Tirone (The Night Skulls MC #2)(53)

“Yes,” she hissed.

My lips stretched with a false smile. “Here you go. That’s the big secret.”

“No. That’s not the whole thing. There’s a lot more to it,” she said.

Bad girl. “C’mon, Jo. He doesn’t have to know every single detail. It won’t make any difference.”

“Of course it will.”

“Fine. Full disclosure here, Prez. I’d lied to you earlier when you asked me about my feelings for Jo. I…might have had a crush on my teacher.”

He cocked a brow. “On Jo?”

“Yes. Like father like son. You weren’t the only one hot for teacher.”

“It wasn’t just a crush, Tirone,” she said angrily.

I rolled my eyes. “And I might have kissed her, too.”

“You did what?!” he roared.

“Easy. It happened once, but I learned my lesson when she slapped me. I told you, you got yourself such a good girl.”

“Is that why you really slapped him, Jo, or was it because you already had a boyfriend?” he asked her.

“Boyfriend? What boyfriend?” I feigned shock.

Her nostrils flared at me. “Laius already knows I’ve slept with a student of mine.”

I let my jaw drop stupidly. “Oh, so the rumors weren’t rumors?”

“Did you not know?” she rasped.

“I had no idea. Had I known you slapped me that day because of someone else in our class, I wouldn’t have given up so easily.”

“Tirone!” It was my beloved father uttering my given name for the first time since I could remember, and it was to scold me for her sake. My woman he fucking stole from me.

“I’m just being honest. Isn’t that what we’re doing here? Anyway, none of this matters because right after that slap, the Lanzas happened, and I dropped out without even explaining myself. Not only was I rude and inappropriate to her, but also I made her lose a friend and sent her unprotected back to the nightmares.” The wrath bubbling up inside me, at myself, at the entire universe, threatened to give me away. “I never stood a chance.”

I sighed and chuckled at him. “Now, she’s with you. My father’s girlfriend. If I didn’t ruin it, that surely did.”

“So you don’t have any fucking feelings for my ol’ lady? All these tantrums, all the jealousy fits, all the attempts to break us up—”

“Let’s make that clear, I don’t want her to be with you, but not out of jealousy or payback for Mom. She simply deserves better. I get that I’d never be with Jo in that way. In all honesty, acting on my crush was plain dumb. It almost cost me the most valuable friendship I’ve ever had. But for her to end up with someone like you…” I blew out an exasperated sigh. “I’d rather see her with Mark Chadwick.”

“For the love of God, Mark Chadwick wasn’t my boyfriend, and you know it. He’s your friend,” Jo snapped.

My stare held a blazing dare. “You’re my friend, too, and you never told me about the affair. If it wasn’t Mark, who was it, Jo?”

Her stare was murderous, yet her chin wobbled as if she was about to cry. C’mon, baby, say it. You’ve been a very bad girl. It’s the only way to earn your way back to be a good girl. Say it, Jo. Destroy the temple. It’ll be your punishment and redemption.

“Why are you still protecting him?” he asked.

She seemed to be struggling for a moment, but then she blinked the tears away and lifted her chin. “You asked me that question before, and my answer was that I didn’t want either of you to get hurt. I was afraid for both of you. Today, just like how I felt last night, I’ll keep his name a secret not because I fear for his life.” Her gaze tightened at me. “But because I’m afraid of losing you, Laius.” She switched her gaze back at him. “I’ll do it to protect you so we can be together because that’s all that matters to me now.”

Pain and darkness and blood. Pain and darkness and fucking blood. I’ll make you pay for this, Jo, but not in my usual way. Revenge is better served cold, and you won’t see it coming.

Oft expectation fails, and most oft where most it promises; and oft it hits where hope is coldest; and despair most sits.





CHAPTER 28


Jo



Whistling and applause greeted Furore and me as we arrived at the compound. Then it died when Ty cruised in.

Furore killed the engine and helped me off the bike. “Church in two hours.”

Molar tapped Furore’s shoulder and winked at me, pointing at his temple. “Smart lady. Welcome back.”

“Thanks.” A faint smile curved my lips. “You’re my family now.”

“Sure thing.”

Furore nodded at Molar, and they both exchanged a glance toward Ty. Molar nodded back as Furore twined his fingers into mine and walked us inside the house. As we climbed upstairs, I peered over my shoulder at the yard. Molar and the crew were gathering around Ty.

“What’s going on?” I asked, alarmed.

“Nothing, baby. It’s club business.” He locked the bedroom door. “Do you need to shower?”

I blinked. The underlying mockery in his question threw me off guard. Was it an ordinary question or a subtle hint that he knew Tirone was lying, that I was lying today, too, and the day at the mall?