Page 6 of Twisted Truths

“Like Kol said, that’s not what this is. You have a lot on your plate, a lot of moving parts. This person will just help you manage it, and they can do that most efficiently if they’re here,” Asher says.

“So what, they’re going to live here?” I chuckle, but when they just stare at me, the laugh dies on my lips. “You can’t be fucking serious.”

“We think it’s what’s best—for you and for the company.” Asher pins me with a stare, one I’m much too familiar with. It tells me that he’s not going to back down.

I adjust my cufflinks, not looking at them. “Fine. You three do what you need to. As will I.” Then I turn on my heel and stalk out of the office.

And what I’ll do is make this person’s life a living hell until they quit. And then the person after them and the one after them until my brothers figure out that I won’t tolerate a babysitter.

Chapter

Four

ARIANA

Ionly had a short shift at the bar tonight, so I step off the bus a little before ten o’clock and walk to our house. My late shifts are usually reserved for the nights I don’t have to be up early to work at the law firm as a legal secretary.

I find my dad sitting on the couch, beer in hand, waiting for me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here—he’d be off working some angle on someone somewhere. He always is. It’s the one thing I can count on him for.

“Hi, Dad.” I hang my bag and purse on the hook near the front door.

I grew up idolizing my father—he was my only parent since my mom ran off when I was five—but things have been tense between us since I told him I no longer want to take part in the family business.

“Ari.” He nods and takes a pull from his beer. “How was work?”

“It was good. Where’s Bast?”

“He’s out with Katherine.” A small smirk tilts the corner of his lips.

Katherine is Bast’s latest mark. She’s older, lonely, and wealthy, and when Bast turns on the charm toward a woman like that, she’s putty in his hands.

“Cool, well, I’m going to hop in the shower and go to bed. I have to be up early.”

I start toward the hallway, but my dad calls my name, and I stop in my tracks. I turn around slowly to face him. It’s then I notice the same newspaper Bastion confronted me with this morning sitting on the coffee table.

“Bastion told you.”

Asshole.

“Of course he did. He’s loyal.” Dad arches an eyebrow, and I blink back the sting in the corner of my eyes.

I know what I want for myself. I know that I’m on the right path, but it’s still hard to set aside decades of indoctrination that make me feel as though I’m abandoning my family by turning my back on the grifter lifestyle.

My arms flail out at my sides. “I couldn’t just let him drown.”

“At least you got out of there before the cops came. What if this guy comes looking for you?”

My forehead wrinkles. “Why would he?”

“You saved a billionaire’s life, Ari. Billionaire with a B. They live for being the center of attention and using the prose of rewarding their savior puts them in the spotlight.”

I’m not going to tell my father that I’m pretty sure the guy had been trying to end his life, and there’s just as good a chance that he’d be pissed at me for saving him. “That’s not going to happen. He was barely even conscious when I left. He has no idea who I am.”

He clucks his tongue. “Maybe you oughta think about telling him who you are.”

I blink a few times. “My entire life, you’ve taught me to fly under the radar, and now you want me to poke my head out of the bunker waving a flag to draw attention?” I cross my arms.

He shrugs. “Maybe the reward outweighs the risk this time.” He takes a pull off his beer until it’s empty.

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