“Out, everyone but Thiago!” he commands. There’s no push back; everyone just leaves. And when the door closes, Peter clasps his fingers together and takes a deep breath in. “Now that we are alone, it’s time for you to pay up on that deal.”
I shrug. “Whatever you need.”
He closes his eyes, savouring my words with a click of his tongue. There’s a soft knock at the back door, and I know it’s a petal that waits behind it. Waiting to please her master in any way she can.
“Hope you don’t mind,” he teases, clapping once.
The door opens.
She steps in, slow and deliberate. Olive dress clinging to her curves, hair pulled back tight. For a moment, I forget how tobreathe. The air leaves my lungs, and the room tilts. I blink hard, swallow the burn of whiskey, and tell myself I’m hallucinating. Because there’s no way that’s Nico’s sister.
But it is, I recognize those eyes anywhere, because they are the same as his.
Fernanda is alive, all while Nico grieves for her. I know that’s why he’s here, trying to get revenge, only to realize how low on the food chain he falls. He thinks I didn’t know, but we all did. The club runs a background check on everyone who studies or works at Villalargos, which is why I was made his handler and why Zayden and Nico received their scholarships.
I don’t know the full extent of it, but I know my dad helped cover it up before Peter was sent away. Peter’s hand slides to her shoulder, possessive and rehearsed. What’s more sickening is the way she melts into him when he leans in to kiss her cheek like she’s a trophy he’s polishing for display. His gaze lifts to mine, amusement dancing within his eyes.
I can’t speak.
My throat locks around the truth. Mouth dry, stomach sour, and the alcohol threatening to crawl back up. Peter wraps a strand of her ponytail around his knuckles when she kneels, practically purring when he begins to pull out his cock. The urge to look away is hard to fight off. But I remain firm, not letting any of it affect me, now more than ever.
Peter smirks. “She’s proof that loyalty isn't always to those with whom we share blood.” He gazes at her with this false admiration, stroking her cheek. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” Her response is a low moan around his cock. I think I’m gonna be sick.
A frown forms on my face, not sure where he’s going with all of this. “I’m lost. What does any of this have to do with the deal?”
“Everything,” he bites out, voice rough with triumph as he holds her head down, eyes fixed on me as he fucks herthroat with a force that has everything in the desk shaking. “Everything.”
I look away when I realize he’s not stopping until he’s spilling down her throat, and I’m barely holding on.
“Sledge,” he begins, “wasn’t just another fight. Or some bookie. He is the son of one of the old heads, who fell in love and tried to get out.” Peter moans, the sound of his cock sliding out of her mouth fills the air, and all I can do is shift where I stand, waiting for him to continue. “His father is dead, and he’s asking questions he shouldn’t. Plus, he has claims to Costa Mar.”
I stay silent, watching the way his facial features are relaxed, it is like the lights are on, but no one is there, even as she works him eagerly. “Here is where Greyson becomes bothersome—he’s working with Sledge and has been seeing Zayden behind your back. My guess is that he wants to use him to expose us, but that’s something I can fix.”
My pulse spikes. “Fix how?”
Peter bites down on his lip, thrusting his hips forward. Fernanda gags, and he responds through gritted teeth, “Simple. Cut the thread before it unravels. Kill Nico, and I’ll tell you where Zayden is being held.”
My hands ball into fists. “What?”
“Ah, yes… I had Elijah trailing Zayden all this time. Eager boy, that one. He’s been waiting for the right moment to prove himself,” Peter answers, his voice smooth as whiskey. “You think I trusted you to handle Nico or Zayden. Please don’t make me laugh.”
The room feels smaller, and the air feels like lava scorching its way through my lungs. Every word he says lands like a blade, inching deeper by the second. Peter continues, tone almost conversational. “You kill Nico, you solve a lot of my problems including the blonde fixed to be my wife. And you get your lover boy, all yours, nothing in the way.”
He pauses, letting the silence stretch, dangling Zayden like a carrot in front of me, until it’s unbearable. “Join me, Thiago. There’s nowhere to go. You are either with me or against me.”
I stare at him, feeling pressure build behind my eyes, the weight pressing down like a hand around my throat.
Zayden.
Nico.
Shiloh.
June. Fernanda.
All pieces on his board.
My fists clench until my knuckles ache. “Where?”