The Lies We Tell (The Four 1)

“No, Winter.” Zayde’s voice, firm and steady, had my head shooting up. I’d never heard that tone from him before, not directed at me, anyway. He held my gaze, a flicker of remorse in his eyes. “We were wrong.” He nodded at Cassius, who continued.

“Yeah. Look. We had our suspicions about your mother, and your dad, for that matter, because we knew she’d had contact with him. And then there was you… Anyway, now isn’t the time or place to go into details, but we’d heard about your dad, and it seemed suspicious that you’d left home the same day it happened, and then West found out you’d been in contact with your mother.”

“That’s because I needed to get closer to her so I could come here to investigate!”

“We know that now. As soon as you told me last night why you were here, I was sure of it. You know, West and I have believed you’re most likely innocent for a while now, but it took these two dicks a while to catch up.” He jabbed a finger at Zayde and Caiden, who, while I was talking, had left the sofa and was crouched on the floor next to Zayde’s chair, facing me, his expression shuttered.

“There’s no way you were putting on an act just now. No one can act that convincingly,” Cassius continued.

“You’re not alone anymore.” Weston kissed the top of my head. “You have me. I’m appointing myself as your official brother now.”

“And me. Not the brother part, but we’re now officially friends. Maybe even fuck buddies.” Cassius nudged me, and I laughed, feeling like a weight had been lifted.

“I don’t think you could handle me, Cass. But thanks. And thanks, West. I’d really like that.”

“I could handle you. I’m very good with my hands. And did I mention the size of my di—”

“Shut the fuck up.” Caiden finally spoke. “No one wants to hear about your dick.”

“Rude,” Cassius muttered, but he was grinning.

“We’ll help you, and in return, you help us,” Zayde told me, and I nodded.

“Sounds fair.”

“Cade?”

Everyone looked at him as he got to his feet, crossing his arms across his impressive chest and staring down at me. “One thing straight, Snowflake. This doesn’t mean I like you. I don’t. Don’t expect us to be friends. But the Four will have your back, and we expect you to have ours. Understood?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Sorry, what the fuck did you just say?” His eyes narrowed.

“I said. Yes. Your. Highness.” I enunciated each word clearly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cassius collapse back on the sofa, laughing.

“I’m so glad I was here when you said that. His face!” He succumbed to hysterics again, and Caiden shot a look of pure ice at us both.

I shook my head at Cassius. “I really don’t know what was so funny about that, but as long as I’ve amused you, I guess.”

Finally, he managed to calm himself and lumbered to his feet, pull

ing me up with him. “Now you’re one of us, let’s forget all the heavy stuff for now. I’m gonna cheer you up by showing you around our house properly.”

I followed him out the door as he mumbled something about a hot tub, leaving Caiden standing there, his arms still folded and his brows pulled together in a frown, staring after me.

FIFTEEN

“Afternoon! You’re back later than I thought you’d be.” Kinslee looked up from her laptop screen. She’d covered our kitchen table with books, papers, and her laptop.

“Busy? Want a cuppa?” She nodded, turning back to her screen, and I dumped my bag in my room, then filled the kettle with water and set it to boil. “In answer to your comment, I had brunch with the Four before I came here.”

Pulling out two mugs from the cupboard, I waited for Kinslee’s brain to catch up with my words. I heard a sharp intake of breath, then a loud screech, and I turned around, grinning at the shock on her face.

“You what? You had brunch with the Four? How did that happen? What’s going on? Are you friends with them now? Wait, are you fucking one of them? Or all of them?”

“Slow down,” I laughed. “Let me finish making our tea and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Sitting at the kitchen table, my hands wrapped around a steaming mug of tea, I gave her a rundown of the situation, minus the parts about my dad and my suspicions about my mother. Her eyes grew round and her mouth dropped open, and she peppered my story with her interruptions.