Page 76 of Wild Card

“Why?” he asked, voice raspy, and the look of defeat on his face nearly broke me.

I stepped forward, wetting my lips. As much as I wanted to talk to him, I didn’t want to hear how much I’d hurt him by being around Elias. I knew it was a small betrayal, but…

“You ended this.” I pointed between us. “You lied to me…made a fool of me, offering me intimate details about the Devils knowing I wouldn’t be able to publish a single word.” The words poured out of me in an angry rush, full of venom and hurt.

“I ended nothing,” he snapped. His eyes blazed with such fury that it made me snap my mouth shut.

I opened and then closed my mouth, feeling like the smallest breeze might topple me.

“And your story?” he scoffed, running his hand over his jaw. His eyes were wild as he watched me. He took a few steps back until he was pacing the lavish three-hundred-year-old carpet at our feet. “Hetook that from you.”

I flinched. “What are you talking about?”

“Why do you think I look like this, Mallory?” He pointed at his face.

I rolled my eyes, linking my arms over my chest. “Don’t even try. The lawyers told me you knew the entire time whatever information you gave me wouldn’t be useful because I’d be barred from publishing a single word.”

“Why do you think I was in the city that one day you saw me? You assumed it was for that fucking marriage contract, but it was for you! I was there seeing what my options were because I had promised you the story,” he yelled, his hair slicing into his eyebrows. I just wanted to walk over and push it out of his eyes.

He was breathing hard as he stepped closer, crowding me. “Elias is the one who demanded you get called down and have the story taken away from you. He’s the one who fed them the intel that you were at the party and demanded you sign an NDA.”

“Then why are you so angry at me? Did you forget who you showed up with tonight? That door revolved real fast, didn’t it, Decker?” I hated that my mind had begun pairing him and Taylor together again, that he’d gone after his revenge. It was all just in my head, but why else was he here tonight with her?

“You’re so oblivious.” He shook his head, his dark green eyes burning as they narrowed on me.

I faltered back a step at his intensity, my bare feet brushing against some of the cold hardwood.

“I watched you all night. All. Fucking. Night. And guess what, Mallory…so didhe.” He slowly continued toward me.

“What…” I swallowed the lump of confusion down and tried again. “What are you talking about?” Then it hit.

Of course.

I knew exactly why he was upset; how could I be so stupid?

“You’re just pissed because his focus isn’t on Taylor, aren’t you?” I gestured toward the door at his back, raising my voice in hopes that he’d stop paving a path across the floor with his angry strides.

“You think I fucking care about that?” he roared, and I knew if this had been his house, he would have thrown something. My father had gotten that look on his face only one time, after he learned my mother wouldn’t make it through her surgery.

When he realized he’d lost her forever.

“Decker—”

“No. You don’t get it.” He shook his head slowly, defeat hanging around him like a cloud.

“Explain it to me, then, because you’re right—I don’t understand. You came here with Taylor. You stood on the street just a few days ago admitting that the reason you didn’t tell me you knew about Elias and Taylor’s arrangement was because I was so desperate you assumed I wouldn’t care.”

“You fucking kissed him!” Decker roared.

“Why did you come with her?” I yelled back.

Even if I could have argued that I didn’t kiss Elias, he’d already made up his mind. He didn’t get to set the rules then wipe them clean as soon as he realized he didn’t like how others played by them.

I stepped forward, not waiting for his reply. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a chance I might not be able to publish my article, especially knowing how dire it was that I write it? How could you not tell me you knew Elias was making that deal with my stepsister?”

“Because I’m fucked up, Mallory, okay?” he yelled in response, getting even closer to me. I could smell his spicy cologne. “I went after the only shot at getting revenge on the guy who’d fucked me over. He was my best friend for half my life, yet when my dad passed, he couldn’t even be bothered to show up to his funeral. All he cared about was the team, and those fucking card games.”

His chest heaved like he wasn’t getting enough air. I found myself oddly trying to match its uneven rhythm.

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