His Twisted Heart by Ellie R Hunter

Chapter Thirteen

Luca

Day’s pass, and I find myself thinking that keeping Victoria happy is becoming less of a chore, and more of something I look forward to, which works out better for me. Dad’s planning our trip to Mercy, and we leave tomorrow, which makes tonight my last chance to run Lily out of town once and for all.

Running my finger down Victoria’s arm, she rolls her head across the pillow with a sweet smile on her lips. She’s different today, not so much as her usual self.

“I leave tomorrow for Mercy, so Lily has to leave tonight. Dad wants a fresh start by bringing Harper home, and I don’t want Lily here where Mom has to see her when we return.”

“Are you okay with Harper now?”

“She’s my sister. And from what I’ve seen and heard, she doesn’t seem so bad.”

Rolling onto her side, she rests her head on her hand and asks, “So what’s the plan for tonight?”

“Mom’s throwing a little dinner party tonight between the Jacksons and the McCarthy’s. Even Zach’s new old lady will be there.”

“Hold on… Your mom has invited Lily to dinner? At your house?”

Nodding, I reach for my cigarettes and light one up. Inhaling deeply, the cigarette crackles as it burns down, and I exhale the dark smoke up toward the ceiling.

“After dinner, I’m going to offer to give her a ride home.”

“She’ll never get in a car with you. Not after everything you’ve done to her lately.”

“She will. I’ll make sure she does. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“And what happens when you have her in the car?”

“I’m going to scare the bitch so bad, she’ll never come back to this town again.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“As I’m driving her home, I’ll swing by the club and pick you up. I’ll leave my gun here, so you’ll need to bring it with you when I come to get you.”

“A gun?”

She doesn’t tense, and she doesn’t seem put off, so I can’t help but wonder why she’s asking?

“What do you plan to do with this gun?”

“I thought you were all in with me?”

“Oh, I am. I just want details.”

This girl should be everything I want, yet I still can’t bring myself to let go of Sara and fall for her.

“We’re going to scare the shit out of her until she agrees to leave. You can handle that, right?”

Her smile is so devious and wicked, it lights up her face and makes my dick twitch. But it’s her eyes, ignited with mischief, that truly turns me on.

“Anything you throw at me, I can handle.”

Suddenly, her smile disappears and her eyes dull.

“What?”

“N-Nothing. I just remembered, I’ve got to be somewhere.”

In less than a minute, she’s dressed and slipping out the door. The girl can be weird sometimes, but normally, she stays until I tell her to leave.

Tossing my keys onto the small table as I walk through the door, I hear Mom moving around in the kitchen. Leaning against the doorframe, it takes her a full minute to realise I’m here.

Spinning around to fry the onions, she jumps when she sees me.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now. Why are you cooking at three in the afternoon?”

I didn’t think anyone was coming till 7:30.

“I want to make sure everything is perfect.”

That’s crazy. Mom’s food is always delicious.

“Perfect for who? Are we having the queen over?”

Her scowl does little to intimidate me.

“You’re well aware of who’s coming over for dinner.”

“So this is for Lily’s benefit? Or are we gonna poison her food and watch her plummet face-first onto her plate?”

“Why do I think you’d actually like that to happen?”

I shrug. I wouldn’t mind it. It certainly wouldn’t put me off my food.

“Why go to all this trouble for her? You have fuck all to prove, Mom.”

“I’m not proving anything.”

“No?”

Dumping the knife on the chopping board with a little more force than necessary, she turns to me and sighs.

“I’m not competing against her or anything like that. I just… I want everyone to see I’m above the shit going on.”

“But you’re what? Dying on the inside?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” she scolds, returning to chopping the peppers.

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this for her.”

“Then let me make it clear. Lily fucking McCarthy will not now, or ever, get the better of me. She’s nothing to me. She’s just Slade’s sister, and someone I’ll have to see around from time to time.”

“But if you didn’t have to, you would be happier?” I hedge.

“Since Harper married into the club, and Slade’s paying her bills, I don’t see her leaving any time soon.”

Getting rid of Lily tonight is definitely the right thing to do, and I’m going to make sure my mom never has to lay eyes on her again.