Chapter 81 #2
“Why not?” She looked at me. “It seems he’s accepted you as Davian’s protégé.
” She raised an eyebrow. “Even though you definitely need to do better on the next exams.” Her gaze shifted to Davian.
“And if you actually open a law firm in D.C., I want you to become Quill’s mentor, just like Joseph is yours and Arnold is his. ”
Ashamed of the lie, which was leaving black stains everywhere in the form of ink, threatening to drown me at any moment, I shoved a piece of potato into my mouth and looked down at my plate, feeling Tony and Lara’s eyes on me.
Davian’s hand tightened around mine.
“If that’s really what Quill wants, it would be an honor to be her mentor.”
Even more heat rushed to my cheeks.
Help.
Monica smiled contentedly, and now Tony and Lara looked at Davian, who avoided their gaze and reached for his water glass, only to realize too late that it was empty.
This meal was a silent disaster.
Tony cleared his throat again.
“Did you know there’s news in the Troy case?”
Under Questioning
Luke Richards
Both Davian’s and my head snapped up simultaneously.
“How so?” I pressed.
My stomach churned, and suddenly the chicken on my plate looked as though one more bite would send me running to the nearest bathroom.
“Father says they found something at the crime scene.”
My hand clenched around Davian’s.
“What exactly?” Lara asked, her face paler than usual.
“A woman’s shoe.”
Fuck.
“Just imagine that. Troy Fitzek, shot by an unhappy lover,” Tony laughed.
I wasn’t in the mood to laugh.
I wanted to throw up.
Davian stroked my hand.
This time Monica cleared her throat. “Honestly, I don’t even want to know. I’ve always been suspicious of that family. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Fitzeks had been involved with criminals.”
My shoe. Lara had lent it to me. It was Lara’s shoe.
I looked at her in panic. She met my gaze.
“Troy…,” Tony was about to begin, but Monica cut him off with a raised eyebrow.
“This was supposed to be a game night.” She stood up. “I never want to hear the word Troy at this table again, Anthony, understand?”
My brother raised both hands defensively.
“Okay, okay.”
“Lara? Get the games. I’ll clear the table in the meantime.”
Tony looked at me intently, and I tilted my head.
He gestured toward the hallway behind the living room, and I understood immediately.
“Excuse me for a moment. I need to freshen up.”
No one seemed to question it, because Lara was already on her way to the coffee table, under which she hoarded all the board games Monica often lavished on the Rydells.
Only Davian looked from me to Tony, then back to me, as Tony was already disappearing into the hallway.
I gave him a brief smile before I slipped out of his hand with an aching sense of longing and disappeared into the hallway.
Tony immediately pulled me under the stairs.
Secrets and Lies
Atli ?rvarsson
“I’m not going to that gala,” I made clear right away, and he took a deep breath.
“Quill.” He sounded desperate, and I hated that I felt sorry for him. “Father said he wants to finally put this feud between you two behind him.”
This had to be a bad joke.
My eyebrows shot up.
“He didn’t say that.”
“He did.” Tony began gesturing wildly, though he kept his voice low and glanced around briefly before he continued. “Quill. He really wants you to come. I’m sure he’s finally realized that all this drama isn’t worth losing his family.”
He really wants me to come.
“She’s not coming to that gala.”
We spun around to see Davian staring at Tony with a grim expression.
It took Tony a moment before he turned fully toward him, his face filled with despair.
“Davian. Please tell me you’re going to make up with him.”
“He hurt her.”
I pressed my lips together.
“She…” Tony looked back and forth between us. “Is that still the damn reason?”
Davian’s expression darkened further.
“I mean, it’s not okay. But… But that’s a matter between him and my sister.”
Davian stared Tony down until my brother turned to me even more desperately.
“Quill, tell him this doesn’t have to come between him and Father. And anyway.” His expression grew more serious until he stared at me suspiciously. “The debates are over. What are you still doing at Maplecrest?”
“Father is still there,” I forced out.
“And he’s not going to leave.”
I glared at him defiantly.
“We’ll see about that.”
“You’re crazy!” he hissed as quietly as possible.
“Tony”
There was a warning in Davian’s voice.
“Why are you defending her?” Tony looked at him, gesturing in confusion. “You’re not even her mentor anymore. Lying to Monica for my sister’s sake is insane.”
This conversation wasn’t going anywhere good. And Tony wasn’t stupid. Besides, my knees felt like they were going to give way at any moment. Just like my tear ducts.
“If you’ll excuse me.”
I turned away, disappeared up the stairs, and didn’t breathe again until I had closed the bathroom door behind me.
I let the air fill my lungs, turned toward the mirror, and just then the bathroom door opened behind me, and my heart skipped a beat when I spotted Davian closing the door and turning the key.
“Davian…”
I'm afraid my battery has
developed an addiction to your ink.
As if my own weren't enough anymore.
– Leaking Batteries Diary