DECEIT (B723) by Hazel Grace (ebook reader for surface pro .TXT) 📕

Kyson’s blunt statement immediately pisses me off. And of course, he’d know because Emmy and him talk all the time.

In fact, she talks to all of them all the time minus Blue, of course.

Emmy’s relationship with Mills, Marty, and Kyson is rock-solid. Nothing in this world could break it up. Blue is another story that we all know, and then we have me.

The husband who treats her like an estranged intruder that doesn’t belong anywhere near me.

My jaw tightens as a scoff rolls off my lips, gaining the attention of everyone.

Marty sends a murky glower in my direction. “I wonder why.”

I perk a brow. “Just because you two are butt buddies, doesn’t mean I need her involved in my shit,” I retort. “She couldn’t even get your crap together and right with Montgomery.”

Marty’s expression darkens at the mention of his fiasco and how I’m blaming it all on her. When really it was an honest mistake. Human error.

I make them all the time with her as the subject line and me as the body of the conversation.

“How the hell would you know? The way I remember it, you took off without so much as throwing up a peace sign and telling us all to go fuck ourselves.”

“You’re more than welcome to do that at any time,” I reply dryly. “However, she missed the fact that the man who was trying to kill your sister, had a son. How the fuck do you miss that?”

“People make mistakes. She didn’t do it purposely.”

I roll my eyes. “I’d rather you all go the hell home and let me—“

“Do it by myself,” Marty fills in, attempting to mock my tone. “Yo, I realize I might have a lot of pride, but you’re arrogant as fuck. We all may not want Emmy here with B723 but mine isn’t for the reason you think.”

“You don’t know what I think.”

“She doesn’t belong here because she shouldn’t be stuck with all of us fuckers,” Mills chimes in through a bite of his sandwich. “She deserves to be a princess or something like Grace Kelly.”

“She might one day,” Marty adds in, making sure he’s looking at me with his next words. “She told me about this rich prick that she met at a gala a few days ago.”

My body starts to undergo a raging meltdown where it involves Marty’s face embedded in the concrete and Mills’s mouth wired shut. I wait for my best friend to chime in on all the wonderful things about our counterpart, but he just continues to stare at me.

And what fucking rich clown is he talking about? That’s the main question here.

So, let’s back the fuck up here.

Emmy and I are married on a piece of paper. We got plastered, drunk feelings and thoughts were exchanged, and I’m the dumbass that came up with this grand master plan.

I’m also the odd man out on this conversation.

I’ve always been, but my reasons are more personal than I’d care to admit or voice.

It’s not that Emmy can’t handle her own because she can. I actually may even agree with Mills on the princess part because she helped Lockwood run a whole fucking country for four years.

However, I’m too selfish to ever allow someone to completely claim what has been mine even if I can’t open up to her. She deserves way better than me or anyone else.

I just won’t let her try.

Not completely anyway.

The thought of moving on, starting a new life, or living on some deserted island makes my heart thrash painfully in my chest. If she quits B723, that’s it. I’ll never hear or have a reason to see Emmy ever again. She’ll have disappeared out of my world for good. And all because I couldn’t and can’t express to her how much she occupies my entire mind and soul.

How much I love her.

“Good,” I compel deep from my throat. “Then maybe she’ll leave and the rest of us the fuck alone.”

My words are complete and utter bullshit. Emmy is the best and worst thing for our group. Her skill set is top-notch, but her emotions are her biggest weakness. We don’t deserve her but we all want to.

Marty slides off the tailgate, tossing his sandwich at Mills, who promptly catches it. Then my counterpart marches toward me with the familiar look of pissed that always seems to meet somewhere in our little chats.

“Gonna need you to start respecting her a little more than you do, dude,” he snarls, stopping when he’s only within arm’s length of me. “She gives a shit. It’s more than we could ever ask for. Unless—“ Something like disgust flashes over his face, his nose twisting from it. “—you just want one woman on the squad that has the empathy of a rock so you two could just keep fucking.“

I love B723. It’s like a damn episode of high school all over again with how quickly gossip travels between us. I hurt Emmy so much that I have no doubt she ran to Mills with how much she hated me.

I bump into Marty’s chest, giving him the only warning he’s gonna get for tonight.

“I suggest you shut your mouth. I’m a big boy. I don’t need to run my dick by you and how I use it.”

“You don’t need to ask for permission,” Mills agrees. “But keep it away from Emmy since you can’t seem to figure out shit to save your own damn life.”

He shows up at Marty’s side, brothers-in-arms, the famous two against one scenario.

“Kyson,” I warn slowly. “Come get your boys, or I’m gonna make them part of the ground.”

“They have a point,” my best friend relays. “You’re the only one that treats Em like…dude, you’re all over the place with her.”

I am because no one else got to experience her as I did. No one learned what it was like to sleep with her in your arms or listen to her breathing as she dreams.

“Is this the consensus?” I look them over as they apparently all team up on me. “I’m a piece