Reign (The Sainthood - Boys of Lowell High #3)(110)

“He’s turned the cameras off inside the ballroom.”

“What about outside?” Saint asks as we all huddle around Theo, peering at his laptop, pretending we know what we’re looking at on the screen.

“They are still intact.”

“What the fuck are we going to do?” Caz asks, pulling a black shirt on over his head.

The guys are all dressed in their Sainthood attire. Black shirts, black jeans, and black leather cuts. Their freshly washed hair is styled to perfection, and they all smell divine. I wish we were going to a proper party, where I could get drunk and grope them on the dance floor.

“Such little faith you have.” Theo’s fingers dance across the keys, like a skilled pianist playing a piano. “I planned for this eventuality.” He sets the tablet down with a flourish. “The exterior cameras are off and the interior ones are on, like we agreed, but if Sinner checks, it will look the opposite, because I’ve hidden the feed behind fake images.”

“Fuck, that’s hot.” Caz slams his lips down on Theo’s mouth, and I swoon, like I do every time they touch each other. It’s still early days, but they are slowly opening up to one another, and it’s a beautiful thing to bear witness to.

“Careful you don’t come, queenie,” Saint drawls, noticing my expression.

“I’ve already taken care of our girl,” Galen replies. “Lo just came twice on my cock in six minutes.”

Saint eyeballs him like he’s lying, but he’s not. Galen is just that good, and he’s earned bragging rights, but now isn’t the time to gloat. “Stop talking about sex.” I pin them with a warning look. “We can’t afford to get distracted.”

“Lo is right,” Theo says, breaking his lip lock with Caz. “Like always.”

“You are such a suck up.” Galen rolls his eyes.

“We should never forget that Sinner is smart as fuck, and he has a way of being ahead of the game. We’re prepared, but so is he.” The troubled, haunted look returns to Theo’s eyes, making me nervous. “Don’t lose sight of that tonight.”

Anxious energy filters into the room. We all get what Theo’s saying, and we agree, but it’s worth the risk to end this once and for all.

My fingers slide across the metallic silver belt on my dress and strengthen my resolve. Sinner is going down. No other outcome will do.

“Let’s do this.” Saint offers me his arm, and I loop mine around it. “Sinner will be here any second. Let’s roll out the red carpet.”

“By the way, queenie,” Caz says, slapping my ass as we make our way out of the room. “You look fucking hot.”

I blow him a kiss over my shoulder. “Thank you, husband. I chose leather so we match.”

That sexist pig Sinner hasn’t supplied me with a fitting Sainthood wardrobe, so I improvised. Not that I’d ever wear anything that came from him, especially not something bearing The Sainthood logo I despise so much, but it’s the principle of the thing.

I smooth a hand down the front of my black dress, knowing I look good. This is one of my favorite dresses. The top is a fitted leather corset with straps that crisscross over my shoulders and down my back, showcasing some of the ink on my skin but not low enough to be indecent. The bottom half is black silk, and the skirt flares out in billowy pleats, allowing me to hide my knives underneath.

Theo’s phone pings in his pocket, and he glances at it as we make our way downstairs. “Diesel said they are in situ, and they’ll move into place outside as soon as we give them the word.”

We must wait for all the guests to arrive before we can signal the team to sneak on to the property.

“Did you tell him about our discovery?” I ask under my breath as we descend the stairs.

“Yes, and he agreed we were right to do nothing,” Theo adds, squeezing my hand.

Loud clapping greets us as the lobby comes into view, and bile rises in my throat at the sight of Sinner.

He’s dressed in a tuxedo.

As if he’s attending a movie premiere or a high-society gala.

Behind him, his board members are in their Sainthood cuts, so they clearly didn’t get the memo.

Tension bleeds in the air as we walk down the last few steps. Heated eyes pin me in place and all the tiny hairs prickle the back of my neck. I’m glad I chose to wear my hair up in a high ponytail, because this house is suddenly as hot as a furnace, and little beads of sweat gather on the nape of my neck.

Sinner whistles, doing nothing to disguise his blatant ogling. “You have grown into a very sexy woman, Harlow. My son is a lucky man.” His wolfish grin does nothing to calm my growing trepidation, but I put a lid on it, forcing my body not to react to his sickening gaze and his disgusting words. I plaster a sociable smile on my face. “Thank you for the compliment.” I almost puke on the words.

“Allow me to escort the lady of the moment into our ballroom.” He offers me his arm, and I cling tighter to Saint’s arm, discreetly rubbing my necklace to activate the recording device.

“You mean my ballroom,” Galen says with a glare.

Sinner chuckles. “Let’s not split hairs, nephew. We both know you’d be living on the streets if I hadn’t intervened to save you and your mother.” He casts a glance around. “Speaking of the junkie whore, where is she?”