Page 107 of Betrayed in the Dark
If someone dropped a bullet in this room right now, the sound would echo throughout the space tenfold.
Mauro’s hands fall away from my neck as he takes a step back, his eyes fixed on my face.
After years spent learning how to interpret an enemy’s tell, whether through facial changes, body language, eye contact, tone of voice, and so on, I consider myself an expert at reading faces. But at this very moment, I start questioning everything I thought I knew, as the four of them appear more stone-facedthan an actual rock. And I’m not sure whether I should chance it and bolt from the room or stand here and await my punishment.
Clearing my throat, I say, “I know this probably comes as a shock to—”
“Pay up, brothers.” My eyes dart to Vin, who holds his hand out with the palm facing up, his fingers gesturing for something.
Leo mirrors his actions. “That’s five hundred for each of us.”
Mauro lets out a deep grunt as he pulls out his wallet from his back pocket, counting out a stack of bills.
“Sorry, big guy.” Vin displays a mock frown as Mauro places the money in his hand. “I know you hate to lose.”
Alex sighs, slapping money onto Vin’s hand and then Leo’s. “I really hate when you two are right. It makes me question my intelligence.”
I blink a few times, processing their reaction. Or, I guess I should say, lack of a reaction. “Wait a damn minute.” The four of them look at me, cracking a hint of a smile on their smug faces. I rest my hands on my hips. “You knew? And you…you bet on this?”
Leo grips my shoulder. “We’ve known all along. We were just waiting for you to admit it to us.” He laughs, adding, “Are you questioning our intellect?” He nods toward Alex and continues, “This one caught you sneaking onto our property on our surveillance system at least ten times over the years.”
Alex adjusts his glasses. “Guess we never said anything because there’s no one more worthy of our sister than you.”
I face Vin. “You threatened my life when we arrived at the Vasiliev tower.” I arch a brow, waiting for his response.
“Merely testing you.” He gives a slight shrug. “It was fun watching you squirm.”
“I didn’t squirm,” I murmur, rolling my eyes.
Leo gives me anOh, yes, you did face.
“Fine!” I raise my hands to the ceiling, exasperated. “I squirmed. But can you blame me? I was fucking outnumbered in a confined space with nowhere to go.” I rest my hands on my hips, glaring at each of them. “If I had known you wankers were betting on my love life, then I never would have admitted to this.”
Vin laughs, shaking his head. “Sooner or later, everything reveals itself. It always does.” His smile falls as he rubs his hand over his jaw. “The moment I told her you were missing in action, I witnessed my sister on the verge of breaking. I witnessed…her heart splitting down the middle, and that is not a sight I ever want to see again. It was the only confirmation I needed to know what was going on between you two.” He clears his throat, slightly shaking his head as he pulls his gun out of his holster and uses a piece of cloth to polish the sides. “But back to the bigger problem at hand. It’s time to put an end to this wedding tonight.” He glances over his shoulder. “Madeleine has until”—he points his finger at the old gold clock—“midnight to make this decision for herself, but not a minute longer.”
“Understood.” I squeeze the back of my neck. “And if she doesn’t?”
“Then we handle the issue ourselves,” he replies coolly. “No more games.” He places his gun on the desk in front of him and sits up straight, gliding the palm of his hand across his jawline. “After midnight, bring Madeleine to me. It’s my fault for allowing this to go on for so long. I need to speak to her alone.” He sighs. “Sometimes I forget how similar we are, which is why it finally occurred to me that she’s doing all of this to protect someone else, not herself. It was never about her.” He offers a sad smile. “Madeleine has a heart of gold. Unfortunately, the world tends to judge her harshly because she’s a strong woman, but we all know who she truly is. I’m just disappointed in myself for not realizing it sooner.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I retrieve it to see Alastor’s name on the screen. I sigh. “This should be good.” Placing the call on speaker, I say, “What the hell do you want?”
“If I find out you had anything to do with Tony’s death, I’m going to kill you.”
Ha! I’d like to see him try.
“Tony?” I hum. “The name isn’t ringing a bell.”
“You know exactly who the fuck he is! He was my right-hand man for ten years!”
“Ah, that Tony. I heard it was a suicide.” Itsk. “What a shame. My condolences, of course.”
“You think you can get away with it? First, you steal my car and don’t even try to fucking deny it, and now this?” he seethes, his fury practically palpable through the phone. “You have no idea what game you’re playing here!”
Vin motions for me to move the phone closer to him, and I do. “Then why don’t you explain it to us better so we know the rules,” Vin states, his deep voice laced with power.
“Who the hell is this?”
“Vincenzo Alarie.” Vin cracks his neck, his eyes darkening as he rubs his temple. “To be quite blunt, Alastor, I don’t like you. Not even a little bit. And I don’t like your parents. And I especially don’t like your fucking cousins. In fact, I’ve had enough of all of you. You’re all giving me a colossal motherfucking headache. So, I advise you to tread very carefully. Because when I find out what game you’re playing with my sister, I will be sure that you lose and she wins. Because Alaries always win.”
