“Of course not,” I whispered trying to slow my racing pulse. “I’m not stupid.”
“No, you’re not.” His grip on my wrist tightened to the point of painful, and I gasped, dropping the knife. “But you are a hopeless romantic, Bella. We both know this. So sue me for being suspicious.”
I whimpered at the pain in my wrist. “Angel, you’re hurting me.”
He sucked a sharp breath, releasing me instantly. Had he not even realized?
“Just don’t forget how much we both have at stake here, Bella,” he whispered, taking a step back. “The pain you went through will feel like a tickle fight if my father finds out we fabricated that paternity test.”
I swallowed hard, tears pricking at my eyes. “I won’t forget.” After all, my body bore multiple permanent scars from the torture I’d suffered after being taken from the concert.
Angelo breathed a long sigh. I still had my back to him, so I couldn’t see his expression and wasn’t sure I would like what I saw there.
“How’s Vee?” I asked, for some reason needing to get a human reaction out of him. “Does she know where we are?”
He paused only a moment before replying. “Of course she does,” he said in a cold tone. “She’s my wife, and nothing will change that. You’re just my mistress and the mother of my heir. Nothing more.”
His voice was hard and clear. I liked to think it was for the benefit of our observers, but… I wasn’t sure.
He walked away then, leaving me alone with my sandwich, which I no longer had any appetite for.
Except I wasn’t alone. Someone stepped out of the shadows of the door leading to the basement, and I nearly jumped out of my skin with fright.
“Jace,” I breathed, pressing a hand to my chest. “Holy shit, you scared me.”
“Is that true?” he demanded, moving closer. I spun to face him properly, not wanting him at my back like Angelo had just been. Stupid me, that put us face to face when he braced his hands on the counter to either side of my hips. “I heard what he just said to you, Billie. Is that—”
“Shh,” I hushed him, pressing my fingers to his lips to physically stop the question. Angelo had kept his voice low; Jace wasn’t even trying. His brow furrowed in confusion, but I locked eyes with him, imploring him to just trust me as I gave a tiny headshake. “Please, Jace… you didn’t hear what you think you heard.”
He squinted hard as I dropped my hand away from his soft mouth. “I see.”
Did he, though? Silently, I prayed that he did. That he understood nothing was as it seemed and there was so much more going on than just some hurt feelings.
Just as I thought he was going to back down and let sleeping dogs lie, he grabbed my wrist—the same one Angelo had just hurt—and pulled me after him as he stormed out of the kitchen.
“Jace! What are you doing?” I protested, stumbling over my feet to keep up.
He didn’t reply, just continued pulling me along until we burst out onto the rear verandah. Then he looped an arm around my waist to lift me effortlessly down the stairs—saving me from tripping and falling—then continued on across the grassy expanse.
“Jace, ow! Let go; you’re hurting me!” I tried to pull my wrist free, but it just hurt more, thanks entirely to the bruises Angelo had just left and Jace’s unrelenting determination to drag me out into the middle of the field.
“How about now, Billie?” he demanded, whirling around to face me when we were a decent distance away from the house. “Now will you be honest with me? Because you sure as fuck haven’t been from the moment you arrived, and I’m getting the distinct impression we’re being watched in there. So? What’s going on?”
I bit my tongue, torn over what to say. What if…
“Billie,” Jace growled, giving me a little shake. “Talk to me. No one can hear us out here. No one is listening. It’s just us. You and me. Talk to me.”
Panic clawed at my throat, and I swallowed hard to try and catch my racing pulse. Angelo’s warning still rang clear in my head and… I was scared.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Jace,” I lied. “This whole situation is uncomfortable, I know, but it’s not like—”
“Bullshit,” he cut me off, shaking his head. “I know you, Rose. I know when you’re lying, and right now… all day… you’ve been lying, and I can’t work out why.” He released me, spinning away to swipe his hands over his face in frustration.
I glanced around. We really were alone. Unless one of us had a microphone physically on our bodies, there was no way we could be heard. Surely, it was safe to let my guard down? But then again, what the fuck had Jace ever done to win my trust? Especially knowing firsthand what might befall me if Giovanni felt duped.
“You don’t, though,” I said bitterly, unable to keep the words to myself. “You don’t know when I’m lying. You didn’t then, and you don’t now. So don’t go playing the I know you card when we both know it’s total horse shit. You cut me out of your life when you signed to Big Noise and never looked back. Even when Rhett literally saved my life, you didn’t stop once to question what I’d been through, so you can take your emotional manipulation and shove it right up your ass, Jace Adams. I know what I’m doing.”
He stared at me in surprise and outrage, but I was shaking with emotion and needed to get the fuck away from him before I spilled more secrets than just what Angelo and I were up to here.
I started storming away, but he easily caught up and grabbed my wrist again.
“Rose, stop,” he ordered, yanking me to a halt. “Just tell me truthfully, is that Angelo’s baby?”
I gave a short, cold laugh, then shook my head. “What does it matter, Jace? It’s not yours, this time. So what difference does it make? Go back to the basement and record a fucking album so we can all go home. Please.”
Panic washed over me in cold waves as I realized what I’d just said. It hadn’t clicked with Jace, but I wasn’t hanging around to let the pieces connect. Instead, I jerked my wrist free and ran back to the house, not stopping until I was safely back in my bedroom with the door locked.
Holy shit. Holy shit. I’d held my secret from Jace for nearly nine years, and just one private conversation almost saw me confess it all?
This time. That’s what I’d just said. It’s not yours, this time.
Because it had been, last time. The baby Jace never even knew about. The baby that eighteen-year-old Angelo had promised to raise as his own, lying to his parents that he was the father after I’d already broken Jace’s heart.
Angelo and I had both made choices, the only selfless choices we could think to make. Both out of love of Jace. We had wanted him to succeed. We had wanted him to realize his dream of becoming the biggest rock star in the world, and finding out his sixteen-year-old girlfriend was pregnant would have ruined it all.
So we’d lied then, and he’d never seen through the act. He’d never found out what we were hiding back then, just like he’d never find out now.
I collapsed back onto the bed, tears streaming down my face as my chest ached with all the lies I held inside. I hated this. All of it. But given the choice to leave, I wouldn’t. There was too much unfinished business with these boys… all four of them.