Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
KRAVEN
She looked at me as if I’d just destroyed her, and maybe I did. However, it wasn’t in the way she thought it’d be. It wasn’t in the careless, selfish way she was trying to paint me as.
This wasn’t about jealousy, and it was never just about Julius. It was about her standing in the radius of the blast she wouldn’t even see coming. He would’ve taken her down with him, whether he meant to or not.
Her words echoed in my head. I wasn’t owed her trust. I’d earn it back. The moment I made that anonymous call, I knew there was no going back.
Not that there ever was.
Not when we were both in love with her.
She shook her head, stepping away from me as if distance might make this clearer.
It wouldn’t.
Nothing about this was clear, not even her and especially not me.
“Explain it,” she ordered, softer but no less intense. “All of it. Don’t leave anything out.”
I held her gaze before giving her what she sought, telling her, “I started noticing the money first.”
Her eyebrows pinched together.
“You never questioned it?” I asked, wanting to know how much she truly knew about what her best friend was doing.
She flinched, answering my question. “I trusted him.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“And that was my mistake, right?”
“No. Your mistake was believing he’d protect you from it.”
She thought about it for a second. “How did you find out?”
“I followed him.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “You followed him?” she repeated.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I had a feeling.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the truth. I saw who he was meeting with and where he was going, so it didn’t take much to put two and two together. The people he’s working for, they don’t live in a world where loose ends exist.”
“And what do you think is going to happen once Julius is free?”
“He’s not their first dealer who’s been arrested, and he won’t be the last.”
“You don’t think they’re going to be pissed about not only losing a dealer but also all those drugs? You don’t think that puts him at risk?”
“No, they know he’s not going to snitch on them. He’d be a fucking fool. He’s not a loose end anymore.”
“Neither am I.”
“You would’ve been,” I spoke the truth. “The second something went wrong. You’d be the first they’d use as collateral, and I’d never let that happen to you.”
“So getting arrested doesn’t classify as something going wrong?”
“No, it’s inevitable. Trust me, someone has already taken his place.”
Her lips parted, then closed because some part of her knew I wasn’t wrong. Some part of her knew I was telling her the truth.
“Trust you, huh? He could go to prison, Kraven. How do you not see the severity of what you did? What if you can’t get him out?
What if he’s stuck there for years? Do you get it now?
Do you see how bad you fucked up?” She couldn’t get her accusations out fast enough.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped you come up with a better plan.
It didn’t have to go down like this. He’ll never forgive you now, and I don’t blame him. ”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take to keep you safe before he buried us all alive.”
“So you buried him instead?”
He cocked his head to the side, spewing, “You forget I’ve gone through this before. Do you have any idea how many times we were used as collateral for my parents to pay up? If they’re capable of that, what else do you think they wouldn’t think twice about, Kitty?”
Her gaze widened, full of understanding now.
“Exactly,” I pointed out. “I took matters into my own hands to save you, and I refuse to apologize for that, but I didn’t call the cops to punish him, Isla. I did it to save him. Let’s get that really fucking clear, I swear to you that was my intent.”
“It had nothing to do with me telling you I’m pregnant?”
I shook my head. “No.”
The silence settled again.
Heavier that time.
“How long have you known?”
“Long enough.”
“And that goes beyond yesterday?”
“I’m getting him out,” I insisted. “I promise.”
Disbelief was still in her expression, but something else was now mixed in.
Fear? Hope? Trust in me?
I could see it in her composure and feel it on my skin that she despised all three.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“It means I have people working on it.”
“What people?”
“The kind who know how to handle this.”
Her eyes narrowed in on me. “You’re not telling me everything.”
“No,” I agreed. “I’m not.”
“Why?”
“Because the more you know, the more dangerous it could be for you.”
“I’m already involved!”
“Not as bad as you could be.”
Her chest rose and fell. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”
“No, but I do get to limit how much damage reaches you and my baby.”
She glared at me like she didn’t know whether to scream or break down. It was probably a little bit of both.
“I do hate you right now.”
I nodded again. “I know.”
“If you’re lying…” Her voice wavered, then steadied. “If you’re lying about trying to get him out…”
“I’m not.”
She ignored me. “If you are, I will never forgive you.”
That landed harder than anything else she could have said.
“I’m not lying,” I reacted with certainty, holding her gaze.
For a minute, neither of us moved. We didn’t speak, we didn’t breathe. We were one.
She stepped back, not fleeing or breaking down.
Instead, she warned, “I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Good.”
Her eyes searched mine one last time, maybe looking for a reason to trust me or perhaps a reason not to.
Reading my mind, she called out, “I still don’t trust you.”
“I know.”
“But you’re the only hope I have right now.”
“I know.”
She didn’t argue, but she didn’t have to…
I knew she meant it.