Page 38 of Lovely Deceit

“You hated that life, Dad,” I remind him.

He shakes his head, then flounders a bit as if he’s not sure what he should say. “Part of me was relieved you were away from all of this, but I hated all the backhanded comments your mother and I got about you being so different from your sister.”

“You mean like what Leon said? That Keegan’s going to have to beat the smart mouth from me?”

His eyes flash. “I’ll do what I can, but you’re going to have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

I blink, my stomach twisting. “Dad, I’m not marrying Keegan Forbes. I don’t love him,” I say lamely. Didn’t he just say that I never liked him? He knows that.

Dad drives his fingers into his hair, mumbling about choices. He tears at his roots, and for a moment, I fear he’s about to start ripping strands right out of his head.

“I did this to you,” he finally states. Reaching over, he downs the rest of his alcohol.

“Did what, Dad?” I tear the glass from his grip and place it as far away from him as I can. The last thing he needs right now is for him not to be thinking clearly.

“Forbes is cashing in his favor.” His jaw clenches. “You must have heard by now that the Knights run on favors. Did you read your manual?”

“Not fully,” I stammer, but more than one person has mentioned favors to me.

“I can’t go back on it,” Dad reiterates. “I can’t or else I would.”

“What favor?”

He rubs his hand down his face. “Delilah wanted so badly to pledge the Knights. They weren’t going to let her. They were voting, and I needed more people on my side. I knew Leon had more pull than I did, so I asked him for a favor.”

I suck in a breath. “That’s why Delilah was accepted?”

He nods, and it all makes sense now. The first girl to infiltrate a male-dominated society, brought in with a favor. “He was able to swing more Knights to my side, and we got her in. She did the rest herself. She performed so admirably. Just like you,” he says, peering up at me with adoration and grabbing my hand. “I’m so proud.”

I withdraw my hand from his grip. “Dad, they killed her. You know that, right? I don’t know if one of them did or all of them did. But they killed her.”

He shakes his head, eyes glassier now with a sheen of confusion. “No, they wouldn’t. She died during her final assessment.”

My head careens back. I don’t believe it for a second. It’s a nice try at a cover-up though. The girl who couldn’t hack it… “They would, and they did.”

“They didn’t,” he growls back. His words hit me so hard that I shove my chair back, gaining some distance from him. Immediately, he looks apologetic.

I grip the sides of the chair, trying to unweave all this new information. Dad called in a favor from his so-called friend Leon Forbes to get Dee into the Knights. And now I’m living the consequences of that favor returned.

“Why does he want me to marry Keegan?” My voice is so small and tight that I barely recognize it. Like it’s becoming more real now. Like, it’s a possibility that I might have to go through with this.

“Same reason we agreed that Delilah and Keegan should marry. It’s the best thing for both of our families.”

“But not the best thing for me.”

“Which is why I said no when he brought the idea to me,” my father says, voice hard now. “I already lost one daughter. I wasn’t going to do it to you, Edie, I swear. I knew being a part of that family would break you. You’re just so different from them. Free-spirited. I imagined you’d marry a surfer and live in a shack on the beach, and even though I despised the idea, it always made it a little better to think that you’d be smiling every day. That at least one of us would be smiling every day.”

The way he paints the picture of the life I’m never going to have now makes me sad, but not as sad as I would’ve been if Oliver hadn’t forced me to make a decision about my feelings for him. He’s far from a surfer, and there’s no way in this life he would ever live in a shack on the beach. A mansion on the beach, yes. A shack? The thought makes me almost smile before I remind myself that I still haven’t gotten any further with my dad. In fact, the predicament has gotten worse.

“What happens if you can’t follow through on his favor in return?” I ask, knowing it’ll be bad. It’s a Knights favor. This isn’t a neighbor borrowing a cup of sugar and then refusing when they ask for one in return. We’re dealing with the most powerful group of men around.

“It seemed like such a small ask at the time,” my father says, looking longingly at his crystal glass. “What harm could bringing a girl into the Knights do? She was my heir. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t male, did it? She would’ve wiped the floor with some of their insolent, senseless sons.” He takes a deep breath. “But then she died. Publicly. The Elders were pissed. They won’t take kindly if I refuse this favor. It’s one of our most sacred laws that you never deny an answering favor.”

My imagination runs wild. “What’s the punishment, Dad?”

He peers up, his brown eyes desolate. Dee and I, we got my mother’s sparkling blue ones, and right now, I’m grateful because even when I’m sad, I hope I never look as lost as he does right now. “It’s decided by the Knights, and I don’t have to tell you how cruel they can be. They’ll hit me where it hurts.” He shrugs. “If I don’t tie our two families together, they might decide that it’s only right I give half my worth to Leon. Or they might decide I’m the problem.”

My gaze tracks to his gun still leaning on the side of his desk, and I’m wondering if that’s where his mind went. Maybe if he wasn’t around, he could stop this. Who would they get the favor from then?

---