Chapter 16 Zahra
ZAHRA
‘Idid kill them.’
Declan’s words ring in my ears over and over again as the room starts to spin. My stomach feels like it's turned inside out and the sterile chlorine smell of the room chokes me. I try to speak but my throat is constricted, refusing to let a sufficient amount of air in.
He killed them. He tried to kill me. And I was sitting alone in a room with him. Defenseless.
In a flash, I’m on my feet, throwing open the closest drawer to me, and grabbing an empty needle. Not my ideal choice of weapon but I’ll stab him in the eye if I have to. Whatever it takes to walk out of here alive. Whatever it takes to get my revenge.
Declan’s eyes widen as I charge at him. Before I can strike him, he wraps his large hands around my wrists and throws me a bit off balance.
His injury has clearly weakened his strength, as he’s unable to keep me away.
He resorts to begging instead. “Christ love. I didn’t mean it like that. It came out wrong.”
“Oh no. You don’t get to deny it now. Not with all the evidence I have against you. All I needed was your confession, and now I have it,” I hiss, though there’s a voice in the back of my head yelling at me to listen to him.
Declan cocks his head, voice remaining calm. “It wasn’t a confession. Though I would love to hear what you’ve managed to dig up about me.”
“Oh, I’m sure you would. That way, you can spin your web of excuses to try to get out of this.” I shift slightly, holding the needle at his neck.
Declan winces. “I didn’t kill our fathers.
At least not in the literal sense. I couldn’t save them.
And I should have. I should have been there.
But I wasn’t. And that is something that will haunt me forever.
” His eyes begin to turn glassy, causing me to freeze in place.
How is he able to do that, come off so genuine and sincere while lying straight to my face?
“LIAR! You were there. I tracked your phone’s GPS. It had you in the room right when they got shot,” I seethe, leaning forward in an attempt to head butt him. He moves just in time.
“No. I wasn’t,” he hisses back. “Drop the syringe and I’ll explain everything. I promise.”
“And leave myself defenseless? Never.” I refuse to budge.
“Fine, a compromise.” He drops one of his hands and reaches under his sheets, pulling out a revolver. “I’ll give you this gun. The only thing I have here to keep me safe. If you promise to hear me out and not shoot me the second I give it to you.”
With my free hand, I grab the rest of the sheets covering his body and throw them aside, needing proof that he has no other weapon hidden away.
Satisfied, I give him a small nod and drop the needle in my hand, replacing it with his gun.
I check the cylinder to make sure it's loaded, cock the revolver, and aim it right at his chest. He takes that as his cue to start talking.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I was in Maine when our fathers were killed.
We had an inner circle meeting earlier that morning that involved a lot of my dad chastising Aidan for not doing enough, which ended with my brother storming off after saying a few choice words that I know will haunt him forever.
I ran after him without realizing whose phone I had grabbed.
It wasn’t until I was already in Maine that I realized I didn’t have my own phone.
I turned back immediately but at that point it was too late.
Cyrus had called me immediately when both of our fathers were shot.
But I didn’t get the message since I didn’t have my phone. ”
I search his face for a hint of a lie, but all I see is shame. Shame so deep it hurts to look at him without feeling a similar level of guilt and failure. If his story is true, then the geotracker evidence I collected couldn’t be trusted.
He rightly takes my silence as distrust. “You can call anyone you want at our Maine headquarters. They’ll confirm my arrival. So will my security. And so will Cyrus.”
I do just that, calling every single person possible who could confirm Declan’s location on that fateful day. Each alibi confirmed his story. One piece of evidence was tossed out, but I still have others in my arsenal. “What about the poison?”
“What about the poison?” He raises an eyebrow.
“You visited the old man’s apothecary at least five times by my records. The poisons he sells match the same one poured in my drink.” I had Azula run a test as soon as I got home. The two samples were a perfect match.
Declan blinks. “I guess I should have figured you’ve been following me this whole time. How did you manage to put a tracker on me anyway?”
“Don’t deflect.” I place my finger back on the trigger of the gun.
“Do you really think I was the one who tried to poison you?” He sounds a mix of offended…and hurt. “Did I not just take a fucking bullet for you?”
Rage builds in my stomach at the reminder that the very man I wanted dead up until now had also been the one to save me.
“That just happened. Up until a few hours ago, I thought I had evidence that you were in the same room as our fathers when they were killed. A record of you dealing with the old man at the apothecary, and over a dozen stories about how power-hungry and sociopathic you can be. Can you blame me for not trusting some man I just met whose reputation more than precedes him?”
“I visited that morbid poison specialist five times with the hope that I could convince him to fess up to who tried to poison you. Or at least who purchased the poison from him. I tried everything. Flatter, threats, bribery, even breaking in. Came out empty-handed each time.”
Oh. He was trying to hunt down the assassin. Because whoever was trying to kill me was likely the same person who had killed our fathers.
“Anything else I did to defend myself about? Given my reputation?” There's a slight edge to his voice as he throws my own words back at me. A part of me wants to retaliate, at least verbally, but I can’t blame him for being upset.
I would be, too, if someone had falsely accused me of killing my own blood for a seat on the throne.
“Cyrus has tracked down the women and children of your known enemies. Most of them have been trafficked to either the skin trade or for labor. He’s tied it back to you.
” Bile fills my mouth as I get the words out.
Even if Declan saved me, I could never forgive a man who treated innocents like property.
“That’s impossible. Over my dead fucking body would I ever participate in something so atrocious. Whatever information Cyrus found has to be fake. Or doctored.” The heart monitor starts to race again, this time tracking Declan’s rage.
“Or another thing happening behind your back.” I’d never considered the possibility, but between our supplies gone missing and now this…It’s just as plausible a theory as any.
“What evidence does Cyrus have?” Declan bites.
“Besides pictures of the trades happening? Receipts tied to your offshore accounts.”
“My uncle manages all those accounts. Still does. My dad gave Lorkan power to run the Irish Mafia as my second in his will.”
“What? Why?” Everything my father had told me about Declan’s father contradicted him ever trusting Lorkan with his legacy.
“Honestly, fuck if I know. A part of me feels like it’s a final test my father is putting me through to prove myself.
I just wish I knew what message I was supposed to take from it.
” Declan rolls his eyes. “Regardless, it will all be resolved soon. There’s a…
clause I can fulfill that will remove Lorkan’s power. ”
I nod. Good. So long as his vile uncle is stopped, the cost doesn’t matter. “Do you really think he could do this, though? Traffic innocent victims?”
“I want to say no. My uncle has many issues, and there have been many times when I wanted to strangle him for his vile mouth, but I never thought he’d be capable of something like this.
Is he a pompous dickhead? Sure. That’s a far stretch from being pure evil…
” Declan trails off as if trying to convince himself that he believes the words coming from his mouth.
I’d been there before with countless people I’d once considered allies. Considered friends. Most people manage to disappoint you in the end. If you’re lucky, you realize who will fail you while you’re still alive to cut them out of your life. “People will do unspeakable things for power.”
Greenish-blue eyes snap up to meet mine. “Like involve our family in the drug trade again. That’s Lorkan’s latest threat for me disrespecting him.”
I suck in a breath. “Are you serious?”
All I get is a nod in response. “And if he’s willing to destroy my father’s legacy by going back to selling drugs, it's not a far reach to assume he’d be willing to tarnish my reputation by getting involved in the skin trade.”
“It would also explain how someone had managed to steal our supplies without us knowing. They knew how to avoid all our cameras, only work in the blind spots. Never speak near the audio tracks. Only higher-ranked officials are privy to that information,” I summarize.
“Fuck me,” Declan groans, dragging his hands down his face. “Killing your own brother though? Lorkan’s a monster but I don’t know if he’s that kind of monster.”
He looks almost innocent with his hands cradling his face and the loose, tousled strands of his hair covering his eyes. Like a child who just learned their hero had been lying to them the whole time. Or a man realizing not even your own blood can be trusted.
I bite my lip. Hard. My mind is still rattling in a billion different directions with all the events of tonight.
Being shot at was one thing, but realizing everything I believed about Declan was wrong threw me off my axis.
Now adding on the layer that his own uncle may have killed his father.
I’d spare Declan my proclivity to speak what’s on my mind even when I know it will crush the recipient.
“What do you think?” Declan asks, though the words come out more like a plea. Tell me my uncle didn’t kill my father. Tell me, please.
“I think it’s been a long day, and rational decisions are never made with exhausted minds.” I shift off the bed, giving Declan a terse smile. “Get some rest. Whatever we decide to do next, you need to be fully healed for.”
“We?” he asks, lips slightly curving upward.
“Yes, we. If I wasn’t clear, we’re a team now.”