She nods reluctantly.
Taking a deep breath, I release it in a huff before going into the story of Malia, my issues with Bastian, Nathaniel Olin, and our parents. Xana did what I asked of her and listened, asking questions here and there to further understand the last several months and how everything I’ve known—we’veknown—has been absolute bullshit. At least most of it—I’m still working out the rest myself.
“So, you’re staying in the same house as the man who orphaned us?” she questions me, eyes glued to the floorboard of my car. “The man who has held their actual bodies from us while we chase ghosts at a fake gravesite. You’ve accepted this?”
Tears fill Xana’s eyes, threatening to spill over as everything I confessed filters through her mind. She shakes her head in disbelief, wiping away a stray tear that trails down her cheek.
“Our parents lost their lives because of a life you’ve chosen for yourself. You’ve put faith in a man who couldn’t even keep our parents alive,” she says through clenched teeth.
Her jaw snaps shut as the tears become steady and she sobs. I go to reach for her and she slaps my hand away, rounding on me.
“Fuck you, Liam. You’re all I fucking have, and you’ve been nothing but a selfish asshole my entire life. You’ve never once thought about this and what it would do to me should I lose you, too?”
A sob escapes her again as she reaches for the door handle in desperation to put me behind her.
“Xan,” I rush out, reaching across the center console to grab her, but she’s gone, slamming the door in my face before I can catch hold of her arm to stop her.
I watch as Xana retreats into Bastian’s house, face red from crying, and not once does she look back.
She knows now. Everything.
She made her choice, and I don’t blame her for it. I am a selfish asshole. But this is for the best, so long as she’s far from me and the choice I made, she’s safe.
My fist pounds into the punching bag. The conversation keeps playing on repeat in my head ever since we had it three months ago.
“You look like you could go for making someone bleed,” Lion’s deep voice taunts from behind me.
I drop my arms to my sides and turn to find him staring at me with that look he’s always giving me. The four months we’ve been forced to work together to find Malia have been as close to torture as it gets. And I’ve become quite familiar withthatin the last few months. However, aside from a few fights here and there, Lion and I stay away from each other.
So, why is he here?
Akila stands next to him with her arms crossed and hip popped out. Her long, white hair is pulled into a messy bun on top of her head and, despite the schooled expression on her face, the look in her eyes tells me she’s expecting this to go sideways.
I scoff, unwrapping my hands and trailing my gaze back over to Lion. He’s sweaty like he’s been in the gym for a while, and both he and Akila are dressed in workout gear. I thought I was alone and I’m a little disappointed they’re ruining my moment of silent self-pity.
“Not unless you’re offering,” I answer with a shrug.
Lion smirks before sliding forward, stamping his foot on my thigh, then throwing a powerful punch to my jaw. My knee slams down on the gym mat and I grunt as he steps back, his smile now stretched from ear to ear. Akila sighs and rubs at tension behind her eyes.
I massage my jaw, glaring at Lion, then spit a wad of blood on the ground as I rise to my feet.
“Alright, I guess we’re doing this,” I grumble.
Lion charges me again, only this time I’m ready. I block his punch and twist my body so I end up behind him, before kicking out so my foot collides with his ribs. He stumbles forward a few steps, but chuckles and turns to face me.
“Why are you still here,cop?“ he asks, bending his knees and preparing himself for my attack.
I smirk, realizing he’s testing me. Maybe fighting someone who has the power to fight back will help settle some of this tension, too. I need this fight. There’s only one way to find out.
This time, I take charge, rushing forward and jumping as Lion attempts to sweep my feet out from under me. He recovers quickly from the miss and lands a fist in my gut the moment my feet hit the ground again. I grunt from both irritation and pain. Lion backs up with a raised brow and makes a show of yawning. He then tilts his head and comes to a stop.
“Earn my sister’s hand, Brenner,” he taunts, calling me something other thancopfor the first time. “Prove to me you’re better than those other two dickheads pining for Malia.”
Caine and Breckin.
Fuckers have been a pain in my ass since this mess began. Donovan keeps Breckin on a tight leash while around me, but they’re not always together and the asshole tries to push me, despite me putting him on his ass months ago. As for Caine, that twat has been waving his status around as leader of the Irish mafia. Pulling strings and reaching out to connections as if this proves anything to anyone other than what a pretentious fuck he is.
Since Nathaniel figured out Martinez is only the face of the trafficking ring, our leads don’t end as cold as they did before. Each one sends us in the direction we believe will lead us to the person behind this clusterfuck.