Page 39 of Lovely Deceit

“Dad,” I choke out. There’s no way I’m going to let him take himself out of this equation. I can’t. I rub my temples. “So, you got Dee what she wanted, but you ruin me in the process?” I’m not necessarily angry at him, I’m just bitter about the whole thing. It’s not right.

“I didn’t think she was going to die,” he says, slurring now. The tears that had all but dried up are back now. “I couldn’t have predicted it, Edie.”

I swallow the stubborn lump in my throat. Finally, I reach out for him. “I know you couldn’t have.” He wraps his fingers around mine, but barely squeezes in return. Suddenly, he looks so very tired. “But if I’m going to do this to save our family, then I need you to answer some questions for me.”

He blinks before his face falls. This is like kicking him when he’s down. He already owes someone else a favor and feels guilty as fuck about it, but I need answers. Instead, he shocks me by asking, “So, you’re going to marry him?”

My gut tenses. I have a fleeting thought that I can agree to this and somehow get out of it, even if I don’t see that path right now. “Honestly, if this was just about finances, I couldn’t care less. But if you think they’re going to hurt you, I’ll step up.” I can’t let my father accept some outlandish punishment for no reason.

He glances back at the gun, and it’s settled for me. I can’t lose someone else.

“Tell me what you know about the night Dee died. Don’t spare any details. And I want to know everything about this stalker, too. If you lie—”

“I won’t.” His voice is clearer now. Swallowing, he locks his gaze with mine. “I wish I was as strong as you, my little Edie.”

Me too, Dad. Me too.

19

Alaric

Sir Jarvis’ words ring in my ears as I leave the Knights building. I’d been summoned there only to find out that Eden has been a busy little Fledgling.

“Eden Astor has put in a complaint against you,” he’d said. The way he watched me after delivering the news only served as a reminder that we’re always being scrutinized, graded on what we can or can’t bring to the table.

When he finally told me her complaint, I couldn’t deny it. I did move out of Jarvis Hall. I distanced myself from them at the Pledge graduation, and I’ve been trying to forget about her. As soon as he announced she was becoming a Fledgling, it felt like the final nail in her coffin.

“What is your response?” he’d asked.

I could only tell him it was true and wait for the punishment to come. It never did. After telling me he was extremely disappointed that his orders were not taken seriously, he dismissed me. “You’ll be notified when your punishment is to be addressed.”

Instead of getting in my car and going to the apartment I’d originally rented before Leo made us stay at his hall, I went back to Jarvis. To the only place I knew to go. I don’t really know why. To call her out. To tell her she’s made a grave mistake. To congratulate her on playing the game so well.

As I get closer, I find the door open a crack, their loud voices streaming outside. I pause a second to listen to the familiar sound, even if it makes me roll my eyes.

I’m surprised to hear it sounds as if Leo and Oliver are on the same page, and they’re arguing with a distressed Eden.

I push the door open, and the creak calls their attention. I stride inside with my best Barclay face on. “Here I am being punished for not following through on my babysitting duties and you guys are leaving the door wide open for anyone to waltz through.”

Eden lifts her chin in the air. Her face is pinched. Her hair is all over the place. One of her cheeks is redder than the other, but she looks flushed from head to toe. “What do you want?”

Her weight is almost entirely on her non-booted foot. I curse myself for staying away from her, but I also don’t blame myself either. Hasn’t she realized yet that bad shit isn’t going to stop happening to her the longer she stays here? “I came to discuss the reason why you filed a complaint against me.”

“Not to be a twat,” Oliver starts, “but we’re having far worse problems, so please, see yourself the fuck out.”

Instead of doing as he requests, I shut the door and perch myself on a stool at the kitchen bar. All three of them watch me, Leo and Eden rivaling each other’s fierce glares. When they don’t continue on with their petty fight, I say, “Do go on. This was the problem, right? That I wasn’t around for scintillating conversations like this?”

“No, the problem,” Leo grinds out, “is that when Eden doesn’t have us with her, she gets herself slapped by grown men and married off to others.”

Eden throws him a dirty look, but I’m too flummoxed to respond. Slapped? Married off? “You’re married?” I ask, not liking the way my gut churns with that information. An uneasiness seeps through my pores and whittles into my bones.

“Not yet,” Oliver growls.

“Not ever,” Leo returns fire.

“If you’d shut up for half a second, I was going to say the same thing.” Oliver’s nostrils flare in Leo’s direction.

The tension is so thick in the house, and I’m afraid I’ve only made it worse, but there’s no way in hell I’m leaving now. Inexplicably, I feel drawn to them. I’d attempted to stay away, but I kept thinking about her, wondering. I’d fooled myself into believing that nothing bad was going to happen to her. She’d go through Fledgling status, becoming more and more a Knight, but this news makes guilt stretch throughout me. I can’t even pretend not to care right now. “What happened?”

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