Page 141 of Toxic Love

My brow arches, and I smirk. Someone’s feelingveryforward tonight.

Me:

You’re in trouble in twenty minutes

I leave some of my best people in charge of the club and jump in my SUV to speed home. I leave it with the valet and head into the lobby.

…Where suddenly I freeze as I lock eyes with Gabriel and Alistair, who are sitting on the bench against the wall next to the concierge desk, scowling.

“Evening, Mr. Sartorre, sir!” Joey, the front desk guy, smiles at me. “These gentlemen are here to see you.”

“We were hereten fucking minutes ago,” Alistair grunts. “To see our sister, whoalsolives here.”

Joey shoots me a sheepish look. “I apologize, Mr. Sartorre. But you know it’s building policy that only guests of listed residents be let in. Obviously, I know Mrs. Sartorre is your wife, but we never updated the register with her listed on the penthouse?—”

“It’s fine, Joey,” I smile, shaking my head and turning to frown at the Black brothers. I walk over to them as they stand. “What are you doing here?”

Gabriel frowns. “Tempest texted me that she needed help with something at your place. I got here five minutes ago and was surprised to find this guy”—he elbows Alistair—“already here with the same message from her.”

Huh. I get the distinct impression someone whose name starts with “T” and ends with “empest” is playing a game of surprise mediation between her brothers and I. Whichshouldpiss me off. But fuck it, if that’s what she wants, so be it.

Christ, has this women gotten under my skin.

“What is this, a fucking intervention?” Alistair growls.

“It would seem so,” I reply.

“Yeah, well, thanks but no thanks,” Alistair mutters. He elbows his brother to go. Gabriel stays where he is, and Alistair just shrugs. “Fine. Have fun.” He turns, and he’s starting to walk away when I just spit it out.

Fuck it. I made a promise, but my future is with Tempest. And that future demands honesty. Besides, Layla always did tell me to not go over the edge, and if I don’t tell them the truth and let them keep hating me, that’ll be it.Thatwill be the edge I fall over.

“She didn’t want you to know. Layla, I mean.”

Alistair freezes mid-step. Gabriel’s face turns to stone.

“What the hell did you just say?” Alistair hisses.

I turn to Joey. “Joey, would you mind…”

He nods. “Of course, Mr. Sartorre.” He steps past us and outside to light a cigarette, giving us the lobby to ourselves.

“When I was a freshman at Knightsblood,” I murmur quietly, “I was in a dark place. I mean Idark. Claudia had just died, I had the loss of my parents deaths to think about, plus worrying about Bianca having a future or the proper kind of supervision now that I was away at school…”

I frown and shake my head. “Not telling you about everything that was happening—or had happened—with Layla wasn’t meant to hurt you?—”

“Bullshit,” Alistair snarls. “You stonewalled us just to fuck with?—”

“You?!” I snap back. “It wasn’t everaboutyou, either of you! It was about respecting Layla’s last wishes!”

Gabriel’s eyes narrow. “Why the fuck would you give a single shit about?—”

“Because she was mybest fucking friend!” I roar. “When I was at my lowest, she brought me out of it. Look, it was never anything more than platonic. We used to joke that she was like Claudia to me, a surrogate big sister.”

“Well, she was ourrealsister,” Alistair snarls. “And she never once used?—”

“Heroin? Wrong. She went to rehab for it twice. The night she died was her fourth overdose.”

They both go silent, looking like they’re not sure if they should break down or break my face.

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