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CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

VALE

“Come on.” Alena straddles Loch on the sofa. “They help with puffy eyes.”

“I don’t have puffy eyes.” He laughs, not resisting as she sticks gold patches under his icy blues, blinking at the intrusion. “I only have eyes for you.”

“Aw.” She tilts her head, planting a sickeningly sweet kiss on his grinning lips. “Will you put that in our vows?”

“Babygirl, I will say, ‘Yeehaw,’ and do a line dance down the aisle for you.”

“Promise?”

“I’ve already practiced.”

My smile tugs at my under-eye patches, too. Snuggled in a side chair, I relax in my pink satin bridesmaid pajama top and shorts, my heart glowing at how hopelessly happy Alena is.

Nadine smiles at them, too. Sipping wine, she sits in the chair opposite mine, looking as elegant as ever in gold eye patches and black silk pajamas while she tries to text discreetly.

In her covert line of work, I guess you never get a break.

Tender moments like this make me miss Nash. But it’s a small sacrifice of a few days without him while Alena gets the wedding she deserves.

Tomorrow, Alena wants me to teach her and Loch how to play golf. My clubs are polished and propped in their bag by the front door. When I know, really, we’ll just get drunk on spicy margaritas and zoom around the course in a golf cart.

Blair is supposed to return from her Caribbean three-way in two more days and join our slumber party and the wedding.

Then, ship this: she’s moving to Atlanta to be a double WAG. Who saw that coming? Me.

“Now, about your eyebrows.” Alena twists her lips.

“What about them?” Loch raises one.

“Can I just?—”

“Nope.” Gently, he grabs her fingertips about to pluck an errant hair. “A man’s gotta draw the line somewhere.”

“But it’s for our wedding,” Alena protests.

“I like them,” I chime in. “They’re all masculine and thick. Leave him some hair and dignity.”

“Thank you, her bestie.” Loch smiles at me, bowing his head slightly, and…

Why did that look familiar?

Alena tries to tickle her fiancé into compliance. It’s an amusing sight because Loch looms so large he doesn’t have to submit to anyone, but he does to her.

In a few days, he’ll stay in another villa as the groom, waiting for his blushing bride, but tonight, he lets her win. He lets her lift his T-shirt to tickle his flinching abs, their laughter booming across the open living room, with its windows to the golf course outside.

They’re cute and rolling around on the sofa. Even Nadine laughs, watching them, until…

…I clock it.

A lion on Loch’s chiseled oblique? And another? And another?

What the…? I count seven of them, roaring in distinct black ink, flexing over his muscles, his deep laughter booming at Alena’s torture and…

Oh.

My.

King.

Shock rips my breath away so quickly, I’m dizzy. It’s not the wine I’m drinking. It’s the recognition. The secret. The lie. The betrayal. It’s the pieces of my heart breaking at the weight of my logic falling into place.

“Excuse me.” I force myself to speak. “I need to call Blair.”

I lie, too, and grab my phone. Rushing outside to the deck, I close the glass door behind me and glance over my shoulder. Nadine watches me while Alena and Loch are oblivious to my departure.

Acting like I’m calling my twin, I pace across the deck, not sure what to do next. Then I see Nash sitting on his deck, four villas down, and I don’t know whether to scream, cry, or both.

Quietly, I descend the wooden steps. Immediately, an armed guard steps out of the shadows.

“Shit!” I hiss at him.

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“Out of my way.” I shoulder past him.

“But ma’am.” He tries to stop me.

“Balls are about to be ripped off,” I sneer. “You want in on my eunuch party?”

With one hand on a rifle, he holds up his other. “No, ma’am.”

He doesn’t stop me as I storm across the neat patches of Bermuda grass, each marking a villa’s backyard, until I stand at the edge of Nash’s deck. Stomping up his wooden stairs, he stands to greet me.

“Poison, what are you—” He slings sunshine, pausing at the sight of me.

Fuck, my eye patches.

I rip them off and throw them at him. “Don’t fucking call me that!” My heart pounds at his betrayal.

He reaches for me. “What’s wro?—”

But I jerk away, clenching my teeth. “I know .”

He pauses, his eyes glaring down at me while he lifts his chin, adding up the damage done. “I was going to tell you.”

“Me? I don’t give a fuck about me. I mean, I do. I won’t love a liar. But what about your daughter? What about Alena? How can you do this to her?”

“Let’s go inside and talk like adults.” He motions for me to comply.

“Why? So you can lie again?”

His nostrils flare. “So I can explain.”

“I’m sure whatever you have to say can wait until I give a shit.”

“Now, Vale!” He booms, yanking me into his grasp and throwing me over his shoulder.

I punch and fight as hard as I can. I want to hurt him as much as I hurt, but it’s useless. Nash is too strong and getting pissed.

He throws the door open before slamming it behind us, glass reverberating and threatening to break.

Tossing me on the sofa, I don’t get a chance to scream before he roars, “It’s for Alena! It keeps her safe. I’m her father, so don’t you ever question what I do to protect her!”

“Oh, yeah? Well, I didn’t mean to offend ye olde patriarch, but it’s a huge bonus because I’m her best friend who’s full of facts she deserves to know!”

“Know what?” He shouts. “That Loch loves her? That he’ll always protect her? What else does she need to know?”

“That he’s Seven!” I jump to my feet. “That somehow, I know it; you, Axel, and all of your Bratva ballsacks arranged this marriage. She thinks…” Tears bite at my eyes. “Alena thinks she met Loch at a gas station. That he fell in love with her at first sight over Coca-Cola Slurpies.”

I hate this for her. I hate that her meet-cute is a lie.

“You know how shy she is,” I grieve for her. “You know how she got teased. You know no one asked her out. The cruel boys called her ‘hips’ in high school, and I could only beat so many asses and love her so much as her best friend until she finally met Loch, and he made it okay. He made her feel beautiful and loved, and she believes he adores everything about her, but it’s a lie!”

My tears fall, and they threaten Nash’s eyes, too. For Alena, he has a deadly soft spot.

“It’s not a lie.” He swallows. “My daughter is beautiful and loved. Loch loves her. So, don’t take it away from her.” He swallows again. “Please.”

“Tell her,” I seethe. “Tell her the truth before they get married, or I will.”

“It will break her heart.”

“You broke her heart the moment you bargained it away! You had no right. She deserves true love. Not one built on a lie.” I pause, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Not one like ours.”

“Vale,” he shakes his head, “our love is NOT a lie, and you know it.”

“No, I don’t. I know a thousand facts from books, but I never knew the facts from you, Nash. Since the day we met, you’ve been lying to me.”

“I never lied about how I love you.” He steps toward me. “I proved it but never said it. I didn’t say it for so long to protect you. I’ll always protect you.”

“Yeah,” I lift my wet chin, “well, who’s protecting Alena from her father now?” I throw up my hands. “Oh, look, it’s me, and another thing we have in common. Our fathers chose their jobs over their daughters.”

“Don’t you ever compare me to your father!” Rage threatens his voice. “Every time I could, I was there for you. After you gave up your golf scholarship, you didn’t win an academic one. I was the anonymous benefactor who paid to make one for you. That nice old lady in your building? She didn’t give you her vintage bike. I paid her to give you the red bike I bought for you. Your mother’s headstone with tulips engraved on it? It was me, not her coworkers, who had it made for her. I have always loved you, Vale. I will always choose you!”

Sobs burst up my burning throat. He’s so kind. He’s so cunning. “But don’t you see, Nash? Even when you love me, you lie. You’re lying to Alena, too.”

“No,” he snarls, “I’ll do anything. Anything! For someone I love. I’ll lie. Kill. Sacrifice. I’ll do it for you and my daughter, too. So you can hate me, Vale, but I will never stop loving you.”

I can’t breathe under the weight of his vow. I can’t find words that don’t hurt. I can’t find a truth that doesn’t break my heart.

“But I can’t love a father who lies to his daughter.” Tears pool over my lips. “You know all those Happy Meals I ate as a girl? They only made me cry because I saved all my toys from them to play with my father, but he never did. Every time, he was too busy. Every time, he left me waiting and never showed up. His love was a lie. And sometimes, I hate to admit, I wished he were dead because then he wouldn’t have a choice. But no. He’s alive, and he never chooses me. But you can choose Alena. You can choose to tell her the truth.”

Pain bends his face. It mirrors mine. Every emotion Nash feels drowns me, too.

“Vale, please.” His tone softens. “I love you, and Loch loves Alena. You have to believe me.”

“You have to tell her.” I wrap my arms around my clenching stomach. “Or I will.”

Right now.

I turn for his backdoor.

“Where are you going?”

“Every moment you wait only hurts her more.” And me.

Nash doesn’t stop me. He follows me. Too quickly, I’m at the steps to Alena’s villa. Too easily, the guard lets us by. He knows better than to try and stop me.

Rocks fill my throat. My cheeks burn hot with tears. My bare feet weigh a ton under this burden as I climb the stairs and open the glass door.

Nadine lifts her stare from her phone and immediately reads the situation.

Me, crying.

Nash, seething.

Secrets, unraveling.

She sets her wine down, and Alena lifts her head, reclining on Loch’s chest. They’re cuddled on the sofa, but she pops up once she sees my tears.

“What’s wrong?” Alena’s eyes flit from mine, pouring pain to Nash’s, flooded with rage. “Dad?” Dread fills her voice. “What happened? Why is Vale cr?—”

“We need to talk, sweet … pea.”

I’ve never heard Nash’s voice break with pain like it just did.

I glance at Loch, and his chest heaves, realizing this is it . He moves to rise, to stop Nash. “Let me?—”

“No.” But Nash stops him. “She’s my daughter. This is my doing, and it’s my fault, so let me tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Alena glances from Loch to her Dad and then to me. “Vale, what’s going on? Oh, sweetie, why are you crying so much?”

She starts to cry, too, and I can’t stop the words. I can’t hide it. I can’t lie to my best friend anymore.

“I love your dad.” It rushes over my lips. “I’ve been in love with him since I was eighteen, and I’m so sorry. I really am. I hid it for so long so you wouldn’t get hurt. And now, we’ve been together and hiding it from you, but we were going to tell you after the wedding. I thought we were in love, and it would be okay, but then I found out he’s been lying to you and?—”

“We are in love,” Nash fumes. “Don’t you ever put us in the past tense, poison. I won’t fucking allow it.”

“Wait.” Alena shakes her head. “What do you mean you’re lying and in love?”

Nash whips his passionate fury from me to Alena. “I love her. I love Vale and never acted on it all these years because I never wanted to hurt you. Ever. I was willing to die alone, without her, to keep you happy and safe until?—”

“Until it stopped being safe,” Loch interjects. “Until I came around.”

Alena turns to him. “What? You? What do you have to do with…” She stammers, gesturing to me and Nash, “Them and…” She looks at me. “And you love my dad? Like love , love him?”

I nod, streams pouring down my face. “I’m so sorry, but I do … I mean, I did.” I want to throw up. “But he lied to you. To me. And now I don’t know what to feel.”

“Lied to us? About what?” Alena jumps up, waving her finger our way. “If you two are … whatever … then yeah, it freaks me out. A lot. It’s weird. I never saw it coming, but…”

She’s on a roll. You can’t stop her.

“But it’s not a lie that you’re adults . You can do what you want,” she reasons. “Dad, you’ve acted like a goddamn monk my whole life, but I knew it was a lie. I just figured you kept your sex life away from me. And Vale, you’ve been miserable and lonely. It kind of makes sense. And now half of me wants to vomit, and half of me is relieved you’re not alone.” She balls her fists. “So, am I pissed? Yes! Will I get over it? Give me a goddamn chance to breathe, and maybe I will!”

This is the Alena I love—the strong one, the one who will yell down a grizzly bear and send it running away. She gets this from her dad.

“So why the hell are you freaking me out?” She shouts. “Days before I get married, and what does this have to do with Loch?” She turns to him. “What’s going on?”

“Alena, I…” Loch stands, reaching for her hand. His eyes burn so blue with his plea, “Babygirl, I love you. Please believe it. You have to.”

I stand in our tornado of lies and love and can see the eye of Loch’s storm— he’s not lying. He loves her.

“Nash.” Nadine finally speaks. Calmy. Warmly. Like a matriarch who could quell any fight. “Go speak with Alena, and we’ll wait here. Then, she can speak with my son.”

Alena’s brown eyes shock wide open. “Your son ?”

Nadine nods. Loch bows his head in shame, and Nash takes over.

“Come on, sweetpea.” He steps toward her. “Just, please, let me tell you everything, and then you can hate me as Vale does.”

He’s trying to joke to calm us, but it doesn’t work.

The bomb has exploded, I’m furious, and Alena’s in shock. She lets him wrap an arm over her shoulder and lead her down the hallway to her bedroom, closing the door behind them.

The silence is deafening until I hear her muffled cries. Then my glare slices from Loch to Nadine. “How could you do this to her?” I shake my head, not believing of all people; Nadine lied to her, too.

“Because I love her, Vale.” Loch addresses me for the first time. “Just like I saw with my own eyes how much Nash loves you. And I will fight for her.” He clenches his teeth. “So, don’t get in my way and regret it.”

“Lyov,” Nadine arches her brow at him, “that is not how you speak to a queen.”

“My apologies,” he fumes, “but Vale, you read this all wrong. Does it matter how we fall in love with someone? Or does it matter more how we’ll love them until the day we die?”

Suddenly, I see Axel’s fury in Loch. I see Sire’s conviction, Jace’s warmth, Grant’s steel, and Nick’s wisdom. Suddenly, I see the man who’s been standing right in front of me for over a year.

He’s a beast, too.

And he’s in love with Alena.

“Then, if you truly love her, it starts today.” I lift my chin. “You’ll stop lying to her and fight to win her love again.”

“Will you keep that promise, too?” Nadine asks. “For you, moya doch , are no different. Nash has revealed his greatest secret. There are no more lies, so will you let him fight for you, too?”

I chew my lip because I don’t know the answer.

No man has ever fought for me. No man has ever made a mistake, then dropped to his knees and begged for my forgiveness.

Sure, Nash almost destroyed me last time, but he didn’t fall to his knees, groveling to get me back. Though I know he would’ve.

No, he did more.

He brought my soul to its knees.

I couldn’t believe a man loved me so much he’d do more than grovel for me or fight for me. Nash killed for me. And he’d do it all over again.

“It’s my fault,” Nadine laments. “Please don’t hate my boys, and I mean Nash, too. Yes, they’re grown men now. They’re responsible for their actions, but it started with me. Their father never loved me, so they were born into the violent lie of our marriage. Then, I hid the lie of loving my second husband, and he lied to help us escape. I raised my boys to survive, to lie and hide, and once Nash joined us, I taught him the same. My dear, all they’ve ever known is lying to protect the ones they love, and I think you might know a little about that, too.”

I nod, letting my last tears escape.

I lied to myself for so long, refusing to admit I was in love with Nash.

Then I lied to him, denying it and being a snarky brat about it.

Though that last part was fun.

But then, I looked into Alena’s loving eyes and lied to protect her from the truth; that’s how I justified it.

Yeah, the worst liars are the ones who say they never lie.