Page 152 of Savage Empire

“Cassio and I fucked outside at Empire before Jade’s wedding.”

“You did?” Jade gasps. “Party foul.”

Ana wiggles her brows, unashamed. “Partyscore.”

“Yuck, that’s my brother.” Jade winces, shaking her head. “Ugh, but Dmitri and I have done some risque stuff too. We did it in a locker room at Empire while people were swimming in the next room and Anatoly guarded the door.”

Head falling back with a laugh, Ana claps her hands together. “Was that the day you snuck out of class to see him? I covered you so you could get laid?”

Jade flushes beet red. “Yes.”

“That’s perfect, darling. Ten out of ten. Okay, slutty secrets spilled, trauma dumped. Now something dark to cover our bases.”

“You really don’t have to?—”

“Shhh, Rayna,” Jade tsks. “We’re initiating you into the fold.”

“I’ve killed several people,” Ana says, voice prim and not at all hesitant. She keeps her chin up and her shoulders straight, like she refuses to be ashamed. “Including my stepfather.”

“Several…?”

“Yes,” Ana replies, nodding once. “I don’t remember many of the details, at least, I didn’t for a long time. Apollo has been helping me recover them.”

“He told me that,” I admit, looking down at my fingers. “Not about the killings, just about helping you with your memory. I, uh, accused him of having an affair with you before I knew you.”

Jade’s eyes flare wide open. “Ana andApollo? Never in a million years. Ana and Cassio are like soulmates, I swear. They’re so possessive, it’s borderline insane.”

“What she said,” Ana chuckles. “I had the chance to marry Apollo in the beginning. He’s handsome, don’t get me wrong, all of the Moretti men are like walking talking sex?—”

“Eughh,” Jade protests.

“—but Cassio is the one for me all the way. Apollo is just helping me out, he knows more about the human mind and how to manipulate it.”

“Right.” I try not to blush in my embarrassment. “You two were just a little close at the hospital and it kind of set me off. He explained he was just grounding you though. I’m sorry that day was so hard for you.”

I didn’t want to admit to my jealousy toward Ana in the beginning. The way Apollo treated her, it seemed so intimate, but really, it was familial caring. He treated her so softly because she’s his brother’s wife—a sister to him—nothing more.

“Oh, please don’t apologize,” she rushes out, giving me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure that day was ten times as traumatizing for you as it was for me. I don’t blame you at all for seeing something that wasn’t there. Our brains do wild things when we’re worried.”

“Yeah.” I gulp. “They do.”

“Your turn for a dark secret,” Ana tells Jade, getting back to the topic at hand.

Jade’s lips drop into an O. “Umm, I don’t think I have one. What counts as dark? Most of the time my dirty work is done for me, Dmitri killed someone for talking about me in a vile way.”

“That’ll do,” Ana decides with a nod.

They give me an imploring look, and despite how unexpected this little trauma dumping session was, I think it may have actually helped.

“I used to pickpocket people for spare money to get Yordan things he needed,” I start, exhaling shakily. “We never had consistent funds growing up. Our Dad had a tendency of forgetting to provide for things outside of what he would buy for the house to make us look good.”

“Stealing isn’t so bad,” Ana says with a shrug. “You did what you had to do to keep your brother cared for.”

“Agreed,” Jade says firmly. “I would do anything for my brothers too.”

“The only sex I had before Apollo was with my husband who hit me,” I admit, a rush of shame washing over me. “He never made me, but it was one of the only times he was nice to me. I always hated myself after, but I kept going back because I felt so alone without it. I haven’t even told Apollo that, but I swear it’s like he knows.”

“You should tell him,” Jade recommends gently. “He would never criticize you for how you found comfort in a bad situation.”