Page 24 of KAI Tortured

“More?” Logan asks.

“More,” Kai says, and I nod in agreement.

Logan goes through the same motions until we’ve drunk the second glass in full. That’s when the awkward silence ensues.

How the fuck do we tell him about the letter from Marina? How do you start that kind of conversation?

“Third time lucky?” Logan offers. He’s stalling. Kai snickers and I just hand over my glass complicitly.

But just as I see Logan about to offer a fourth round, I raise my hand. “That’s enough.”

Kai holds up his empty glass. “One more.” It’s clear to me that he’s been drinking more than usual lately.

“Orion’s right,” Logan says.

Kai looks at me, suddenly noticing what I’m wearing, then at Logan. “What’s this, the sweatpants gang?”

“When you’ve been shot, it’s comfort over style, Kai,” I tell him. “At least while you’re recovering.” True, I’m not happy about it, but I know very soon I’ll be back in my three-piece suit. Right now, I look just like a domestic gun for hire.

“I’m sure I can find a pair of sweatpants for you somewhere. You’ll need them for Long Island,” Logan needles Kai. “I heard you spent the whole time in your boxer shorts.”

“Seriously, I’m not used to seeing you like this. We have a war coming and we gotta be ready,” Kai says.

His somber words bring me back to the circumstances we’re in. “Damn right we have a war coming. But before getting into it, there’s something we gotta tell you.” I glance at Logan.

Kai’s brow furrows and he closes his eyes. “I don’t think I’m ready to hear about Maisy yet. If you don’t want me to run to the Slavs this very minute, kill everyone there, and probably die, don’t tell me. I just… I can’t.”

“It’s not about Maisy. It’s about… us.”

“What about us?”

“I should’ve said something sooner. But I wanted to see you and tell you in person, I...”

“Goddammit, Orion! Spit it out!”

I look at Logan, who’s nodding sympathetically.

“Just before all hell broke loose with Maisy, do you remember that night I got a package from Marina?”

Kai’s eyes narrow; he looks at me, then at Logan. “Go on.”

“Well, last time I spoke to her, I asked her to compare our DNA.”

He gapes at me. “Fuck! I had the letter in my hand the night I found you, but I stupidly threw it away.”

“Well, that letter had the results.”

“Are you gonna tell me we’re related?” Kai asks, but doesn’t let me respond. “Look, Orion, I trusted Marina a lot, but really? If that letter says we’re brothers, who’s to say someone else didn’t do this, and is setting us up for something we got no idea about? The question we should be asking ourselves is, what do they have to gain by giving us this piece of information?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying all along, Kai,” Logan tells him. “But we did another test, and got the same results.”

Kai stands up without a word and begins to stride around the room, seemingly lost in thought. I know he’s trying to figure this all out, but even I have no idea how it happened.

Finally, he looks at us and sits his ass back down on the couch. “So it’s true? We’re half-brothers?” he asks, his voice tinged with a hint of fear.

I nod. “I’m afraid so.”

“Fuck.”

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