Page 121 of Tangled Lies

“What does that mean?” I asked.

Ronan met my gaze in the review mirror for a second.

“It means Maddox helped me set all this up. We baited Angelino Barone and your uncle. Maddox will become the head of the family, and we get what we want,” Ronan said.

I swallowed and grabbed for Jett and Talon’s hands.

“What is that? What is it you want?”

There was no hesitation. They all seemed to share one mind as they answered.

“You.”

My heart fluttered in my chest, and it made me gasp for a breath.

“Me? You destroyed your family for me?”

The muffled cries in the back filled the strange calm of the car.

“He destroyed the family when he went after you.”

Ronan’s voice was flat, and no one else said anything.

Me? When was I ever worth anything?

“Princess, I can tell what you’re thinking. But remember this. You walked into our lives and somehow fit the last piece that we needed for our little family. We would die for each other, and we would destroy the world for you,” Talon said.

I pulled their hands closer to my chest, but they seemed to know I wanted more. Both of their warm bodies pressed against me.

All these years I’d assumed I was broken. No more tears for anything. But these guys?

“What’s wrong, Margaux?” Jett asked.

I could feel all eyes on me.

“I have a home, and it’s with all of you.”

The basement wasn’t what I expected for an old house. It was concrete, but it was almost sterile in appearance. It was out of place in the old-money feel of the rest of the house or what they called the compound.

The chain rattled as my uncle fought against it. One single thick chain was all that held my uncle away from me, and it felt good.

“Uncle, how does it feel to be so close to freedom and know you can’t ever touch it?”

I stood tall, trying to meet his eyes, but it wouldn’t matter. There was no soul there to see.

“You little bitch. I had everything planned out. I was making a name for myself. I had the Barones in my pocket. Do you have any idea how much money I was about to control?”

My uncle slipped and fell, his head cracking against the shiny floor.

“Oh, shit. Sorry, Uncle. I didn’t see your leg attached to the chain.” Knox was looking at me from where he leaned against the wall, the chain in his hand. My uncle moaned, and when he looked up, the blood pooling on the floor told me why.

“Oh shoot. Did you break your nose? Knox, I think he broke his nose.”

I crouched low and met my uncle where he was.

“You should be comfortable at least. Crawling on all fours like a dog. I think it’s only fair since you locked me up like a caged bird for years, and now I get to treat you like the animal you are.”

When his eyes met mine, I wasn’t sure what he saw, but for the first time in my life I saw fear in his.