Page 58 of Web of Lies
"Only a handful," he admits. "My parents. Noah. The Pakhan. The Don. And the Boss of the Irish."
"And Chloé," I add; my gaze meets his.
A sigh slips from his lips, and his shoulders sag. "Yes. She found out by accident."
"By accident?" I cock a brow, heat burning in my chest.
"She caught me in the act because she was after the same target." His gaze flicks past me for a moment, like he's caught in the memory, but his attention shifts back to me. "She was…fascinated by me being the Butcher, and we had a short fling, but it didn't last long."
The word "fascinated" hits me like a punch to the gut. A sharp, suffocating knot tightens in my throat, stealing my breath. He says it so casually, as if it's no big deal. And maybe it shouldn't be a big deal. Maybe I even understand why he kept it from me. After all, I’ve been hunting him. If he had told me, I would have been faced by the choice between him and my goal, between love and betrayal. I can’t blame him for hiding the truth. Of course, he hid it. He had to, just like I had to.
But knowing that doesn't stop the bitter taste from crawling up my throat. It isn’t fear or anger that claws at me. It’s jealousy. Ugly jealousy. She knew. Chloé knew who he was all along. She saw that side of him—the real him—and I didn't. She saw his truth and darkness, while I saw walls and careful lies that tangled with mine.
And here I am, high as hell, twisting everything into excuses just to make it hurt less, trying to convince myself that his secrecy was about safety. The worst is that despite everything deep down I know it’s the truth.
I take my eyes off of him and look down at Dumpster on my lap as I twirl her fur between my fingers, soothing the raging storm inside me.
"Don't you feel bad about what you do?"
"No." His answer is immediate, blunt, and hits me like a slap across the face.
"How?" I whisper.
Kyle lets out a long sigh, like he's tired of explaining. "While I understand that, morally and by society standards, what I'm doing is bad. What my mother is doing is bad. But this is normal for me. I grew up believing that you shouldn't waste anything. Nothing. Even if it's a human."
His words echo in my head, hollow and twisted. My stomach knots, the bile rising as I search his face for even a flicker of remorse.
"Have you ever killed a woman?" I ask, my voice quieter this time, afraid of the answer.
His tongue clicks against the roof of his mouth, and I flinch at the sound. "No, I refuse to target women and children."
The firm, assertive way he says it sends a chill down my spine. I know it shouldn't, but it puts me at ease knowing he holds onto at least some moral values. However, there is one nagging question at the back of my mind that I can't shake, and I need an answer.
"Have you ever eaten human meat?" I look up at him, who remains silent with his lips pressed into a thin line. His eyes dart around as if searching his mind for an answer. "Don't lie. Just tell the truth."
He leans forward with a heavy sigh. "I have." My eyes widen, and my lips part as if to speak, but he stops me. "It was just one time. I was a curious sixteen-year-old and asked my mom to taste it. I never ate it again."
I nod as the puzzle pieces of his side of the story fall into place, forming a picture I can now label and identify.
"Is there anything else you'd like to know?" He asks, pulling me out of my thoughts and drawing my gaze to him.
"Would you ever have told me what you do?"
"Eventually." His lips twitch into a lopsided smile. "But you know… It's not exactly dinner-table conversation." He leans back into the sofa, and I roll my eyes at his comment, the familiar ease of his jokes temporarily lifting the pressure of the situation.
"I think I can work with that to figure out my thoughts," I say, turning my eyes back to Dumpster.
"What about you?" he eventually asks.
"Me?" I perk up, my eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.
"Yes, I've been honest with you, so now it's your turn. Why are you working for a city agency?"
"Technically, I'm not officially working for them."
"Then?" His brows knit together in confusion, deep lines creasing his forehead.
"Five years ago, I received a tip about a secret department within the city government. It seemed like an easy way to make money on the dark web by selling information. I teamed up with other hackers. We cracked their system, but they caught us."
