I felt a light tap on my shoulder followed by a voice screaming over the music, "Can I talk to you for a minute, Tyler?"

I didn't have to look at the person to know who it was. I smiled up at him; the person was a gift to my sister. "Sure, man. What's up?"

Archer's silver eyes cut through mine, his demeanor did not really scream hostility but he didn't seem friendly either. I couldn't guess what this was going to be about even if I tried. There were numerous possibilities; he could want to ask me about Vicky or Maya. My bets were on the former.

No brother in this world would ever like to see his little sister get romantically involved with some guy although it was inevitable. Especially, men like me. But if I was Archer; I wouldn't let me close to Vicky within a fifty yards but Archer had always been calm, understanding and far too loyal in his friendship to consider me as danger. It also went without saying that he was the only man I'd ever trusted Maya with and that was a big fucking deal.

Vicky looked at her brother and then at me. "What's this about?" Her brow furrowed in an adorable fashion.

"This doesn't concern you." Archer told her quickly and then turned to me, "I wanna talk in private, somewhere away from this noise."

I pointed towards a private lounge. "After you."

Archer walked away towards the lounge in his confident strides, I decided to tease Vicky. "It won't be for long baby, I'll be back."

"Rest assured I won't miss your absence." She said rolling her eyes and I couldn't stop staring at her plump lips coated in lip-gloss. Her cheeks had a flushed and tinted pink, a clear indication that she was getting a little tipsy. It was very easy to get Vicky drunk and no one else knew that better than I did. My gaze dipped lower to her full breasts, which were cute and perky, bigger than the last time I'd seen them. My cock automatically sprang to life, and it was a good fucking thing I was wearing jeans with thick fabric.

"What the fuck!?" she exclaimed, almost spilling her drink. She pointed at her cleavage, "Why are your eyes down here? My face is right here! Stop staring at my breasts!"

I really fucking needed to get my head out of my ass before I did another stupid mistake because it seemed like whenever Vicky was around, I let my guard down and then I was completely myself, acting strangely, doing what I wasn't supposed to.

"My eyes slipped." I joked when all I wanted to do was put her over my shoulder, storm out of the club and literally fuck her until I blew her mind, which I was completely capable of.

But this time, my game had rules. She'd chased me enough when we were young and stupid, and I'd royally screwed with eccentric behavior and brash decisions. She'd suffered; I'd suffered with her and finally lost her.

I wasn't here to lose this time, not when I had a chance to make things right. The road ahead was filled with rocks and glass strands, but with enough determination, I knew I would be able to get her back. I was playing the game and I wasn't. I was chasing after Vicky, but I wanted her to come to me on her own accord, whenever she was ready.

"Don't forget, Lockhart's Legacy, Friday, suite number 506, 10 pm."

"You listen here, Tyler Lockhart! I won't be visiting you Friday night. I have other plans."

"What could be more important than me?"

Shut up, dickhead!

"A lot more things," She said, "Like meeting Noah."

Of course. Noah Fucking McCloy. The permanent Voldemort to my Harry Potter. The Volturi to my Twilight. The Goddamn Thanos to my Avengers.

I needed that asshole removed from our lives, and from this story.

I couldn't help when my jaw ticked and my good mood was evaporated. Didn't Vicky see that she didn't need Noah when I was here? It's when things like these happened that my head started having a severe pounding; I needed to get away from Vicky before I said something that hurt her.

It was a good thing I wasn't drunk because if I was, then I would be beyond anyone's control.

"You won't go with Noah. You'll come to me on Friday. I'll be waiting."

"Just don't," she said before signaling the bartender for another drink.

* * *

Archer was seated alone in the lounge and he'd poured himself a glass of whiskey. I picked up the same bottle and poured one for myself. After what Vicky had said about seeing Noah Friday night, I probably needed a drink more than anyone else. The room was sound proof, built for a group of people who were here to just talk and have some drinks. I could feel the faint vibrations of the loud music. There could have been a gun shooting taking place outside or an alien abduction, and Archer and I would still be unaware.

"You okay?" I asked him, tossing two cubes of ice into my glass.

He crossed his legs and regarded me over the rims of his glass. "What are you trying to do?"

I gave him my most innocent looks, "You tell me."

"Are you trying to seduce my sister?"

I smirked, "Which one?"

"Don't be a smartass. I'm talking about Vicky."

"Well, are you trying to seduce mine? I just saw you kissing Maya and yet I didn't say a word. What have I done to Vicky that's warranted such behavior from you?"

He matched my own glare. He wasn't the type to look away or be intimidated by me. Most people avoided eye-contact when I was talking to them; Archer was never one of those people. It was no wonder my sister was latched onto him like a fucking leech. The Lockhart didn't settle for anyone lesser.

"You fucked up my sister's life, and you know that well, Lockhart. You did quite a number on Victoria before you left and I was there to clean up the mess. Now you bulldoze into her life and act like nothing's changed."

"Because it isn't. Nothing's fucking changed. We just took a break for ten years. I told her I'll be back and here I am. I kept my word."

"And how many pussies did you eat between those ten years?" He asked me coldly. "There were numerous I believe. You didn't quite remain loyal to Vicky."

"Well, don't think you're quite in a position to throw dirt on me when you didn't stay celibate for the person you loved. You're quite the hypocrite, aren't you? And as for Vicky, I never asked her to stop looking elsewhere; she had all the time and liberty to do so. Find a man to fuck, but ultimately, I told her I was taking her home. When I was back, she was mine. It wasn't my fault if she decided to ignore the entire male population of Cold-Bay."

"You arrogant little motherf**ker!" he cursed.

I downed the drink in one gulp and poured myself another glass. What the hell was wrong with these people?

"You haven't changed. Not one bit. You're still the same selfish guy I used to know, the one who destroyed everything." Archer stated with gritted teeth.

"What is wrong with you, man?" I asked him. "We FaceTimed before I came back from London, and you seemed pretty cool with me coming back to Cold-Bay. I told you why I was coming, so what are you giving me all this shit for?"

"For one, you never said anything about pursuing Vicky. You told me you would come back and apologize and leave her the fuck alone. Now I don't even think those were your intentions exactly, were they?"

"Let me get this through your thick skull, Lane, I never intended to leave Vicky alone. Like fucking ever. I loved her since we were seven when I stole that stupid key-chain of hers, and at ten I knew she would be my wife one day. I knew we would be married, and we would have kids together in the future. The middle part doesn't bother me much, the part where she goes on dates with Noah or gets especially clingy to him just to get me off her case because I know McCloy doesn't have a thing on me. Vicky and I will eventually end up together. You might as well get used to thinking of me as your brother-in-law." I laughed. "Have some fucking respect, dude."

Archer's jaw remained slack open, he recovered a second later. "Respect, my ass. You're bat shit insane. She'd burned herself once, she won't do it again. And marriage..." Archer laughed in a mocking way that I was tempted to punch my best friend, "It's off the charts. You could try getting married to her in your dreams and still fail."

"I prefer reality. I hope I've set the record straight."

"You most certainly have." Archer agreed, clearly amused, "I wanted to warn you about something, Tyler."

"What?"

"Vicky will hurt you, or at least try to." He said sincerely. "She is playing your game and giving you a chance to make amends, she will pretend to want the same thing and then she will hurt you like no one has ever before. I'm her twin, I know her well. She won't rest until she sees you cry tears of blood."

I smiled up at him.

There wasn't one mean bone in this man's body. I loved him. Maya was lucky.

My smile turned to a grin, "Do you think I don't know?"

That seemed to have taken him by surprise, "Just wanted to give you a heads up."

That made me laugh, "Why didn't you just sit back and watch the game? You know, get a large bucket of popcorn."

"Because I care about you two." He said simply. "You bring out the worst in her. She wakes up with a vengeance, seriously she does every morning and that's kinda scary. You should think before you consider marrying her."

"You do know how much I love playing games." The phone vibrated in my pocket, but I ignored it. "If hurting me would make Vicky happy, I'll give it to her."

Archer shook his head like he couldn't believe what I'd just said. "You're really stupid, Ty. I seriously think both of you are crazy."

"I know. We're a pair made in hell."

Archer appeared serious and that proved how much Vicky actually wanted to see me hurt, "If you hurt her again, I'll hurt you, Lockhart. I don't care if we're friends. You make my sister shed a single tear, and you're fucking toast!"

"Touché," I said. "It goes without saying that I'd do the same to you if you hurt my sister. On second thought, I'd probably do worse."

"As long as you understand. You have nothing to fear from me as far as Maya is concerned," Archer said before climbing to his feet. Before leaving he turned back to face me again. "You guys are not kids anymore so I hope you two stop what you're doing and talk this out like adults before doing some serious damage."

"If I stop playing now, she will have me in check," I told him. "Can't let that happen."

He raised his hands in surrender. "I did my part. Now I won't be responsible if you burn each other."

"Oh, I can't wait to be burned."

❤️