Page 186 of The Unravelings

“Agreed,” Wilder mutters, shaking his head, but his eyes tell a different story. With every word Malic spoke, his eyes lit up with the thought of having her again. Maybe more this time.

Fuck.

My stomach rolls, threatening to send the pancakes back up my esophagus. I don’t need those images in my head. Not of them together. All three of them. Olivia has been mine since the day she looked at me when I arrived at my newest foster home. I blow out a breath, trying to count to ten inside my head when all I want to do is reach across and deck Malic across the face for talking to her like that. I never in my life thought Olivia would branch out, meet other people, and give herself to them.

We were her first. Her everything. We wanted to be her forever.

But plans change.

And I can’t exactly take him on in his own fucking house. He’d fucking murder me, and Wilder would help him. No. I have to keep a level head while dealing with the two of them.

So, I continue to count in my mind as the silence grows around us.

“Good. Now that we have that established,” Malic says, pushing his plate away with satisfaction. “Did you kill her?” he asks, looking at me. “You and your little bros? Or try to, at least. Obviously, she’s stronger than what you threw at her.” Pride shines in his eyes as he looks Olivia over again.

“No,” I grit out. “We didn’t harm her. We never would. We were told it was an electrical fire while we were in Vegas, securing a new casino and watching it for fraud. We weren’t in town, and we’d never hurt her. Ever. She was our fucking everything.” My chest heaves when I say that. “We never would,” I whisper, my eyes slowly finding hers, pleading with her again to believe me. She squeezes my hand still attached to hers with reassurance, but doesn’t utter a word.

“Well, you’re in luck, because I think I believe you. It’s all about the eyes, lad. Watch those, and you’ll see someone’s soul. You see that, Keeper? He’s actually telling the truth.” He bumps Wilder a few times, who glares at him.

“So happy you believe me,” I sarcastically huff.

“And you, Little Ghost? Do you believe what he says?” Malic leans in slightly, looking through her as her eyes dart from me to him. “Because if you don’t, I can get rid of the competition with the snap of my fingers. It’s my oath to you. I’ll slay your enemies one by one. Even if it’s him and his fuckwit friends.” Malice drips from every word he speaks, with the intent to do what he’s pledging to her.

“Yes,” she says easily, but I can tell she’s holding back and not telling him everything. I know she doesn’t fully believe us yet, because she doesn’t have the evidence back from whoever she sent it to. “I believe him. They didn’t do it.”

“I’ve brought her proof, and that’s all you need to know on the subject. Whatever happened between the four of us doesn’t concern you.” Not ever.

“Wonderful. But someone did, didn’t they? Any leads?” He leans his face on his hand, grinning.

“No.” Her face completely falls when she says the word. “I don’t know. I’m looking into it. But I think…”

“It has Franco’s name written all over it,” I suggest without thought.

“Oh, I never thought I’d see the day when one of his precious sons turned on him. This is fascinating. I’ll add him to my kill list,” Malic says, pulling out his phone and quickly typing.

“You have a fucking kill list?” Wilder yelps, attempting to grab his phone, but fails when Malic pulls away with narrowed eyes.

“Now, now, Keeper. My list is private. Not for prying eyes.” He grins, shoving his phone into his pocket. “You’ll see one day.”

Wilder blinks. “I need more to drink. Anyone else?” he grumbles, standing quickly and marching to the bottle of Stagg on the countertop. He grabs it, flicks the lid open, and guzzles down more with a satisfied sigh. Slowly, he makes his way back to the island and plops into his chair. “Anyone I should be concerned about on your kill list?”

Malic grins. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, Keeper. It’s all our enemies.”

“But Franco wasn’t on there before?” Olivia asks, rubbing her temples.

Malic side-eyes me. “He was, but I moved him up as a priority to number one. If he was the one to harm you, then I need to take him and his empire out. No offense, Enemy Number Three.”

I don’t offer him the words, but internally I think Franco does need to be taken out. He’s trying to run for mayor, for God’s sake. Maybe Malic and Wilder will be useful, after all. If we can’t take out Franco ourselves without getting killed, maybe this newly founded friendship of sorts can be to our advantage.

“Or I could,” Olivia offers, squeezing her eyes shut with a heavy breath. “Fuck it.” Olivia sets a shiny, official-looking badge on the island and slides it to the middle. “I’m an agent of Veritas.” Quickly, she looks at me. “I would have told you, too, but…”

I swallow hard. An agent? Fuck. And what the hell is Veritas? I’ve never heard of an agency of that name.

“I know…” I trail off in a small voice and then clear my throat. “I understand your reluctance.” She doesn’t trust me. Not fully yet, but I’m working on that. I run a hand through my hair, understanding dawning on me. Malic grins at me knowingly, understanding that I’m finally getting the blackmail. “What exactly is Veritas?”

Olivia blows out a breath while running her finger over the shiny badge. “The day I died, everything died with me. My identity. My family. My sense of self-worth. It all smothered under the flames that consumed my home.” She shakes her head. “That’s when Veritas stepped in. They were my saviors. They took me in like I was a stray because I had nowhere else to go. No one else knew I existed anymore. They treated my burns and injuries. They trained me and made me into an agent of their organization.” Slowly, Olivia lifts her gaze to each of us. “Veritas is a ghost agency. They operate on the fringes of society while bringing down the bad guys. Anyone who has their fingers in something illegal, we get wind of it, and then we’re dispatched.”

Silence hangs in the house as Wilder and Malic exchange glances. Malic doesn’t seem too worried about her. But Wilder? There’s fear sparking in his eyes when his deep groans fill the air.