A pause. His tone shifts.
“But now I need you to stop. Stop hurting my brother. He’s been through enough.” His entire face darkens. “You’ve put him through enough.”
“He’s put me through enough too.”
The words tear out of me, bitter and angry, spit through gritted teeth. I can barely hold back the rush of tears. I shouldn’t snap at Bones like that. I should remember who he fucking is. He’s a predator. And I’m on his territory.
My legs shake against the chair. My body feels cold. Too cold.
I suddenly want to get up, take Gary into my arms, clutch him to my chest like a shield. Hide myself from the ugly truth screaming inside my mind.
Bones sucks his teeth lightly and crosses his arms, his eyes still on mine. Then he sighs and drags a hand down his face. His glare vanishes.
“I’m not here to hurt you, Adora,” he murmurs. “I’ll admit I’m not particularly fond of you, because of the past, but that’s irrelevant. My brother loves you. Temper likes you. So I’ll play nice. Ihavebeen playing nice.”
He pauses.
“But I need you to understand something. You got the chance to protect your sister years ago.” His jaw tightens. “But I couldn’t protect my brother.”
He presses his lips together.
“I won’t let it get to that point again. I can’t. I fucking can’t.” His shoulders rise with a deep breath. “Between you and him, he’s the one I care about. You can play your pranks. Whatever. But don’t fucking cross the line.”
“What would’ve happened tonight,” he continues quietly, “if instead of a taser, Ria slipped a gun into your hand?”
My vision darkens. The room tilts. I’m suddenly sick.
It’s only when I feel Gary’s tiny claws puncturing my jeans as he climbs my leg that I get a grip on myself. When did he getto me? I haul him into my arms, pressing him close, using the warmth of his tiny body and soft fur to anchor myself to reality.
I take a few measured breaths, then look back at Bones.
“I can’t give you an answer, because I don’t know it,” I whisper, the truth painful in my throat. “But I can tell you that the way I feel right now is very different from the way I felt at the beginning of this night. He’s not in danger of me tasering him — or anything else — anytime soon.”
All emotion drains from his face. But his eyes? It’s like a curtain lifts, and I glimpse the world of pain hiding behind it.
“He told you.”
I barely hear the words, but we both know what he’s talking about. I just nod slowly, letting silence fall while I sift through the wreckage of this conversation.
My thoughts are tangled, but after tonight, the realization comes fast — I can’t demand honesty but refuse to give it myself. I don’t want to hide anymore. Lies and half-truths is where my life fell apart.
A few minutes later, the silence breaks with my shaky confession.
“The first time I met her. When I saw the way she talked to Ghost in the hospital. That’s when I knew Ria had some strange power over this club.”
Bones’ brows furrow, his gaze sharpening on me.
“I didn’t plan it,” I continue. “It all just… fell into place. When I found some darts in a drawer one day, I just casually mentioned that I wished karma was real while holding one of them.”
I swallow hard before I speak again.
“I knew I didn’t have to do or say more.”
I’ve never admitted this to myself. I kept telling myself I didn’t want to hurt him back. That I just wanted to forget him.That I carried my own guilt and we were even. But the pain kept slipping through the cracks.
Even tonight, I told him I don’t want to be that kind of person. Because I couldn’t face the truth.
Fate handed me Ria as my chance at revenge, and instead of walking away, I took it. Instead of breaking the cycle, I kept it going.
