Page 131 of Tempest

“Hunter can go fuck a forest animal.”

“He’s crucial to keep on your side, Tempest. Don’t forget that.”

“I’m not. I’m only…” I scrub my face. “I’m in a bind.”

“I know it.”

“So are you here to offer friendly advice, then? Because I have to tell you, I need a lot more than that.”

“Look, you dug your grave. You chose Ardyn, and I’m having trouble believing that you still don’t know why you kept her alive. Same as now—how can you not see why you’re so miserable?”

“She’s my sister’s best friend. The only friend Clover has left. As much as Miguel wanted me to, I couldn’t kill both her friends that night.”

Rio sits back, tonguing his cheek. “You believe that?”

“It’s true.”

He makes a noncommittal motion with his head.

“The fuck that’s supposed to mean?” I ask him.

“Don’t make me say it, man.”

“Say what?”

“Dude, if you make me spell it out for you, I’m only going to make your life more complicated.”

I grind my molars together. “I dislike riddles.”

“Fine.” Rio sighs. “You’re in love with her.”

Piles of papers tremble as my fists hit the desk, and I stand. “I am not in love with Ardyn Kaine.”

“What do you call this then?” Rio motions up and down, taking into account my vibrating body, snarling mouth, and burning stare. “A regular day for a storm cloud?”

“Fuck you.” I point at the door. “And get out.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Then allow me to punch you out.”

I round the desk. Rio, not a stupid man, leaps from his chair and puts my bar cart full of thousand-dollar whiskey in front of me and him.

“Hear me out,” he says, his voice calm. “You love her, and you need to start accepting that so we can make proper plans moving forward. Your life is in danger. Mine. Hers. You need to guarantee her silence.”

I respond with deathly quiet. “I am not killing her.”

“I’m aware. But the fact is, you being in love with her is a good thing. That’s all she’s wanted from you, T! Since you were kids, and she was that weird ghost girl who hid under tables and eavesdropped on us. It’s why, when she was unconscious in that car wreck, you couldn’t finish the job, and it’s why you’re in such a sour mood now—because she knows who you really are, and you hate that she thinks so little of you now. Am I right?”

I cross my arms and glare.

“I’ll take that as a yes. If you tell her you love her, we might get out of this unscathed and finish up our plan to freedom. Ardyn wants your love, Tempest. That is the answer you’ve been looking for these past few days but haven’t been able to find.”

“Bullshit.” Giving in, I pour myself two fingers from the bar cart between us. “It can’t be that fucking easy.”

Rio shrugs. “Love isn’t complicated, dude. It’s only hard for people like us who’ve never experienced it. I still know it when I see it, though, which is more than I can say for you.”

“I’m incapable of such a useless—”

Ardyn, in my bed, wrapping herself around me. Ardyn, listening to my truth with palpable sentiment in her eyes, like she hurt for me, with me. Ardyn, cheeks flushed and words harsh as she stood her ground, stronger with experience, heartier with courage. Ardyn, who will keep my secret even though it pains her because she’s loved me from the time I was an innocent boy.

“Fuck.” My glass shatters to the floor.

Rio smirks.

His face is saved from serious marring when my phone goes off. I snap it off the desk, reading the text.

Clover: YOU SLEPT WITH MY BEST FRIEND??????

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