could I say? What else could I do that wouldn’t potentially put me, Iris, or someone else I cared about in danger?

Instead, I was going to focus on what I could take care of right this second.

“Why don’t we go over to Nash’s place if he’s available after I take a shower and nap?”

Easton gave me one nod before he said, “I think you mean afterwetake a shower.”

That might have been the first time I’d seen him grin since I found out we were going to have to end our trip to Italy earlier than planned.

16

BIANCA

Easton and I rode the elevator up to Nash’s apartment in silence. There hadn’t been much for us to talk about. Everything hinged on what my brother had found out. Before Easton or I could knock on the door, it swung open, and Raven stood on the other side of the threshold.

Raven offered me a small smile. Her eyes flicked to Easton beside me before meeting my gaze again. “Come on in.”

We followed her inside, and my gaze landed on Nash, who was busy getting some glasses out of his cabinet. He looked over his shoulder at us and placed the glasses down before walking to me.

“Bianca,” Nash said, his voice filled with relief. He quickly closed the gap between us, pulling me into a hug, the likes of which had occurred less and less frequently the older we became. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. Could be better, but with everything going on, I can’t ask for too much more. How are you guys? How’s Mom and Dad?”

“We are fine. Mom and Dad are… coping. Barely. Dad is raging at anyone who will listen to him, and I think Mom is still in a permanent state of shock. She has this faraway look in her eyes every time I’ve been around her since the news broke,” Nash said before he paused for a moment. “In fact, the reason why we left you alone was because Tristan told Mom that you were with him. Imagine my surprise when I get a call from Easton saying that you’re with him.”

“He was obviously covering for me,” I blurted out.

I noticed Raven shifting out of the corner of my eye as Easton took a step toward me, so we were standing side by side. It was as if they both noticed the tension rising in the room as much as I did.

Nash’s eyes narrowed at me. “Covering for you?” he repeated. “Why would he do that?”

“I…” I stammered, caught off guard by the question. It was the way he said it, accusatory, as if I’d done something bad.

I had done something, but it wasn’t something wrong.

“That didn’t answer my question.”

It occurred to me that I didn’t give a shit about keeping it a secret anymore. “I found out information on Dad regarding the escort service and gave it to Tristan. I had nothing to do with the video, but yeah. I fucking did it. It was me.”

I was convinced the temperature in the room chilled several degrees when Nash’s gaze turned icy. “You leaked the information about Dad to the press?” His voice was filled with disbelief. “How could you? You’ve not only painted a target on your back but on all of ours.”

“After all the shit they’ve done to us? They were trying to force me into a fake marriage, for crying out loud. We are going to be fine, and it’s about time he had something humble him. The only thing I feel slightly guilty about is that Mom had to find out that way, but since she was all for the arranged marriage, then she got what she deserved as well.”

Anger flashed in Nash’s eyes. “Do you think this is a joke? Some kind of game? I can’t believe you would do something so irresponsible and reckless without even considering the consequences that would fall down on us!”

Before I could defend myself, Easton stepped between us, his body blocking me from Nash’s wrath. “Enough,” he said firmly, his voice surprisingly authoritative despite his usually gentle demeanor. “Both of you need to take a step back and cool down. We can’t change what was done and we have a stalker on the loose.”

“Easton is right,” Raven said as she walked up to Nash and put a hand on his shoulder. “We are in danger, and there’s no time to dwell on what happened or who did it. We need to figure out how we’re going to deal with this stalker.”

The tenseness in his body immediately melted away. I was happy she was able to have that effect on him. I watched as Nash looked between Raven and Easton before sighing heavily in defeat.

“You’re both right,” he said quietly, his gaze settling on me.

I could see that he wanted to say more, but whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself.

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