My jaw drops open, and I’m kind of stunned speechless. There is so much to unpack there, but mostly, eww. What a fucking perv.
“That’s all kinds of wrong,” I point out, and none of them deny it.
“Come on, Tori,” Tristan growls. “It isn’t like it would be hard work. Xavier really knows how to give pleasure. You could enjoy it while keeping Mario distracted.”
“And what about you?” I snap. “How do you feel about this?” I hold up my hand, pointing to the ring on my finger. “Surely you’re pissed that I’m now sleeping next to the man you love.”
Tristan chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. “You heard Mario, he doesn’t care which one of us knocks you up as long as one of us does.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I retort and stand up, pacing back and forth in agitation. The emotions running through my soul are messy and confusing. On one hand, I want to stay angry at them, but all of that is melting away in light of this new knowledge. On the other hand, I’m kind of thrilled to be married to Xavier, and what the fuck is up with that?
“What? What do you want to know, Tori? Am I pissed off that the man I love is now married to someone else? Or how about the fact that I’m being forced to marry someone I loathe? Or I don’t know, what about the fact that the woman I was falling for—hell, we were all falling for, now despises us?” He stands up and stops in front of me, grabbing my shoulders and making me look at him. His face is filled with a whirlwind of emotions—guilt, anger, pain, and weariness. “Which one would you like the answer to?”
Before I can respond, Xavier gets up, moves over to Tristan, and wraps his arms around him, pulling him away from me and holding him tightly, murmuring words of comfort. Tristan shudders and sags against him, and I know I’m not the only one this is taking a toll on. I feel another rush of sympathy. Mario is playing a dangerous game, and we are all caught in the crossfire. More of my anger drifts away like dust on the wind.
“I think you answered all of that and more.” I sigh, looking down at my arms which are wrapped around my body like I’m trying to hold my emotions inside.
There’s an awkward pause as I try to process everything I just learned and examine my feelings about putting on a show for Mario. A little over two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to jump any of their bones. I was definitely in lust with them, but despite my ingrained distrust, I was starting to feel like they were an essential part of me. That was spectacularly blown out of the water, but in light of everything I just learned, can I return to those feelings or are they irreversibly broken? Can I see myself having sex with Xavier to keep the peace? A throb deep inside my core betrays me at the thought. Ugh, I’m a chaotic mess.
Chapter Eight
“Tori, how did you learn about us?” Colton asks, breaking the building tension and changing the subject. I heave out a sigh of relief. He moved from the desk chair to sit with Vienna during my internal musings, and I hadn’t even noticed. He has her wrapped in his arms and leaning against his chest while he comforts her. Her quiet sobs are barely audible above my own heartbeat.
I guess it’s my turn to share some information. “I always suspected something was up,” I admit. “It seemed too convenient that we kept running into you at the Black Rose and our club, and then you all rooming together again. Did you have anything to do with the fire at the dorms?” I ask them, and Vienna winces as Tristan and Xavier separate, both of them looking like their worlds are tumbling down, but they both return to their seats.
“Yes. Mario instigated that in the hopes that we would be invited to stay with you,” Xavier confirms, and I nod, grinding my teeth. At least that is one question answered.
I inhale deeply before releasing it. “Micky isn’t dead,” I admit, and the four of them show me signs of surprise, so at least that is one thing I managed to keep secret.
“But you just switched off his machines,” Vienna argues stubbornly.
I shake my head. “That wasn’t Mickey. It was another long-term coma patient we substituted for Mickey. We made his injuries seem worse than they were, which meant we were able to guarantee they kept his faced wrapped, like he was covered in burns. In reality, I have him squirreled away were nobody knows where to find him. He was injured, and until recently, he was confined to a wheelchair, but I’ve had a caretaker looking after him.”
Tristan whistles. “Damn, girl, we had no idea.”
“That was the point,” I say dryly. “Anyway, the caretaker I found for him is from the Irish mob. We have a decent relationship with them, and they have no skin in the game as far as turf in California goes. They sent one of their people over to care for him, and she was the one who had their people look into you.”
“How? I covered all our tracks,” Colton protests.
“You might have covered all digital tracks, but the home you were in prior to Mario had paper files, and they had a note saying that you were adopted by Mario Maricuso,” I tell him, and he scowls.
“Fuck. I never considered they’d have hard copies.” The other three laugh and toss some teasing words about his technology obsession.
“Are you going to tell him about your dad and Carla?” Xavier asks when they settle down.
I purse my lips then slowly shake my head. “Not to start with. He will come in, guns blazing, and until I know more, I don’t want to risk losing him now.”
“So what’s the plan?” Tristan asks, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, his full attention on me.
“Why do you think I have a plan?” I counter, trying to distract him.
Vienna scoffs, the sound conveying her amusement and annoyance at the same time. “When don’t you have a plan?”
“We’ve shared everything with you,” Xavier says slowly, and I meet his gaze and see a small amount of hurt in them, which is bullshit, and my anger flares again.
“Yeah, but you also could have come to me anytime in the last couple of months and placed all this on the table, and we could have already taken care of this bullshit. Instead, you didn’t trust me, and I’ve had to do things that I can’t take back—things that will always haunt me.”
The sight of Sage being placed in a body bag and taken away has plagued my dreams for two weeks now. I’m not sure it’s ever going to go away. Vienna’s sobs when she heard about Gio and Casey and her accusations were like a bullet straight through my heart, but I did what I had to do for my family, and I stand by my decisions.
