Page 61 of His Black Onyx

"She left out some details, saying it's up to you to fill in the blanks," she finally says. I notice her eyebrows are raised, even though she's casting me a hidden look from the side. "All she told me is that you have your own agenda with this. You're not doing this for the Covey, but to get revenge."

I nod along as she speaks, pressing my lips together to stop myself from saying something I might regret.

"And?" I prod.

She lets out a heavy sigh. "You took the fall for your brother when his business-"

"Our business," I interrupt brusquely. "It's my family's business. He may be the one in charge, because he's the first born, but I still own almost half of it."

She looks surprised at this admission, studying me with wide eyes. "Oh, when Lailah talked about it, it didn't sound like-"

"Yes, I know," I interrupt her again rudely. "It's just on paper. It's not like I'm involved in the business in any way. I haven't been for years."

Malia nods in understanding.

"Anyway," she continues. "Lailah said you took the blame for a blown deal between that business and the Scivolas? And that... that your family abandoned you for doing that."

She begins to stammer, her look cautious, as if she was afraid to say the wrong thing again. As if any of this was her fault.

"It's worse than that," I tell her. "The Scivolas framed me. They took advantage of the fact that I was already the black sheep in my family, and when the police got involved, it was in everyone's interest to use me as a scapegoat."

"Everyone's interest but yours," she adds for consideration. "Why did you let them do it?"

I laugh darkly. "I didn't let them. What was I going to do? It was not within my power to do anything about it—not if I wanted to save my family's name and the business."

She sucks in a sharp breath of air, adding a sympathetic nod. But I know that she doesn't understand. How could she? Even now after what Lailah and I have shared with her, she knows so little about everything that went into this, about everything that's connected to this mess.

But she knows one thing.

She knows that I'm doing this for different reasons than what she was led to believe.

"And the others don't know about this?" she asks now, seemingly worried. "Those guys out there, they all believe you're only pushing this deal because it's in the Covey's best interest?"

"Yes, that's right."

She remains silent for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip, her eyes locked on the closed door.

"If you tell them, you're dead," I warn her.

My threat is an empty one, and I hate that she knows that. Malia looks at me, her black eyes flickering wildly.

"You wouldn't kill me," she says. "Just like I won't tell anybody."

She takes a deep breath, her eyes still locked on mine. "Lailah told me to trust you, and as crazy as that may be, I do. I... I want to trust you."

She comes closer to me then. It's the first time that she approaches me voluntarily, freely, and I would be lying if I didn't admit that it flatters me.

"But Nate," she says in a low voice. "If I am to trust you, I need you to trust me, too."

Our eyes connect, both of us seeking confirmation, but both of us expressing obvious insecurity. And it's in this moment that I realize how much power this girl holds over me—whether she knows it or not.

---