Guilty Thoughts
BRUCE
I can't stop myself from glancing at my watch.
By the goddess, this meeting is taking longer than I expected it to, and of course, this is all thanks to Walter Hart and his incessant yapping.
The more I get to know this man, the more I dislike him. Easier on—before he proposed the idea of the wedding between me and Opal—I considered him a savior. Now, I see him for what he is.
What kind of person sacrifices his daughter the way he has? His greed sickens me. It's not like he wasn't successful—he was.
So, why did he have to go to such an extent?
"Are you in agreement, Alpha Prince?"
Fuck. I didn't even hear a word he said.
"Yes," I answer, opting to go down the easier route. If I end up disagreeing with whatever it is he said, I can always change my mind later on.
I'm the Alpha Prince, after all.
"Good," he says, smiling broadly. It's only me and him, because what we're planning has to be kept a secret until the last possible second. "I'm glad."
I rise and he does the same time. We shake hands, but for some reason, touching him makes me feel dirty. Impure.
"Kyle Dresmond and his pack of mutts will be brought down," he says confidently, referring to the leader of the rogues—the very man who's moving against us and threatening the peace of the city.
The man who arranged for my father to be shot.
Hell, maybe he did it himself. I guess I'll never know.
"That's what we're fighting toward, isn't it?" I reply coldly.
"How's Opal? Is she behaving and adapting well to her new home?"
Just when I thought he couldn't piss me off more. "She's perfectly fine. We're not mistreating her, in case that's what you're wondering."
I have a feeling he wouldn't care even if we were.
"No, of course not. I know you're a civilized man and that you'd never do such a thing. That's beneath you."
"I'll see you next time," I say dismissively.
The man leaves my office, but even so, I don't feel like I've quite gotten rid of him. I pour myself a drink and gulp it down in one go.
The door behind me opens and the person doesn't knock. I already know that it's one of my siblings.
"And? How did that go?"
"Don't even ask," I grumble.
"I hate that man," Quinton states as he moves closer to me. "Hey, pour me one of those, will you?"
I pour him some whiskey, and we stand drinking it. Quinton's eyes are on my face, though. I wonder if there's something he wants to say to me.
I'm right. "If I tell you something, are you going to be mad?"
I already know it's something that's going to drive me mad with rage. "Just tell me what it is, Quint."
"Opal," he says. The sound of her name leaving his lips just doesn't sit well with me.
He falls silent afterward. I lose my patience. "What about her?"
"Would you be upset if I told you that I feel shitty about everything that's going on?" he asks. He seems so sincere that my anger just fades away.
I sigh and run a hand down my face. "I feel like crap about it, too."
"That's not all."
I cut him a look.
"I think I'm starting to have feelings for her," he admits. "Dammit, Bruce. I don't know how or why it happened—I look at her and it's like I'm seconds away from telling her the whole fucking truth. It's not fair to her. She doesn't deserve what's going to happen to her."
"This isn't your call to make, Quinton," I say, touching on that point so I don't have to get to the root of the matter. Did he say he's developing feelings for her? Feelings? "I think it's best if you stay out of this."
His eyes are hard as he says to me, "It's cowardly to use a woman so innocent as a means to an end."
"You don't think I know what?" I ask angrily. "Just stay out of this. Everything is depending on her. On this. Until we have a good plan, don't you dare try to fuck this up!"
I'm breathing hard now, and I gulp down the rest of my drink so I don't end up saying something that I'm going to regret. Quinton keeps watching, me though, and it's unnerving as fuck.
Finally, I turn to him and grit out, "What?"
"Why didn't you come across Cassie Trevon that night at the hotel?" he asks. "If you'd done that, then we wouldn't have to use Opal."
That's the one part of this whole thing that I regret. If I hadn't been distracted by Opal, I wish I had been able to find Cassie—Kyle Dresmond's partner, according to the reports we've received.
"What happened?" he inquires. "You didn't really tell us what went down. In fact, it felt like you were hiding something. It still does."
"I didn't find her because I didn't find her," I answer dismissively. He's starting to get on my nerves but I can't judge him for wanting to know. At least he's curious about all this—as a big brother, I have to be proud of his instincts.
Even if it's at the cost of my peace of mind.
"That doesn't sound like the truth."
"What do you want me to say, Quinton? Why don't you go ahead and tell me what you're insinuating?"
He says nothing—just continues to stare at me with suspicion as dark as the midnight sky in his eyes. I ignore him and grab my things. I don't have time for this.
Quinton doesn't say anything as I walk out. We were supposed to leave together, but I've since changed my mind. I unlock the car, throw my things onto the passenger seat, then start the car.
I feel like shit. Absolute shit. Opal is the one person I can't think about without feeling like I'll lose my mind because of how messed up everything is surrounding her. The truth is that things have become way too complicated—I've gotten involved in ways that I shouldn't have.
Ways that could jeopardize the entire plan if I lose control, which I kind of have.
I should've kept Opal at arm's length, so yes, giving in to temptation and sleeping with her was the worst mistake I've ever made, but only because our relationship was meant to be strictly business.
Quinton's right. What we're doing is cruel.
And the worst part?
Without her, there is no plan.
Without her, we're all dead.