“Not a clue.”
Amber turned toward me and I could hear the blood thundering in my ears. What had I seen in her? How had I returned time and again to this vapid woman? As she moved toward me, I felt the bile rise in my throat.
“I never thought about being a mom, but I could make it work.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and, against all my instincts, mine went to her waist. “Where is she today? I’m surprised you managed to get away. She’s stuck to you these days. Probably too scared to make a move without you after everything.”
“She took Link to see Dante.”
Amber pursed her lips. “I always thought it was weird how close she was to him. It was strange how close she was to Gabriel when she came back. She’s lucky she has the kid, or I’d have wonder why you put up with it.”
I tensed slightly at her words. Dante had no interest in Mia in that sense. Gabe had no interest in her, other than making her a pawn in his game, but I hated when people mentioned them as if they were something more. She was mine. I’d killed one brother and I’d rather not have to think about killing another.
“Idle gossip, Amber. You know better than to listen to that.”
“No smoke without fire,” she returned. “If I was you, Luc, I’d just get rid of her. Why keep her around once you’ve gotten everything you want?” Amber asked, as if it were the simplest solution in the world. My hand traveled up her back before I grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head back. “Luc! What are you doing?!”
Amber’s hands went to mine and tried to pull me off, but I wasn’t letting go. I grabbed one of her arms in my free hand and twisted it around her back, moving her until she turned and faced away from me. I wasn’t in the habit of hurting women, that wasn’t what Dad had taught me, but I’d make an exception for Amber and the fact that she’d run her mouth against my family.
“Get off!” she yelled, struggling against the hold.
“I don’t think so.”
“Luc!”
Pushing her forward, I directed us through the house and down to the basement. Mia’s request. She didn’t want to ruin the work we’d put in upstairs. Considering Dom and the others trained and fought down here, she was less concerned about spilling blood.
As we hit the bottom of the stairs, Mia stood in the room and Amber hissed when she saw her, “What the fuck is going on?”
Chapter Forty Seven
Mia
Each second alone in the basement was agonizingly long. It took all my self-restraint not to walk back upstairs and see what was going on. Just as my willpower began to wane, the door slammed open and a few moments later Amber was forced down the stairs and into the basement with Luc behind her.
“What the fuck is going on?” Amber asked through gritted teeth when she saw me.
My head was dizzy from the way the anger hit me on seeing this woman again. It had simmered in my veins from every disguised interaction we’d had, but now it burned white hot in my chest until my vision grew spotty. This woman had murdered my father and threatened my son. I could allow for most things to slide, but my family were my world.
“Still haven’t cottoned on?” I asked. Amber narrowed her eyes before attempting to turn her head to look at Luc. His grip on her hair ensured that her focus remained on me. “You were stitched up,doll. Did you think I wasn’t going to tell Luc what happened?”
“You didn’t last time,” she spat. “Decided to run. That’s how deep your loyalty with him lay.”
The sound of the back of my hand hitting her face reverberated around the basement. It eased some of the anger that burned through me. My engagement ring had caught her skin and she sported a cut at the corner of her mouth. Her tongue came out to swipe away the thin trickle of blood.
“You have no idea what I was going through,” I told her.
“And I couldn’t care less.” She hissed as Luc tugged at her hair and then let her go. Her hands went to her scalp and Luc moved to the doorway, body filling the gap so the exit was blocked. Amber’s eyes flicked around the room. I would put money on the fact that she’d arrived unarmed, set on fucking Luc rather than defending herself. “You wrapped everyone around your finger, Mia, with that butter wouldn’t melt routine. You needed to be taken down a peg or two. For someone with such a clean record, you have a talent for finding trouble. You wanted to take on Xavier Moretti, you stupid bitch.” The last sentence came out with laughter.
Over her shoulder, I noticed Luc’s eye twitch and Amber turned to look at him. “I know all about your Daddy issues, Luc. Not really the golden child everyone believes you to be.” Luc’s eyes stayed trained on Amber, but his face was impassive. If Amber knew the truth, she hadn’t told anyone and he wasn’t about to give anything away.
“Xavier told you about my Dad,” I said slowly. My mind had been obsessed with our short-lived conversation at Link’s sip and see. She hadn’t admitted to it, but she mentioned the look on Dad’s face. She’d been there, but I couldn’t understand why. It made more sense that Amber had been following an order.
She turned back to me. “You think I would have wasted my time otherwise?”
Xavier. I always thought it was him, but it made sense that he refused to get his hands dirty. He’d found a willing participant and someone who the blame could be pinned on without it being traced back to him. There was enough bad blood between me and Amber that it was a possibility that she would hit out.
“Your Daddy was only too happy to talk to me about his precious daughter,” Amber continued. “You damn near broke his heart when you chose Lucas. He would have still been alive if it wasn’t for you.”
I launched myself at her. For months, I had tied myself in knots, blaming myself for my Dad’s death. I hadn’t been there when he died. We weren’t on speaking terms. I didn’t attend his funeral. There were so many things every day and they had intensified since having Link, who would never have the chance to meet and learn things from Dad and feel the love that I’d felt.
