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“There is that.” I dug in, not sure what else to say.
Kyle seemed to absorb my revelations, at a loss as well. Finally, he said, “You know I’m not just walking away. You’ve still got a red dot on your forehead.”
My head jerked up.
“Figuratively speaking,” he was quick to say, bringing my pulse down a notch. “Because Ethan knows you’re Dane’s weakness.”
I dropped my spoon in the empty dish. “Ethan knows about Amsel. Don’t forget that.”
“His own godson? He’d target his own godson?”
My heart thundered. “You know the kind of people we’re dealing with here.”
“But Amsel?” Kyle gripped the side of the counter, dropped his head, and shook it.
“Deception cuts deep, doesn’t it?” I was feeling it to the core of my being. Kyle was just as tangled in the barbed wire as the rest of us.
“It’s downright vicious,” he said.
“Yes.”
“So what’s your husband going to do about it?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“And that scares you?”
“Of course.”
Kyle backed away from the counter and paced. “You realize Ethan is a worse threat than Vale or Horton? He has more money, more power, more connections, more motivation—and a hell of a lot less of a soul if he can pull this sort of shit.”
“I’ve reached that conclusion, too.”
“And Qadir and Nikolai?”
“There’s absolutely nothing that suggests they’re involved,” I said. “And they joined the society
right before Dane. Like within months. It seems as though they have no idea Dane’s father was once a member. The code is absolute secrecy—even amongst family. Dane broke that code for me, because I insisted I needed to know.”
“Maybe you ought to rethink your boundaries on what you find acceptable, Ari.”
I let him get in the digs he felt he deserved. Then I said, “I have two favors to ask you.” I shoved aside my bowl. “I want you to carefully consider them both and then do the absolute right thing. What’s best for you. Not me. Not my family. Not even my son. Just you.”
“Ari.” He halted and stared deep into my eyes. “Don’t give me ultimatums.”
My stomach coiled. “I don’t have a choice, Kyle. You and me … we’re a lot alike. We do what our heart tells us to do. We follow our gut reactions. Sometimes we’re right. Sometimes we’re wrong. But we always have good intentions.”
He groaned. “Already, I’m not liking this.”
“Kyle,” I began, dread and tension gripping me. “There’s a difference between honor and stupidity. Sadly, neither of us knows that difference.”
His jaw clenched.
I continued. “Dane doesn’t do anything without thinking it through from start to finish. And he’s wicked-fast about it. When it comes to the two of us … We know when something needs to be done, but we don’t always think the solution through to its natural conclusion.”
“Get to the point, Ari,” he said in an agitated tone. “What are the two favors?”
I stood and planted my hands on the counter. “I want you to leave. Now.”
