“You’re not.” Theo brushes his lips against my cheek. “You’re trying to protect her too. Taking Sinner down is the only way to save your mom at this point.”
“You’ve got to focus on the endgame,” Saint agrees. “No matter how hard that is.”
“Maybe, if I talked to her, and she knows all the stuff I know, we can work together? Surely, it makes sense to team up? Alisha confirmed she knows a lot more than either Dad or I realized.”
Saint’s expression softens as he walks toward me. “You can’t trust Galen’s mom, Lo. She’s fucked in the head from years of drug abuse. She might’ve dreamed up half of it.”
“We know she had an affair with my dad because Galen saw them together and he overheard his parents arguing about it when she got knocked up,” I say.
“But we don’t know if Giana knows, because we only have Alisha’s word for that,” Saint protests.
“And if you talk to your mom, if you tell her everything,” Theo says, “you might find out she doesn’t know the half of it.”
Saint pulls me out of Theo’s arms and into his. “If she doesn’t know about the affair and the baby, do you really want her to know? Is that the memory she should be left with of your dad?”
“No,” I quietly admit. “Because it’s shaken me to the core and has me questioning my belief in my father.” The bags under my eyes attest to that. I’ve had trouble sleeping ever since I found out the man I’ve always held on a pedestal wasn’t so perfect after all. I get he was coerced into it, but I can’t help wondering how the hell he let Sinner trap him in the first place, and now, I’ll never find out.
“If she’s working something, this could distract her and cause her to lose focus,” Theo says.
“And if she’s working this hard to protect you, we can’t undermine that in any way.” Saint wipes the moisture from my cheeks, and I hadn’t even realized I was crying. Fuck. I’m turning into a basket case, and I’ve always prided myself on my ability to shut my emotions down.
“How do I sit back and watch this happening?” I squeeze my eyes shut, leaning my head on Saint’s chest. “How do I turn my back on her?”
“You do it because it’s what she wants and you have to trust her.” Theo smooths a hand up and down my back.
“I’ve just hired a guy to do some work around the house,” Saint adds. “It’s an excuse to have someone watching over her. I’d trust this guy with my life, and while he’s around, Dad will be more careful.”
I cup his beautiful face. “I appreciate that, but let’s not pretend like he won’t just beat her behind closed doors.”
“This guy will find a way to intervene,” Saint says, and I want to believe it, but we all know no one can stop Sinner when he’s hell-bent on something.
It all kicks off a few hours later when we’re down in the basement attempting to watch a movie. We’ve been on edge all night waiting for it to go down.
Footsteps thud on the stairs and we share knowing glances.
We all swing our gaze in Sinner’s direction when he storms into the room like a raging tornado. His body is wired tight, his eyes almost demonic in their madness. His hands are in balls at his side, and he looks two seconds away from ripping someone apart. “You two!” he snaps, pointing at Galen and Saint. “You’re with me.”
“What’s going on?” Saint asks, standing.
“The Arrows are fucking dead!” Sinner shouts. “That’s what’s going on, and we’re about to send them that message.”
“How?” Galen asks, also standing.
“Don’t fucking question me, boy.” Sinner grabs him by the shoulders, shoving him in the direction of the stairs. “If I say I need you, that’s all you need to know.”
“We’re with you, Dad,” Saint says, his voice calm, cautioning Galen with his eyes. “Let’s go.”
“You three!” Sinner points at Caz, me, and Theo. “Protect Giana, and keep a watch outside. I can’t guarantee The Arrows haven’t planned other shit for tonight.”
“We’ve got it,” Caz says.
Saint casts a wary glance over his shoulder before they follow Sinner upstairs.
“Sweet.” Caz grins. “Dar came through.”
“Speak of the devil,” I murmur, pulling my cell out of my pocket as it vibrates with an incoming call. Dar’s name flashes on the screen. I swipe my finger to accept the call, opening my mouth to speak, but before I can utter a word, he is shouting obscenities at me, threatening to stick a gun in my mouth, a knife in my pussy, and a bat up my ass.
Theo stiffens and Caz snarls as they hear him shouting his threats through the phone even before I’ve put it on speaker.
