The Order.
They know.
“Drop the gun, Alice,” I growl, my voice low and lethal. I don’t have the patience to be calm right now. Alice’s honey-colored eyes flick to me, eyes that resemble Bailey’s, her expression smug and confident. When she sees the Glock in my hand, she falters slightly, though I don't miss it. The problem is, if she panics, it might cause her to act out of recklessness, and with her gun facing Cole and our woman upstairs, I can’t afford this to go south.
“You’re such a moron, Roman. I thought you were the smart one, but it turns out you’re just as foolish as your pathetic father,” she laughs, lifting her chin, forcing control back into her facade.
“Whereismy father?” I question, because if he has something to do with this, I will kill him, The Order be damned.
“Probably freezing to death,” she says flippantly, like she's talking about the weather, and not her husband. My brows knit together in confusion.
“Where. Is. My. Father?” I repeat, each word a warning, and if she wants to keep her fucking brains, she won’t ignore me.
There’s nothing I hate more than when I have to repeat myself.
My finger twitches on the trigger, my eyes narrowing into slits, as I adjust my aim. She doesn’t even bother to speak. She just rolls her eyes and points in the direction of our front door. Jace looks at me, and I give him a slight nod before he runs to check on whatever mess is waiting for him outside. I, however, do not move, and this seems to irritate her.
“Why are you here, Alice?” I say, a little calmer this time.
“God, you’re just like him,” she says, and I am all out of fucking patience. I fix my aim, and she flinches.
“Your father knows. He knows everything. What you’ve been up to. Who you’ve been screwing. By the way, I’d congratulate you on your taste in women, considering you’re fucking my daughter and everything, but you see, we’ve run into a little problem.” She takes a step closer to me, her gun still pointed at Cole,and I pray to all that is fucking holy that Bailey doesn’t walk out here.
“What fucking problem?” I seethe, overcome with unrelenting rage, as she smiles, my pulse pounding in my ears.
“My daughter can’t be with either one of you. Unfortunately for Bailey, her fate is set. Fortunately for me, so is yours.”
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Cole growls, and I shoot him a look that I hope conveysNot now, baby.His jaw flexes, but I know he understands.
“I suppose there’s no harm in you knowing. He’ll be here soon.” Who? I want to ask, but decide against it. This woman loves to talk in riddles, but I’m counting on her slipping up.
My mind is going every which way. Jace, who just ran outside in nothing but sweatpants. It’s fucking snowing out, and if someone catches him, he'll likely freeze if he's not killed first.
“Your father has been protecting you. With all your indiscretions and sneaky little rendezvous, he’s been covering your asses for fucking years, and I’m tired of it,” she says, her leopard print fur coat ruffling with each shrug of her shoulders. I decide that I’ll unpack that bit of information later, but for now, what the fuck does she mean Bailey’s fate is set?
“Why are you here, Alice?” I say on a sigh, feigning indifference.
“Oh, I’m here for Bailey. You selfish pricks, on the other hand, are irrelevant.”
“She’s not going fucking anywhere with you,” Colton snaps, and my heart sinks straight into my stomach because I know that tone. He has that edge to his voice that tells me he’s teetering on the brink of blacking out. He’s seconds away from acting on nothing but raw emotion, and reason doesn’t stand a chance. We can’t have that. Bailey will never forgive him, forgive us, and we’re finally at a place where we get to call her ours. If we kill her mother, we’d be as good as dead to her.
“Oh, Colton. You always were the irrational one. You never could see the bigger picture. Maybe that’s why you stayed so caught up in Roman.”
“What do you want with Bailey?” I say, before Colton flies well and truly off the handle.
“She’s getting married,” she says, casual as fuck. “For a pretty penny, I might add.”
“Over my dead fucking body,” Cole spits, and Alice just glares at him.
“Hush, child. That can be arranged.” She looks at me for a brief moment before looking back at Colton. It’s as if she knows there’s a weapon right where he’s standing. “With your father out of the way, the only living thing standing between us, and The Order’s leadership, is you.”
She’s talking about my father in the past tense, but now is not the time to think about that.
“You said we. Who are you working with?” I question, but I don’t bank on her telling me.
“Oh, Jack Whitman. He’s the most deserving of the title, don’t you think? Your father is a weak, weak man, Roman. Surely it makes sense to you. He chose you three over The Order every damn day, so much so, he didn’t report any of your…extracurricular activities.And because Jack has this place surrounded, I am confident in telling you that he and I have been having an affair. Well, Jack and I were together long before the Elders picked me to marry your father.” I run through the million and one things flying rampant inside my head, remembering conversations, documents, literally anything that could support her claims, but I’ve got nothing.
Alice double-crossed my father, and she plans to sell us and her own fucking daughter out.
