“You should.” I lean in closer to her. “Because you’re in our territory, and we can make this easy for you or make you wish you were dead.” She seriously does not want to mess with me right now.
“I hope there’s no problem over here,” Father says, creeping up on us.
“Why are they here?” Charlie asks, working hard to control his temper. For once, we are both on the same page.
“Atticus is returning to the elite and moving back to his house in Rydeville.”
“I meant Maverick and Kaiden.”
“Atticus’s sons have a lot of catching up to do. They will be fully immersed in our society, and there’s no more time to waste.” Horror engulfs me. I know this is all part of our plan, but what exactly have Rick and Kai signed up for? There is no way I want my man anywhere near Parkhurst.
I consider it a good thing that neither Joaquin or Harley are here, and I know Kai and Rick did something to ensure they were kept away. But I wonder how long they’ll be able to shield them from this life.
“I thought you said Kaiden was not to come anywhere near Abby,” Drew adds.
“That was before your sister was married and before Kaiden came to his senses.” Father bores a hole in my skull, and I hold myself rigidly still, afraid to even breathe in case I do that wrong.
This is a test.
The first of many.
He’s waiting to see how I react to my ex-lover.
And I won’t give him the satisfaction of winning this round.
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell my brother, glancing up at Charlie. “Kaiden is in the past. I’m with Charlie now.”
“And Kaiden will be getting to know Giselle better,” the bastard says, enjoying this immensely. “To see if she’ll be a suitable bride for him.” His eyes glint wickedly, and I steel another layer around my heart as I zone in on his neck, imagining my hands wrapped around it, squeezing the life from his treacherous body.
I don’t know how I stand there without retaliating, but I summon restraint from somewhere. A line of sweat coasts down my spine, and I’m trembling with rage on the inside. On the outside, I’m Switzerland. Cold, serene, beautiful, and neutral.
The bell chimes, signaling dinner, and I’m grateful, because my legs are threatening to go out from under me, and I need to sit down. Father claps his hands. “Dinner is served. If you will follow me.” He strides across the room, flashing a menacing look at Kaiden as he passes, grabbing Patrice’s hand and leading her through the partition door into the other side of the room.
Charlie threads his fingers through mine, guiding me across the floor. I cling to his hand, needing to hold on to him to keep myself upright. Especially when Kai offers his arm to Giselle, and she clings to his side, giggling and staring at him like a lovestruck fool. “What the fuck are you looking at?” Kai hisses, shooting daggers at me.
“Nothing much, loser,” I scoff, pulling my lips into a sneer, as we settle into a familiar pattern.
“I don’t know what I ever saw in you,” he says. “And I regret every second I spent with you.”
“Touché, asshole,” I instantly retort. Invisible daggers penetrate my flesh and bone, stabbing me all over, as pain suffuses my body, almost crippling me. I’m fighting tears, and the battle is real. I know he doesn’t mean it, but it’s hard to maintain the charade when his words cut me, slicing and dicing as if the sentiments were true. I can scarcely force one foot in front of the other, but Charlie is there, tugging me forward with a determined look on my face.
Of course, Father seats Charlie and me directly across from Kai and Giselle, and I eye my steak knife with longing, wondering how good my aim could be. If I picked it up and threw it at my bastard father, would it embed in his cold heart, plucking his lifeforce away?
As if he can sense where my mind has gone—he most likely can, because I’m an open book with him—Kai subtly kicks me under the table. It’s a warning to get myself together and not be so transparent.
“Were you in an accident of some sort, Kaiden?” Alessandra’s mother, Meredith, asks, casting a suspicious look over his bruised face. While his injuries are nowhere near as bad as they were a few days ago, it’s still obvious something awful happened to him.
“Kaiden is into cage fighting,” Father says before anyone can respond. “He’s got quite the reputation in the underground circuit where he’s undefeated.”
That fucking asshole.
Everyone in this room, except the Mathers, knows how Kai got those injuries. Father is covering his tracks and testing Atticus at the same time, seeing how he will react.
Atticus levels a cool look at Michael, obviously displeased, but he does a decent job of disguising it.
“Oh.” Meredith is definitely unimpressed.
“Come now, Meredith,” Denton, Alessandra’s father, says, from his seat beside me. He plants his heavy hand down on her thigh. “Look at the positives. He’ll be well able to protect Giselle.” He drills her with a warning look, and it’s her cue to shut her mouth and focus on looking pretty.
