Somehow I couldn’t help suspecting he’d still have decided he had more to gain by reeling in Clyde. My preferences had never been a factor, that was for sure.
But now… now we knew. The vibe in the room had changed as the truth had spilled out. I was abruptly, starkly aware that my main reason for holding these guys at arm’s length, for teasing our mutual attraction but resisting fully giving in to it, no longer applied.
But only the main reason. And it wasn’t even the main reason I’d come.
It seemed my mind wasn’t the only one that’d slid in that direction. Lucan cleared his throat. “Is that why you came here? To get revenge for what you thought we’d done to you?”
At his words, the tentative relief that’d started to soften the tension inside me fell away. My gut sank.
They’d just found out they were wrong about me spying back when I was sixteen. But Ihadcome to spy this time.
How could I tell them that? Somehow it’d feel like even more of a betrayal, even though I was more than justified after the crap their people had pulled. I wasn’t even totally sure they didn’t know about their dad’s schemes.
They hadn’t been monsters to me seven years ago after all, but I hadn’t seen them in all that time. I didn’t really know what kind of men they were these days, other than very capable of vengeance when they felt they’d been wronged.
“Maybe a little bit,” I said, offering up as much of the truth as I felt I safely could. “My brother did kick me out of our home. I needed to go somewhere. I didn’t have a whole lot of options.”
Darius’s expression had gotten more intense. “You said something when we talked earlier—about us going to war against the Nobles. What was that about?”
Did he really have no idea, or was he testing me to see howIknew?
“I’ve been listening around the house,” I admitted, raising my chin as if daring them to take issue with it. “It’s obvious everyone here isn’t happy about the Nobles. I wanted to make sure I’m actually safe here. I’ve overheard some things… like your dad and that guy who’s hanging around him a lot, Griffin, talking about taking over the Noble-run business here in New York.”
Felix snorted as if he thought that idea was absurd.
Lucan’s brow furrowed. “I could see them considering the possibility—”
“No,” I broke in. “It’d already happened, from what they said.” No need to mention that I’d gone out to see for myself, spying on the Hell Kickers outside this house too.
“Bullshit,” Darius said. “Dad wouldn’t take a step like that without involving us at all.”
“Without involving you, you mean,” Felix said wryly.
I paused and decided it worked in my favor to reveal one more tidbit. My gaze slid to Darius. “I think Griffin’s been trying to get between you and your dad. I heard him saying something about how he’d tried to talk to you about helping with the takeover and you blew him off. But obviously if you didn’t even know they were planning it, that was a lie.”
Fury flashed in Darius’s eyes. “Of course it’s a fucking lie. That prick. Who the hell does he think he is?”
Lucan’s voice came out quiet but even. “He thinks he’s someone who’s gotten Dad’s ear more than we have it—and it seems like he’s right about that. We’ve just assumed… I didn’t realize he’d ingratiated himself so much. Maybe we should have been reaching out to Dad more.”
“Fawning over him,” Felix said with a hint of a sneer. “We shouldn’t need to butter him up. We’refamily. I know I haven’t done much for the business, but you and Darius have earned your spots. He shouldn’t be shunting you aside over some asshole who puffs up his ego.”
“But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t,” Darius said grimly. “I should have stayed more on top of things.Fuck.”
I wavered. They hadn’t known about Marcel making plans for war—but did that mean they also had no idea that the deal gone sour had been a setup? They might be hiding that from me just like I was hiding my real purpose here from them.
It didn’t seem worth the risk to say anything about my brother’s overall innocence. I focused on my own situation instead. “I know your dad sees me as potential leverage—something he might be able to use. I have no idea how this is all going to play out, but you can see why I feel like I’m walking on thin ice in more ways than one.”
“Well, first I’ll crush that motherfucker,” Darius began.
Lucan held up a hand to stop him. “Griffin’s been playing a game we weren’t aware of. I think we need to determine exactly what his ends are and then undermine him on the same playing field. If we attack him outright without proof that he’s done anything wrong, that might just convince Dad that we don’t have the family’s best interests at heart.”
“Fine,” Darius grumbled. “But when we do know, I’m looking forward to getting to the crushing part.”
He turned to me and took a step forward to set his hand on the side of my arm. With most of my emotional armor against him fallen away, the heat of his touch bloomed all through my body.
“And we’ll look after you, Lady Noble,” he said, with a promise in his eyes that nearly set me on fire. “Not my dad or Griffin or anyone else is going to lay one finger on you. You’ve got us watching over you now, like we should have been all along.”
Lucan and then Felix nodded in agreement. I offered them a smile of gratitude, my stomach knotting tight.
I still had my own investigation to carry out, and in the blink of an eye, the results could put me at odds with these three men I’d always found so compelling all over again.