Page 77 of Lust & Lies

NOELANI

“BUT WHAT?” I WHISPERED, attitude evident in my tone.

“Grandpa has a lot of support from the Watchdogs and in the older business circles. There are still some circles Tristan hasn’t conquered. There are some board members who disagree with Tristan’s plans for the company’s future. They’ve gone along with him so far because they trust grandpa.”

“I can change those board members' minds for Tristan,” I told Aiden.

As soon as those words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. This was precisely the reason Mr. Park hadn’t wanted me to be with Aiden. I never took a diplomatic approach. It was always, “Do you want me to kill them?”

And the thing was, I was better than that. I’d helped Tristan change the board members’ minds numerous times simply by helping him tweak the concept of his plans. The old members of the board didn’t truly disagree with Tristan’s plans.

They only objected so they could feel involved. Sometimes, they simply wanted their input included in the plans so they wouldn’t feel left out. They were old, like Mr. Park, and they didn’t like being told how things would go by someone younger.

They wanted to feel needed for more than just their money. They didn’t deserve death because of that. I took a deep breath and released it slowly before speaking again.

“What I meant to say was, I can help him come up with plans that will persuade the board to see things his way.”

Yes, that sounded more like something a sane person would say. That sounded more like the future wife of a CEO.

“We both know what you really meant,” Aiden said, smiling down at me. “And I prefer your first suggestion. That’s precisely how I want to handle things. However, we’re not the Cattaneos. We can’t threaten our board members’ lives, no matter how much we want to. And trust me, I want to.”

I smiled, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

In spying on Julian, I’d also ended up watching his cousins, Orazio, Cas, Rome, and Bryce.

Not only did I admire them for their taste in women, but I also loved the way they handled business.

Sometimes you had to kill a few motherfuckers to make others fall in line.

“That’s why it’s a good thing Tristan handles that end of the business and not me,” Aiden added.

“He’s a great businessman. And he’ll be great as the head of the family.

But it can’t be an abrupt change. The older members wouldn’t buy such a shift.

Grandpa’s untimely death could create problems for us in the future.

Plus, we’re still smoothing things over from that case with the Clarks and our employee whose body was found in their office. ”

“Shit, I’d forgotten about that,” I mumbled, realizing I needed to look beyond my anger and focus on the bigger picture.

Aiden had just explained to me what that smell had been at his site, where he’d met up with Julian Cattaneo. I think it was savage as hell how Aiden handled the situation. Sending those bodies back to the killer was my kind of revenge.

But that revenge came with repercussions. The Park family wasn’t responsible for those women’s deaths, and Tristan was able to cover up that the bodies were initially found at their site.

Even so, the fact that one of their employees was found amongst the corpses meant some in the business world would distance themselves from them until the investigation was over.

It would also affect their stocks. If Mr. Park died during this period, that could raise more red flags. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

“I’m not saying we won’t make him pay for what he’s done,” Aiden told me. “He’ll definitely pay. We just can’t...”

“Kill him?” I finished for him.

“It would be better if we could get him to step down from his position and then maybe put him on lockdown, surrounded by people who worked for us. That way, he wouldn’t be able to hurt any of us again.”

It sounded like he was beating around the bush. I wanted to get straight to the point.

“If you don’t want your grandfather to die, you can just say it,” I told him.

For a second, he didn’t say anything. That moment of silence told me everything I needed to know.

“I won’t lie,” he finally spoke up. “Hating my grandfather the way I do now, it doesn’t feel right. Even after everything he’s done, I still feel guilty for hating him and wanting him dead. No matter how hard I try, I can’t shake this feeling.”

I sighed, pushing my anger aside for a moment to focus on Aiden’s feelings. I could understand what he was saying. I used to feel guilty for hating Ellie, too. Not anymore. But I could understand Aiden’s position.

No matter how badly our family treated us, it was always hard to treat them the same way in return. Look at how long it took me to finally get fed up with Mr. Park’s and Ellie’s bullshit.

Had they been strangers to me, I wouldn’t have endured for that long. I wouldn’t have endured that treatment at all. But they were supposed to be family, so I’d given them chance after chance to treat me better. They never did.

And I felt guilty for hating them. But that guilt, that wariness, that desire not to hurt the people we’re supposed to love, it proved we weren’t like them. It proved we understood love, respect, and loyalty.

And because we understood those concepts, it felt wrong when it came time to treat others the way they’d always treated us. Therefore, I was able to sympathize with Aiden’s position on this.

Yeah, I wanted Mr. Park dead. But I didn’t want Aiden or his brothers to regret it later, after they’d calmed down. For them, I could let go of my thirst for blood. But I couldn’t let go of my thirst for vengeance.

“Aiden,” I began, trying to find the right words. “If you don’t want me to kill Mr. Park, I won’t. However, we need to make sure he’s no longer a threat to us and the Hatfields. And who knows how many other Watchdogs he’s threatened and manipulated? Seo-Jin can’t be the only one.”

I wondered if now was the time to tell him about Viper and Scope. I now remembered the name of the betrayer I’d killed in the SUV. He was Scope, someone who’d fought by my side for years.

I never would’ve suspected him of betraying me. But he had. As for Viper, she was someone Mr. Park brought in a few years ago. She was a great fighter. She was usually quiet and performed well on her missions.

During group missions, she always listened and followed the rules. However, I’d noticed the way she looked at the Leader a few times. It was clear she had a crush on him. Was that her motive for betraying me?

Did she want me dead over a man? Or had Mr. Park offered her and Scope something to betray me? The other driver hadn’t been a member of my team. How many other Watchdogs had Mr. Park convinced to go against one of their own?

“What are you thinking about?” Aiden asked.

I was just about to tell him about Viper and Scope when a knock sounded at our bedroom door. I tensed, sitting up, wincing at the pain in my side.

“It’s probably just Gertrude,” Aiden told me, sitting up, stretching. “What’s up?” Aiden called out.

The door slowly eased open.

“I swear this woman doesn’t respect my boundaries,” Aiden mumbled.

“Why is the door unlocked?” I whispered.

“She wouldn’t let me lock it. I’m glad I already took the handcuffs off you. If she’d seen that, she would’ve tried to kill me,” he whispered just as the door opened fully.

Gertrude stepped into the room, carrying her first aid kit. Her gaze swept over us. I smiled up at her.

“Don’t smile at me,” Gertrude told me. “I told you to come straight to the orchard. But you took your precious time, and look what happened. You almost died again. Do you think you’re a cat with nine lives or something?”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, trying to look innocent.

“I’m not Sam or Aiden. That look doesn’t work on me,” Gertrude scolded, coming to sit on my side of the bed. As she slipped on some gloves, she told me, “Lie down so I can check your wound.”

I obeyed, smiling at her as she tended to me.

“Be careful with her,” Aiden spoke up, watching Gertrude like a hawk.

“I know how to take care of her,” Gertrude insisted. “She’s never been hurt on my watch.”

Her words clearly offended Aiden.

“She wouldn’t have been hurt on my watch if you hadn’t lured her away from me,” he snapped.

“Listen here, Aiden Park,” Gertrude started.

I winced, groaning loudly just to keep the two of them from arguing.

“You okay?” Gertrude asked, concern all over her face now.

“Yeah, just a little sore,” I told her.

“That’s what happens when you don’t do as I say,” she scolded, changing out the bandage.

I started to make a sassy remark, but then I noticed the tears in her eyes. They shut me up real quick.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered again, meaning it this time.

“If anything had happened to you, child,” she started, voice cracking.

“I know,” I told her. “I was reckless.”

“Yes, you were. But you’d also lost your memory, which is why I should’ve come to you instead of having you come to me.

I didn’t handle that properly. So, I’m sorry too.

When Aiden texted me after you woke up and told me you’d regained your memory, I’d been so happy.

Even Sam and Dolores teared up. They’re here too. Dolores has been cooking for hours.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, she does that when she’s nervous.”

Now that I had my memory back, I needed to apologize to her again for hemming her up against the wall in the kitchen.

“I didn’t come up sooner because I wanted to give you two some time to talk,” Gertrude told me.

“Why are you here now then?” Aiden mumbled under his breath.

Of course, Gertrude heard him.

“Because I had a feeling you were trying to keep her all to yourself. Plus, I needed to change her bandage and make sure her wound was healing properly.”

“You didn’t check mine,” Aiden pointed out.

Gertrude closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as Aiden winked at me. He liked getting under her skin.

She opened her eyes and, through gritted teeth, said, “I’ll check yours next.”