“What is it specifically you want to know?”
“Would you help her if she were in trouble?”
Something prickled at the back of my neck. “Want to elaborate on that question?”
“I just need a simple yes or no. Did Devani burn her bridge with you?”
“The queen is the most volatile piece on the chessboard. Simple is the last word to use when describing Devani Patel.”
“Would you rescue her if she needed it?”
I almost laughed at the thought of her calling for a rescue. “She would go down in a fiery inferno, taking anyone and everyone possible with her before asking for help.”
Lilly held my gaze. Her gray eyes darkened as she studied me in the same way her mentor loved to analyze me.
“Would you come to her aid, even if she refused to ask for assistance or if she wanted you to join one of her schemes?”
I smirked. “Now that was the right question.”
“And?”
“And what?”
Lilly threw her hands in the air. “I swear the two of you are fucking perfect for each other. I always feel like I’m going in circles with you. Maybe all of these years together had some of her company training rubbing off on you. Every one of us knows she broke your damn heart.”
I kept my face emotionless, giving away none of the turmoil boiling inside me. Lilly read people like the back of her hand. I’d give her nothing to latch onto.
“How can anyone break something that doesn’t exist? I’m the King with an empty space where my heart should reside, or don’t you read the news articles?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Lilly jumped up and began to pace. “Could I get a little emotion, please?”
“Would you rather have me stalk her across two continents and blackmail her as Rey did to you?” I kept the ice in my tone, knowing I was being a complete dick but not giving a shit. “Or maybe I should angry fuck her in the women’s locker room so loud that everyone in the gym knows I staked my claim on her.”
“Well, it would be a change of pace over this shit,” Lilly retorted, cocking a hand on her hip and not taking my crap. “At least tell me you said more than two words to Van when you made the drop for Dani at the gala.”
I almost smirked. Danika and Lilly wouldn’t know what to make of my discussion with Devani.
I could still feel her coming around my cock. I hadn’t planned to fuck her in the dark, but going into the secret speakeasy room brought back memories of countless encounters in the back room of The Library.
“We said more than two words.”
“At least that’s something.” She paused as her sharp gaze narrowed, zeroing in on my face. “What happened to your lip?”
Shit. I forgot about that.
“An altercation that isn’t any of your business.”
“Then I guess the scratches on the sides of your neck aren’t either?” She lifted a well-defined brow with a smirk.
“Is there a point to this?”
Lilly shifted around the sofa in a smooth, soundless pivot only achieved by years as a Solon Agent.
“Of course, there is. And you’ve answered every one of my questions while trying to avoid answering them. Solon 101. I may have left the job, but the training is ingrained in every one of my cells. You’re as sharp as they come, Sam King. Yet, you never spent years under the tutelage of the queen of manipulation, aka, the Queen of Diamonds.”
Irritation coursed through me. Devani and her fucking people, even in my damn family.
“Let me repeat, what the fuck is the point of this conversation?”