Page 85 of His Trick

He knows something I don’t.

“Some things…” Edmund said slowly, letting each word roll like venom across the table, “Are buried deep, even from those who carry them. Like a wound, they are simply unaware of until it’s ripped open once more.”

Shiloh’s eyes flicked to me again, searching and suspicious.

“What the hell does that mean?” His voice was raw, low, and so tight.

I clenched my jaw, forcing my hands to stay under the table. I didn’t have even a hint of the truth he was chasing, but Edmund was laying it out like a trap. Every word was designed to make me falter, make Shiloh look at me with doubt.

And it was fucking working.

“Nothing you can touch, son,” Edmund continued, calm and poisonous. “But someone else…someone close…might know more than they realize.”

Shiloh’s fist slammed against the table. “Who? Stop with the fucking games, old man!”

I leaned slightly toward him. “Don’t bite. Not yet.”

But the words didn’t stop the tremor in his shoulder or the flicker in his jaw. Edmund noticed it, and I could see it. The bastard thrived on it.

“You brought him with you,” Edmund stated, eyes flicking to me now, sharp and piercing. “The one you lean on when the world’s too much?”

I froze. Realizing that now I was the target. The one he was circling.

I forced my voice to remain calm, but the tension in my chest twisted like a knife. “I don’t know what your fucking game is. I’m here for him. So don’t touch him. Or I will kill you.”

Edmund leaned back, still smiling. “Ah…so this one carries your fire for you. Good. But fire can be dangerous, can’t it? Especially when you don’t even know what you’re burning for, and who it has burned in the past.”

I swallowed hard. He had me trapped. Every subtle word, every hint, every pause was crafted to make me flinch, to make Shiloh question me. Is he trying to tell him all those I killed? Shiloh wasn’t stupid. He had to know it wasn’t just those women from the maze. The contracts from my father were nameless and vast. I couldn’t tell Shiloh that now. All I could do was grit my teeth and hold my tongue.

“You were younger then,” Edmund mused, letting the words trail. “And very…useful.”

Is he talking about…me?

Shiloh’s head snapped toward me. “Carrington?”

I shook my head slightly, keeping my jaw tight. “Don’t even start on my past, fucker.”

But Edmund wasn’t done.

“Some jobs,” he murmured, almost to himself. “Shape the future more than you know. Some choices echo longer than the men who make them.”

I felt my stomach drop. Every muscle in my body wanted to move, to protect Shiloh, to claw at the old bastard and tear the words from him. But I had nothing to counter the direction he was headed. He was going to tell Shiloh I was a killer. He was trying to pull him away from me. He must have known about my father’s contracts. But he didn’t realize how powerless I was in the decisions.

I leaned closer to Shiloh, whispering low. Rough. “Breathe. Focus. He’s trying to pull you apart. Don’t let him. Push back, Sunshine.”

Shiloh exhaled sharply, his fists clenched. “I can’t—he’s…he’s baiting me. There’s something unsaid. I need to know.”

No…

“Yes,” I muttered too tightly. “ But he won’t give you the answer, Shiloh. He’ll keep twisting and try to twist me next. Hold onto yourself. Hold onto me.”

Edmund’s eyes flicked back and forth between us, amusement and mock adoration shining bright. Like he could see the exact second our control wavered in front of him. He was enjoying it. I could almost hear him counting the seconds until I faltered and broke down.

And I knew whatever came next, he was going to try to rip Shiloh from me, even if I didn’t know the full extent yet.

Edmund leaned back, chains clinking softly, his eyes flicking between us like he was inspecting a puzzle, seeing which piece would crack first.

“You know…” he said slowly, deliberately. “Sometimes the right man in the wrong place changes everything. And sometimes the wrong man…well, he thinks he’s right until the consequences catch up with each decision made.”