She looks at Cole and me, still huddled close, and sneers. “Seems you’ve upgraded. Only the best for you, hey?”
“Watch it,” Cole growls in warning.
Mary Beth holds her hands up in surrender. “I’m just teasing. Me and Lena are old friends. We confided in each other, helped each other out. Didn’t we, Lena?”
“Friends would be a stretch,” I reply bluntly, fed up with her bitchiness.
She pouts mockingly. “Whatever.” She turns to look at Cole and says, “I’m surprised you allowed her back. It was bad enough when Rex fell for her tricks and let the enemy’s old lady and spy into his bed. Now you’ve let her back in without even questioning where she’s been these past three years—or whose child her little brat is.”
“You’re a liar,” I blurt out, shocked she would accuse me of such things when she’s the one who helped me leave.
I’m also horrified that she’s claiming Mia is Zeke’s child, confirming my worst fears. Part of me wants to blurt out that she’s Rex’s just to wipe that smug look off her face and the look of concern on the guys’ faces, but I hold back. Now is not the time. Telling him now might make me sound more guilty. After all, I told Rex that she’s someone else’s.
“Am I?” she taunts, looking at Cole. “Let me guess, she’s back here running from Zeke, again. How stupid can you all be? Are you men really thinking with your dicks only? Don’t you see how convenient this all is? She’s a goddamned spy for the Iron Vultures!”
Several people look over and begin whispering among themselves, judging me. What she’s saying sounds plausible. These people don’t know me other than my connection to the Iron Vultures and Zeke’s obsession with me. They have no reason to trust me. But when Rex and Cole look at me with doubt in their eyes, I fear that the only people protecting me from Zeke may now believe I don’t need their protection at all; that I’m actually the enemy.
“Mary Beth, come with me, you too, Rex. Tank, Joel, please take Lena into the back and keep an eye on her,” Cole says, sounding every bit the stern president whom people should obey without question.
“You can’t be serious, Cole? You know she’s lying. Rex?” I plead, feeling humiliated and hurt that they would believe I could betray and manipulate them.
“It’s nothing personal, Lena, just that now Mary Beth has made the allegation, we need to investigate it thoroughly. It’s a grave claim.”
“Don’t I get to defend myself?” I demand.
“Of course, after we’ve spoken with Mary Beth, we’ll talk to you. In the meantime, I promise you’ll be perfectly safe with Tank and Joel,” Cole calmly assures me.
“But being watched like a prisoner who might flee at any second,” I sullenly retort.
Cole shrugs, unwilling to budge on his decision.
“Please, Lena, just go with them.”
“Fine,” I snap, following the two men without looking at Rex or Cole again.
I feel as if my world is crumbling around me. What if they believe Mary Beth’s lies? What will happen to me? To Mia?They’re the only people protecting us from Zeke and the Iron Vultures. Without them, all hope is lost. I can only hope that they would at least help us get far away from here, that they wouldn’t turf us out without the means to flee. Without them, we’re as helpless as newborn chicks. Mary Beth is the cuckoo who’s pushed me from my nest.
I try to hold my head high and ignore the stares as they lead me into a small room in the back of the club. Hot tears of anger and shame sting at the corner of my eyes, but I force them down; I will not let these people see me cry.
I try to tell myself that it will be okay, that Cole and Rex will see through her lies. Still, the longer I wait in that room with my two polite but distant and cautious guards, the louder the little voice in my head gets that’s telling me things are about to go from bad to really fucking bad.
Chapter 11
Rex
My mind is racing as we head into the back office with Mary Beth to question her about these allegations against Lena. I don’t want to believe them, but honestly, after tonight, I’m more confused than ever.
As much as Cole and I enjoy sharing, I’ll admit that seeing Lena laugh and flirt with him made me jealous, especially since she ignored me. I felt a small sense of satisfaction that I managed to make her feel jealous, too. Since she was deliberately trying to make me jealous, she must still have some feelings for me. I wish she had seen how quickly I removed Starla’s grip from me after she jumped up, hooking her legs around me like a damn limpet and sticking her tongue down my throat. I’ve no doubt Lena thinks I was kissing her, but I didn’t, not voluntarily at least. But when I finally managed to disentangle her, I looked up to see Lena and Cole making out. A double betrayal that hurt more than I care to admit. I know Cole has feelings for Lena, it’s as clear as fucking day, but I thought our friendship was strong enough that there was an unspoken rule of, if we can’t both have her, neither of us can.
When Mary Beth arrived and started claiming that Lena was an Iron Vultures spy, and Zeke’s old lady no less, I initially thought it was impossible. But doubts at the back of my mind told me that Mary Beth was making sense. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, Lena and Zeke had history. And obviously, there was also that unanswered question as to why she ran off that night, and on the night our Prez was due back.
Then, three years later, we get intel from an inside source at the Iron Vultures who tells us a random woman is about to be kidnapped, and we should intervene. When we do so, we find it’s none other than Lena. Could that really be a coincidence? Or was it a carefully crafted plot to infiltrate us again?
I don’t trust Mary Beth, but we need to find out if her claims have any basis in reality or if they’re the words of a jealous woman who can’t handle the fact that Lena has my affections when she doesn’t.
We enter the office, and Cole locks the door behind us. “Start talking.”
“Aren’t you going to offer me a seat first, or a drink? Such a bad host,” Mary Beth coos, her tone teasing and flirtatious.
