Years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to speak to him like this, but the nearer I come to taking his place, the less I care about holding my tongue. It sets a precedent for how things will be when I officially become the head of the family, because I’ll be damned if I gave everything up to take his place just for him to try to lead from the back seat.
His attention turns to me, the tips of his ears turning a deep shade of red the only indication that he’s angry.
He’s always been a master of calm, but that doesn’t mean his temper isn’t short.
“How dare you?” he growls. “I did what I had to do to keep this family safe, and the family is at great risk with her on the run.”
I scoff. In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess. “Oh yeah, Chloe Weaver is a huge threat to the family. The girl had herhead in the fucking clouds too often to know a single thing that could hurt us.”
“You don’t think her father told her things? You don’t think she’s running to our enemies for protection right now?”
“I don’t know what the fuck she’s doing, but she doesn’t know anything. Or did you think she had some kind of special training we didn’t know about to be able to withstand torture?” I challenge. Chloe has always been a sensitive soul, and the fact he believes she wouldn’t have broken immediately if she’d knownanythingabout the supposed betrayal is ridiculous.
“And the fact she has a Lombardi heir growing inside her? You don’t think that bastard will be used against us?”
My lips part, an argument on my lips, but a gasp behind me drags my attention over my shoulder.
“Chloe’s pregnant?” Ronan’s words are barely audible as all the blood drains from his face.
Whoops.
He deserves to know she’s carrying his baby, but Dad swore me to secrecy. He told me that my brother wouldn’t give up on finding her if he knew, that his noble streak is far larger than either of us could ever imagine.
But it was the old man that dropped the bomb, and I can’t help but feel a little satisfied that this whole farce is blowing up in his face so soon.
“It’s probably not yours,” Dad rushes to say. “You know how girls her age are. Fucking anyone that moves.”
“Not Chloe,” Ronan snaps back before I have the chance. The girl is a lot of things, but she would never step out on my brother. “Were you going to tell me? Or were you just going to let me be blindsided by a secret child down the line?”
“Of course I would have told you. But it was hardly the time. We have far bigger problems than an unborn baby.”
“Tell me one thing that could possibly be more important than the mother of my child being on the run. Scared and alone. Please, enlighten me.”
Dad pushes himself to his feet, anger and annoyance radiating off him in waves. “Kingston was in town last night at the same time she escaped.”
My mouth drops open in surprise.
He doesn’t need to say the words for me to put the pieces together.
Our greatest enemy, the man that killed our mother, was the first person Chloe called for help.
Suddenly it doesn’t seem so farfetched that the girl we grew up with betrayed us, because if she knew his number by heart, she’s probably been in contact with him this whole time.
“Chloe Weaver is just as big a risk to this family as her father was, and she has something she can use against us growing inside her. Finding her and removing that threat are of the greatest importance until I say otherwise.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHLOE
NOW
It’s been hours since we came back to the estate, but Ryker hasn’t let me out of his sight. His worried eyes track my every move, and every time I start to think about packing, he promptly puts the suitcase back where it lives on the shelf in my closet.
He’s just delaying the inevitable.
I have to leave. It’s just a question of when.
Making sure Camilla and Crew are safe is my first priority, but after that, I’ll have to get out of town as quickly as possible.
