Sinful Empire (Mount Trilogy #3)

“How did you get my note the night of the masquerade?” When I first learned that it was Lachlan and not Brett, I cut him deeply when I lashed out, and that’s not my intent here at all. But still, I have to know.

“It’s not a how so much as a who,” he answers carefully, and the possibilities riot in my head, my anxiety growing with every second that passes.

“Who?”

“Magnolia Maison.”





Mount





When Keira’s face drains of all color, I wish I’d been able to keep this knowledge from her, but I promised her no more lies. Besides, this is something she needs to know, regardless of how much I’d like to protect her from the feeling of betrayal no doubt charging through her system right now.

“Magnolia gave you the note? How? Why? I don’t understand why she’d do that. You said you thought I was a gift. It doesn’t make any sense.”

I wish I had better answers for her, but I haven’t had Magnolia brought in to get them. “I don’t know what her motives were, but she definitely had one.”

“But—”

Stricken. That’s the only way I can describe Keira’s face. I thread my fingers through hers and squeeze, not taking a chance that this could be a wedge driven between us.

“Magnolia’s a madam. She rose to power by having the best girls and the ability to procure anyone for any reason.”

“But why would she bring me into it?” Keira’s tone is beyond distraught as her hand drops, along with her jaw. She sits up, wincing at a bite of pain, her legs over the side of my bed before I can stop her.

I want to wrap her in my arms and stop her from moving, especially because I hate seeing her in pain, but this is how she processes things. I’ve learned that, and I let her have her space. For a few moments, anyway.

If only I could spare her this . . . but I can’t. She deserves the truth.

“She knew that the note was supposed to go to Brett. She . . . .” Keira trails off, and I can guess where she’s going with it.

“She suggested you write it?”

Keira nods, as if at a loss for words, her confusion and emotions warring on her face. I want to make one thing absolutely f*cking clear before this conversation is over—that I’m thankful as hell I got that note.

I reach out and take her hand, closing mine around it. “Look at me, Keira.”

Her gaze drops to mine.

“Regardless of how or why she did it, getting that note was the best f*cking thing that’s ever happened to me. It put you on my radar. Without it, I would’ve never known you existed.”

She swallows and nods. “That’s not the part I’m struggling with. It isn’t. I swear. I wouldn’t take back that night for anything.” She squeezes my hand.

Her words and tight grip fill me with another measure of hope for the future. We’re stronger than this. Stronger than the circumstances that brought us together. Magnolia’s motives don’t matter to me anymore, but I know they matter to Keira, and I understand why she needs answers.

Unfortunately, I can’t give her answers I don’t have. What I do have is a little more information, which I hope won’t cause her more pain.

“The note was delivered to me by courier, and I was intrigued. Magnolia said she had someone special that her anonymous gift-giver knew I’d like. She guaranteed me that I would never find another woman who would compare, and she was absolutely right. You are incomparable. Unforgettable.”





Keira





Lachlan’s hand squeezes mine tightly. I take the strength he offers, even as I’m faced with the undeniable shock of Magnolia’s deception.

Before this moment, I didn’t know it was possible to be torn in two completely opposite emotional directions. I’m thankful Magnolia put me in Lachlan’s path, but the stabbing feeling of betrayal is undeniable.

She painted a picture of a man who was scarier than the devil himself, and yet she pushed me into his path. She couldn’t have known how things would end up. Could she?

I just . . . I don’t freaking understand.

“I don’t know if my best friend was playing matchmaker or whoring me out.”

Lachlan squeezes my hand again and reaches up to cup my chin with the other. “Don’t ever f*cking say that about yourself. She played us both, Keira. Like a master. I told you she’s the best at what she does for a reason. She knew me. Knew what I liked, maybe even better than I knew myself. Then she put you in my path—the one woman she knew I’d want more of immediately. You were the ultimate drug. She banked on me becoming addicted after only one hit, and she was right.”

My mouth drops open again for what seems like the tenth time during the last few minutes, and not just because I felt the exact same way after that night. I wanted more. Needed more. Hell, I married the guy I thought he was the next day.

“I don’t understand her motives, though. That’s what doesn’t make sense.” And that’s truly the one part that has me completely stumped. Was this another case of Magnolia always knows best? Or was she playing Russian roulette with my life?

“I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t. Magnolia Maison didn’t get to where she is by doing things without a reason. She’s smart. Cagey. I’ve always respected her. But you have to know one more important thing.”

I brace for another confession that I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle. “What?”

Lachlan’s dark stare softens further, his thumb stroking my cheek. “Two days after the masquerade, I still couldn’t stop thinking about you. About how f*cking incredible you were. How you demanded what you wanted, and yet gave me everything.”

His words send heat pulsing through me as the memories replay in my head, dulling the betrayal as I focus on what matters more—where I ended up because of it.

“I went back to Magnolia and told her I wanted you again. Long term. Exclusively.”

“You did?” Shock rips through me.

Lachlan nods. “Of course I did. What you demanded and gave was completely unique. She achieved her goal. She knew I’d be hooked.”

Confusion surges up again. “Do you think she expected me to start working for her?”

“I don’t know that either, but when I inquired about terms and how to acquire you—”

When I wrinkle my nose at his term, he frowns.

“Hellion, that’s who I was and what I did. Women were possessions. To be owned. Used. And put out of my mind as soon as my balls finished pulsing. I can’t change that.”

“I don’t have to like that part.”

His gaze bores into mine. “Who I was, until you,” he says, emphasizing each word. “I couldn’t get you out of my head. You infiltrated my life. You changed everything.”

His confession soothes me, yet it doesn’t change the fact that Magnolia lied to me. But that isn’t Lachlan’s fault, and I won’t put it on him.

“So, what happened when you asked?”

“Magnolia said you were a one-shot deal. Out of the business. Needed some cash, and you only agreed to one night.”

The tightness in my lungs eases a tiny bit. “So she wasn’t planning to try to spread me around.”