Yes, I know exactly what we spoke about, you whore.
She gives a little smile. “I’ll keep my end of the bargain. You keep yours. It’s the only way, Gage. Deep in your heart you know it to be true.”
My ears clog up with the sound of my beating heart as if it needed to.
Rory can’t be trusted to uphold air, let alone a promise.
But, like she has been for so many months, Rory is simply a means to an end.
Chloe steps up close, her rage has completely permeated her, and she looks sublime in her hatred for me. Her hand strikes me hard on the cheek, a Celestra fortified response, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it hurt like hell.
She turns to leave, and Laken grabs her by the wrist.
“Not yet.” Laken pulls her back. “You’ll want to hear this firsthand.” She turns to my brother. “It’s your turn, Wes.”
31
Wesley
“Laken—” I start as I try my best to pull her in, but she bounces out of my grasp.
“Don’t you touch me.” Her voice seethes, and that’s all I need to break my heart.
It’s happening again. Through my own foolish measures, I’ve got her hanging by a thread, and Coop is already inching his way over, wasting no time in moving in for the kill.
“How could you?” Her voice is faint as she shakes her head, but there’s no sign of disbelief in her eyes. She knows deep down in her heart it was wholly possible. “Don’t answer that. Your devotion to your brother, to the cause, to theridiculousBarricade that does nothing but torment the Factions—it propelled you forward to pretend to be him. Whatever twisted reason he concocted to have you do it, you bought it hook, line, and sinker. Which makes me wonder if in some way you are just as desperate as he is. I’m no longer concerned with the why, Wes. I’ve seen the outcome of the story, one too many times. You will always choose the Barricade over me—over your fidelity to our family and me. Ourjokeof a family.”
“What?” My hands gently wrap themselves around her arms, and she gives me a good push the hell away from her. “Laken, you know I love you—I love our family.”
“Stop it!” she bellows so loud her voice sounds as if it’s shredding her vocal cords on its way out. “You slept withChloe!” she shouts so loud the words deafen me. “And worse than that”—she pounds her fists on my chest—“you did the unthinkable. I had other intentions with you tonight. Wes, I had Charlie take a paternity test. She’s not yours.” She turns to Cooper. “I’m so sorry, Coop. I found out a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to figure out how to best straighten this out.” Her eyes flit my way once again, and there isn’t a hell of a lot of sympathy in them for me.
“Oh my God.” I close my eyes, wishing the entire damn world would disappear. “Laken. You have to believe me when I say that only Ezrina knew the true results. She’ll vouch for that. I did not know, and I’m sorry.”
Laken shakes her head. “No. I’m sure you’re right. She will vouch for you because you have her by the DNA. You know she loves Tobie, and I’m sure you arranged to have those results favor you no matter what the answer might have been. Guess what, Wes? A technicality is still a lie.” The words spear from her loud as a gunshot. “Because of your insecurity, you made Cooper lose out on the first year of his daughter’s life.” Tears rain down her face. “And I still wasn’t going to leave you. My love for you and Cooper was equal up until that point. That was what I had finally concluded—stay with Wesley. I thought, we have a brand new baby. Ourownchild. I know that you love me, Wesley. I will never doubt that. You will never have to prove that to me. You were my best friend growing up, my first love. You will always have a place in my heart, but for the same reasons I parted ways with you at Ephemeral, I’m leaving you now. You simply cannot change.” She cups the side of my face for a moment, and her touch stings as much as her words. “Tonight, I was going to tell you that I knew the truth about Charlie. And then I was going to ask you to leave the Barricade. I came with an ultimatum. But I can’t even give that to you now. Your actions with Chloe all those months ago have proven that you cannot deprogram yourself. My God, the Barricadeownsyou. The Counts killed your body all those years ago and they stole your soul that same night. And I am so very sorry I ever got to witness it. I am so very disappointed in you.” She swallows hard, and her chest bucks. “I’m leaving you, Wes. I don’t believe in the Barricade and its barbarous ways. Some days I even wonder if you truly understand what you’re fighting for. Power isn’t anything. They say it’s lonely at the top for a good reason, Wes. Because it is. There is nothing up there—no one to care for you. The golden carrot you’re chasing—it isn’t real. Don’t try to make this up to me, Wes. Nothing you do or say will change my mind. I just hope one day you wake up and do the right thing. Leave the Barricade and run as far away from it as you can possibly get.” She turns to Coop. “Please, forgive me. I would like to stay at your place if you don’t mind.”
“Our place,” he corrects. “Your home has waited for you, Laken. Let’s get out of here.”
I watch as Coop wraps an arm around my wife, drops a kiss over the top of her head, and they disappear into the crowd together.
The music ratchets up a notch as loud and inviting as a seizure, and yet all I hear is the sound of the world crashing around me.
Hell.
I’m already there.
I look to my brother and meet with his stone-cold eyes. Here we were so frightened of spending eternity away from those we love, away from Laken, and I’ve already lost her. I’m damned either way.
Yes, eternity is a hell of a long time, but I would much rather have Laken’s respect for five golden minutes than an infinite amount of time spent with her loathing, her horrific disappointment in me.
Laken sees me as a coward. A liar. A thief. And she’s not wrong. Not on a single count.
A hot tear rolls down my cheek as I look around at the familiar faces, all bearing their judgments over me.
Chloe steps up and spits in my face, hot and thick sludge right in my eye.
I wipe the slime off my skin and blink over at her.
Chloe Bishop, the cheated, the victim—not that she sees herself that way nor should she. What was given to her was as close to any form of comeuppance the world has ever doled her way. Nobody here will cry a river for her, nor will they for me.
