“She’s not a woman, Rose. She’s a pit viper.” Theo’s voice holds no trace of humor as he stands up, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Well, whatever she is, she’s not like any of the other competitors in the game,” I insist. “She’s got tits and a vagina, and so do I. She’s obviously playing this game differently than anyone else, and we need to know what she wants. Maybe there’s a bargain that can be struck, something we can do to get her to drop this engagement. Because if she forces your hand…” My gaze slides to Marcus, and I let him see the raw pain on my face, for once not even trying to hide my emotions around him. Not like I used to. “I’m not letting you die over this.”
He stares at me for a long moment, his expression hard to read. I can practically hear Ryland’s teeth grinding together, and I know he’s probably regretting the day he let me get involved in this shit at all.
But I meant what I said. Victoria is playing a different angle than any of the men in the game are. She brought her own fucking deck of cards, and I’ve got a better chance of being able to play against her than they do.
Because I get it. As much as I despise her, I fucking get it.
She was thrust into a violent competition with astronomical stakes against a bunch of burly alpha men, and while she’s obviously no weakling, she must’ve realized that her odds of winning are greater off the battlefield than on it.
Her best odds of winning are by manipulating the game itself into her favor.
Marcus is quiet for so long that it makes my skin prickle uncomfortably. I remember my blowup with Ryland over whether or not I should be involved in all of this. I’ll go toe-to-toe with Marcus about it if I have to, but I really don’t fucking want to.
He’s supposed to be healing. And I have a feeling if the two of us fight about this, it’s gonna be long and messy and painful as fuck. I feel like an exposed nerve right now, all my emotions too close to the surface, and I can see the same look in his eyes.
Finally, he clenches his hand into a fist. “Okay. You want to talk to her? Fine. But I’m coming with you, angel, and if she so much as lays a goddamn finger on you, I’ll end her right then and there.”
I nod, my stomach relaxing a little.
He hates it, but he’ll let me try. It’s the best I’m gonna get.
* * *
Theo and Ryland stay home while Marcus borrows Theo’s car to take me to Victoria’s place.
They both wanted to come, but I knew the odds of violence erupting would increase exponentially with all three of them there with me. They’re all fucking pissed at Victoria, and they’ve all been under a fuckton of strain over the past few weeks. They’re on a hair-trigger, and it’s not worth taking that risk.
Marcus is silent on the drive over, stewing in his own thoughts. I couldn’t say exactly what they are, but his grip on the steering wheel is so tight that I’m pretty sure he’s imagining it’s Victoria’s neck.
She lives closer to Theo’s place than I expected, and the drive only takes us twenty minutes. It makes me wonder how many of the other competitors live in the same general area of Halston.
It wouldn’t surprise me. The city is pretty divided between the “haves” and the “have nots,” and everyone in the game is wealthy and well-connected somehow.
When Marcus pulls up outside her place, I stare out the window at it, blinking in surprise. Not because of how huge and elaborate it is, but because it’s neither of those things. It’s nice—modern and classy—but from the way Victoria carried herself at the party last night, I would’ve expected her to live in a fucking palace.
She carried herself like a queen. Like someone who’s had everything she could ever want handed to her all her life. But that’s not true. I remember what Theo told me about her, how she grew up with practically nothing before her family found their way into massive amounts of wealth.
Maybe that’s why her house isn’t some monstrosity dripping in gold. People who know what it’s like to go hungry tend to value what they have more than people who’ve never wanted for anything—at least, in my experience.
They’re also scrappy as fuck, which is normally a quality I admire. But it’s hard to muster up even grudging respect when this bitch wants to marry the man I’m falling in love with.
Marcus cuts the engine, then turns to me, his eyes burning. “You sure about this, angel?”
“Yes.” There’s no hesitation or doubt in my voice.
He curses under his breath. “Dammit. I swore to fuckin’ god I was done letting you step in front of bullets for me. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s what Victoria is. She’s a stray goddamn bullet.”
“No,” I say dryly, echoing my words from back in Theo’s kitchen. “She’s a woman.”
The men all know Victoria better than I do. But I can relate to her on a level they can’t.
Not that I think we’re gonna braid each other’s hair and paint each other’s nails like this is a fucking slumber party, but maybe she’ll say something to me that she wouldn’t say to them. Maybe she’ll let me see some opening, some hint of weakness.
“Right. Let’s get this shit over with.” Marcus scrubs a hand through his hair before shoving open his door.
He eases out of the car gingerly, and I wonder how much pain he’s in. He told me he spent the first week at Victoria’s place so out of it that the whole thing is a blur,
