Third Debt (Indebted #4)(69)

Please, let this work.

I hadn’t had much time. I didn’t have the assurances I needed.

But I’d done all I could to protect her.

Trust me, Nila.

I waited for her to raise her eyes, but she kept them downcast as she approached the poker table. It was a proper gaming platform with cup holders, chip placers, and leather cushioning for hiding our winning hand.

‘Poker Night’ used to be a weekly occurrence. The Black Diamonds, my brothers, and my father would set up multiple tables and play until those tables morphed into one. The stakes of each game were high. Buy-ins were fifty pounds, and it wasn’t uncommon for a pot to reach five figures before anyone won.

But now, this was a private affair. Four Hawks and one lone Weaver. Along with the disgusting knowledge of what would happen tonight.

Nila leaned over to restock the bowls, trying her best not to get too close. Her smell wrapped around me, spilling rich, fresh scents entirely too sensual. She looked so good. Her eyes were darker, her lips so f*cking kissable.

Damn her for being so pretty. She might’ve been protected if she wasn’t so tempting. Just like my family had damned her to this fate, her own genes ensured it would be worse.

“Thank you, Nila,” Kes whispered as she moved around the table.

She flinched, not acknowledging him.

My cock twitched; I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t handle my brother talking to her.

I couldn’t stomach what would happen next.

The intentions leeching off my father were too hard to ignore. Lewd excitement and salacious greed. A lecherous * who thought of nothing more than stealing money and pleasure from those vulnerable.

Fuck!

Breathing hard, I forced myself to slip back into the drug-riddled fog.

I’d tripled my dose.

Cut made the mistake thinking they kept me clearheaded enough to be controlled. I’d learned that they granted clarity to seek other paths. They gave me enough peace to look past the abominable thoughts existing in this house and become as wily as him.

His Will and Testament sewed up my future as a lunatic in some psych ward if I ever tried to dispatch him. But he didn’t have a safeguard if I played politics with politics…

Kes nudged me under the table.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, pretending to shuffle the deck. I hoped to f*cking God I’d done all I could.

I hadn’t had enough time to prepare. What would happen tonight would be improv and sheer f*cking luck.

If I didn’t pull it off…tonight would be a bloodbath. There would be no way to stop myself from slaughtering my entire bloodline—including myself.

So many things could go wrong.

So many unthought-of issues that could destroy my hard work.

Trust me, Nila.

Because you have no other choice.

Without a word, Nila took the used ashtray and spun to return to the sideboard.

Cut grabbed her around the waist, keeping her locked to his side. “I like this on you, Ms. Weaver. It looks rather…provocative.” He raised his hand to cup her breast. The wash of lust springing from him overrode my triple dose.

I shot to my feet, showering the table in fifty-two cards.

Everyone froze.

My chest pumped. My fists clenched. My body howled for f*cking murder.

Cut cocked his head, glaring deep into my eyes. In a heated challenge, he twisted Nila’s nipple through the gauzy shirt.

Shit, shit. Do. Not. Deviate.

“Something you want to say, Jet?” Cut hissed, imprisoning Nila as she wriggled. Her lips pursed, sickness swimming over her face.

I couldn’t look at her without drowning in everything she felt. Horror, hatred, hopelessness. She expected me to be her champion. To save her at the final hour.

I will.

I’m trying.

Daniel cackled, stubbing out his cigar. “If what father says is true, brother, perhaps you should leave. After all, you’ve already had a taste which was against the rules.”

Kes stood up beside me. His hand planted on my shoulder. “He has nothing to say. Do you, Jethro?”

I never looked away from Cut. This was between him and me. No one else. We were the main players; everyone else was collateral in our war. Unlike Cut though, I meant to keep everyone alive in the aftermath.

A headache sprang from nowhere. The standoff vibrated stronger and stronger.

It was Nila who broke the tension. “Sit down, Kite.” Her voice was raindrop soft and just as watery. My eyes tore to hers.

I had so much to say and no time to speak.

“She calls you Kite now, huh?” Cut shoved her away. “That’s a disappointing development.”

My heart seized.

Kes’s hand pressed on my shoulder, forcing my knees to buckle and deliver me back to my seat.

Keep it together.

“Not an important development, I can assure you.” Swallowing my rage, I methodically scooped up the scattered cards. “I think the table needs another drink, Ms. Weaver.”

Cut relaxed a little; Daniel laughed.

Nila bit her lip, tears glossing before turning her back on all of us to collect the cognac.

I sighed, shuddering under the tangled thoughts coming from all three relations. Each emotion f*cked me up inside until I couldn’t fathom my own conclusions.

It was easier to drink from the poisoned well than reject it. I would have to slip a little in order to win.