“Yes,” she hisses, glaring at him like he’s the devil incarnate. She truly despises Drew Manning.
He grips her chin tight. “It better be, cunt. If I find out you held anything back, I’ll hunt you down and make you beg for death.”
“It’s the truth,” she says in a strangled tone. “I swear.”
Drew lets her go, eyeing Kaiden. My brother nods, and Drew pulls Isabella onto her feet. She protests loudly as Charlie and Drew remove her from the house, and a collective sigh rings out when she’s gone.
“Zayn.” Kai comes up to me, and I finally let go of his wife.
I stare at my brother in a kind of numbed daze.
“It’s not your fault,” he reminds me.
I just stare at him. Pain presses down on my chest, and my head is a jumbled mess of conflicting thoughts.
“Mathers set this up from the start,” Abby says. “You were always going to be pawns in his game. Nothing you or Roman or any of your brothers could have done would have stopped him. You were only children, and he set it all up, so you had no choice but to do things his way.”
“Atticus needs to pay,” Kai growls.
“Truth,” Xavier adds.
“I need space,” I say, stumbling back a little. “I need time to myself to process everything.”
Kai and Rick share a concerned look, but they can’t fix this gnawing hole in my stomach or the excruciating ache in my heart.
“Don’t go far,” Kai says.
“And don’t beat yourself up, Zayn. There is nothing you could’ve done to stop this from happening,” Rick adds.
“I didn’t have to make it so easy for him,” I blurt before turning around and darting to my room. I grab my helmet and keys, brushing past Kai in my haste to get out of here. It feels like I can’t breathe, and I need to expunge all the self-hatred welling inside me.
“I’ll come with,” Kai says, running after me.
“Don’t,” I snap as I charge out the front door.
“Don’t leave like this,” he adds as I climb onto my bike.
“You need to let me figure this out myself,” I say before I pull my helmet down over my head. “Just let me go.”
Kai looks torn as Rick comes rushing out the door.
“It’s dangerous to drive that thing when you’re so upset.” Rick tosses a set of keys at me. “At least take Kai’s car.”
“Stop. Fussing,” I say through gritted teeth as I start the engine. “I don’t have a death wish. I want to live to see Hamilton’s and Atticus’s heads on spikes.”
“Be careful, and call me if you need anything,” Kai says, pulling Rick back with a look of resignation on his face.
I make no promises as I speed away, desperate to leave the horrific truth behind.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Emery
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Uma asks for the umpteenth time, and she’s starting to get on my nerves a little. She’s standing behind me in the bathroom, watching as I put some makeup on.
“This needs to happen, and I should have talked with Zayn when he first showed up. You were right then, so why are you sox against me talking it out now?” What went down at the party on Saturday night was proof that avoiding reality and refusing to woman up and face the truth has backfired on me in a major way. I’m not leaving myself open again.
“This is a lot bigger now than your asshole ex showing up and begging you for another chance.”
