“Save it. You wanted me angry. Congratulations.”
The door slammed, and I flinched.
“Funny,” he said. “You walk in fearless, but now, you’re shaking.”
I straightened, placing my shaking hands behind my back and lying through my teeth. “I’m not afraid of you.” Even I didn’t believe it.
He stepped closer, his shadow swallowing the room. “You should be.”
Not a threat. Not exactly. Anger, yes, but under it, confusion. Hunger. Pain.
“You lied to me, princess,” he muttered. “From the moment you walked in, you’ve lied, disrespected me, and I still haven’t thrown you out. Ask yourself why.”
I tilted my head. “What, you want me to bat my lashes and open my legs like Gabby?”
His eyes hardened, but his answer came quick. “Gabby’s not the woman I want. She was just fun, a distraction.”
The words hit, twisting deep, but I forced a scoff. “Right. Just fun. That why you let her crawl all over you tonight? Why you sat there and let me see it?”
His jaw worked, teeth grinding.
The silence broke something in me. My words ripped out, ragged. “Why do you keep kissing me and then pulling away, Jay? Why do you act like a caveman about every man who looks at me when you’re still fucking her?” My chest heaved, fury and humiliation tangling.
His gaze locked on mine, hard and burning, like he could pin me to the wall with his eyes alone. His voice came out raw and scraped me to the bone.
“Gabby’s not the one I want. She never was. I haven’t fucked her since you got back. You think I let her hang all over me because I want it? No. It’s a show for the brothers. To make them think I’m untouchable. Because I can’t show them what I really want.”
The words hung heavy, but I wasn’t letting him off that easy. “Bullshit. Every time I look at you, she’s on you. She told me herself, after you kissed me that night in the bar, you fucked her in your room, but I guess lying is all you’ve ever been good at. So, tell me, Jay, you say you don’t want her, then what do you want?”
He exploded. His hands slammed the wall beside my head, the crack reverberating through my bones. His voice was a snarl.
“You. You’re the one I want, Luce. Always have been. And I hate it. I hate you for it. You’re not meant for this life. I’ll ruin you if I claim you. But fuck”—his forehead dropped to mine—“I can’t stop wanting you.”
The fury bled out, leaving something darker and scarier. He hovered, breath shuddering. Silence roared louder than hissnarl. Heat close to a lava flowed through my veins. I’d waited years for him to say those words, because I felt it too. Since the night in the bar way back, when we’d almost kissed, Jay was the man for me. Maybe even before then, when I thought it was only a crush I couldn’t shake.
My throat burned, but I forced the words out. I couldn’t get lost in emotion. “I have something to tell you.”
I led him to the bed. He sat, tension wound tight, while my shaking hands pulled the folded letter from my hoodie. Caleb’s letter.
“It’s what he left me, in case he didn’t make it.” My voice cracked as I laid out every detail—the photos, GPS hits, cash drops, all pointing to one name.Gage.
“You’re lying,” Jay whispered, fists clenching, his knuckles white.
“I’m not,” I said. “He’s in the files. He was working with the Fangs.”
Jay froze, like stillness could hold the storm inside.
“You realise what you’re accusing him of?” he rasped. “Blood betrayal.”
“I know you want to believe he’s loyal.” My voice rose. “But he’s not.”
He stood and turned away, jaw locked, shoulders taut. “You don’t get it. You didn’t live this.”
“No,” I screamed, hitting out at his back as rage ripped through me, “I just buried it.”
He spun, caging me against the wall, palms slamming either side of my arms.
“You always push,” he said, his voice low and rough.
