Chapter 12

12

Eli

Istand in the hallway outside Harlow’s room and listen to her fuck Abel for ten minutes before it’s clear that they won’t be finished anytime soon. It’s just as well. After how things fell out with us, she’s not going to be ready to see my face again today.

I’m not even pissed that she left my room and immediately jumped on Abel’s cock, another indication of what she’s been trying to tell me for a very long time. She’s not the woman I thought she was. The image I built up in my head. It’s my fucking fault that she’s in this mess, and she’s making the best of it. Hard to blame her for that, even if jealousy curls through my stomach at the sound of her moans, of his low curses.

I can’t even say for certain that it’s jealousy that Abel’s fucking her. It might be that she’s fucking Abel. That is an attraction I can’t afford, but I’ll use it just like I’ll use any other tool at my disposal.

Right now, Abel is distracted. I turn and head down the hallway. My people have already been pushed out, but that doesn’t mean they’re gone for good. I might have been caught flat-footed yesterday at Lammas, but I had a contingency plan in case any of the other factions tried to stage a coup. My security people will have gathered at a secondary location to await orders.

Now I simply need to get access to a phone and call them.

I turn the corner and stop short at the sight of a blond white woman striding toward me. She’s wearing tiny jean shorts, a white crop top that shows off a toned stomach, and a pair of red-tinted heart-shaped glasses that match her bright red lips. I’ve read that, in certain parts of the world, frogs and some insects are brightly colored to warn predators that they’re poisonous. I don’t know if Monroe intentionally mimics the effect, but some part of my brain shouts danger every time I have to deal with her.

Her lips curve when she sees me, but her green eyes behind the glasses don’t warm. “Eli. Just the man I’m looking for.”

I slide my hands into my pockets and give her an absent smile. It’s hard to pull my chosen shield around me, much harder than normal. “Monroe.”

She laughs and gives a little wiggle. Her white shirt is just thin enough that I can see the outline of her nipples through it. The wiggle just confirms that she’s not wearing a bra. She takes my arm and pivots to walk next to me. “We really need to talk about our mutual Paine problem.”

The hallway is empty except for us, but that doesn’t mean we’re not being observed. I shoot her a look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t. That’s not Abel Paine back there, giving it to your woman so good that she’s screaming for him.” When I miss my step, she snorts. “Come on, Eli. Drop the act. This goes beyond factions. We’re all in the same boat.”

Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I can trust her. I start to untangle my arm from her grasp when footsteps signal someone approaching. A pretty, white woman with brunette hair and the kind of sweet expression that has no place here comes around the corner and stops short. She’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and the way she looks at Monroe is exasperated. “There you are.”

“Just getting a good look around and telling Eli what a pretty cage he’s created for us.” She pats my chest, her nails digging in through my shirt.

“Monroe, you’re going to give Broderick a stroke, and it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.”

“One can only hope,” Monroe murmurs.

“I heard that.” The woman grabs Monroe’s hand, heedless of the danger she’s in by keeping the Amazon heir so close, and tugs her away from me. “Come on. It’s my job to keep you out of trouble.”

Monroe gives me a long look over her shoulder, a clear promise that our conversation isn’t over, and smiles wide. “Baby, why stay out of trouble when it’s so fun to get into trouble?” She leans against the other woman. “I have a few ideas if you’re game.”

The woman is still stammering when they round the corner and disappear down the hall. I stare after them for a long moment. There is a possibility that Monroe is serious about allying together against the Paines, but I can’t risk it. Not until I have no other options. The Amazons and Mystics and I might not have been in an all-out war leading into this, but that doesn’t mean there’s trust between the factions. Monroe might decide to take out two birds with one stone—me and the Paine brothers. If anyone can do it, she and her family can. And there are three of them under this roof.

I shudder. Better to get moving before someone else comes along.

The thought barely crosses my mind when a man stalks into view. He doesn’t look much like Abel, aside from the similar body type of a brawler, but I instantly recognize Cohen, the third oldest brother. Their mother named them alphabetically, which amused plenty of people as she kept popping out children, but there’s nothing amusing about the barely restrained violence on Cohen’s face as he catches sight of me and picks up his pace. “You.”

I don’t take a step back, but it’s a near thing. “Cohen.” He’s a few inches shorter than me, but he’s wider through the shoulders and chest. He catches me around the throat, and I do nothing to stop it. I let him bear me back to the wall and pin me there. I merely raise my brows. “Your brother’s put in a lot of work for you to kill me now.”

“Don’t tempt me.” His voice is low and as gravelly as if he’s been gargling rocks. “You deserve worse than death for what you did.”

“What my father did,” I gently correct.

His eyes are amber, and the color should make them warm, but they’re as icy as Abel’s turn every time he looks at me. “You don’t get to pull that card, Eli. You were twenty-eight. Hardly a babe in arms.” His fingers tighten around my throat ever so slightly.

“Not a babe in arms,” I repeat. I force myself to smile as if none of this matters. “Unlike your little Bride. How old is Winry? Twenty-three? She was barely fifteen when your father was killed. Hardly a responsible party.”

“She’s an Amazon.” Just like that, he drops his hand. “She’ll pay the price, just like you will.” He grabs my upper arm and yanks me away from the wall. “I don’t know where my brother is, but you don’t have free rein to wander the halls as you like. Get the fuck back to your room.”

Frustration sinks its teeth into me, but if I dig in my heels now, it will raise all sorts of alarms. Not to mention that Cohen is just looking for an excuse to beat the shit out of me. Of all the Paine brothers, he’s the most dangerous one. Abel might be the leader, but Cohen was always the knife in the dark. Their enemies never saw him coming. After eight years away from Sabine Valley, anything can be true now, but I doubt that’s changed. I can’t take him in a one-on-one fight. And even if I could, it serves no purpose now.

I smile, fighting down a wince when the expression pulls at my cut lip. “Sure.”

He marches me down the hall. As we pass Harlow’s room, another loud moan emerges. Cohen glances at the door, his expression inscrutable. I half expect him to rub my nose in the fact that Abel is fucking Harlow the same way Monroe did, but he stays silent until I motion that we’ve reached our destination. Only then does he release my arm.

Cohen gives me a long look. “If I had my way, Abel would have cut you down and put your head on a spike in the middle of that goddamn amphitheater.”

Once upon a time, I considered this man a brother just like I considered the rest of the Paine boys brothers. Cohen and I were never close, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve known him his entire life. None of that matters. It wasn’t enough to alter my father’s plans, and it’s not enough to change what I have to do now. “That’s why Abel’s the one in charge.” That’s also why he’s dangerous in a way completely different than Cohen. “You’re just a dog on a leash.”

Cohen starts to turn away. “I’m on his leash. Never forget that. The second he says the word, I’ll happily rip out your throat.” He glances over his shoulder at me. “Give me a reason, Eli. Just give me a fucking reason.”

It’s not a bluff. The Paines don’t bluff. They never have.

I make myself turn away, presenting him with my back, and walk through the door. It takes everything I have to close the door softly behind me, to not engage the lock. To not show a single bit of weakness.

Fuck.

I drag my hand over my face and wince at the pain the motion causes. This isn’t going to work. My people will wait to hear from me, but the sooner I get into contact with them, the better. It will prevent them from acting on their own and potentially fucking this situation up worse.

A soft sound has me spinning around. The mirror swings forward, and a familiar face comes into view. I don’t exhale in relief, but it’s a near thing. “You know I don’t want the passageways used, Marie.” Not until there’s no other choice. I have no doubt Abel will find them at some point—he’s too savvy not to figure out that the rooms don’t quite line up where they should—but I want to keep them as a last resort until then.

Marie’s expression takes on a stubborn set. “There was no other way to get access to you. We weren’t sure you’d be able to get a line out.” She tosses me a cell phone. “Now you can.”

I catch it. It’s a generic model that’s no doubt pre-paid. “Thank you.” I won’t need to use it now. Not with her standing right in front of me. “Gather our people at the rendezvous point, and stay out of sight. Don’t cause any problems. Don’t engage with any of the Paines’ people. Don’t do anything until you hear from me.” We’ll only get one chance at this, and it has to be timed perfectly.

“Yes, sir.”

“Make sure no one sees you on your way out.”

Marie hesitates. “We’re with you, Eli. As long as it takes, no matter what it takes.”

“I know.” I glance at the door. “Now go.” I stride to the mirror and ease it shut. It barely makes a click, but it feels particularly loud in the silence of the room.

Well, the problem of the phone is solved. I expect Marie will be able to escape the grounds again without being caught. All my people have been trained on moving through the compound without being seen. The events from eight years ago hang heavy overhead, even after my father died. I guess part of me always knew that Abel would be returning, but even if he didn’t, there was always the chance that one of the other factions would move against us.

I should have planned better.

I should have done a lot of things.

Regrets won’t help me now. I can’t go back into the past and change things. I can only look to the future and find a way forward.