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At Paul.
At Tanner for taking so fucking long.
And at myself for a mistake I made ten years ago.
Damn it. Emily’s even more beautiful now. Still wild. Still trying to hide it.
Leaving her in that service hall was damn near impossible.
Finally, fuckingfinally, the door opens and Tanner steps through with Luca. Her eyes slowly take us all in, distrust and fear rolling behind them.
Seeing her now reminds me of the last time I saw her at Yale. Her eyes were frightened then, too. But for a far different reason. All I remember is her offering me water just before Tanner had to drag my ass upstairs.
Gabriel stands up as soon as he sees her, his voice a slick purr when he asks, “Luca Bailey, how have you been?”
He’s in character immediately, which means the rest of us need to follow suit.
No matter the circumstances.
No matter who gets hurt.
We have a job to do if we’ll ever bring down our families.
It’s game on just like always.
And it’s Emily we’ll be cornering next.
Emily
The night was dragging on like usual until Tanner arrived with his date in tow. It was habit to point him out to Ivy, a throwback to high school when we always warned each other that the wolves were stalking about.
The last thing I expected him to do was walk over and pull her away from our group.
Now my eyes are locked on them, suspicion dripping along my spine to see him lean down to whisper against her ear.
“Pretty night, isn’t it?”
My head snaps left to see Paul Rollings has stepped up to me.
All night, he’s lingered among the group, but this is the first time he’s spoken to me directly.
“Yeah,” I answer, my voice distracted because I’d rather be watching over Ivy and Tanner. I flash him a polite smile. “It’s great.”
When I turn back to look at Ivy, Paul touches my arm and a wave of nausea rolls through me. My eyes return to him, and I choke down the urge to scream for him to fuck off.
I can’t stand him, not after what happened in high school.
“Are you excited about your engagement? I know you and Mason have been waiting a long time for this.”
Bile shoots up the back of my throat. But I remember to smile, just like my mother demands.
I’m pretty sure she’s around here somewhere watching me and keeping a scorecard of all my mistakes.
“I’m excited. Thanks for asking.”
He steps closer, his body heat caressing my side. It only makes my skin crawl.
“I’m actually just recently engaged myself. I’m not sure if you heard. We’ve kept it somewhat quiet.”