have known he’d do something like this. He lured me in with formal words and promises. Hell, he even kissed me like he meant it when we were at the tree. I can still feel him on my lips, making the betrayal that much worse. He’s imprinted on my soul.
Stone lifts his chin. “I’m a man of my word, Dakota Wilder. I didn’t violate the contract. I did everything in my power to uphold it. My dad...who’s alive, by the way, thanks for asking...tracked my phone. He saw us going somewhere new and figured it was about the treasure. I didn’t tell him where we were going. I didn’t give him a heads up. My word means something. Unlike yours.”
I laugh, the sound bitter and caustic. “You know I could have killed him, right? He was within range. I had a perfect shot. If I wanted him dead, he would be.”
“Told you,” Wyatt says, smirking. He’s still putting all his weight on one foot, but his fingers are hooked into the pockets of his jeans.
“Fuck. Off,” Stone spits. We’re toe to toe now. Stone’s hard face, though gorgeous, is lacking any inner beauty whatsoever. “You’re coming back to the house with us.”
I shake my head. “Because it’s safe? Who fucking saved us the last time? If I hadn’t shot your father, Wyatt would be dead. I’m the one who got us out of that mess. You can hate me all you fucking want, but I did what needed to be done.”
“You exchanged his life for ours.”
“And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“But that’s not why you did it, was it? You didn’t shoot my dad to save us, you did it for the treasure. Why not just give Cole what he wanted?”
“Because it’s mine,” I growl. My family’s safe, and its contents, have been around for generations and generations. I can’t just part with them so easily. It’s the key to everything.
A devilish smirk tugs at Stone’s lips. He moves closer, leaning toward my ear. “Don’t act all high and mighty, Dakota. You did it to save the treasure, not for Wyatt or Lucas or even yourself. You couldn’t stand to have someone else find it, so you did what Cole said.”
I push him back, getting him out of my space. He’s too close to the truth, and I refuse to feel bad about it. “If I did what Cole said, your father would be dead. In my eyes, you owe me.”
Stone looks as if he’s about to come undone again. He can’t make me cower. He can’t make me simper at his feet, and he fucking hates it.
Instead of losing his temper in front of me, he walks away. “Get her to the house,” he commands before moving out of sight.
“Come on,” Lucas says as he tries to put his arm around me again.
I move out of his reach. “Don’t. I’m not giving in to your every whim again. I’m not your little puppet, and I certainly don’t belong at your house. I can find my own way home, thanks.”
I walk away, treading along the paved path that leads toward the gates of the cemetery, my heart sitting heavy in my chest. A pair of feet stride to catch up to me, and I already know who it is. “Lucas, I don’t want you around right now.”
“Ouch.” He sighs. “You can’t run away from us, Dakota. We need each other. We need to find that damn treasure.”
I glance over my shoulder. Lucas has stopped in the walkway, his disheveled good looks catching me off guard. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about that today?”
He looks sheepish for a moment, gazing down at the pavement as if he wishes he could eliminate the space between us. “Come with me. Just me,” Lucas pleads.
His words make my steps falter. I can’t deny my attraction to him—to all three of them. I can’t deny the fact that we’re linked, but I one hundred percent can make them stew over the fact that they ruined my life.
What a weird position to be in. The three people who actually started my life also destroyed it. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think about them, and until I do, I’m not getting snared in their web any longer.
But that doesn’t mean I feel good about ignoring Lucas either. Before I change my mind, I hurry down the walkway to get as far away from them as I can. The longer I’m in