“I’m not used to pieces of shit acting like gentlemen. What’sthis new behavior for? Don’t tell me you don’t want to kill me anymore, Konflict,” I snapped, too tired to care.
“Maybe I don’t. Maybe I do. I guess we’ll find out in two days,” he replied, keeping that mocking smile that infuriated me even more.
My heart pounded too fast. He was playing with me, and it was the cruelest thing he’d ever done. That hurt more than all the coldness he had ever thrown my way.
I locked down my expression, refusing to give him anything.
“Is this a game to you? You enjoy pushing all my buttons, teasing me as we get closer to the moment you’ve been waiting for. Does it get you off, messing with my feelings? Giving me hope just so you can crush it with a bullet to my head? I’ll never fall for your trap and if, by some insane chance, you’re thinking aboutnotkilling me in two days, I won’t hesitate to take you out instead, Konflict. This world isn’t big enough for both of us. Either you put a bullet in my head, or I put one in yours.”
My words struck him. I saw his jaw clench, a flicker of sorrow in his eyes, but I looked away. He wasn’t capable of feeling anything for me. I wouldn’t give in, not now, not with so little time left.
The rest of the drive, I kept my distance, refusing to look at him, but my mind spun with fear. Maybe he cared about me sleeping with an escort more than I thought. Fear he would do something to Knox wound tight inside me.
“You’re not going to kill him, are you?” I asked, my voice trembling.
He looked at me, feigning confusion. “Who?”
“Don’t play dumb. You know who I’m talking about,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Hmmm, your precious escort? Knox, right?”
My whole body trembled at the mention of his name. I should have known he knew, but hearing him say it out loud, knowinghe was aware of who I spent my nights with, terrified me. What would happen to Knox when I was gone? I was the one who got him into this mess. I needed to find a way to get him out, maybe help him escape Emberwick before the worst happened.
“I’m still debating whether I cut his dick off or put a bullet in his skull for fucking my wife,” he said, staring straight at me.
A wave of horror crashed through me. “Don’t touch him, Konflict.”
He leaned in close, his gaze locking onto mine, reading the panic I tried to drown beneath a layer of courage. My pulse thudded so loud I wondered if he could hear it. Even in death, I would hate myself if something happened to Knox because of me.
“Why are you protecting him? Is he that good in bed?” he asked, his tone menacing. “Or… don’t tell me you’re in love with him?”
“Not at all,” I shot back, too fast, refusing to confirm anything, because admitting it would put Knox in even more danger. Besides, I wasn’t sure what to call what I felt. When I was with Knox, the feelings ran so deep I sometimes thought Iwasfalling for him. But that terrified me, because Knox was only ever the version of Konflict I always wished for. Loving him meant I was in love with my husband, this different side of him I’d invented, and I couldn’t accept that.
Konflict kept staring at me, then unleashed that ridiculous smile that crawled under my skin.
“You’re cute when you’re like this,” he murmured, straightening up.
He opened the door, and only then did I realize the car had stopped at the Marquette estate. Konflict stepped out and offered me his hand.
“Set your hatred aside, just for tonight. Let me escort you, Serenity. Take my hand, please.”
He said it so gently, so softly, and with a warmth that stole my resistance. My hand found his before I could stop it, and I let him help me out of the car.
God, what was happening to me? I hated him, but something about him tonight left me craving his touch.
The party was packed, bodies pressed wall to wall, but the second we stepped inside, every head turned. That was the first time anyone had ever seen us hand in hand, and I could feel the shock rolling through the room. Hell, I was shocked myself. Something in me refused to accept how right it felt in that moment. But a secret part of me whispered this was all I’d ever wanted and maybe I should just let myself have it, even if it would be gone in a breath.
I stayed focused, eyes locked on Maureen Marquette as she glided over with a smile that was all teeth and pretense.
“Well, isn’t this refreshing. Took you two a whole year to finally figure out how to show up together in public.” Her tone was bright.
I forced a tight smile that felt brittle on my face. Respect for Maureen kept me civil—she was hosting, after all—but nothing about her words were true. There was no romance here. Konflict and I were nothing but two actors, putting on a show for a crowd who would never know how much venom lingered between us.
“Thank you for having us, Mrs. Marquette,” Konflict replied before I could get a word out.
She waved him off with a laugh. “Oh, come on, Konflict, after all this time you should be calling me Maureen. It’s always my pleasure to have every Big Six member under my roof. We’re family, after all.”
“In that case, Maureen, I’m glad to honor your invitation with my wife,” he said, taking her hand for a kiss.
