"But his original team took over after Uncle Ronnie…died."
My throat aches, watching King trying to piece together what part of her life has been another lie.
"Until your father killed him. Say it, King." When King doesn't respond, Mara sighs dramatically. "You were too preoccupied with your daddy resurfacing. Plus, he couldn't really tell you that I was running the show, could he?" She rolls her eyes. "Your father was in my debt. He had nowhere to go after the shitstorm he caused earlier that year. He was lucky I didn't kill him on the spot. He took my last living parent. Having him at my beck and call made it easy to keep an eye on him—and you."
"You were the jobs he mentioned?" King's eyes gloss over, betrayal shining in them.
"I kept him busy, yes. But then you got cozy with Weston Sheats. Why, Roe-Roe? He's not that—"
"LEAVE MY HUSBAND OUT OF THIS!" King roars, pulling forward. "Fuck." She winces, and my insides coil at the sight. The restraints are stronger than her fury, slicing into her forearms. Blood trickles from under the plastic and drips onto the floor.
"Kingsley," Mara chastises. Turning to her goon standing against the wall, she orders, "Bring me something to clean that up. And some bandages."
Her tattooed gopher jerks his chin robotically and tracks out of sight.
Tears stream down King's cheeks. I am the intended victim of this, and she is the one in pain—physical and emotional.
"Why did you stay with Mom and me? You and Mom never got along." King hiccups. She wants closure for things that happened years ago.
"Because of you, Roe-Roe." Mara kneels in front of King, placing her hands on King's thighs and rubbing them. "I love you. You are my family. I always saw you as my little sister, even when we were not blood sisters. But you had Kiwi. You were going to be okay. It was my time to be with my other family."
Mara swipes the tears away from under King's eyes. My friend leans away from the touch but, at the same time, lets the woman she had believed to be her (adopted) sister comfort her.
Tattoo Guy returns with a full medical kit and begins to treat King's wounds. Cutting one cable tie at a time, he sets to work. When the cut is cleaned and bandaged, he puts a new restraint in place.
"Cal is also our medic. You are lucky he is here and not one of the other guys. They don't know a Band-Aid from sandpaper." Mara smiles fondly at hersister.
Adrenaline courses through every cell of my body. "What are you going to do with us?" I lift my chin and speak for the first time. My throat feels better, though I would kill for a glass of water.
Mara trains her eyes on me. "My sister is going home as soon as we're done with Jennifer. You, on the other hand…"
"What did you do with Jenn?" King demands.
"Nothing. Yet. One of my guys has some business to settle with one of her brothers, so I let him have at it." Mara puckers her lips.
"When did you get so cold?" King inquires, resigned.
"I was born this way." She steps closer, stroking King's cheek. "The difference is, I love you, littlesister. You are the exception. You and, by extension, your family, even if your husband is friends with the person who prevented me from having the life I deserved."
"What do you mean?" Confusion mars King's features.
"If Emily hadn't gotten pregnant with Lilly, I would've been able to be with my mother."
She blamed Lilly for not growing up with her mother. Not that Emily would constitute a mother to Lilly either. She hadn't been around since Lilly was six years old, only ever caring about Lilly's biological father's money.
"Lilly didn't take Emily from you. You got to be with her."
"As an adult, Kingsley," she snaps. "And even after that, Emily's focus was always on my brat of a sister. She had your father check on her, who in return checked on you. I was left with my dead father'slegacy." She gestures wildly around herself.
"You could've left this life behind any day," King argues.
The familiarity between the two allows King to talk back, but Mara's temper is wearing thin. Her facade slowly cracks. "What do you know?"
"What do I know? I was a fucking stripper before I finished high school. Do you have any idea how many times we got our electricity shut off? Or ran out of food? Do you think my childhood was all sunshine and roses?"
"Lilly will pay for everything."
She's deranged.