“I’ll go,” Lachlan murmurs, brushing past my shoulder and walking over to the chair.
“Saving the best for last, I see,” Sterling grits out, eyes twinkling with rage as Lachlan sits down. “Very well. Let’s hear your confession, Lachlan Weir.”
Unlike the others, Lachlan sits up straight and glowers at Sterling. The other Lords are observing from the opposite wall, and I notice Harlow holding hands with Theo. For a second, I let myself envisionthatlife–being here, being with Otto, Max, Lachlan, and Alex–inthatway.
But then I remember, I’m going to die today.
Because there’s no way inhellthey’re ever going to find out about me and my past life.
CHAPTER 19
Alex
I’m still shaking when I rejoin Astern, Otto, and Max. I don’t know Lachlan well but I admire how composed he looks. It’s almost like he’s completely unfazed by all of this, but I suppose when you spend a decade in prison, nothing bothers you anymore. I take a few steadying breaths as Sterling taps the manila folder in his hand.
“Twelve years ago, when I was sixteen, I was dating my foster sister,” Lachlan begins. “We were both assigned to this family in Essex, and we lived there for four years before…” He looks down. “Anyway, this particular family had several children already. Abby was only a few months younger than me, so we sort of grew up together. Our foster brother, Jack, was wrapped up in drugs and alcohol. He’d steal from our foster parents all the time, and he was often high or drunk. He’d been kicked out of schools and he had no support… our foster parents certainly didn’t give a rat’s arse,” he adds, almost growling.
“Anyway, Jack started sneaking into Abby’s room. It went on for a couple of years, and since he was only a year older thanus, he still lived at home. She’d freak out, we’d tell our foster parents, rinse and repeat. He never actually…” Lachlan trails off, brushing his nose. “He tried, but I started sleeping in Abby’s room. We were already dating at that point. It felt… endless. We felt completely alone–our anger at the system and our parents… at Jack… we wanted out.”
“One night, we decided to leave, but Jack overheard our plan and outed us to our foster parents. They threatened to separate Abby and me–to put me in another home. So that night, Abby and I followed Jack to his drug deal with the intent to record it and send it to the police. We wanted revenge, and he felt like the only person standing in our way. But things went awry, and Abby got stabbed. She d–she died in my arms,” Lachlan finishes, his voice hoarse.
“Holy shit,” Astern whispers from next to me.
I study the man sitting in the chair–the way his energy is so big, the way he seems so strong–and yet, there’s a reason. My chest aches when I think of what he said in the gym.
You and I have nothing in common.
He grew up in foster homes, and I grew up a Prince.
I wish I could hug him–I wish I could tell him that while I don’t understand, I’m sorry for everything he went through.
“Anyway, the ambulance was on their way, and I ended up beating the shit out of Jack. He died right next to Abby, his face smashed in. And it felt…good,” Lachlan finishes. “I’m fucking glad he’s dead. I only regret that Abby…” He swallows, his throat clicking as he looks down. “So, that’s why I went to prison. It was supposed to be a life imprisonment, but they let me out because of good behavior. I went back when I violated parole last year for contacting my foster parents. Apparently, I violated the terms of my parole by doing that.”
“Thank you,” Sterling says, nodding once.
Lachlan stands and swipes at his nose, walking to his spot next to Max.
“Shall we?” Sterling asks, looking up at Astern with his scary, reptilian-green eyes.
Astern huffs a laugh. “You expect me to confess my deepest, darkest secret?” She walks over to Sterling and stops right in front of him. “I think not.”
Holy fuck, she’s a bloody idiot for defying a Lord like that.
Sterling cocks his head as he considers her. “You think you’re tough? You think you’ll die with respect and integrity? You think your secret will stay a secret as your body cools on the concrete beneath your feet?” he grits out cruelly.
Astern’s chest rises and falls, but she doesn’t back down.
In one swift movement, she does some kind of self-defense maneuver, kneeing Sterling in the balls, using her elbow to knock his chin back, and then she swipes the knife from his left hand.
I step forward ready to help her as Sterling growls and overtakes her. The folders and the papers inside scatter to the ground, and all the guys and I walk over to break up the fight.
She’s feisty, indeed.
She grunts as Sterling pins her arms behind her back. “Bold move, Ms. Hackbolt.”
“Come on, Astern,” Lachlan says under his breath as we reach them. Her hair is messy, hanging in front of her face as she tugs and tries to pull out of Sterling’s grip. “We all had to confess.”
Otto kneels down and starts to collect the papers, and I quickly glance down at him. We haven’t had a chance to talk about anything that happened between us all those years ago, and seeing him here, like this…
