Page 122 of Pretty Dark Vows
Do we really have to leave Halston?
The voice in my head sounds partly like Chloe’s and partly like mine. I know she wasn’t thrilled about the idea of leaving, and if I allow myself to be honest, I’m not either.
But could we stay? Would any of these men even want that?
Or would they cut me out of their lives anyway, happy to forget everything that’s happened between us even if Chloe and I remained close by?
I don’t have answers to any of those questions, but the good news is, I also don’t have to decide anything tonight. Shit always seems clearer after some sleep, so I’ll start making a real plan tomorrow morning.
But since I can’t see myself actually falling asleep quite yet, I decide to head down to the kitchen. I’ve got no interest in eating right now, my stomach still squirming with the aftereffects of all the shit that’s gone down tonight, but it would be nice to bring something up for Chloe to eat when she wakes up.
As I start to pad downstairs on bare feet, I’m so caught up in my thoughts that it takes me a minute to notice the hushed voices coming from the first floor. Logan is still in his room, so unless someone came by the house this late at night, it must be Maddoc and Dante.
I’m glad they’re still awake. I should go thank them too.
When I reach the first floor, I head toward the office, the floor cool under my feet. It’s definitely Maddoc and Dante talking in the office, and even though I can’t make out everything, what I do hear has my footsteps pausing.
Chloe.
They’re talking about Chloe.
I go as still as stone, holding my breath as I strain to pick up what they’re saying.
“…you think McKenna knew?”
That’s Dante, and there’s none of the laid-back charm or easygoing good humor I’m used to in his voice. Right now, he sounds like a killer. Like aReaper.
Maddoc’s low laugh in response has a vindictive edge to it. “Fuck no, he didn’t know. You think he would have been using her in a drop like that if he knew what he had on his hands? But now that they’ve lost her and we have her, we’ll finally be able to…”
Whatever it is that Maddoc thinks they can do now is lost to me, becoming nothing more than a low mumble, as if he’s covered his face or moved farther away or something.
I stare straight ahead, not really seeing anything as my mind races.What the fuck? What’s going on?
Dante speaks again, and although I miss the first part of what he says, I catch the tail end of it.
“… gonna seriously come in handy if Logan’s intel is good.”
“Of course it’s good,” Maddoc answers, pausing for what sounds like another drink. “But if we’re… stay in control, one of us will have to… and she won’t want… her choice.”
“Damn,” Dante says, making my eyes prick with tears as I picture the wry smile on his face and the way he’s probably shaking his head when he says it like that. “But better us than those fucking weasels, yeah?”
Maddoc snorts. “Better us than anyone. This is war.”
“The princess isn’t gonna like it.”
“What she likes isn’t a consideration,” Maddoc says in a hard voice that makes something shrivel up inside me. “She delivered her sister right into our hands, and it’s up to us to make this situation work for us.”
I bite back a noise, clenching my fists tight enough that there will be half-moon divots carved into my palms. I still don’t know exactly what they’re talking about, but I’ve heard enough to piece together the fact that they were only pretending to be on my side.
They told me they were going to help me get Chloe back as a way to fuck with West Point and do damage to a rival gang. But that was a lie. What they really wanted washer.
I don’t know why. I can’t even imagine a reason my baby sister would be part of any “intel” Logan dug up. But they clearly want to use her for something, and the next words I hear send my heart into my throat.
“…force her?” Dante asks.
“If we have to,” Maddoc answers grimly. “But I bet we can find a way to be persuasive.”
I’ve heard enough.