Page 9 of Wild Night

Nothing at all.

Hell, I don’t even want to tell Dakota, and I know I’m not going to have a choice when it comes to her. But this guy? I don’t have to tell him shit. At least, I feel like I don’t. But at the same time, I don’t know if I have the luxury of a choice since I came here and entered his space.

“No,” I whisper.

His lips twitch into a smirk as he moves toward me. He stops a few inches in front of me. His chin dips slightly as his gaze searches mine. He doesn’t scare me. I’ve been scared before, and I don’t feel any trepidation when it comes to the way he’s looking at me, but I still don’t want to say anything.

“You don’t want to tell me why you’re here?” he asks.

“I’m here to meet and get to know my niece.”

It’s a partial truth, but it makes me feel bad because I’m not just here to get to know Dakota. It’s only a partial truth because it’s also a partial lie. I am an asshole. I’m my sister and my parents. That saying is true, as much as I don’t want it to be—the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

It’s clear that I am not an honest or trustworthy person.

Instantly, I hate myself.

I should be honest and trustworthy. I’ve always wanted to be different than my past, from the people who raised me. But I’m not. There is no reason that I shouldn’t or can’t be, yet here I am, lying.

I’m not here tojustget to know my niece. I’m here for protection. I want these men, these wild men, to protect me from Lucian. To guard me from whatever wrath he tries to send my way. Because make no mistake, his wrath is imminent.

“You’re a liar,” he snorts. “But that’s okay. You’re in denial.”

Then, without another word, he walks past me and out of the room, leaving me alone. Well, he called me on my shit but didn’t force anything, so I guess that’s…good? Instead ofoveranalyzing the conversation, I decide to put some clothes on. I’m feeling very exposed, both inside and out.

IVY

Piggy doesn’t just call me back with information. Instead, I hear a knock on my door. Fucking hell. Standing, I walk over and wrench it open, knowing it’s his ass because there would be no reason for anyone else to be here. Piggy stands in front of me with a grim expression on his face.

“Shit,” I hiss as I step to the side.

He walks inside, and I close the door behind him before I turn to face him. When he jerks his chin toward the sofa, I know shit is about to get real. This isn’t just a chat about how this guy is an asshole. This is something bigger.

Sinking down on the cushion in my usual spot, I watch as Piggy sits on the chair beside me and lets out a heavy sigh. Well, fuck me, what the hell is happening here? I start to ask him just that when he begins to tell me.

“Lucian Whitmore is an asshole. But he’s not just an asshole. He’s an asshole that doesn’t exist.”

Tilting my head to the side, I wonder what the fuck he’s trying to tell me. He isn’t spitting it out, though. I watch as he shifts in his seat. “She’s trying to divorce him. She filed the paperwork after he walked away and didn’t come back for over a year, but hevanishedvanished, leaving her paying rent she couldn’t afford, according to the court documents. She’s trying to get a divorce by default and has been waiting the time out.”

“Do you think he’s back and that’s why she’s come here without an ounce of warning?” I ask.

“I think that’s a damn good guess. She also doesn’t need to file shit, in my opinion, because they’re not legally married. At least not Lucian Whitmore. Because that fucker doesn’t exist. I don’t know what kind of fake documents he gave the courthouse, but they aren’t fucking married.”

I’m not sure what the fuck is happening right now. I don’t know how to respond because I don’t know what he’s telling me or not telling me. Posey thinks she’s married, yet she’s not. This whole thing is beyond weird. And why the fuck would this man pretend to marry her?

“I felt about as confused as you look right now, so I kept digging. I couldn’t dig into him because the trail stops right fucking there. Instead, I started digging into her. From what I can gather, she didn’t know him for very long before she married him. Social media–wise, there weren’t any pictures of him before the wedding pictures.”

“And other men in her life?” I ask.

I don’t know why this shit seems so important, but I’m sensing something is very wrong here, and I need to figure it out. I don’t know why, but I do. I could see it in her eyes last night. I know that she’s hiding something. I just don’t know how deep it goes, and I don’t want more shit brought to our club.

At least, that’s what I tell myself, trying to pretend that this information dig isn’t for personal reasons.

It’s all for the club…

“She is a wine club manager at a winery in Northern California. Just in case you were wondering what she did for money. There have been other social media posts with different men, but she didn’t live with any of them that I could find. Just this guy.”

I rub my chin back and forth, trying to fucking piece this shit together. “Why would he give her a fake name? Is he married?And if that’s the case, why did he just vanish for years? What the fuck is going on?”

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