Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
By the time we reach the Lane Building, the adrenaline from the ride has simmered into a tense buzz beneath my skin.
Sylus pulls the bike to a stop next to the Bronco at the back entrance, and I slide off, my legs feeling slightly unsteady.
Unbuckling the helmet, I hand it back to him before we head inside, where Sylus guides me to the big room with the stage in the center.
The one I was in with Koen and Levi the first time.
Koen appears almost immediately as we make our way toward the center stage, striding over with his signature commanding presence. His sharp eyes sweep over me, assessing, clearly trying to read my state of mind.
“How’s your head?” he asks, stopping in front of me.
I raise an eyebrow, fighting back a grin. “Never had any complaints.”
Sylus chuckles, breaking the tension as I glance at him with a smile, but then there’s the faintest pressure on my jaw as Koen guides my gaze back to him. He’s frowning, clearly not amused by either of us.
“I was asking about your cheek,” he clarifies with a brush of his fingers below the bruise he shouldn’t be able to see.
“I’m fine,” I say quickly, stepping toward the stage and out of his touch, closer to where Levi and Ezra are standing. “It only hurts if I press directly on the cheekbone, which, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly something I plan on doing all the time.”
I greet Levi with a tight nod, ignoring Ezra entirely, but Koen isn’t done yet. He moves in front of me again as I come to a stop next to Levi. “Are you sure?” Koen presses, his eyes narrowing. “Have you eaten today?”
I think back to the Twinkie from three a.m. That was technically today, but there’s no way I’m admitting that. “Sure.”
He’s not convinced, of course, his gaze lingering on me as if he’s trying to see through my words. “Are you keeping up with your water?”
I roll my eyes, my patience fraying at the edges. “What are you, my keeper?”
“Want me to be?” he teases, something other than a concerned frown finally showing up on his handsome face. “We brought food and water. I could—”
“Koen.” I sigh, shaking my head, the annoyance evident in my voice. “I’m fine.” I cross my arms over my chest, a reflexive defense I can’t seem to shake. I don’t need him playing caretaker. And if I’m reading him right, he’s only doing this out of guilt.
I need him to be honest, not coddle me.
Koen steps into my space again, his smirk fading as he studies me, his gaze boring deep. He’s so close that I can feel the warmth radiating from his body, the intensity in his eyes making me squirm. “Are you mad at me?”
“No.” It’s a lie, and we both know it.
“Thought so.” His voice drops, almost tender. “I really am sorry, Little Thief.”
The gentleness in his words and the way his hand comes up to cup my cheek again catches me off guard. His thumb grazes my jaw, not put off by how I dismissed this gesture already, and something inside me twists and softens.
Except he lied. However, it wasn’t the lie itself. It was the fact that, for a moment, I’d let myself believe he might be someone I could trust.
That’s on me, right?
“You used me,” I bite out. “You lied to me.”
“I didn’t use you.” Koen’s eyes darken, but he doesn’t look away.
“But you’re right, I lied,” he admits, though his tone is ironically unapologetic.
“Because I had to protect my people. Because I didn’t know you.
” His hand slips down to my neck, his touch somehow reassuring and infuriating.
“I know you now,” he continues. “And I will protect you too. That requires trust, and a level of honesty I’m not sure you’re ready for. ”
“Try me,” I challenge, and as I do, I’m unsure if I want to lean into his touch or push him away.
“All right.” He takes a step back, deciding for me, as he draws in a long, measured breath. It’s as if the weight of what he’s about to say is almost too much for him to bear. “No going back from here.”
Sylus moves closer beside me, his gaze darting between Koen and me as he does, while Levi shifts uncomfortably. Ezra is wearing a blank mask and unreadable.
“You’ve heard some about our Uncle Oscar, right?” Koen asks, and I nod.
“He died of a heart attack a few months back,” I murmur, feeling a pang of sympathy for their loss.
“He didn’t.” Koen’s eyes darken. “He was murdered.”
“What?” I breathe out. “The media said—”
“The media doesn’t know shit,” Ezra snaps.
“Veronica Harrington killed him,” Levi adds, his voice uncharacteristically devoid of emotion.
Holy shit.
“Well, she probably paid someone to do it.” Sylus chimes in. “You get the gist.”
“Nicholas’s mother?” I ask, baffled.
Not that I don’t believe her capable of such a thing, especially after the longer look I got at her during the party.
There was something cold and calculating about her, even in the way she smiled.
Someone so close to Nicholas being capable of murder?
Then again, it seemed as though Nicholas hates his mother, too, so maybe his reasons go beyond normal mommy issues.
“Yes, Nicholas’s mother.” Levi’s fingers twitch at his sides as he fights to keep calm.
Ezra moves to stand behind him, ready to catch him if he needs to.
“To the world, she’s a respected businesswoman, old money, the picture of power and influence.
Behind closed doors?” Pure anger simmers beneath the words.
“She’s ruthless. Greedy. Willing to cross any line to keep her empire intact. ”
I frown at Ezra beside him. “And you, being a detective, haven’t managed to get her behind bars yet? Or was that a lie too?”
Ezra’s eyes meet mine, and for a split second, there’s a hint of frustration and defensiveness there, like he’s heard this question a thousand times, probably asking it of himself.
“I am a detective, but it’s not that simple.
Veronica knows how to cover her tracks. Every deal, every hit, every shady move is done through layers of intermediaries.
People who take the fall, vanish, or end up dead so they can’t talk.
She keeps herself insulated, and the people who could testify against her are either too scared or too loyal to speak up…
” He pauses, his gaze flicking around the room to his brothers.
“And let’s not forget, she has enough money and influence to turn the justice system into her personal puppet.
We only just gathered enough concrete evidence to make anything stick three months ago. But then…”
Koen nods in agreement when Ezra trails off. “Veronica Harrington isn’t simply dangerous, she’s untouchable. At least, she thinks she is.”
Levi’s expression darkens, and Ezra adds quietly, “That’s why we’re doing this our way. To get the evidence she thinks no one will ever find.”
I nod slowly, the weight of what they’re up against settling in.
“She and Oscar had an on-and-off relationship,” Koen picks up where Levi left off, his eyes locking onto mine. “Oscar was too good to turn a blind eye to the shit she was into. He tried to stay away, but there was always something pulling them back together. Until…”
He glances at Levi, and I follow his gaze, sensing that something painful is about to be revealed.
Levi sucks in a breath, his entire body tensing.
“When we were seventeen, there was a… a dinner. Our families got together, and I…” His voice wavers, and he looks down, his jaw clenching hard.
“We were friends. Koen and Nicholas were even best friends, but I had a crush on Nicholas. A stupid teenage crush. I’d heard rumors that he might be…
you know, like me. And I thought… I don’t know what I thought. ”
Ezra’s hand moves to rest on Levi’s shoulder in silent support, but Levi’s voice is still shaky as he goes on.
“I approached him when he was alone. Told him how I felt. And he…” Levi swallows hard, the memory apparently still raw.
“He pushed me into a wall. Screamed that he wasn’t gay.
I hit my head, bled like crazy, and needed stitches.
Veronica called me a fucking faggot when she found out what happened. It was… a mess.”
The hurt in his voice makes it impossible to dismiss what happened, but it’s also hard to picture Nicholas doing something so cruel.
Maybe he’s changed?
It’s been thirteen years.
“Oscar lost it.” Koen breaks the heavy silence that follows Levi’s confession.
“He cut ties with Veronica. A decade later, she attempted to reconcile. But when Oscar uncovered how deep her crimes went and how much worse it had gotten over the years, he couldn’t turn a blind eye anymore. He was planning to go to the police.”
“That’s when she struck first. She framed him for a crime he didn’t commit, had him thrown in prison.” Ezra shares. “Thanks to our lawyers, he didn’t have to stay long, but that’s where he met Alaric. The two of them spent every moment planning how to take Veronica down.”
“And when Oscar eventually got out, Alaric came to live with us,” Koen picks up again.
“He kept a low profile for three years, waiting and planning until we could execute our big move. Exposing her at the Christmas show we’d been preparing.
Before he could, she had him killed. Made it look like a heart attack. ”
Shit.
“That’s what the media reported,” Levi says, bitterness lacing his words. “And what most people still believe. We know better. Even if there’s no evidence that she had any involvement in his death.”
“So…” I begin, my mind spinning as I attempt to take it all in. “Where do I come in?”
“Like Ezra said, we need evidence.” Koen’s brown eyes meet mine, and I can’t breathe. “Proof that Veronica had Oscar killed. Her private quarters are locked down tight, and her security knows our faces. You’re our only way in.”