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“Why are you lying, Cane?” Pearl pressed.
“I’m not lying,” I countered. “Why don’t you just mind your own goddamn business?”
“Adelina is my friend. She is my business.”
“No. She’s my slave—not yours.”
If Pearl had a gun, she would have shot me. “She’s not a slave. She’s a person. I would be angrier about this if I didn’t know you were bending over backward to make her happy.”
“I’m not doing anything to make her happy. I don’t give a damn if she’s happy.”
“Then why are you taking her sight-seeing all over Italy?” Pearl asked. “Huh? Why did you take her to Siena the other day? Why did you show her Rome?”
Why the hell was Adelina blurting out every little detail? “I had to run errands there anyway.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “I’m not buying it.”
Crow rested his fingertips against his temple. “I don’t think I’m buying it either.”
Standing right in the spotlight, I was on display. Crow and Pearl were both looking at me with incriminating gazes. It was getting difficult to hide my affection for Adelina, and not just from them, but from myself as well. “Give me more credit than that. You know I’m not evil. So what if I want to show Adelina a good time? So what if I want to make her happy before she kicks the bucket?”
“I’ve never seen you care about giving someone a good time,” Pearl said.
“You aren’t even nice to Lars when you come over,” Crow said. “And he serves you food.”
“That’s because he doesn’t like me,” I said bitterly.
“Because you tied him up and nearly killed me,” Pearl said. “I was cold and blue on the floor, and you were going to let me die that way. So don’t sit there and say you’re a nice guy who just wants to show her a good time. It’s not in your nature—we both know it.”
Once the shame washed over me, I looked away. I couldn’t look my sister-in-law in the eye when she reminded me of what I did. I’d kicked her around like a dog, stomped on her head, and punched her in the face. She’d forgiven me for it, but I would never forgive myself for the mistake I made.
“The only reason why you’re acting this way is because you actually like this girl,” Pearl said. “Only explanation.”
“She’s been living with me for three weeks,” I said. “It’s kinda hard not to like someone when you’re around them all the time. I think she’s a pretty incredible woman with an amazing spirit. She deserves more than the shitty hand she was dealt. But that’s all…”
Judging from the cold expression Pearl gave me, she didn’t buy it.
My brother didn’t either.
But I shouldn’t care about their opinion. “In a week, I’m returning her to Tristan. And that will be the end of it.”
“You’re really going to hand her over?” Pearl asked incredulously. “You just said she’s an incredible woman.”
“Lots of incredible women die every day.”
“So you’re gonna drop her off, go home, and just go to bed? Sleep all night?” Pearl asked. “You’re gonna be able to live with the guilt of walking away?”
I stared at my palms as I rubbed them together, refusing to meet her look. “We’ve talked about this dozens of times… There’s nothing we can do.”
“But—”
“Crow.” I was already dealing with a million emotions at the moment, and I didn’t need Pearl to remind me of the difficult task I had to face. To not return Adelina would result in a war that we couldn’t win. Now that the Skull Kings could be a potential problem, there was even less I could do for Adelina—other than slip her the cyanide pills.
My brother knew exactly what I was asking for. “Button, drop it.”
Pearl would normally defy him, but she must have decided not to question his tone.
I gave him a slight nod in gratitude. “I should get going. Sorry for disturbing your night.” I finished my drink before I walked to the office door.
Crow followed me out, walking me all the way down the stairs and to the front door. Pearl didn’t come with us, probably because she knew she wasn’t welcome. We stepped outside the front door and to the gravel driveway. My car was still parked exactly where I left it, the valet knowing he wasn’t supposed to touch my things.
“Pearl hit a sore spot, huh?” my brother said. “She tends to do that.”
“I don’t have sore spots.” I unlocked the car with the press of a button.
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me like he had more to say, but he refused to speak.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I massaged the keys in my hand, needing something to do with my fingers.
“Now that we have the Skull Kings to potentially deal with, you know we have too much on our plate.”
