Page 72 of The Villain's Beast

“You can’t be serious.”

Fletcher spun on his heel, wrapping his hand around my throat and slamming me against the wall. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

I kneed him in the stomach and he stumbled back with a grunt.

“There’s a reason you’re not the one in charge here,” he said.

“The only difference between the two of us is that my father has fucking morals,” I snapped.

“Your father has bent over his fair share of desks, and you’re a fool if you think otherwise.”

I rubbed my hand across my throat, the press of Fletcher’s fingers still uncomfortably warm around my windpipe. Watching Fletcher’s wide and frenzied eyes, I wondered if there was any way for us to make it out of this whole game alive. The rivalry between the Thorns and the Roses had existed for generations. There were intricacies to the networking between the most powerful families in the country that I would never understand, that Fletcher and Gideon might never even understand. But still, we were expected to be dutiful sons and diligent soldiers. We were meant to do what we were told and do it without question.

Everything the five of us had done since the initiation weekend had been so far off the script…so far out of the realm of anything expected of us, there was no real worry yet about being caught. The level of subversion and disrespect was unheard of, and it was only some kind of divine timing that had put all of us on the same page together, opposite that of our fathers.

“I’m better than him,” I said.

“I know.”

“You’re better.”

Fletcher let out a shaky breath, running his hand through his hair and brushing it back from his face. “If you say so.”

“This was all your idea,” I reminded him, cracking my knuckles and shaking out my fists. My knuckles ached from where I’d hit him. “We have a chance at living on our own terms because of you.”

“It’s Gideon,” Fletcher said quietly, frowning toward the window. “Once upon a time, he’d convinced me that maybe someday we could write our own future.”

Something twisted uncomfortably in the center of my chest. How many nights had Luca and I shared the same kind of conversation together, tangled up in sweaty sheets pretending there was an escape from the lives that had been carved out for us since before we were born.

“That’s why I don’t understand keeping this from him? From the rest of them.”

“Because Gideon has always thought with his heart over his head. Because Luca would burn the entire world down for you. They’re too biased, too impractical.” Fletcher held his hands out, palms up. Helpless. “Emotion isn’t going to win this war. Strategy will.”

“You’re not thinking clearly about this.”

“It’s not your place to tell me what to do,” he growled.

“Isn’t it?”

Fletcher inhaled a deep breath, letting it out before speaking again. “Not about things like this.”

I could tell no matter how much I disagreed with him, there wasn’t going to be any getting through to him. I either had to do as he asked and keep Luca and Gideon in the dark about Bellamy’s mission and the phone call from Fletcher’s father, or I had to go behind his back and tell them all the truth. One course would jeopardize their trust in me, the other Fletcher’s.

There was no clear solution, and I found myself between a rock and a hard place. If I lied to Luca especially, I stood to tear down everything we’d built. But if I lied to Fletcher…I had no doubt he would take all of us down with him…assuming his father didn’t do the job first.

Luca and I had been so careful before…

I had no idea how we’d been found out, but Fletcher was right about one thing. I needed to say goodbye to Luca until we were able to get ahead of the game. And with that understanding, my next steps became painfully clear. I was going to have to lie to one of the men I loved most in the world, and in the next breath, send the other into the beast’s lair, hoping he truly understood how much was on the line if he didn’t deliver the information Fletcher’s father was asking for.

The only way to saveourfuture was to risk Gideon’s.

I sure as fuck hoped Fletcher knew what he was getting us into.

“Are we clear, deputy?” Fletcher asked, voice low and measured.

“Crystal,” I replied. “I’ll go talk to Bellamy, then say goodbye to Luca. Do you want to see either of them before they go?”

Fletcher’s jaw ticked just below his ear.