Page 129 of Wicked Lord

“I’m sure I could talk to Mr. Vanderhart. Maybe he could give you a loan or something…”

“Never,” he hissed. “Our family’s disgrace is not for the public eye.”

“So what are you saying? I did everything you asked me to. I found a new husband, one that I can actually stand and one thathas plenty of money to save us. He’s perfect. What more do you want?”

The whoosh of the sliding glass door sent my heart skyrocketing.

“It’s not what he wants. It’s whatIwant.” That voice had my skin crawling. I spun at the glass doors, and every muscle in my body tensed.

“What the hell is Brock doing here?” My head whipped back and forth between the two men dead set on controlling my life.

“I asked your father to coordinate this meeting as you seemed reluctant to take my calls.”

Hell yeah, I was. The psycho had been blowing up my phone since the other night at the gala.

“Because I don’t want to speak to you. There’s nothing left to say.” I flashed him the back of my hand, the diamond sparkling beneath the early morning sunlight. “I’m engaged to Axel. I’m marrying him. You lost, it’s over.”

“I don’t lose, Lorelei,” he ground out, stepping closer. Then he turned his shifty gaze to my father. “Do you mind giving us a moment of privacy, Grayson?”

Grayson. Not senator, not even Mr. Battenberg.

Clearly, Brock Haversham thought he held all the power here. Well, I was about to burst his little bubble.

“Of course.” My dad scurried away like a scared little rat.

Unbelievable.

I slapped my hands on my hips and glared up at the asshole. “What do you want, Brock?”

“I came to save you from making a grave mistake.”

“Oh, really and what’s that?”

A dark gleam flashed across his icy blue eyes. “I couldn’t in good conscience just stand by and watch as you married a murderer.”

For the second time in a span of minutes, my stomach hit the soles of my sandals. A whirlwind of images raced through my mind. That house we’d broken into. Axel acting shady. Vaughn’s veiled threats.

I drew in a breath and hardened my resolve. No, it couldn’t be. Axel would never.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I gritted out.

He crept closer, a sinister smile curling his thin lips. “I had a feeling you didn’t know… Your little golden boy isn’t quite as shiny as he would have you believe.”

“If you have something to say, just spit it out, Brock. I don’t have all day.” I was impressed with the calmness in my tone because my insides were twisted into a monster-sized knot.

He reached into his gray slacks and pulled out his phone, his smug expression almost too much to bear as he scrolled to a video and pressed play.

The bluffs appeared under a pitch sky lit up by a million stars. Hushed voices and wicked laughter echoed in the darkness, a few of them I clearly recognized. Killian, Slate, Gage and… Axel.

Goosebumps rippled across my flesh as I watched Axel push a drunk pledge close to the edge of the cliff.

“Don’t be such a pussy.” Axel laughed, the cruel sound sharp and biting, and nothing like the man I knew. He took a long chug from the bottle of vodka, swaying. “You want to be like us, right?”

I reached for the phone, needing to see the horror unfold up close. A guy wavered in the darkness, a sickly pallor coating his sallow cheeks. The kid teetered on the edge, and my heart kicked at my ribcage.No… Axel moved closer, taunting and teasing, swinging the vodka bottle an inch from his face.

Ax took another step, and the kid staggered back.

Then disappeared over the cliff into the darkness.