Page 108 of Wicked Brutal

Kaiden stares at me. “What exactly did Roman say?”

“He noticed the pattern. That every time one of these families goes down, we’re fucking standing there.” Nobody says anything. I look at Kaiden. “Pennington.” Then X. “Lucian.” Then Danny. “Hartley.” Danny’s expression doesn’t change, but Clifford’s hand returns to his shoulder. “Roman told Victor the same five boys keep showing up around families when things fall apart.”

Iz slowly sets his coffee on the table. “Well.”

X looks around. “That’s not ideal.”

Kaiden’s voice is quiet. “Did Tremblay already know who we were?”

“Enough to understand what Roman was talking about.”

Dad leans forward. “Did Roman identify any of you individually?”

I look at him. “Me.”

His expression goes still. “Why?”

“You. He mentioned your connections.”

Arthur looks toward Dad. “What else?”

“That I’m smart.” X snorts. I give him the finger. “That I’m curious. And that I have a habit of digging into shit that doesn’t concern me.”

Kaiden looks at me. “That’s annoyingly accurate.”

“Eat shit.”

“Did Roman say why he was concerned about you specifically?” Arthur asks.

“Because of Dad, because I’ve been around all of this, and because apparently Roman has eyes.” My stomach tightens.

Dad’s face hardens. “In relation to Ally?”

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?” Callum asks.

I can’t help the tiny smile. “That I’m an asshole. That she doesn’t spend time with me.” I stop smiling. “That I barely acknowledge her.”

Dad goes still beside me. Thomas exhales slowly. Arthur’s expression changes too. Because everybody in this room understands what that means. Our cover is working. It also means Roman has been watching closely enough to know how I behave around his daughter at school.

Dad looks at me. “How did Ally describe his tone?”

“Suspicious. Not of us.”

“Of you.”

“Yeah. If Roman thought I’d touched her, we wouldn’t be sitting here wondering whether he knows.” Especially if Roman knew exactly how much I’d touched her. Or what was growing inside her because of it. “Ally handled it,” I say. “She made me sound like exactly what Roman already thinks I am. Rich asshole. One of the five. Not interested in her.”

Thomas’s expression softens for half a second. “Smart girl.”

Arthur looks at the other boys. “Which means nothing changes at school.”

Xander leans back. “Then we give him what he expects.” Arthur looks at him. X shrugs. “Five rich teenage assholes who don’t give a fuck about Ally O’Toole.” My jaw tightens even though I know he’s right. X notices. “So, you know. Us.”

“Fuck you.”

“There he is.”