She takes a shaky breath. “Valen... he told me how the Syndicate really works. It’s not one man at the top, it’s three. One from each house—DSN, PTO, OCK. Three bloodlines that vote on everything.”
Dredyn’s hand tightens on her hip. “We know that part, Hellcat. We’ve heard the rumors, anyway.”
ButI’venever heard of that.
“No.” She swallows hard. “Valen’s father is one of them—the PTO seat. Dayton Hughes’s dad was DSN’s, but he’s dead. And the third... The third is one of the OCK fathers. One of yours.”
One of ours.
One of our fathers is part of the machine that hurt her, that sanctioned Chase. That almost killed her.
I force my voice to remain steady, even though rage is clawing up my throat. “You’re sure?”
She nods against my chest. “Valen wants them dead—all three. Says it’s the only way to end it. He asked me to... to find out which one.”
Dredyn scoffs. “That pretty bastard wants you anywhere near this?”
“He said he’s trying to dismantle it, that it’s worse than we know—trafficking,realtrafficking. He’s seen the books. But I don’t... I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
Jasper shifts, propping himself up on an elbow so he can see her face. “We will verify Valen’s story, and we will figure this out.”
She turns to look at him, eyes wet again. “If it’s one of your dads... how do I even look at you the same? How do we?—”
“Hey.” I cup her face, making her look at me. “Listen to me. Whoever’s sitting in that seat, it’s not us. We’re not them. We chose you. We’ll keep choosing you, over family, over blood, over everything.”
Dredyn’s voice is as rough as gravel. “If one of our old men is a part of this, we’ll handle it, together. You did the right thing by telling us instead of hiding it from us. You don’t spy for Valen. You stay right fucking here, with us.”
Jasper nods. “We protect what we love.”
She starts crying again, and I pull her closer, feeling Dredyn and Jasper do the same until she’s completely surrounded, no space for the world to get in.
“We’ve got you, Princess. No more running. No more secrets you carry alone. We’re in this together—all of it.”
The bed creaks as Dredyn shifts again, grumbling under his breath. “Still too fucking small for this cuddle pile. Tomorrow, we’re buying a California king. Or two mattresses we can push together. I’m not spending another night with Talon’s bony ass in my ribs.”
Jasper snorts silently. “Your snoring is the real crime.”
Mara laughs through her tears—a small, broken sound that turns real when Dredyn tickles her side in retaliation.
We stay like that, tangled and arguing over bed space and snoring volume, until her breathing evens out and the crying stops. Until she’s asleep between us, safe.
Because now we know.
One of our fathers is a monster.
And tomorrow, we start figuring out which one.
EIGHTEEN
MARA
Dredyn’s safe house is still very much hidden. Even as we leave AGU and head toward it, we take different routes every time. We even switch cars if needed. Anything to make sure we aren’t followed. And even if we are, we have 24/7 surveillance and a team. But even then, all official business must still be conducted within the Omega Chi house on campus.
I pace the OCK house living room barefoot, toes sinking into the thick carpet as I wait for her to arrive. The boys are all in the office studying, or probably just watching me from the large camera in the corner of the room.
They don’t trust anyone my dad is about to send in here.
And I don’t blame them. But it would be nice if their living room didn’t look like a villain’s lair.
