Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Down here, it’s just us.
“I didn’t kill your sister,” I say softly, staring into her eyes. “I swear on my life, I didn’t kill Lucy.”
She takes a deep, unsteady breath and lets it out. Her tears continue to roll down her cheeks. “Then what happened to her? Was it really an accident, like the school said? I don’t believe that’s what happened to her. I need to know the truth, Emilio, please. Tell me the truth.”
I slowly shake my head. “I can’t.”
She looks like I rammed a knife into her chest. “What? Why not?”
“I’m sorry. I just can’t. There are reasons. There are things going on—”
“Stop with the vague bullshit. Tell me the truth, Emilio. Tell me, you piece of garbage.” She advances on me and begins to pound my chest with both fists. She’s crying harder now, the tears flowing faster. “She’s the only person that ever loved me and now she’s gone. You know how it happened. Please, I came all this fucking way, out to this fucking crypt of an island to find out the truth. Please, Emilio, if you have a fucking heart, tell me.”
I grab her wrists and hold her still. I meet her eyes and let what she said sink into my skin. If I have a heart…
The problem is, I don’t.
“I can’t tell you.”
“You asshole.” She sobs once, twice. It nearly breaks me, but I hold on.
“I need your help first.”
She sobs harder and shakes her head. “What more do you want from me?”
“I don’t want you to fuck me just because you want to find out what happened to your sister, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The idea repulses me. I want her to come to me when she’s ready—when she wants it. “But you’re smart, Kaye. You’re dogged and resourceful, and whatever’s going on at this school, you can help me find the truth. You want to know what happened to your sister? Help me and you’ll find out.”
She takes deep breaths and it’s like all the rage dissipates. She goes limp and when I release her, she turns and walks away. I follow, worried, but she only sits down on a stack of beer cases and hugs herself tightly.
“I’m tired,” she whispers, staring at the ground. “I’m so exhausted. All I do is worry. I’m constantly scared. I just want my sister back.”
I crouch down in front of her and run my finger through the sand on the floor. “Do you want to know how I first met Lucy?”
She glances up and shrugs, wiping her tears. “Sure. Go ahead.”
“It was at a society party. She came uninvited, walked up to me, and jabbed a finger into my chest. She goes, you’re that mafia kid, aren’t you? I thought she was drunk, but no, she was just Lucy. She followed me around that party asking me questions about my family, and nobody ever talks about my family. Your sister, though, she didn’t give a damn and she wasn’t afraid of anything. I thought she was the most annoying person in the world that first night, but fucking hell, I was impressed that she didn’t give up.”
“You’re not convincing me that you didn’t kill her, you know.”
I smile and laugh lightly. “I know that. You’d think I’d have plenty of motive, right? And in some ways, I did. Your fucking sister was obsessed with me. She followed me around, practically stalked me, and she wrote that fucking article about my smuggling for the school newspaper. She laid it all out, all the gory details, including some shit she wasn’t supposed to know. But it didn’t matter. In the end, that article only made me more popular, and it wasn’t like the administration didn’t already know. That article wasn’t a reason to kill her. That article was free PR.”
Kaye stares at me and shakes her head. “I’m finding it hard to believe that.”
“I told you, pet. I don’t lie to my people.”
Her face tightens, and she’s about to argue—she wants to tell me not to call her pet or maybe say she’s not my people—but she closes her mouth and shakes her head. “What do you want from me?”
“Your help. That’s all. Help me figure out what’s happening with the Cask Society. Help me find out why they’re so intent on getting into the smuggling game and who is behind it all. Do that, and I’ll give you the full story, the real story about your sister.”
She takes a shaky breath and nods. “I still don’t believe you, but this is my only option, isn’t it?”
“Yes, pet, it’s your only option.” I turn away from her and walk to the steps. “Think about it. When you’re ready, go talk to Lesley.”
I head upstairs. She needs time to process what we talked about, and I need time to think about what I’m going to tell her about her sister.