Page 162

“Even when she marries Mason?”
It’s like a boulder dropped on my stomach. The first barrier between us. I’ve been so annoyed with this shit with Damon, and Emily going behind our back with William, that I’d forgotten about what started all this crap to begin with.
“That’s what I thought,” Gabe says when I stay silent. “No matter what you do, Emily will be in the picture. Walking away won’t solve anything.”
“Since when are you the voice of reason?”
“Since I also know she’ll be around because she’s Ivy’s best friend.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
This time it’s his silence that’s telling. I chuckle at Gabe’s lack of an answer.
“Fuck, man. It’s about time. You and Ivy have been circling each other forever.”
“It’s not like that-“
“Right. Just like it’s not like that with Emily and me. Tanner and I both heard what you two were doing out in the woods last night.”
Gabe groans again, except this time it’s not my fist that caused it.
“I’ve always liked Ivy,” I admit. “She’s insane, but entertaining as hell. You could do worse.”
Nobody in the Inferno has any clue about my relationship with Ivy. Not that there’s much of one, but we haven’t always been on opposite sides.
Back in high school, she was the only reason Emily kept talking to me after a fight I got into with another kid, but it cost me for Ivy to help.
It’s a secret both of us carry, and I’m impressed Ivy has never let it slip.
“What are you going to do about Emily?” he asks, diverting the conversation back to the current problem blowing up in my face.
“What can I do? I’ve burned just about every bridge in this situation.”
Gabe laughs. “Yeah, you’re good at that. The first thing you need to do is fix shit with Damon.”
“He’ll be fine,” I mutter.
“Then get Emily under control. Her temper is as bad as yours. If you two need to fight this out, then fight it out. But hiding up here isn’t helping.”
My fingers curl into my palms while I decide whether to tell him about Emily and William.
Nobody in our group is very trusting when it comes to outsiders, and I know if I say a word about it, she’ll be on their shitlist fast.
Without knowing exactly what she’s doing, I don’t want to take the chance of setting her squarely in the middle of their sights.
Deciding against it, I do mention one other thing that has been grinding in my thoughts.
“I saw William the other day.”
Gabe’s head snaps my direction. “Did he approach you?”
“That’s not what matters. I’m more interested in knowing who beat the shit out of him.”
Because that was all sorts of interesting when Emily mentioned it. I let it slide at the time because I was working on getting her upstairs, but it’s just one more mystery that needs to be solved.
Gabe cocks a brow. “Maybe there’s some infighting in the family.”
“Maybe,” I answer, not that I believe it.