Page 7 of Fractured Onyx

I hate this.

I hate feeling guilty for what I'm doing to her. Because why the fuck should I care? She's a means to an end, a desperate attempt and our last chance to get this done. If I am concerned about her wellbeing, it should only be in regards to her worth for the mission, and nothing else.

But I know it's more than that.

And it fucking worries me.

"It's so good!" she praises, her eyes beaming as she takes another bite. "Who knew the mafia could cook!"

"We're not the mafia," I insist. "We're-"

"The Covey, yeah, I know," she interrupts. "It's all the same to me."

"I'm sure my family would agree with you," I say, trying my best to hide how much her words irritate me. "But let me tell you that it couldn't be further from the truth."

Her eyebrows arch up in surprise, but not for the reason I first thought, as it turns out a moment later when she speaks.

"Your family knows that you're working for the Covey?"

Her question makes it sound as if this was an actual career, something that you can choose just like you can choose to become a bank teller or an airline stewardess.

"They know I'm not part of their world anymore," I tell her, deliberately choosing vague words. "But in my eyes, I'm not any more of a criminal than they are."

"I thought your brother took over the family business," she retorts. "Lailah didn't tell me exactly what that business was, but she said it was huge, closer to a businessempire."

Her probing look adds a silent question to her words. She's digging for more, hoping that I will let her in on the details that Lailah left out. But she knows that I'm unwilling to reply if she just spits out the questions instead of detouring to lure the answers out of me without ever actually asking.

She's smart, I'll give her that.

"It's impossible to keep a clean slate when you're running a large business like ours," I tell her. "Next to the fact that corrupt behavior is recompensed, it's also easy to fall for the seduction of instant wealth, achieved in an allegedly easy way by mixing up with the mafia. My brother fell victim to that idiotic idea, even though I warned him."

"You warned him?" she interjects. "But you're working with them, too!"

"Only if we have to, and this mission is no different, for the Covey, that is. It's not about agreeing to deals with them, but about gaining ground on a territory that will always be theirs."

She knots her eyebrows as she scrapes up the last remnants of her meal. Her portion size was the same as mine, and I'm mildly impressed by how such a petite person can eat such a large amount of food.

"Are you good? Need more?"

She shakes her head emphatically. "No, God no, it was great. But I am stuffed."

Her eyes wander to my plate, and a hint of shame appears to cross her pretty face when she realizes that she finished ahead of me. Adorable.

"Do you really think it will work out? The Onyx mission." she whispers shyly.

She averts her eyes when I look at her now, as if she's afraid of me—or of the response to her question.

"For the Covey, I mean," she hurries to add. "Let's say I can do what you need me to do—which you know, I highly doubt—do you think the Covey will get out of this what they're hoping for?"

Knitting my eyebrows, I cast a quick look to the closed door behind my back. There's no one around, as far as I can tell, but in here you never know for sure who's listening. It's dangerous enough that Lailah told her anything, here, in this house.

"Yes," I say. "I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe in it."

She noticed my little scan and nods in understanding. Something about her has changed over the past few hours since arriving here. It may just be the added comfort of this mansion compared to the shitty safe house, or the fact that we're closer to the city, maybe feeding her hope for a successful flight attempt.

But maybe it's something else. Maybe she feels safe because of something that should worry me. Next to her fear, she has shown a degree of confidence that seems uncalled for, given her situation.

And it may be due to something that's happening outside of our world, unbeknownst to us.

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