Page 83 of Silent Night, Savage Heart

“You what?”

“Before I left town, I met Lila. She came to me for help regarding this Kingsley shit, and I turned her away."

"Jesus, Blake." Talia's voice is pained. “Have you fucked her?”

“Yes,” I exhale harshly.

“When the hell were you going to tell her about her mother, Blake? After you got her pregnant?” she scolds.

"I was going to tell her. Eventually. I just didn't know how. Didn't know when." I run a hand through my hair. "And now she hates me. And I can’t blame her. I deserve it."

"What you deserve is irrelevant. What matters is keeping her alive." Talia's pragmatic, always has been. "Silas is here, somewhere in this estate, and the fact that he’s not walking around, politicking, is a red flag."

“How do you know he’s here?” I don’t see him or any of his flunkees.

“Because Luca’s here.”

Our little brother.

Shit.

Talia notices my face drop. I hate that my brother could be part of an off-the-rails plan that Silas thinks he can actually pull off.

“Okay, plan adjustment,” Talia says. “You protect her from a distance." Talia's jaw sets. “I’ll find Silas or corner Lucas, and we’ll stop whatever he's planning. That way, we keep Peyton alive whether she wants our help or not."

"Where's Nico?" I ask.

"Haven't seen him.”

“Which either means he's avoiding us because he knows the setup failed, or he's wherever Silas needs him to be."

“Or he gave us the intel and got out of dodge because he doesn’t want to be part of it like he said.”

“Wishful thinking, T.”

My phone buzzes. Unknown number.

Unknown: Second floor. East wing. Come alone. We need to talk. - Silas

I show Talia.

“Nope,” she says immediately.

"I need to know what he's planning. Need to buy time for Helena to get Peyton out of here."

“We don’t even know if Silas is actually planning anything.”

“That’s what I’m going to find out, and based on this text, I’m sure he’s dying to tell me. Stay with Peyton. Text if you need me. That's all that matters now."

“Be careful.”

I head for the east wing, toward whatever trap Silas has waiting, and hope that this time, I can talk him out of a scheme that will destroy the Delano name forever.

Chapter 13

Peyton

I can't breathe.