Chapter 54
Cora
It’s been four days since they left. Each day, I have woken up in Clyde’s guestroom that’s now littered with my belongings, and dressed for work, putting on my armor of finely cut suits, and stiletto heels.
Then every day after work, I return to his house and spend the evenings with him in his home range.
My aim has improved tremendously, and I can reload any gun within seconds.
Each day, I think about marriage and murder and how in this family, they seem to go hand in hand. Rune gave me to Zane so he could marry me, breed me, steal my money, and then what?
The truth hangs over my head, heavy and dark. Zane would have taken a hit out on me the second I gave him what he wanted. What the families wanted. A kid to inherit his wealth and my money.
The fact Rune knew this and still made the deal leaves a dull ache in my chest. Even after everything, it still hurts that I’m so expendable.
But those plans didn’t work out, and now he’s desperate.
He thinks that by handing me over to Viper, he’ll gain even more power thanks to the Snyder Group.
They are wealthy. They sell weapons. Rune holds illegal hunts for his boys’ club.
He more than likely added the same demands he did with Zane.
Marry me and hand over the shares to his company.
Keep me, my money and property, if he wants.
Breed me to strengthen the family bond.
My face heats and I drop my gaze to the stack of pancakes on my plate.
“What’s wrong with you?” Clyde asks. I swear I feel his eyes boring into me. “Are you blushing?”
“No,” I snap. “I don’t blush.”
“You’re as red as a firetruck,” he says. “Are you sick?”
My fork clinks loudly enough to make me wince as I stab at my food. We’re late going into the office today, thanks to Clyde insisting on breakfast. So instead of sitting in traffic, we’re in his sterile kitchen, the morning sun gleaming off every bright white surface.
Including my fire-engine cheeks.
“Am I really supposed to marry him?” I ask, swirling syrup and melted butter around my plate. “How is that going to work?”
When I dare to meet his eyes, Clyde’s murderous expression makes my face flame hotter. He shovels pancakes into his mouth like he’s forcing himself to remain quiet.
We don’t discuss the topic further—the fact I’m involved with all these men—and continue to avoid it on the drive to the office, which is for the best.
He doesn’t know I’m fucking Delly too.
Once we arrive, I go to my office, and he joins Rune just as he has for the last four days. I dive into my work, silently wishing I was curled up in bed with Viper and Breaker again. With Striker. Reaper too, even though he’s dark and a little mean.
Wishing Delly were here, and that we were all together again.
I like the thought of us all together. Back at the mansion overlooking the sea.
But she has to return for their plan to work, and the thought of Delly returning and finding out that the men plan to kill Rune unravels the fantasy.
I know part of her wants him dead. She was so angry after she discovered the truth about Rune and me, but I’m not sure if she truly wants him to die.
He’s still her father.
Thanks to my mother, he’s the only blood she has left.
When I grab a cup of coffee from the breakroom, the office rumors about Delly’s absence finally make their way to me.
She’s had a nervous breakdown. Having surgery.
Got caught with those men we fucked in Rune’s club, and Rune’s trying to save face by sending her away.
I ignore them all and pretend, pretend, pretend.
I stay hidden in my office all day, going over files, avoiding Zane and Rune and any meetings.
So far I’ve been lucky, and haven’t had to deal with either man for the last four days.
They seem to have lost interest in me now that Viper and Breaker have left to finalize the shipment of the rest of the weapons to Rune’s lodge, where Clyde says he’ll be traveling soon.
Right after the Snyder Group goes through the initiation to complete the contract.
The contract that will add them to Rune’s secret file.
I click the end of my pen, staring out my office window at the blinking lights of downtown, brilliant little beads of starlight in a vast darkness, knowing that I’m going to end up at that damn lodge.
Several members have their wives join them, and now that I’m technically promised to Viper, I have a feeling I’ll be forced to attend their little hunt.
The thought sends a shiver down my spine. While I’ve never shied away from a good steak, just the idea of being forced to eat some gamey deer they hunted down for sport makes my stomach roil.
The knives the men sold to Zane flash in my head. That’s an excessive amount of weapons for a game hunt led by a handful of men and in the middle of nowhere.
Then again, the entire thing feels unnerving.
Add in the list of dead members and the strange tally system, and my brain has been working overtime trying to figure out what Rune is up to.
He fired all his security, the men who do his dirty work, and his staff.
So unless he’s planning on weaponizing an entirely new army of henchmen to do his bidding, the only thing I can come up with is that he plans to resell the weapons to his club members.
With a sigh, I click the pen several times, then drop it in the little wooden tray on my desk.
I’ve been going over ledgers, prepping for the one meeting I can’t avoid tomorrow, and after several hours, my head hurts.
Picking up my phone, I unlock the screen and see a text from Clyde, telling me he has a late meeting and to call for Conner when I’m ready to leave.
Seems the constant threat of Rune’s sickness is no longer a problem now that Viper agreed to marry me.
And killed a man.
I shake my head, ridding myself of the image of the blood spraying from Damon’s neck. The possessive gleam in Viper’s eyes.
The feral protectiveness of these men surpasses Clyde’s.
I definitely don’t hate it.
My office door opens, and I swivel around in my chair, expecting the woman who runs the nightly cleaning crew to pop in, but the second I see his sleek blonde hair and smarmy face, my stomach drops.
“Get out,” I say, pointing to the door, but he’s already shutting it behind him.
“We need to talk,” Zane says, striding across the room until he’s right in front of my desk.
“I have nothing to say to you,” I snap, grabbing files and shoving them in the top drawer.
“Funny, because you never seem to keep your mouth shut.” He drops down into the oversized leather chair across from my desk and loosens his dark green tie. “Oh wait, that’s because you’re too busy sucking dick.”
“Come up with new material, Zane. It’s getting old.” I push up from my chair, and grab my bag, stuffing in a few files to take back to Clyde’s and look at later. “What do you want?”
“We have a meeting tomorrow.” He frees his tie and rolls it up, then tucks it in his pocket. He’s removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, giving him a casual appearance. To anyone who doesn’t know him, Zane looks like a regular handsome businessman, ready to take on the world.
But I know him and that smug smile. He’s up to something.
Again.
I still haven’t decided if he was just being his usual asshole self or if he was trying to sabotage the deal with Viper and Breaker so Rune would be angry with me.
Maybe both.
“Informing me of a meeting requires a personal visit?” I ask. “Could have been an email.”
I grab a few more files, but groan when I realize the contract I printed up for Rune isn’t on my desk.
He must not have had his secretary return it to me this afternoon after he made corrections.
I curse his refusal to use modern technology.
Everything gets printed, and thanks to him, I don’t have the changes he wanted me to make, which means I won’t have it ready for tomorrow’s meeting.
With a sigh, I glare at Zane. He still has that slappable look on his face. “Did Rune give you the contract this afternoon?”
He shrugs, lips turning down at the corners. “He left early to work from home before the dinner meeting.”
Dammit. Now I’m going to have to go to his house before I return to Clyde’s. My heart skips a beat, dreading going there. I could wait, but—
“Your daddy was into it, you know.”
All thoughts slam to a halt. I blink, refocusing on Zane. “What?”
“Drake loved watching Caroline get railed,” he says, studying my reaction. “He would jerk off while he watched.”
Disgust roils through my stomach. A stabbing pain shoots through my fingertips. Darkness tugs at the corners of my eyes, trying to drag all those horrible memories into focus. I suck in a breath, refusing to allow them to take center.
“Drake was a nice enough guy.” Zane taps the armrest, drawing my attention to his manicured nails. “Though the fact that he let your mom put you in a closet was seriously fucked up.”
The words stab through my chest like a serrated knife. An echo of Zane’s laughter as my mother locked me away cracks through my head. I grab my bag. I will not let him rile me. He had enough fun the other day, simply because I had no choice.
I had to react.
Now I don’t.
“Fuck off, Zane,” I say, making sure my voice is even. Callous like his.
“Did you know your father liked to be tied up?” The glee in his voice sends a shiver down my spine. “He even liked licking my cum off my dick.”
“Eww.” I shoulder my bag, my heels clicking sharply as I continue to march around my desk. “Can you refrain from giving me details about your depraved sex life with my dead mother and father, please?”
“Rune doesn’t care I was fucking your mommy.” He rises from the chair lazily, dragging his eyes over me. “He’d probably have fucked her too if he didn’t have such a hard-on for Sophia. But then he’s always had a thing for young girls.”
I pause. Delilah’s mom.