Page 192 of Ruin Me With Lies

I fist pump.

He scowls, unamused.

“What?Were you hoping it would creep me out?”I ask.“I’m a Gemini, narcissistic by default.Praise and adoration keep my skin healthy.”

Shaking his head, he picks up his fork and mutters under his breath, “You truly are an incorrigible pain in the ass.”

“I do wonder, though…” I lean slightly forward.“Why are you being so…forthcomingabout personal family matters?This is the kind of ugly dysfunction that people go the extra mile to keep secret.”

He levels me a look.“If I asked you nicely to go back home and forget you ever met my daughter, would you do it?”

“No.”

“Neither will Soraya,” he says, heavy with resignation.“And I can’t kill you without risking a lot with her.Outside of being my daughter, she’s vital to this organization.My wife and I might not be thrilled with it, but you’ve proved us wrong and found your unrelenting asshere.

“Being ‘forthcoming’ with you is about making sure youfullyunderstandwhat you’re walking into with Soraya and JB.When those two clash, it’s like two tornadoes colliding.Everyone around them gets sucked into the vortex of their mayhem.People die.Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I scratch my scruffy jaw, take a beat.“How do you handle it?Being caught between wife and daughter.”

His answering laugh is full-throated.“You think I’m going to give youtips?It took meyearsto find any kind of balance between them.You’ll have to figure it out on your own, son.”

“From ‘speck’ to ‘son’?”I tip my head.“Not bad.”

“Listen to me.”The lightness vanishes as his tone sharpens.“SorayaByrdis sworn in to succeed as Chief should anything happen to either of us.We knew it would be her even before Sevyn was paralyzed.When he was out torturing animals and shooting birds out of the sky, she was consuming knowledge like water, taking every lesson and every training opportunity there was.

“She learns at an impossible speed and operates like fast-growing, far-reaching roots in soil, always searching for more mental nourishment and stimulation.Youcannoteven begin to imagine what that girl’s capable of.”

He pauses to hold my gaze, as if to make sure I’m following.“One day, shewillbe JB, andyouwill be me.Byrdis the name that matters, that carries the power.Understand that if you continue, she’ll never be a Castello, butyouwill be a Byrd.This is your last chance to go back home,son.Because once you step into this ring, it’s sealed.There’s no getting out.That retirement plan you’ve got—the private island off the Atlantic, the grandiose villa you’re building there?Yeah…that life won’t happen if you choose her.”

My answering chuckle is dry.Lifeless.“Damn,Pops, you’re really working hard to scare me off, huh?”I look away, then back.“I’m not sitting here with unhealed ribs, a busted nose, and a bruised body just for the fuck of it.Before I began searching for her, I put all my affairs in order.Every lead I chased, I did it prepared to walk into a trap and breathe my last.

“I knew whoever she turned out to be, it would either be the death of me, or the greatest experience of my life.I’ve been prepared to accept her, all of her, no matter what her story was.And even now, hearing it all, nothing’s changed.I want itallwith her.”

Pavlov’s nostrils flare with clear displeasure.

Damn.This man doesnotwant me as his son-in-law.Tough luck.Because I’m not backing off.

“Sir,” a voice says from behind.

Pavlov’s irritated glare shifts to the right, then he nods.A mask member appears at the table in seconds.

“What is it?”Pavlov asks.

When the man hesitates, clearly on account of my presence, Pavlov waves a hand, impatient.“He’s fine.Speak.”

“Derra-5 was just attacked.”

“Ah, for Pete’s sake.”Pavlov shoves to his feet.“How does she know where he is?Wejustmoved him.”

“Sevyn remains unharmed,” the man assures him.“For now.”

Pavlov picks up his phone and flicks urgent eyes at me.“Tell me something that’s just between you and Soraya?”

“What?”I frown.“Why?What’s going on?”

“She thinks you’re dead, and now she’s going after her brother for revenge,” he grits out.“Tell me.A phrase, a word, an object.Something.”

“Why not just let me talk to her on the phone?”