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“You wanted to see me, Uncle Jack?”

It burns. Every time I call him by that name… I might be twenty-eight now, but he insists on the title whenever we speak. Half the time, I refuse. But when I was something from him? Damn it, he’s Uncle Jack again.

He finishes what he’s doing on his phone before setting it down. “Take a seat, Adrian.”

I’d rather not, but it’s also not worth the argument.

I sink down in the thick leather of the office chair opposite of his desk.

He takes a lighter out of his desk drawer. “Need a light?”

My fingers reach up, touching the familiar rolled paper of my cigarette. I leave it tucked behind my ear. “Nah. I’m good.”

It’s a safety crutch and a temptation at the same time. Icouldsmoke if I get desperate enough to light it, but just having it so close is a reminder of what will happen if I relapse.

I want Loni more than I do the relief from this awful headache. Besides, it won’t last long. I’ve tried quitting before, but never really had a reason to. Sheismy reason. There isn’t anything I won’t do for her.

Except let her go…

“Very well. In that case, I guess congratulations are in order. I hear you’re a married man now.”

As good as. I did the whole church thing, and I’ve got the wedding license ready to be dropped off with the registrar down at the municipal building. I asked Loni her ring size over breakfast before I left. I’ll have the custom ring started this afternoon, plus a belated engagement ring to go along with it.

So, yeah. I’m fucking married.

“I wish you could’ve been at the ceremony. It was a last minute thing, though. Didn’t even know it was happening until yesterday.”

Come on, Jack. You had a hand in planning Desmond and Loni’s wedding. You knew about it and never told me. Admit it.

He doesn’t.

“From my understanding, no one was at the ceremony except for my son and the priest of St. Catherine’s.” Hetskshis tongue. “Okay. I heard from Father Francis, and I heard from Oliver. Dallas, too. What’s your story?”

What’s my story? The goddamn truth, and I tell him exactly that. From the moment I arrived at the church, prepared to do anything to stop this wedding from playing out, and how I walked in, decided that just showing up was enough, that I needed to kill Desmond so I could take his place, and after the panicked guests in the church cleared out, that was what I did.

He can’t fault me. I had the right to do it, and between Dallas and me, it was cleaned up. The body was brought to an Order-run funeral home for a speedy burial; more than Desmond deserves, if you ask me. The church is pristine again, and a large donation from Mr. and Mrs. Heller will go a long way to ease the father’s traumatic experience.

‘Yes, Dallas told me the same.” Jack taps his fingers on the desktop. “I know he was involved in this, and I’m not surprised one bit that my troublesome boy decided to interfere. What about Sebastien?”

Fuck. Of course he’s going to zero in on Bas.

I shake my head. “I don’t recall seeing him around town lately.”

“Mm.”

Shit. He’s suspicious. Connor has his hands full with Haven right now, so it makes sense he was staying out of it. But Bas? If I needed his help, he’d be there—and he was. No way in hell as I admitted that to my uncle, though. Not when he’s looking for any reason to get rid of him after what happened three summers ago.

Bas has never wanted to be one of the Owed. Coming from a family whose name is synonymous with the Order has been hard on the younger son, and I get it. Just like I’ll protect him from his own sense of self-destruction if I have to.

So I wait Jack out. I’m an excellent liar because I only lie when I need to instead of with every breath. He might think I’m full of shit, but the only way he’ll know is if I own up to it, and I’m not about to do that.

Finally, he sighs. “I’ve been on the phone with the St. Jameses all morning. They want someone to pay. An eye for eye, blood for blood. You understand.”

I had been sitting easily in the chair, my body language projecting calm and casual. Suddenly, I lean forward. “Bullshit.”

“Adrian—”

“No. That’s bullshit. I settled with the priest because he got dragged into something that didn’t involve him. Fine. But if Desmond’s folks want to be compensated for the loss of their son, that’s on you.”