Page 68 of Devil in Her Details

Dagger slowly rose to his feet, glaring at his brother. Maxen followed suit, rising to his feet.

“Leave,” Dagger repeated.

Maxen’s gaze flicked to Lilly. Dagger stepped in front of her, blocking off his brother’s view. “I said leave.”

“You’d go that far?” Maxen asked flatly, his stormy gaze returning to him. “You’d fight me?”

“I’d fight you all.”

Chapter Fourteen

Lilly wished she had placed herself behind the curtains. Barring the moment she’d almost been trapped by Calvington and her brother’s fury, she’d never found herself in the midst of such an intense gathering before. Honestly, it was both riveting and dread inducing at the same time. She’d half expected a brawl to break out in her drawing room. She’d be wise not to step in between a pack of panthers—she sent a quick glance at Reaper—and a cantankerous turtle, but she was afraid this tension between them would escalate to something they all would regret later if she didn’t intervene.

She didn’t want these brothers to fight.

“Dagger.” She tugged at his sleeve. “Let’s step out for a moment.”

His gaze remained fixed on his brother, Maxen. “They can step out.”

Lilly inhaled a deep breath. “But I want to catch a breath of fresh air. Join me, please.” His gaze finally turned to her, a profound broodiness she’d never glimpsed before in anyone swirling in the dark pools of his eyes. “What if Calvington or his men come and make trouble while I take a breath of fresh air? I’m so weak, how can I ever fight him off?”

That seemed to do the trick. His brow furrowed. He gave a curt nod. Lilly let out a small breath and turned to the leader of this pack. “If you’ll excuse us for a moment, we’ll be right back.”

Dagger followed on her heels as she strode from the room, leading him back to her chamber, the only true refuge in this house she could think of.

“Take a breath,” she said, shutting the door behind them. “They are your brothers. They just want you to be safe.”

His face distorted, but he said nothing as he strode to the window and gripped the sill with both hands. He must be angrier than she’d realized. Lilly was suddenly glad she’d intervened. However, she didn’t know what to do now. Here, she was out of her depth. She and Carlisle, while they’d fought and bickered quite a lot, had never quarreled to this degree. In fact, she’d wager this was no mere quarrel. This was . . . something else entirely. Something deeply rooted and affecting the entire pack.

They were the sons of a duke.

Illegitimate sons, but still sons.

She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but none could pass her lips. Besides the fact that this wasn’t the time, given how he’d blocked her when she’d attempted to pry back at the tavern, she wasn’t sure she’d get any meaningful response. Then again, he’d revealed that much. He’d allowed her to stay for the confrontation. He seemed to have relaxed the taut line he’d drawn about family. She’d certainly underestimated the breadth of their “connections to nobles” he’d mentioned. That seemed to take on an entirely different meaning with this newfound information.

They were certainly on the wrong side of birth, but that didn’t mean they had no noble blood in them. They, on the other hand, denounced their blue blood, however thin or thick it might be. That much was clear. They held a rich amount of contempt for the upper crust.

She studied the rigid lines of his back.

But his brothers had married ladies.

So many intricacies! She rather thought she could spend a considerable amount of time unraveling this particular puzzle and still not reach the end of it. The man alone was complicated enough. The man plus six brothers plus an enemy uncle . . .

“I’m sorry.”

She blinked at the man. “Sorry for what?”

He turned to her then, and her heart clenched at the pallor that had leeched all warmth from his features. “For bringing this into your home.”

“That’s not your fault.” She gave a soft smile. “Besides, I’ve learned more from you today than any other time, so I can’t complain.”

“That greedy for information?” he asked, a bit of amusement weaving into his voice.

She did grin then, padding over the bed and plopping down. “Always.”

He arched a brow, prompting, “Fire your questions.”

Lilly shook her head. “You know what they say about time and place. Plus, you have troubles with your uncle. It only makes sense that they wouldn’t want you away from the pack and distracted. Your brothers don’t want you to get hurt.”