Tacet a Mortuis (The Elite King's Club 3)

A sad smile came to her mouth. “Thank you. When I was away, I became obsessive with the memories I had of him, of us. I’d replay every little thing in my head.”

“I know.” I leaned forward and patted her hand. “We do that, replay the memories we have of someone because it makes us feel closer to them. We try to grasp onto every piece we have of them because were afraid that they’ll disappear.”

She sighed heavily, getting to her feet. “Is it weird that the fact that Tate and he have history doesn’t affect me?”

“Yes…” I teased. “Because I know you’re lying. You may not feel it right now, but if you saw them together it would hurt, Tils. And that’s not because you’re a girl, that’s because you’re a fucking human.”

“I don’t deserve you.” She wiped away a stray tear.

“Say that again and I’ll use your ass as target practice.”

She laughed, and walked out of my room, just as my phone started ringing on my bed. I blindly reached for it, swiping it unlocked and bringing it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sweetie! So I finished early today, are you girls home?” Scarlet asked. I could hear the echo in my ear, signaling she was in a car.

“Yes! We’re home, and perfect! There’s actually something I want to talk to you about.”

“I’m almost there!” Then she hung up, and I slipped off the bed and jogged downstairs.

“Scarlet is almost here. We need a plan!”

The door swung open. “I have an idea!” Scarlet closed the door behind herself, removing her glasses. She stepped toward me. “I don’t feel right about Bishop going into this alone, and like I told you last night—Hector and I have…”

I smirked. “You want to gatecrash their war?”

Her eyes shot to mine. “How’d you know?”

I snorted. “I was about to pitch you the same idea.” Would Khales be there? I hope so. Maybe I could accidentally push her in front of a stray bullet. I hate how this is going to go with Scarlet.

“See, this is why the Hayes men are dangerous because look at the women they choose?” Tate mocked, gesturing to both Scarlet and I.

“She’s not wrong,” I muttered under my breath.

“Ok, so here’s the deal. You,” Scarlet pointed to Tillie. “Obviously will be staying behind with the princess, but us three will be flying there around four hours after everyone has left.”

“How?” I asked, my legs tingling in adrenalin at this sneaky plan.

Bishop was going to kill me.

“I have a friend,” Scarlet announced, sitting on the edge of the chaise. “He owns an airline and has a private jet we could use.”

“Oh,” I chimed. “Of course you do.”

She gave me a dismissive smile, and then looked to Tate. “You don’t have to come if you’re not willing.”

“Are you crazy? Someone has to make sure Batman over here doesn’t upset the Joker…” She hiked her thumb toward me.

I chortled. “This is actually true. So, when do we leave?”

“That was probably the longest flight ever!” I exclaimed, sliding out of the back of the limo. It wasn’t good to be home, because this place hardly felt like home anymore.

“That’s because you couldn’t stop jiggling with excitement.” Tate got out of the car and helped Tillie. “Seriously, your love for danger has me second guessing our entire friendship.”

“Like you’re one to talk!” I shot back. It wasn’t until the silent engine of the car behind us cut off when I realized someone had pulled up behind. Crap. We got caught.

I turned around slowly, biting down on my lip and hoping I could sweet talk my way out of this— my face instantly fell into disgust. “What the fuck do you want?” I snapped, just as Elizabeth shut the passenger door. She was in a pearl white Lexus with chrome wheels and her driver looked half her age.

“Got yourself a new boytoy, I see.”

She winced but straightened her shoulders. “I understand why you’re mad at me, Madison. I guess I wanted to come see you before I left, to see if there was anything salvageable with our relationship.”

“Well, there’s not.” I flicked my hand toward the car she arrived in. “You may leave.”

My eyes went to Scarlet, who was shooting daggers at Elizabeth. She glided closer to her like a butterfly would if it had fangs, and her voice dropped to deathly tones. “I would listen to Madison, Liza, because if I so much as get within an arm’s reach of you, I’ll strangle you myself and bury you in an unmarked grave at the back of my home” —Scarlet grinned, whispering— “and you and I both know who your neighbors will be.”

Pain flashed over her face, then she looked back at me. “I do love you, Madison. I always have. When you’re ready to forgive me, I’ll be waiting for you.” Then her head bowed and she retreated back to the car. A twinge of guilt pulled inside of my chest, showing my humanity. I spent most of my life loving her, and now I’ll probably spend the rest hating her.