Page 90 of Orion Ruined

“No.”

I’m sick of her lies. And now this? “Was there ever a video recording of you in your apartment?”

She looks at me, then lowers her eyes again.

“Thank God,” Kai mutters. I shoot him a look and narrow my eyes in irritation.

“And were you ever raped by Milan, or was that a lie too?”

She looks at me from under her hair. Her obsidian eyes are flooded with tears, rivers flowing down her face. Yes, he raped her. Why is it that instead of being furious with her, I just want to kill Milan? What is she doing that stops me wanting to skin her alive for lying to us yet again?

“We should’ve killed you five times by now. And for some unfathomable reason, we haven’t. Why did you lie to us, Maisy?”

Those dark eyes are like space, glittering from tears but so lonely, I can feel the hurt myself. “Would you’ve helped me if I told you I was after Camila that night because she took my sister eight years ago and made her work in porn?”

We look at each other. Of course we wouldn’t have helped her. It’s clear as day. And yet, I still ask. “Why do you think we wouldn’t help you?”

“Because I know.” She wipes at the tears with the back of her hand. “I’m smart, remember. You told me not to dumb myself down in front of anyone, and I won’t. I look at the odds. Statistically, people are eighty percent less likely to help two damsels in distress than one. I didn’t want to take that chance.”

Huh. I can’t help but smile at her reasoning. My chest aches so bad for what’s to come, but I can’t show it in my face. Stupid men. That’s what we are. Fooled by a cunt.

“You’ve put me in a very awkward position, darling. The Cartes know about you, which means I never get to fulfil my wish and cut that pretty little throat of yours, even though I want to badly.”

“I’ll help you with Milan,” she says. “I said I will. That hasn’t changed.”

“Has anything changed at all, Maisy?” I ask.

“The fact that now there are two of me, not one.”

Kai’s not looking at her. But I can see he’s thinking, for once. “Is your sister smart like you?”

Maisy shakes her head. “No. But I promised myself I’d find her.”

All of us stare at her. I can’t believe she’s not seeing the weight of the situation she’s in. I cannot kill her, because I put my fucking head on the line for her, and she’s not even acknowledging it? She’s not even seeing that all this is over.

“Will you help me?” she breathes.

“You sent us on a wild goose chase,” I snap. “You put us in danger, nearly got yourself gangbanged, killed, a few times, mind you. We killed about ten men because of you, and now you want us to do the same thing for your sister? Lies after lies after lies. When will you learn? Lying doesn’t get you in our good graces. I could throw you over my knee and spank you right now, I’m so mad! No. The answer is no!” I stand up to make my point. “You don’t care for anyone but yourself. You’re selfish, and all we are to you is protection that you get to fuck whenever you want.”

“That’s not true! You think I wanted to fall for not one but three of the worst possible humans on earth? Mafia heads that share the same job description as the most hated, most despicable man, Milan the Dog?”

“HEY!” Kai shoots up and she recoils. He’d never hit her, but I put my hand on his shoulder just in case. He’s hurting. “We are not like Milan!” he spits through gritted teeth. “But if we’re all the same to you, and you can’t see any difference”–his disappointed eyes land on Logan, then me, and he throws his arms up in surrender–“then why do we bother at all, boys? Let’s just kill her.”

“Kai,” she reaches out to touch him, but he brushes her off.

I want to strangle her. And love her. And strangle her again.

“You sleep with us a few times and you think you know us, Maisy? You don’t,” Kai responds.

“I know when I’m with you, Kai, you’re the one that knows what I want,” she declares. “When I’m with you I’m Maisy, the teenager. I’ve never been just a careless teenager, and with you, I am. I fly with you, Kai. And I know that you fly with me too.” She looks at me, her eyes still teary. “You, Orion, you know what I need. And in a stupid, perverted way, I’m always in your vicinity, or craving it, hoping to get in it. Diving into the darkness with you is enlightening, and I like it. We like it.” She’s my void, true, but I don’t want to look at her dark gaze right now. “And you, Logan, you get me, you get the woman inside me, you know what my body demands of me, even before I do. You were the first to promise me I’d be safe and that’s because you want to take care of me, to look after me.”

The silence is unnerving. I sense my face hardening in a way that's terrifying for her, darkness closing in that could easily swallow her whole.

She wipes away her tears again and heads to the door. “Never mind. I know I’m not worth it.”

“Maisy,” Logans calls out, and she stops but doesn’t turn. “All this love you feel is worth nothing without your loyalty.”

Her shoulders shake. A sob catches in her throat but she doesn’t make a sound. Then she exhales loudly and in a small voice, says, “I’ll be out of your house in a half hour.”

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