And he had the crystal clear sense that if he let what Devina was saying sink in, he was lost forever—yet there was a side of him that found what she was saying inescapable: Marie-Terese had been alone with Jim, and she had been with men for money, and if those the pair of them had been together sexually, that was something he wouldn’t be able to get over.

Devina’s voice dropped low. “You were always afraid of turning into your father. And here you are, getting played by a whore.”

Vin took a halting step toward her and away from Marie-Terese. Played by a whore…

Images of his father and mother were amplified by Devina’s words and the reality of what Marie-Terese had done for a living.

Played by a whore…

He focused on Devina, really seeing her…

“You’re so right,” he whispered, the truth revealed to him.

Abruptly, Devina’s face and eyes changed, sympathy warming her features and draining out the anger. “I don’t want this for you. Any of it. Just come back to me, Vin. Come back.”

He walked forward, getting closer and closer, and she lifted her arms out to him. When he was in front of her, he reached up and brushed one of those dark waves back from her ear. Leaning in, he put his mouth close and tightened his hold on her hair.

“Vin…yes, Vin.” His name was spoken with relief and triumph. “This is the way it needs to be—”

“Fuck. You.” When she started to yank back, he held her in place by the skull. “You’re the whore.”

Trez had called it. Back at the Iron Mask, the guy had said that a moment would come when he’d have to believe what he knew of Marie-Terese instead of what he had always feared would be true about a woman he cared about.

“You’re not welcome here,” he said, releasing Devina with a shove and going back to Marie-Terese. As he grabbed onto his woman’s arms and held her behind him, he wished he were in the master bedroom, because his gun was there. “Get. Out.”

All at once, the air around Devina warped, as if her fury were causing a molecular disturbance, and he braced himself for impact. Instead of lashing out, though, she seemed to gather herself.

With an eerie control, she walked over to the windows, and his first thought was sending Marie-Terese from the room. Unfortunately, the distance between the view and the open door was short enough so that Devina could close it easily—and the bitch was staring into the glass, effectively giving herself eyes in the back of her head.

“You can’t rescind the pact, Vin. It doesn’t work that way.”

“The hell it doesn’t.”