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“Let me start, Storm. But have a seat because this is a lot to take in,” Riale says. I don’t sit down, choosing to widen my stance and fold my arms over my chest.

“Suit yourself,” Riale grumbles. “So you already know about what your father has been sending me to do overseas.”

“Yeah,” I confirm, clearing my throat but keeping my position locked in.

“Well, what I didn’t know, or I guess I didn’t understand, waswhy. I’ve known your father for more than half my life, and it just seemed so out of character for him to go from the man I knew to a fucking slaver.”

I swallow, my throat going tight. It doesn’t make sense to me, either.

“But I figured it out on my last trip, and of course, it all goes back to Lakeland.”

I shouldn’t be surprised, and maybe that’s not the emotion I’m sensing at the moment. Maybe it’s more like…validation. Resignation.

“Say more,” I reply, and Axel takes over.

“I went back further to see when your father got connected with these people. It traces back several years, and I was able to pinpoint his first visit to Isla Cara. But I looked deeper, and it seems your uncle Lakeland has been involved with them even longer.”

The hum of the CPUs is loud, almost deafening, when Axel stops speaking.

“So you’re saying…?”

Riale jumps in. “We’re saying that Lakeland was the one to drag your father into this. I’m unsure if your dad willingly came in or if he was blackmailed, but the end result is the same. Lakeland got your dad and Stratos tied up in some sinister shit.”

I hum when he finishes speaking, thinking through the revelations. It makes sense. Lakeland’s always been a snake…but I also don’t see my father as being so weak as to roll over to Lakeland’s whims.

“What could they have blackmailed him with?” I ask.

“Who knows?” Axel says. “I could dig deeper into it to figure out why, but there isn’t any time, and we have bigger things to worry about. Hence, all the intrigue in getting to this cabin.”

I sit down, finally getting hit with everything they’re telling me.

“It’s not just some crime families they’re connected with. Hell, you’ve known the De Lucas forever, and you know what they’re all about,” Axel says. “This is bigger. Think…think The Illuminati.”

I snort. “The Illuminati? Okay, Jay-Z.”

“Listen,” Riale says, his tone and expression deadly serious. “This isn’t a fucking joke. The ties these people have, the ways they’re running everything in this country and beyond…they’re not just part of the Black Market. Theyarethe Black Market.”

What. The. Fuck.

“Okay, so what do we do?” I ask. “If my dad is all in on this, then he’s a lost cause. Might as well distance ourselves and let him and Stratos burn.”

Even as I say the words, dread sinks into my gut.

“Insulate yourself, your mom,” Riale says. “Anyone you care about.” There’s so much weight behind the last statement, and I know who he’s thinking without having to say it.

Shae.

“And if I wanted to stop them? If I wanted to take Lakeland down and sever the ties with these people?”

Axel and Riale are silent as they share a look.

“Am I supposed to just let this happen?” I ask, my voice rising as reality sinks in hard like a knife.

“You don’t have to,” Axel says, fire beneath his words. Riale shoots him a look, but Axel seems to ignore it. “You don’t have to just let this happen. You can take charge, and you can win. You’ll just need help.We’llneed help.”

And as Axel makes his case, I feel the truth of his friendship, how he’s down to make this happen by any means necessary.

“Riale?” I ask, turning to my oldest friend. His eyes are hard on me, as if he’s thinking through a math equation.