“Hey Killian, this might not be important, but I’ve gotta tell you. Callahan, he’s drunk and mouthing off about the deal with the Russians, and he said somethin’ weird. I’m getting him out of here before he blabs to the wrong person, and it’s probably nothing. Still, he’s praising how great a man you are for understanding why Cara lied to cover for him and how great you are for looking past all that and still going on with the wedding. He says he thought when he confessed to her about the war, it would have ended everything but—”
Ice rips into my spine, and the rest of Archer’s message fades into a roaring white noise that binds around me like razor wire.
His confession?
Cara knew?!
22
KILLIAN
Archer’s words ring painfully in my ears. Cara knew the real reason Callahan purchased those weapons. Sheknewhe planned war with my family… and she didn’t tell me? She intentionally hid it from me?
The white noise roars louder in my ears, and I miss the end of the voicemail. I miss the automated request to reply to the message, and it starts to loop, broadcasting her treachery once more. I grip the edge of the counter so fiercely that my palms protest.
She lied to me?
She fucking lied to me!
I fucking defended her! When Owen called it out at the meeting, I calledhimthe liar. To Owen, to Dante, I laid down my own name in honor of her truth, and it wasbullshit?! Why? Why would she choose to leave out that veryvitalpiece of information?
I don’t care. It doesn't matter why she lied. It doesn’t matter why she looked me right in my eyes andsworeshe was telling the truth, knowing she was lying through her foul teeth. I don’tcare.
The white noise reaches deafening volumes, and the kitchen counter creaks faintly under my grip. Pain burns through my eyes from how long I’ve been frozen, glaring at the coffee maker as if it’s Archer’s mouthpiece. I grind my teeth together as I close my eyes, barely feeling the burn of relief, then I turn towards my phone and grab it, ending the voicemail cycle.
Silence falls in the kitchen as heat flushes through me so forcefully that my muscles quiver. A band forms around my chest so tightly that I can barely breathe, and a spark of sweat steals hot across my shoulders.
Then Cara’s voice cuts through the red fog, and my pulse speeds up and I’m light-headed for a few seconds.
“Killian?”
Cara stands in the doorway, her eyes wide and concerned as she chews slightly on her lower lip. She’s freshly showered and dressed in a pastel blue frock as if ready to attend church.
“Youliedto me,” I spit out savagely and her brow shoots up, her shoulders pulling together in a tight line.
“What?” Her voice trembles faintly, and I slowly drag my gaze up to meet her eyes.
“You fuckinglied!”I yell out, short and sharp, and she flinches. “Archer told me everything.”
“Archer?” Her brow curls and her hands come together, wringing her fingers as she takes a few steps toward me. “So he’s been spying on me? Killian, listen to me, I haven’t lied to you, I haven’t—!”
“It was your ownfather,” I spit at her, and her steps pause, her face paling considerably.
There it is. The only admittance I need.
“Youknewthe real reason he purchased those weapons. Youknewhe was planning a war withmy family!” Each word tears its way out of my chest, ripping me open like a fresh wound. “Youknew,and you lied to my face over and over. What am I, some sort of chump to you?! I defended you!” I roar at her, and she stumbles back a step or two, her hands raised in defense.
“Killian, please, I— I didn’t mean— when he told me, I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know how you’d react! You— please, I’msorry! I didn’t know things would turn out this way. I was just trying—!” She stumbles over her words, tripping through lie after lie as I stalk towards her.
“Trying to what?” I interrupt again with little care. “Trying to see how best to play me the fool? Trying to wiggle your way into a safety net while your fuckingfatherwanders around my wedding, bragging about how decent a man I am because I still married his daughter despite his plans to start a war with us?!”
“It’s not like that!” Cara yells back at me, stopping when her back hits the door frame. She juts her chin out, her hands still held out to protect herself. I don’t care. I don’t care to listen to any more lies from that twisted mouth of hers.
She knew about Callahan’s plans. She learned them and hid them from me despite knowing he was threatening my family and me. Haven’t we lost enough? Haven’t we suffered enough after the Snake?
Now one has coiled its way into my bed, into my heart.
Cara darts towards me suddenly, her hands reaching for my face, and she tries to touch me, trying to kiss me as if that can fixanything.