“How?” Kyrin adds.
I shake my head. “That’s not my story to tell, but they deserved it. Every single one of them.”
Saskia sits beside me, her arm around my lower back. “If you’re going in, so am I.”
“Fuck off, Saskia,” Killian growls. “You have nothing to do with this shit.”
“Wrong!” Sass snaps, glaring at Killian from across the room. “You forget that I spent time there, too. They did things to me, too. If there’s anyone that should go in with Lilith, it’s me!”
“No,” a voice says from the entrance. “It’s me.”
“Shut the fuck up and get back to your room.” Kyrin waves Cartier off without so much as looking, ignoring her while leaning back into me. “I’ll go see what Kauis says and sort this out. I’ll be going with you.”
“And me.” Eli breaks his silence from across the room. “You’ll go in with both of us.”
“What about my part in this?” Cartier crosses her arms in front of herself. It makes her look cute, which is exactly what she is. She’s the princess of Kiznitch, and no one of her caliber should be walking into the enemy’s line of fire. No matter who her daddy is. I don’t bother saying that to them, though, because Kyrin wouldn’t let that shit fly. The girl has been sheltered all of her life. I wouldn’t even put her in a boxing ring, let alone against trained assassins and fighters.
Eli’s phone starts ringing and he stands, making his way out through the sliding door to the patio. I watch as his eyes connect with mine once the door is closed, his mouth opening and closing as he talks to whoever it is on the other end.
“He’s hiding something,” I whisper to Kyrin.
Kyrin slowly tilts his head to the side, watching Eli walk back and forth on the patio, his hand in his pocket. “I know.”
I wrap my fingers around Kyrin’s chin, forcing his eyes to mine. “If I find out that you’re both hiding something from me, I am not responsible for what I do to both your pretty faces.”
Kyrin whacks my hand away. “Cute, baby. Real cute.” He stands from the sofa, pointing to Cartier. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying here if I have to lock you in the bedroom until this whole dilemma is over. In fact, why the fuck are you even here?”
Blonde hair flies around the room as a small, petite girl walks in, her eyes frantically searching around the room until they land on Keaton. Her shoulders relax as she makes her way to him. “When did you get back to New York?”
Keaton reaches for her hand, pulling her down onto his lap while moving her long hair away from her shoulder and pressing a gentle kiss. “Just today. Missed you.”
“You too, babe.” She rests her head in the crook of his neck.
I clear my throat. Weird. I didn’t think Keaton had anyone sitting on his dick. I raise a brow at Cartier, who is making it obvious that she’s doing everything to not look at Keaton.
“—Palmer. Good of you to be here…” Killian’s tone is about as confused as all of us. “I think.”
“When the fuck did this happen?” Kyrin points between the two of them. “I thought it was casual.”
Keaton runs the blunt side of his switchblade up and down Palmer’s thigh. “About a week before Cartier got here.”
Kyrin’s tongue dampens his bottom lip. Shaking his head, he makes his way out of the room, leaving us all in here with an awkward Palmer and Keaton.
I turn to face her. “Hi! I’m Lilith!”
“You don’t need to be nice to her, Lil. She’s a fucking commoner. She’s not Kiznitch.” Sass’s hand is in mine when I stand, my eyes on Cartier. She’s trying her best not to look at Keaton and Palmer still, and that’s when I realize everything.
Keaton and Cartier have something going on.
Kyrin will absolutely murder both of them.
For right now, watching her squirm in the spot with too much pride to run off, I give Sass’s hand a small squeeze while smiling down at her. “I’ll be fine. Remember who the fuck I am?”
Her face relaxes. “I could never forget, Lilith.”
Making my way to Cartier, I pause when our shoulders touch, my back now to everyone in the room. “Come. We need to chat.”
Her shoulders soften and a smile spreads on her face. “Yes, we do.” I lead the way up the stairs, even though I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing or where I’m going. As soon as we’re out of sight and earshot, Cartier takes a few steps ahead of me, smirking over her shoulder. “Thanks for that, by the way. Please don’t tell my brother.”
“Your secret is safe.” I follow behind her as she leads me down a hallway lined with doors. She opens one, gesturing into a room. “I don’t really want to be collateral damage when he explodes, if you know what I mean.”