Page 48 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

“Wow, it’s like a time capsule down here. What year was this station abandoned?”

“1966.” Zane studies the faded poster and chuckles. “Do you remember how obsessed my father was with the Odd Couple and Grumpy Old Men?”

“He loved those two as a comedy team.”

“He really did.”

Francesco was a fun and complicated guy. A vampire king who ran a mafia crime seat of power and enjoyed chilling to comedy movies.

I can’t imagine a world without him. Zane’s father was always larger than life. He lived every moment of every day and made sure the people in his life knew he loved them and was thinking of them.

Da said he got like that after the death of Zane’s mother.

Zane draws a deep breath and then gestures toward the darkness of the tunnel. “Come on. The compound is this way. And Scots… I want to talk to you about Huntley.”

I tense, but try not to let my annoyance show. “What about him?”

“He’s not coming right away, but he’ll end up here. He feels betrayed by you and Bran and is pissed you snapped his neck and think he’s untrustworthy.”

Oh, is that all?“Karma is back to bite him in the ass. I won’t apologize for Da’s decision, Zane. I don’t know why he transferred his squire powers to me, but I had nothing to do with it. I also won’t apologize for taking him down. I’ve been gone for years and people change. Everyone is a potential threat to you until I determine otherwise.”

He frowns. “It’s important the clan sees us as a united front. They need to know that even with my father dead, I’m strong and ready to lead them through this.”

I understand that. “Then I’ll paint on a smiling face and play my part.”

He frowns. “Is it really so horrible to be back here with us? To have my back in the worst moment of my life?”

“Yes, it is.” I meet his gaze and let him see how serious I am. “Once we get our revenge, I’m gone. Don’t try to muddy the waters or drag it out.” I duck past him and move into the corridors of the compound.

“You can’t mean that.” Zane is behind me and by the heavy footfalls beating out an aggressive rhythm, he’s mad. “It’s what Bran wanted. It’s whatIwant.”

I spin on my heel and meet his hostility and frustration with my own. “And what about whatIwant, Zane? Does that ever factor in? No, it doesn’t. It’sneverabout me. You threw me away because I was a human girl that hadn’t seen the world and didn’t belong in your kingly circle. So why the 180? Does squire magic suddenly make me worthy of being at your side? The twenty-one years we grew up together didn’t cut it but me having powers turns the tables?”

“It’s not your squire powers.” He curses and runs his fingers through his hair. “I told you I’m going to fix this, and I meant it.”

“Some things can’t be fixed.”

In one beat of my pounding heart, he’s wrapped his arms around me and has his hands laced into the hair at the nape of my neck. “Your feelings for me are still there, Scots. I hear it in the irregular beat of your heart when I’m near and in the soft intake of breath when our eyes meet. You can deny it all you want, but the girl I love is in there—and she loves me back.”

I press my palms against the solid plane of his chest, but his arms caging me hold me in place. The attempt is half-hearted at best, my conviction to put distance between us dissolving more easily than I expected.

My head is a tangle of images from our past, my body stirring with the warmth and emotions I’ve fought to put behind me. And then there’s what is in front of me.

The nearness of Zane is overwhelming enough but pressed against me from thighs to chest… there’s no missing his erection pressing into my belly.

So, not gay then.

Zane drops his head, his mouth skimming over my jugular as my blood thunders through my veins. Warm breath washes over my skin and my body responds to him unbidden.

Need builds deep in me and a rush of warmth moistens my core. “Zane, stop. Please.”

“I love you, Scots. If it takes me ripping my chest open to show you how my heart beats for you, I will. I will earn your trust back and I will prove myself to you.”

My heart hurts. He’s saying all the right things, but the pain of the past still aches deep in my soul. He destroyed me last time. I had no identity without him being part of my life, and it took years to find myself.

I won’t lose that.

I close my eyes, swallow, and fight to rein in my body’s reaction to him. With more force than my first attempt, I push away from his hold, and he releases me.

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