Page 80 of Best Kept Secret

We sat there for nearly five minutes, quiet.

"I didn't tell you about my father because I didn't think you'd believe me. And you wouldn't have—not after you met them.You'd just do what everyone else did: blame me for making up stories. Asha warned me not to bother—just get through it, you know?"

Beau's eyes went moist. "No, baby, I don't know. I don't know how someone asks a child to go throughthat."

"Asha was a child, too."

"She was five years older than you."

"She took me in when I ran away," I defended my sister. "She was…well, you know how she was."

"Not really, Mira. I had sex with Asha a few times over a two-week period. The fact that Pari came out of it is the only reason for me to revisit what I had with her," Beau said bluntly.

I sighed. "I noticed you."

"Hard not to when I was having sex with your sister on the kitchen counter," Beau retorted blandly.

I smiled, and it felt odd. I was using muscles that I hadn't in a long time. This was arealsmile, the one that went all the way to my eyes. "I noticed your ass and thoughtthat's a nice ass. And then when I saw you naked, I saw how right I was."

Beau took my hand in his, and I let him. We were alone in this dimly lit bar with strains of jazz music softly playing around us. There was intimacy here and I, oddly, felt safe. I wondered what Dr. Ryan would think of this.

"I'm going to destroy your father."

"Really?" I quirked an eyebrow. He sounded like a Bollywood-movie hero, saying he'd hurt the people who hurt me.Very dramatic.

"Yes." He lifted his head to meet my eyes. "This is Nova's story to tell, but I'll share some of it with you. When she was young, a man assaulted her. I found out about him right after I learned Nova was my sister. There was no way in hell I was going to let that bastard get away with what he did to her. I had him killed."

I gasped. "What?" Of all the things I'd expected him to say, this was not on the Bingo card, not even remotely.

"His name was Raymond Carre. He was in Reidsville Prison for raping a fifteen-year-old girl, serving twenty-five to life without a chance of parole."

"Are you kidding me?"

Beau shook his head. "No one hurts my family.Youare my family."

"I can't believe this."

Beau shrugged. "This is also who I am. I take care of my own. Your father and your mother signed their fuckin' death warrants when they fucked with you through me."

He wasn't saying this angrily, he was just stating facts.

"Are you out of your mind?" I choked the words out. Shock didn't come close to describing how I was feeling.

"No."

"You can't kill them."

"Why?"

"You just can't," I blurted out. I was in theTwilight Zone. That was it.My Beau had people killed? What the fuck?

"Okay." He squeezed my hand. "Can I make sure your father ends up in jail and your mother has no money?"

"You can do that?" Beau was an IT geek, wasn't he? A handsome one, sure, but he wasn't a…well, criminal, was he?

"Yeah, I can do that. I'm already on it. It takes longer to jack them up than to have them killed, and…" He paused, considering his words. "You know, I think I like the idea of Anil Sen rotting in prison, where everyone will know exactly who he is, more than just having him dead. At least that way, he'll pay for his crimes. Prisons are brutal for men who hurt children. You're right—having him locked up for life is the better call."

"I didn't suggest that." I yanked my hand away from him like he'd burned me. "You canreallydo that?"

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