Page 170 of Theirs to Ruin

Kage, who’d been sitting on my bed, his head in his hands, jumped to his feet. “Damn it, Camille, you promised you wouldn’t ask Ava questions without me.”

“I know, I’m sorry. But I went to ask Raye, the owner of the bar. She isn’t a threat.”

“Everyoneis a threat, don’t you get that by now? Fuck!”

“Kage, I?—”

He roughly pulled me into a tight hug and I hugged him back. "I’m fine, Kage. Someone named Henry saw Ava with a tall, dark-haired guy. And Kage…” I pulled back. “I remembered something Ava told me.” I told him about my theory that Ava had had a crush on Silas or some other reason to ignore him when we’d gotten together over the summer.

Kage stepped back and shook his head. “Ava wouldn’t have messed around with Silas. He made it clear to anyone and everyone that he had the hots for your sister since Day One.”

“That didn’t stop him from sleeping with other girls. Plenty of girls right?”

Something flashed over Kage’s face before he nodded. “That’s true, but Ava wouldn’t date a guy she knew was pining for another girl.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head and closed his eyes. “Fuck. That’s not true. I don’t know what Ava would have done. After the kidnapping, she changed. Maybe she was desperate to love and feel loved. She knew Silas through me so maybe she’d instinctively trust him more. But Camille, this is all conjecture.”

"Did you see Silas at the lake party that night?” I asked. “Because I didn’t.” Granted, I’d been rushing around looking for Ava and could have easily missed him.

Kage paused, searching his memory. "I don’t remember seeing him. But come on, Camille, that doesn’t mean anything.”

I sat down, feeling defeated. “You’re right. I don’t want to spread rumors about Silas when they aren’t warranted.”

“I’m sure Bianca would appreciate that.”

I shrugged. “They’re not dating anymore. Bianca said he was a dud in bed.”

I immediately felt the tension in the air.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Silas isn’t bad in bed.”

I snorted. “What, did he tell you this?”

There it was again. The same emotion that had flashed across Kage’s face when I’d mentioned Silas and the girls he’d fucked. “Kage?”

Kage avoided my gaze for a split second before reluctantly meeting my eyes. "Silas and I shared girls sometimes."

"Girls?" My eyebrows shot up in surprise, my voice pitching higher. "As in more than one? At the same time?"

"Yes," he admitted.

Waves of jealousy and insecurity slammed into me. Kage had fucked multiple girls at once. How could I ever be special in his eyes even for the short time allotted to us?

Kage grasped my chin and forced me to look at him. "I can see what you're thinking. Stop. You’re different.”

Warmth crept up my neck. I wasn’t sure if it was anger, embarrassment, or the burning desire to believe him. I didn’t want to delve deeper into the topic, to probe and dissect every past encounter he had. I just wanted the storm of emotions to calm down. "Okay," I murmured, hoping that would close the subject.

The increased intensity in his eyes told me he wasn’t convinced. He wanted to talk, to clear the air, to assure me of his attraction to me. "Kage, it's okay," I said again, pressing a gentle hand against his chest. "Everything is okay. Besides, this conversation isn’t about us.” It hit me then, that Bianca had lied to me. But why? No, there had to be another explanation. “Do you think Silas just had a bad night with Bianca? I mean, look at my sister. She's fucking gorgeous, any guy would want to be with her.”

Kage scowled, his expression darkening. "Don't look at me like that. I've never wanted to fuck your sister, and you're selling yourself short if you think she's the only gorgeous one in thefamily. But Bianca has a certain... intensity. Some guys might find that intimidating. So, yeah, maybe he had an off night or he had something else on his mind."

"Something like having murdered someone?" I pressed, my tone sharp.

“Because Bianca said he was bad in bed?" When I didn’t answer, he said, “Look, I’ll check into it. I’ll call Silas right now. Meet up with him. If he lies to me, I’ll know. First, though, let’s talk.”

I knew what he wanted to talk about and I wanted nothing to do with it even as my doubts and insecurities returned. "Call him now,” I said. “I’m going to call the hospital and see if Ty will talk to me.”

Kage stared at me, clearly frustrated, before striding out of the room.

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