Page 87 of Thorns of Silence

“I’ve often wondered how you got away with just a psychological evaluation after smashing the skulls of multiple men in that bar.” After several bourbons, I blacked out and went on a rampage. I wasn’t proud of my actions, and the thought of blacking out still haunted me.

“Lucky, I guess.” My eyes lowered to the weird symbol around her neck. “What is that symbol about?”

She lowered her eyes to the charm hanging off her necklace. “I don’t know. I just liked it and kept it.” She was lying, but I knew she wouldn’t divulge anything else about it. “I know you didn’t drag me all the way here to have a five-minute conversation or to talk about my necklace. So, should we get to the bottom of it?” My eyes met hers, but I remained silent. “Let me guess. The woman you’ve mentioned previously… She’s not around to calm your outbursts.”

“She’s always around.” I’d never told a more ridiculous lie. The only reason I saw her was because I stalked her like the creep she’d once accused me of being.

“Maybe. But maybe she doesn’t want to be.” My jaw tightened. “This ‘personality’ of yours… It’s merely a wall you’ve built up in your head to stop from visiting what you find to be most painful. To help you understand yourself, you need to know what happened. Understand it. It’s preventing you from moving on.”

“Sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to me.”

Her lips lifted. “Again, why drag me here, then?” She clicked her pen. “You knew what my response would be.”

“Maybe I need a different solution,” I drawled.

She shook her head. “Unless you address your own demons, Dante, nobody’ll be able to control them. My guess is, you’re afraid you’ll lose her.”

“I don’t need relationship advice.” Fuck, Iwishedthere were a relationship to discuss.

She smiled sadly. “You want me to tell you that you don’t need to deal with it, that the gaps in your memory will blow over. They won’t. And things will only get worse and cost you everything you love.”

A sardonic breath left me. “I thought you women believed in happily ever afters.”

This time she chuckled. “Haven’t you heard? Those come with great sacrifices.”

THIRTY-FOUR

DANTE

Rehearsal dinner.

More like a clown dinner in December. Phoenix and her sister, along with her caravan of friends, showed up looking like a traveling hippie circus. Yet, as my eyes tracked Phoenix, I couldn’t help but smile.

Phoenix looked like a dandelion in her bright yellow sleeveless minidress. Yes, it was blinding and objectively hideous, but fuck it, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her. Apparently I suffered from another disorder that made it impossible to play it cool around her.

But goddamn, I loved a challenge. And this one had been ongoing, unreciprocated, for the past three years.

Reina, on the other hand, I could go without seeing or talking to. She was tipsy, flirting with barely of age boys and glaring at me at every turn. I’d taunted Amon, throwing subtle hints. My brother better do something about his woman because time was running out. Fuck, he only had a day left to throw his hat in the ring. I had the same amount of time to get the truth out of Reina. And then… switcheroo.

Reina Romero was never my endgame. That position had always been Phoenix’s. My Nix. My dandelion. I’d wait a hundred lifetimes if I had to as long as they all led us to each other.

So here I was, studying the room while drinking my beer slowly, wanting to keep my wits about me tonight.

A mirrored bar was on my left, and on my right was a dance floor. Each corner was made up of seated areas. The sophisticated décor had made the girls’ dresses look even more ludicrous. In fact, all five women looked like they intended to go to the circus but got lost on their way there. Thankfully, the dim lighting in the club saved my eyes from the atrocious colors of their dresses, otherwise I was sure it would have blinded me.

I had to unravel the details of what had occurred between Reina and my father, as well as Diana and my father, so I could end this charade and snatch Phoenix once and for all.

I watched as Reina yanked another glass of champagne from a passing tray, but before she could bring it to her lips and get even more wasted, I grabbed her wrist.

“That’s enough,” I hissed under my breath.

“Take your hand off her.” Amon’s voice came from my side, cold with fury. Fucking finally. “Now.”

I let out an amused breath. “Or what, brother?”

Reina and Amon got lost in each other’s gazes, full of turbulence and vehemence. At least they both seemed to be on the same wavelength—unlike Phoenix, who only watched me with disdain.

“How long is this stare-down going to last?” I asked in a bored tone.