He nods, and I drop back onto the couch beside Bry. Saint perches his butt on the armchair beside me. “You’re up first.” He gestures at Bry. “What are your initiation tasks?”
Bry crosses one leg over his knee, leaning back with zero evidence of discomfort. The guy wasn’t the brute force in Dar’s operation for nothing. It takes a lot to rattle him. “It wasn’t a surprise. Find the rat. Eliminate the rat. Help the Saints take The Arrows down.”
“How fast can you find the informant?” Saint asks, and I’m glad he’s lost the jealousy even though I’m sure it’s only temporary.
“It will take time,” Bry admits, scrubbing a hand over his prickly jawline. “And I’ll need to lean on Dar.”
Galen glances at Saint, and Saint gives him a curt nod. “That might be easier than you expect,” Galen says. “He believes our deal is back on and it hinges on him identifying our traitor.”
Bry smirks. “That’s helpful, and I’ll watch him, see if he intends to screw you over.”
I bark out a laugh. “Of course, he’s gonna screw him over. That’s what Dar does.”
I clear my throat, preparing to fess up. I’ve given this a lot of thought in the past week, and I can’t keep the details of my deal with Darrow off the table any longer. There are too many moving pieces, and I don’t trust that asshole not to rat me out to Galen, anyway.
Keeping shit from one another almost killed me last time.
Diesel will probably freak when he finds out, because he doesn’t trust the Saints at all, but I’ll deal with him when the time comes.
“There is something I need to tell you.” All eyes swing to me. “My escape didn’t go down quite how I explained it.”
Saint drills a hole in the side of my head, and his jaw locks up. Caz cusses, Galen sits up straighter, and Theo has his serious face on. Only Bry looks amused. “I know how to play Dar,” I say, ignoring the hostile vibes emanating from Saint. “So, I manipulated him into letting me go.”
“Stabbing him was to cover your tracks?” Theo asks.
“No, that was pure enjoyment.” Caz chuckles, and Bry grins. Saint continues boring holes in my head. “It only occurred to me after I plunged the knife in his thigh that it gave him the alibi he needed to explain my escape.”
“What did you agree to?” Saint asks, already racing ahead of the conversation.
“I agreed to spy for him and provide intel he could use to take The Sainthood down.”
“Were you planning on delivering?” Bry asks.
“Dude,” Caz intervenes. “Of course, she wasn’t. It was all part of the plan.”
I blow Caz a kiss, loving how confident he is in my motives and how easily and quickly he jumped to my defense. “Right. Playing both sides against one another feeds into our overall agenda.”
Saint loudly clears his throat, sending a subtle glance in Bry’s direction. And I get it. I don’t trust him yet either. He must earn our honesty.
“Let’s park that,” Saint says, and Bry stares at him. “What?” Saint snaps.
“You don’t trust me. I respect that.”
Saint stares at him for a few beats before focusing on me. “What tasks were you set?”
I flick my gaze at Caz. “You might need to sit on him for this.”
For once, Caz isn’t laughing. “We’re expecting the worst. Just tell us.”
“I’m to help you get control of the drug supply in Lowell Academy, show up at HQ once a month to be gang-raped, and kill Commissioner Leydon,” I reply in a level tone. No point in hysterics.
Saint explodes, as predicted, stomping around the basement, throwing shit at the walls, pacing, and cursing while we wait him out.
“Fuck,” Galen murmurs. “That is messed up.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” Saint fumes, stalking to the couch and dropping beside me. He hauls me into his lap, circling his arms around my waist and holding me tight. He leans his chin on my shoulder, keeping me close, cocooning me in his protective embrace.
A messy ball of emotion clogs my throat as warmth spreads across my chest. I feel safe in his arms. Cherished and protected. And it’s an unfamiliar feeling even though Dad and Diesel have gone to great lengths to keep me safe.
This feels different, and in this moment, I realize there is nothing I can do to shield my heart from this onslaught.
The guys have me, and my heart is already invested.
There’s no way I can get out of this now without getting hurt.
“You can’t murder the fucking commissioner,” Bry says, looking genuinely shocked.
“Do I look dumb to you?” I ask, glaring at him, because that is a fucking given.
“I say we slaughter the board in their sleep,” Caz suggests, and Saint whips his head up, warning him with his eyes. Then, he stares at Bry. “Get out.”
“I can help. I—”
“Get the fuck out,” Saint says, whipping his gun out and leveling it at Bry. “I don’t care if you’re one of us.”
Bry smirks, grabbing the gun and moving it to his brow. “Go ahead, asshole. Do it.”
I wrap my hand around the gun. “No one else is getting shot today.” I turn my head, eyeballing Saint. “Put it away. Bry is leaving.” Slowly, Saint pulls back. I stand. “I’ll show you out.” Saint opens his mouth to protest, but I clamp my hand over his lips. “Nope. Not listening to it. Switch your brain back on, and be ready for a serious conversation when I return.”
I escort Bry outside and lean against the side of his truck. “We want to trust you, but it’ll take time.”
“It’s smart, Lo, and what I would do. I’ve defected, and I need to prove my worth. I intend to follow through as fast as I can.”
“That would be wise.” I give him a quick hug. “Later, dude.”
The air is heavy when I return, but Saint seems to have calmed down. I sit beside him, placing my hand on his knee. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think he has any loyalty to The Arrows anymore.”
“I agree,” Theo says.
“I don’t think he has any loyalty to the Saints either,” Galen supplies.
“I don’t disagree,” I say, “but our loyalty could be questioned too, for various reasons.”
My words linger in the air, and no one can deny the truth.
“That doesn’t mean we should trust him,” Saint adds, circling his arm around my shoulders.
“Agreed, but I know Bry a little, and I think he’ll deliver soon. Then, we can decide how much we tell him or whether we tell him anything at all.”
“Have you found out anything on Taylor Tamlin yet?” Saint asks Theo.
“I’m working on it, but I’ll hopefully have something later.”
“The Bulls seem well connected,” I admit.
“Better connected than we realized,” Saint says.
“Parker was the link between Finn and The Bulls,” Theo confirms. “We have footage of her entering their clubhouse a couple nights after we handed her ass to Ruben.”
“Do you think Ruben already knew the truth that night?”
Saint toys with the ends of my hair. “None of us would’ve walked out of there alive that night if he knew.”