Page 83 of Twisted Truths

Ariana returns seconds later with a shirt, and I notice she winces a bit when she bends to pass it to me. I ball up the shirt and push it down on the wound. Before I can ask her where she’s in pain, Kol and Bastion rush into the room.

“What the hell happened?” Kol asks, gun in hand.

“Uma’s dead. This one burst through the door, making himself an easy target even though I told him not to.” I turn my attention to Bastion. “What the hell were you thinking, letting him go inside?”

Bastion glares at me. “When he heard Ari shouting for help, there was no stopping him. I tried. After I heard the shot, I ran to get help and found him.” He points at Kol.

“Ash is meeting with the authorities at the front and will lead them back here.”

I nod.

“Ari, are you okay?” Bastion asks, rushing over to her and pulling her into a hug.

She sucks in a sharp breath in his hold.

“Careful, she’s hurt,” I snap.

He pulls away, and his eyes run over her body. “What’s wrong?”

“She threw me down,” Ariana says. “I think I hurt my ribs or something.”

My teeth snap together when I think of the pain she’s in.

“How is he?” she asks.

I look up and see deep concern in her eyes. “He should be fine as long as he gets to the hospital soon.”

She nods and looks at me as though she wants to say something more, but she doesn’t.

I hate the distance between us. It doesn’t feel right. But what else am I supposed to do after what she did?

A few minutes later, paramedics arrive and take her father out on a gurney. It’s clear to me that Ariana is torn between going with her father and staying with me.

I nod after the paramedics. “Go. You need to get checked out too.”

Her shoulders sag as she walks out with a paramedic.

Whatever. I need to clear my head after everything that’s gone down tonight. It’s been a fucking lot.

Kol and Asher stand on either side of me, watching her go.

The police arrive, and we give them a quick rundown of what happened. Asher, being Asher, manages to put them off for a bit, allowing them to do what they need to in order to process the room, but tells them that if they’d like to speak with us further, they’ll need to talk to our lawyers.

“You okay?” Kol asks with a frown.

“What do you think?”

“I think we could all use a drink,” Asher says. “Let’s head to my office before the authorities want to speak with us all. We can have some of my Macallan. I’ll text Nero to join us.”

I nod, and the three of us walk to the west wing and sit in Asher’s office. He’s just handed Kol and me each a glass of whiskey when Nero walks in.

“What the hell is going on?” Nero asks.

I fill them all in, starting with what Marcel told me and ending with what happened in Ariana’s room.

“There has been way too much shit going on with this family the past couple of years,” Nero says.

I bring the glass to my lips and down all the scotch, then hold out the empty glass toward Asher for a refill. With a sigh, he gets out of the chair, takes my glass, and brings it back half full. I immediately take another healthy sip.

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