Page 111 of The Devil’s Lair

“Because Alexander was in denial about his growing feelings for her and behaved like a complete twat.”

From what I’ve seen of Alexander when he’s with Imogen, he’s besotted. I can’t imagine a time when he wasn’t.

“I took her under my wing and fed her gossip to cheer her up.”

“What kind of gossip?”

“The salacious kind.” He grins and winks. “Put it this way, The Lair offers me a certain… behind the scenes look into polite society.”

“Do you miss going regularly?”

He twists his lips to one side, which I take to mean he’s giving my question proper consideration. “Sometimes, yes. It’s been a huge part of my life, and it saved my sanity more than once. ” He bends his head and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “Maybe one day, we can go again. I rather like the idea of watching you.”

A shiver of pleasure skates up my spine, and my stomach twists. “I might like that.”

I scan the sea of faces, landing on one in particular. Ice shoots into my veins. Tony Price. One of Marcus’s friends, and a man I never ever thought I’d have to see again. My entire body breaks out in hives, and I start to shake uncontrollably. I can’t stop.

What is he doing here?

Tobias reads my reaction, then follows my gaze again. His jaw flexes, lips thinning, the genial man I’ve come to know disappearing in the time it takes me to blink.

“Is he one of them?”

God, he reads me so well. I know if I confirm it there will be trouble, but one of the first agreements Tobias and I made was to be honest with one another. I’m not about to break that promise for a man like Tony Price. Actions have consequences.

A single nod is all that’s needed. Tobias acts. Surging forward instantly until he grips Tony by the arm and drags him from the ballroom. There’s raised voices, commotion, attention, and seconds later, Alexander, Nicholas, and Christian race after Tobias. I stand there, frozen to the spot as my girls surround me.

“Who is that?” Vicky asks.

We’ve never spoken in detail about what happened to me, and every bone in my body knows Tobias would never have betrayed my confidence. But it’s time. These people are my family, and they deserve to know the full, awful truth.

“One of the men who raped me.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

TOBIAS

“Get the fuck off me, man.”

The piece of shit, whose name I neither know nor care to find out, flings his body around, trying to shake me off. Like that’s going to work. I’ve got pure blind rage on my side and enough adrenaline in my veins to keep London in electricity for a month.

Arriving guests stare with wide-eyed shock as I shove past them, beelining for my destination.

“What the fuck are you doing? Jesus Christ, you’re insane.”

“My insanity is the least of your problems.”

Powering across the entrance hall and into the part of the house that’s off limits to all but a select few, I kick open the door at the end of the narrow hallway and shove the rapist inside. He stumbles and falls down the concrete steps, landing with a satisfying thud at the bottom.

“Tobias, wait.”

I spare my brothers a glance, then jog down the stairs. They follow me as I haul our new guest to his feet.

“What’s going on?” Xan demands. “Who’s this?”

“A dead man.” I shove him again. “Move, or I’ll break your fucking legs and make you crawl on the shattered bones.”

Barred from escaping by not just me, but my three brothers, he makes the sensible decision and sets off walking forward. I’m disappointed. I’d have enjoyed breaking both his legs and have him crawl in the dirt like he deserves. Still, he soon will be in the dirt. Permanently.