Lion shoots from the chair, grasping Kyle by the collar and yanking him to his feet. “What’d you say, motherfucker?”
Holy fuck. I step between the two of them, yanking Kyle back to his chair while glaring at Lion. “I get it, brother, I do, but we need to split this fair.”
“It’s no longer about Bonnie only,” Lion says, glaring at Kyle. “He had something to do with Olivia.”
“Who the fuck is Olivia?” I say, while everyone remains silent in the background. Good choice. Lion in this kind of episode never ends pretty. His eyes come to mine finally. “My old lady.”
His words slide into place and I turn to face Kyle. “Enough. What the fuck is he talking about?”
Kyle smiles up at me, his eyes flicking between me and Lion. He’s enjoying the pain he’s inflicting on us now. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, after all, all I have are secrets.”
“Why!” I snap. “Why play the perfect father all my life to turn into the villain?”
“Olivia Snow was my first lady, and only lady, until Jade.” I have to clench my fist to stop myself from strangling him. Hearing her name come out of his vile lips tests all the restraint I already don’t have. Kyle continues. “Had her since she was but a little girl, lost in the world yet only a few years younger than I.”
“Olivia would never willingly walk beside you,” Lion growls, and Wicked is standing on the other side of him now, holding him back. I’m missing something here.
“Well.” The way Kyle’s lips curl over his teeth has me fantasizing about knocking them all clean out. “She did, until things turned sinister and she saw how truly evil I was. But by then it was too late. It was too. Late.”
“What’d you do to her?” Lion asks tightly, his tone dropping to icy levels.
“Me? Nothing.” Kyle’s eyes flick to Jade. “Her, though?”
We all turn to Jade, who peers at us all in shock. “I don’t know what he’s talking about.” I see the honesty. We promised each other honesty.
Kyle snorts. “You’re all so quick to point the fucking blame. Not her as in she killed Olivia, well not really.” I watch as the corner of his mouth kicks up in a grin, his eyes coming to Lion. “Tell me, did you not wonder why Jade’s eyes looked so familiar?”
What the fuck is he talking about now.
Lion stills. “What the fuck are you sayin’?”
“She’s your daughter, Lionel. Olivia was pregnant when she left you. Pregnant and trying to fucking run.”
Lion stands from his chair and stumbles backward. “You’re lying, motherfucker.”
What the fuck.
“I’m really not. Get a test, but I’m sure you don’t need one when you look into those eyes.” A sharp beeping sound grows louder and louder behind my ears. “I allowed Olivia to see you, because by the time she had fallen in love with you, I had other plans and was building The Complex. I was busy, you fucked her right and kept her happy, and my taste was becoming more and more picky when it came to age. You kept her out of my hair, but you weren’t supposed to get her pregnant.” I run the palm of my hand over my cheek, being slapped with honesty is harder than I anticipated.
“What?” Jade’s wobbly voice finally breaks through, stepping closer to Kyle, but my hand flies out, stopping her from coming any closer. “What the fuck do you mean, Kyle? You told me I was dumped on your doorstep.”
“Well, fuck.” Kyle’s eyes bug out of their sockets. “Guess I’m a liar too?”
I grind my teeth, squashing this information for later. “Why? Why run me out of town, and Orson, and Storm!”
Blind thunder claps in the sky as I feel the first raindrop tap the tip of my nose. The smell of murder and damp asphalt is a heady combination tonight.
Kyle doesn’t hesitate. “To get you away from Jade. I knew you were going to be an issue the second I picked up on the love you both had for each other. I couldn’t have you taking what was rightfully mine. She is mine.”
I flick my knife between my fingers and launch it into his thigh. Leaning down while pressing my free hand on his other knee, I inch in close, until my nose is almost touching the tip of his. “She will never be yours. You may have been able to get me away from her, but it’s my name she went to sleep whispering at night, and it’s my name she screams when I’m between her thighs, and it’s my name that is engraved into her heart. All you did was fuck with fate.” I leave the knife there, pushing away from him.
“You did that to all of us to get us away from Jade…” Storm repeats, as if needing the words to sink into his brain. “Makes sense.”