Page 15 of Stalemate

“You say nothing, Havoc!” His brows jump to his hairline and a disappointed look overtakes his face.

“Royal is getting crucified for this when he had nothing to do with it. Jesus, if Sin finds out—” He clamps his mouth closed when I climb to my feet and get right in his face.

“You say nothing and keep your fucking mouth shut.” Havoc doesn’t back down like he normally does, instead, he pushes his forehead against mine.

“If it becomes a choice of saving our family or protecting you from Royal’s wrath, I’ll protect the family.” My eyes widen.

“You would go against me?” I can hear the shock in my own voice. Never in our entire lives have Havoc and I not been on the same page. We always have each other's backs first, no matter what.

He snaps his arm and grips the back of my neck forcing me in closer. “I will always have your back, no matter what, but if this shit blows up and it comes back on Mom and Dad and the rest of the family, I will protect them. We did what we did because ofher. We owed her nothing and yet we still did it.”

“I didn’t do it for her,” I growl. Havoc’s eyes soften for a second before he quickly masks it.

“You keep telling yourself that.”

I shove him back and spin away. As I stalk over to the window and gaze out over the backyard, guilt gnaws at me for a second before I shut that shit down. I did what I did because it had to be done.

“They have no idea that they are going to war because of us. We left Royal to hang today, Chaos.” I spin around and scowl at my brother.

“You want to bitch out and go snitch?” I don’t give him a chance to answer. “Go, fuck off and go tell Mommy and Daddy then, you pussy ass bitch.” His brows raise and his mouth opens slightly in shock at my outburst. “You snitch and you and I are done. Don’t ever come to me for shit.”

He shakes his head and stares at me with wide eyes and disbelief. “Just like that, huh?”

I shrug my shoulders and stare out the window, ignoring him for a second, as I try to contain the anger brewing inside me. He has no idea what the fuck she did to me and why I needed to do what we did.

“It had to be done, Havoc. He needed to go. None of that had anything to do with who she is, everything had to do with what the fuck he did. This war that is coming, may have started because of what we did but even if we didn’t do it, they were still coming for us.”

“How could you know that?”

“Because she told me.” I can feel his gaze drilling into the back of my head. I ignore it. He and I are one and the same, and no matter what either of us says or does, we will always protect each other.

“She’s the enemy, Chaos. She nearly destroyed us once. I won’t let that bitch or her family come between us again. You best come to terms with that, fast,” he grits out before leaving my room. The moment the door closes, my shoulders slump. I push my window open and climb out onto the roof. Laying back, I gaze up at the stars and allow myself to imagine a life where being a Murdoch isn’t a reality.

We all give Amelia shit for wanting out of this life, truth is, I want what she does but I just don’t have the balls to be as vocal as she is. If I wasn’t Knight and Koby Murdoch’s son, I would have a chance to be something other than who I am. I would love to go pro and be drafted by the NFL. My parents support my dream but they are blinded by rose colored glasses. There is no way I will ever be drafted. As soon as they learn what my last name is, they will reject me.

“Hiding away?” A whoosh of air escapes me at the sound of Royal’s voice. He climbs out my window and drops down beside me.

“How’d you get in here?”

He snorts. “Dude, your mom still doesn’t lock the front door and even if she did, I would have just picked the lock.” I have nothing to say to that so I just nod and continue to gaze up at the stars. After a few minutes, Royal gives in and lays down beside me, gazing up at the stars. Neither of us says anything for a long while, both of us lost in our thoughts. “Why did you lie to me?”

I look out of the corner of my eye to see he’s still looking up at the night sky. “What are you talking about?”

“Lie to everyone else but me, Chaos. The moment my dad brought up the cards and the missing heir, I knew you were behind it.”

Now that garners my full attention. I turn my head only to find him doing the same thing and staring directly back at me.

“You accusing me?”

Royal’s composer remains calm. “No, Chaos. I’m asking you why you didn’t tell me that you and Havoc disposed of the Vargas heir?” I should have known he would find out, he always fucking does. It’s like his superpower or some shit.

“What do you want me to say, Royal? I made a judgment call.”

“You made a shitty call, Chaos, a real shitty call.”

“Oh, and let me guess you would have made a different one?”

His eyes narrow. “I would come up with an idea that didn’t leave getting your ass handed to you by your dad in front of everyone. I would have made sure I was by your side the entire fucking time, but you didn’t. You left me to deal with that shit on my own!”

---