Page 38 of Vengeful Devotion
“But?”
“But I still don’t trust them. He was at the event tonight. So until I can rule him out, I have to keep an eye on him.”
My eagerness to answer her questions and teach her about my world is shocking. Opening up is not my strong suit. But Gemma hasn’t even had to try, and I know I would answer any fucking question she has. Every brutal secret of mine is hers if she wants it. There’s nothing I wouldn’t give her.
“Thank you,” she says. “For tonight. I had fun. Not that your mother getting hurt is fun, but—”
Damn. She’s adorable like this. There’s an innocent and sexy look to her with her cheeks tinted pink.
“You’re welcome.”
“I should go check on your mom and get ready for bed.”
I grab her wrist to keep her still. “You didn’t answer my question. Why do you know how to take care of those things?”
“Declan,” she whispers. “Not tonight. Okay? Let me have this for a little while longer.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m just not ready to tell you yet.”
I clench my jaw, my teeth grinding against each other. Irritation spreads across my veins. I’m not mad at Gemma. I’m mad that she doesn’t trust me. Not that I’ve earned it. In fact, I don’t deserve her trust. But I crave it. God, I fucking crave it.
“Tell me,” I command, her wrist still caught my hand.
Gemma stiffens. Her eyes meeting mine. There’s a look in them I haven’t seen before. One that makes me think I should’ve listened to my mother’s advice.
“No.”
It’s all she says before she snatches her arm from me. Gemma’s face takes on a look of disappointment and hurt. I can feel the fragile spark between us crumbling. All the progress we made tonight evaporates around us.Fuck.I open my mouth to do whatever I need to do to stop this train wreck, but she’s already leaving my office. The sight of her walking away is unnerving in a way I’m not used to.
“Gemma.”
The plea doesn’t slow her down at all. She walks out the door like I never uttered a word. As if I’m nothing more than a ghost. I run a hand down my face. Every cell in my body is on fire with the desire to chase after her. I don’t want this to be the way things end. Not tonight. I need her now more than ever. But does she need me? If the way she looked at me was any indication, no. Gemma doesn’t need me right now. She needs space. And I have to give it to her. No matter how much I don’t want to.
I don’t know how long I stand there staring at the door until I finally move to my desk. Sitting in my chair, I can feel Gemma’s absence bringing the weight of the day down on me. My body is exhausted, but there’s still work to be done.
I skim through the list of attendees from tonight’s event, but only one name jumps out at me:Warren McBride.It’s not a coincidence that the moment he shows back up in my life, everything goes to shit.
It’s funny. When we were kids, I always looked up to Warren. Even though I was the oldest. I envied how carefree he got to be. We lived the same life. He was expected to work in this business as much as I was, but somehow the darkness didn’t taint his outlook on life. He was always so cheerful. But that was a long time ago. Back before he became the worthless ant he is now.
There’s a quick knock on the door before Balor slips in. His scruffy face lined with exhaustion. Dean follows him, his suit looking sloppier than it did earlier this evening. They sit in the chairs before my desk, looking at me expectantly. I’m not ready to express my suspicion of my brother. But I need to know what they saw.
“What the hell happened tonight?”
“Your mother was starting the auction when she was hit. The only thing we know for sure is that it came from the crowd in front of her. It happened really fast.”
I should’ve been there. I’ll never regret what Gemma and I did tonight, but I should’ve been smarter about it. I should’ve stayed.
“Who was it?”
Dean sucks in a breath. “I don’t know. I vetted every person on the list, and they were all clean.”
“Then how the hell did my brother get in?”
“He’s your brother, Declan. I thought you’d be okay with him supporting your mother.”
“Exiled meansexiled. There’s no truce, no compromises.”
