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Chapter Twenty-Five

SKYLA

Gia laughs as Royce sends Joshua flying to the floor, one punch after another finding a home all over his body.

Joshua groans and thrashes beneath him, trying to throw him off.

At least, I think he’s trying. It doesn’t look like he’s having much luck with his efforts.

Joshua finally shoves him off, but Royce is back on him a second later.

Jade stands up, her chair screeching against the floor and falling back as she looks at me. “So, you lied about getting married, let me think that you would cut us out of your life like that, and now you’re telling me that everything is bullshit?”

Aiden sighs and gets up. “You’re all acting ridiculous.”

I look at Jade, not knowing how to fix the betrayal in her gaze.

I wish that there was something I could say to make this better. I knew telling my family the truth was only going to result in people getting hurt, and yet Joshua didn’t want to listen to me.

He thought he knew best. And now he’s getting the shit kicked out of him by my brother.

Aiden hauls the two of them apart, shoving Royce one way and Joshua the other. “Enough of this. I knew about the agreement between the two of them, and I was fine with it. So were they. The rest of you have no fucking room to be upset.”

To my surprise, Ellie is the one who gets in his face first. “What the fuck is this, Aiden? You just keep shoving us into relationships and building your little fucking empire that way? You don’t give a fuck if any of us are happy with our lives.

All you care about is what’s going to benefit you the most.”

He shrugs and tucks his hands into his pockets, still acting as a wall for Royce. “They were the ones who made the deal. Skyla brought it to me to see what I would think.”

Summer looks at me with tears in her eyes as she gets up and scoops Bianca out of the high chair. “Come on, Bia. We’re not going to be around the family right now. You’re much better off with Aunty Summer. She might be the only one who isn’t a psychopathic liar.”

Gia turns to me with a shit-eating smirk. “You know, she might be right about that. I used to think Ellie was the normal one, but she looks about ready to kill everyone.”

Jade’s bottom lip quivers. “I don’t know why you keep lying to us. We’re all adults. Didn’t you think that just for once you could let us into your life and, I don’t know, maybe we could be a family instead of whatever fucking shit this is?”

I shrug, stomach tossing and turning. “I had to make the decision that was right for the family. Joshua needed help, and he was offering a deal I couldn’t pass up.”

Ellie spins and glares at me. “You’re no better than Aiden.”

“I’m worse, if we want to put it all out there and really dig into everything that’s been haunting the family for years.” I force the words out through the lump that’s in my throat. “Now’s your chance, Ellie. Jade. It’s time to say everything.”

Royce shakes his head and lunges for Joshua again. “You stupid, manipulative bastard! You’re not going to do anything other than ruin this damn family and everything we’ve worked for.”

Aiden raises his voice. “Do you think we could go up against Zoe and the rest of the Rinaldos with the state we were in a couple months ago? You saw where things stood. This deal has brought us money and powerful allies. If anything, all of you should be thanking Skyla for what she’s willing to do for our family. ”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” I take a step back, trying to avoid one of my siblings coming at me.

The worst parts of me are hovering too close to the surface right now. Everything is overwhelming, and the need to find a release itches in the back of my mind.

That horrible little voice calls to me, begging me to do whatever it takes to make myself feel better.

I want to listen to that voice. I want to make everything that’s happening right now come to an end.

I want to make the voices stop.

I want the family to stop arguing.

I need them to stop arguing.

Royce shoves past Aiden, pushing Joshua back into a wall. “You’re nothing but a man who is looking to manipulate her because you think she can’t take care of herself. You don’t know her. You don’t know what goes on in her head!”

Joshua snaps like I’ve never seen him lose his temper before.

He lunges for Royce without a second thought, taking him to the ground and straddling him.

There’s nothing Royce can do to throw him off as Joshua punches him.

He’s like a man possessed.

“Enough!” Gia shouts, taking me by the shoulders and guiding me into the corner of a room. “Can’t you all see what this is doing?”

Royce spits out a mouthful of blood. “She’s the one acting like a whore and sleeping with some guy because she claims it’s for the good of the family.”

Joshua grabs him by the jaw. “That’s going to be the last time you ever fucking speak to my wife like that.”

The punch he delivers to the side of Royce’s head isn’t enough to knock him out, but if I didn’t know better, I would say that Royce is seeing stars right now.

I glance at Sean, who stands beside Aiden looking as calm as possible. “You have to break them up before they kill each other.”

Aiden shrugs, glancing at me. “Might solve more of my problems.”

Kill them all.

I push the voice to the back of my head, hands curling into fists and nails biting into my skin.

I’m stronger than the voice, and I always have been, even if my family doesn’t like to think so.

“Enough!” I shout, going over to Aiden and Sean, shoving them into action. “Get the two of them apart right now.”

They haul Royce and Joshua apart, both men panting and dripping blood, looking like they’re seconds away from trying to kill each other again.

I knew doing this tonight was a bad idea. I should’ve canceled the dinner and stayed in. It would’ve been better. I would’ve had a night where I didn’t have to listen to my family shit all over me for the millionth time.

While I know they’re going to feel however they feel about me, it still hurts to hear it over and over again. Especially after everything I’ve done for all of them.

Not that I need any recognition for any of that, but it would be nice to be treated like I’m part of the family.

Gia stands by my side, taking my hand and holding it tight.

I shake a little in her grip, but I hold my head high, even as the judgmental sets of eyes dart between me and Joshua.

“What he was saying before Royce attacked him is that we aren’t married, though none of you can tell anyone that. Grady Granville needs to think that we’re together. The other thing he was going to tell you is that we are together.”

Ellie’s mouth presses into a thin line as she sits back down at the table. “I don’t know what kind of mess you’re creating for yourself, Skyla, but it sounds like a horrible idea, and you should get out of it while you still can.”

I tense, trying to breathe and not blow up. “I’m an adult, Ellie. I know what I’m doing, and I know the decisions I’ve made, and this is one of them.”

She studies me for a moment before nodding, a slow smile curving the corner of her mouth. “Well, anyone is better than Logan. He was a real piece of work.”

Snorting, Joshua sits down beside her. “Tell me about it. He’s been nothing but a problem since the day he was born. My mother used to say that I tried to give him up for adoption more than once.”

“Can’t say I blame you for that.” Gia sits across from him and snags a piece of bread from the bowl in the center of the table.

Ellie grins, looking at me with something close to understanding in her eyes. “If this is what makes you happy, then who am I to argue with it?”

Jade gapes at her. “Don’t you hear what she’s saying right now?”

Ellie shrugs, also taking a piece of bread and breaking it into small pieces. “I do, but I also know that Skyla wouldn’t do anything without thinking it through.”

Jade crosses her arms over her chest, shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s true.”

Royce leaves the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Gia sighs and looks at me. “Are you going to be okay? I’ll go talk to him and try to bring him around to the thought of this.”

“Good luck.” I force a smile, even though my heart is beating a million miles an hour and it feels like I’m going to be sick. “He’s stubborn, and he’s not going to take anything you say to him kindly right now.”

“The power of the pussy will fix the day.” She winks at me before following Royce.

Aiden groans and sits back down in his seat, scrubbing his hands over his face.

When they fall away, he looks at me with a morbid sense of amusement in his gaze. “You know, just once I would like to have a family dinner where things didn’t absolutely devolve.”

I take my seat again, slumping down and taking a deep breath even though my appetite is gone. “I think that went fairly well, all things considered.”

Jade gapes at us. “You think that went well?”

I lean forward and reach for my glass of wine. “Nobody is dead, and it looks like there are minimal tears being shed, so I would probably consider that a good thing. I don’t know what else there is to talk about.”

“Let’s revisit the fact that you’re The Reaper.” Jade sits down on the other side of Joshua, leaning closer to him. “Did she tell you about that? Did she tell you about all the people she’s killed? Has she told you about all the people she still plans to kill?”

Joshua uses a white napkin to clean some of the blood from his face. “I know all about that.”

“You can’t.” Jade’s voice breaks a little. “Not really. You don’t know what it’s like to live with her when she’s off the rails and bloodthirsty. Don’t you see the look in her eyes right now?”

His face hardens when he looks at her. “And what look is that?”

“She looks like she wants to kill someone!” Jade waves a hand at me. “She’s barely holding on, and yet all of you are willing to sit here and pretend that everything is fine. Nobody wants to see what a monster she is.”

I take a long sip of the wine, my gaze meeting Joshua’s. I give a slight shake of my head, but he ignores me, his attention locking back onto Jade.

Joshua sets the napkin to the side, ice in his voice.

“And how many things has she done to protect you ? How many lives has she taken to make sure you don’t spend time living in fear?

How many times did you call her in the middle of the night while you were growing up, knowing who she is and still knowing that she would be there for you? ”

Jade scowls, her gaze dropping to the table. “That’s not the point right now.”

“No. The point is that you all dance around the fact that she’s a serial killer. So what? You’ve all killed people. Sure, you may not feel it like it’s a need that you can’t go without. An addiction that you can’t overcome, but you sure as fuck benefit from it.”

My mouth drops open, and it feels like there’s a hand wrapping around my chest. It’s squeezing the air from my lungs, and I don’t know what to think.

Nobody has ever defended me the way that Joshua has, but right now he’s ready to go toe to toe with my family.

He looks at Jade with disgust before standing up and rounding the table, holding his hand out to me. “I think we’re done here for the night, Sky. Maybe when your family is willing to apologize to you, we can reconsider this.”

For a moment, I’m torn.

I know if I go with him, I’m going to be opening a rift in my family. One that’s bigger than any other I’ve opened. One that might not be able to be repaired.

But if I go with him, there’s also an acceptance I’m going to be met with that I’ve never had before.

And so, I stand and put my hand in his, letting him lead the way out of the house and to the car.

He opens the door, waiting until I’m settled before he shuts the door.

It’s only once he’s in the car that he turns to me. “In the name of getting everything out there in the open, there’s something I have to tell you.”