Sin My wife stiffens. Ahead of her, the man who was responsible for destroying my childhood stares past her at me. He looks confused. "The deal was you'd ke ep me and my family safe and share enough business interests for me to redeem myself on my home turf." I tilt my head. "You didn't invite me to attend the wedding because my daughter wanted me here?" I make a twirling motion with my fingers. "Go on." "You want something more from me?" I bare my teeth. He swallows, "Either way, you don't intend to stick to your word?" I widen my stance. "Now what makes you say that, hmm?" Adam looks at my wife, then back at me, "She's innocent." Sweat beads his forehead. "That’s what I told the men who kidnapped me." "Kidnapped?" Summer angles her body to face me. "What are you talking about?" "Ask your father." She st eps away, putting distance between herself and the both of us. Anger slices my gut. Of course, she is wary of me. She has the right to be, given how I had taken her in my office yesterday, and then I couldn’t ke ep my hands off her body. She is singlehandedly, the biggest distraction in my life right now, and I would do well to be done with her and this sham of a marriage. I’d hoped for time with her, hadn’t reckoned things would come to a head so soon. What-fucking-ever. I can work with the cards I’ve been dealt. So what if I told him I’d protect them? I don’t owe him, or her, anything. "Dad?" Adam glances down at his daughter. "I haven’t heard you call me that since—" "Since you abandoned us." He winces. "I’ve already explained to you, Summer—" "Stop." She cuts the air with her hand. "I don’t want to hear your excuses." She jerks her chin toward me without looking at me, "Tell me what he’s referring to, will you?" "I... I'm not sure." Adam looks between us. "Bull-fucking-shit." I explode. Adam's shoulders hunch. My wife winces, but doesn't take her gaze off of his face. "Tell her." I gesture toward the older man. He blinks rapidly, then peruses my features. "Who... who are you... really?" "Haven't you guessed yet?"
"It can't be," he whispers. His face blanches. "Tell her what you did to me... you fucking piece of shit." Adam takes a de ep breath. "It’s a long story." I twist my lips, "Trust me, nothing as extended as the time I spent with the rest of the Seven locked up in a windowless cellar." "You were locked up?" She whips her head around, and I feel every millimeter of that green gaze. Waves of confusion emanate from her. Fuck that. I don’t need her sympathy; I don’t need anyone feeling sorry for me. I want revenge. Anger coils my gut. A hot feeling stabs in my chest. I click the clasp on my watch. Control it. You gotta rein in your temper. Stay focused. I click the clasp again. The cold metal soothes me; some of the noise in my head recedes. So close. I am so close to my goal, I can practically taste the ending. Revenge: his utter destruction, tracking down the men responsible, and putting this whole ugly segment of my life behind me. A pressure builds behind my rib cage. "Tell her right now, or I swear I'll kill you with my bare hands. Right now." Summer inhales sharply. Go on Bird, go to his defense, tell me off. Show me how the blood of my enemy runs through your veins. Her gaze is fixed on her father, "Spit it out, whatever you did to him." She firms her lips. Huh? Adam makes a choking sound. He pulls out a handkerchief and mops his forehead. "Can you get me some water?" "No." My wife’s features are pale. The hollows beneath her cheeks are pronounced. She grabs a strand of that glorious pink hair and chews on it, a giveaway that she is stressed. I take a st ep forward, then stop myself. What am I doing? Why do I want to go to her, pull her close and ask her to lean on me? Tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about anything as long as I am around. I’ll take care of her forever. Fuck. These motherfucking emo thoughts? Where are they coming from? Just because I fucked her— You made love to her, asshole. Last night had been as close to a declaration of intention as you can get. You worshipped her body with your own. You kissed her, took her arse, wrecked her pussy as if it were yours. For she is yours. She is. Only it’s too late. I’ve come too far, planned too much. I owe it to the Seven to see this through. She? She is collateral damage. A drumming intensifies behind my eyes. I drag my fingers through my hair. "No point delaying the inevitable." I glare at the man. He makes a choking sound. "Don’t faint on me now." I lean forward on the balls of my feet. "You’re not getting any sympathy from me." "I don’t need it." He draws himself upright. Then turns to my wife. "You remember what I told you about owing money to the mob?" She nods.
"I was in their control. I had to do what they asked. They threatened to kill you and Karma. Or worse." "The fuck?" A growl rips up my chest. Both of them turn in my direction. "They threatened her life?" I flex my fingers at my sides, Summer’s gaze narrows, "What’s your problem?" I shoot her a glare; she juts out her chin. She takes a de ep breath and opens her mouth. I shake my head. She purses her lips and I am sure she’s going to speak or say something; instead, she wraps her arms around her waist and glowers back. Later, Bird. You and me are going to have this out, and I promise, you won’t be able to speak at all by the end. Her cheeks redden. Perhaps she read the intention in my gaze, hmm? I turn on Adam, sorry excuse of a human that he is. "And you call yourself a father? You left them in danger and ran away?" "I faked my death, severed ties with them. I released them into the system because, let’s face it, the government would have had more success in miring their trail in paperwork so that it would be difficult for anyone to find them." "You did a brilliant job too. In fact, I'd almost forgotten about your existence." Summer's voice is harsh; there's an edge to it I've never heard before. She holds her body so tightly that her shoulders seem to vibrate. "Too bad you couldn't do the same for yourself." Adam loosens the tie about his neck, "What do you mean?" "My husband tracked you down, didn't he? So you weren't as efficient in covering your tracks as you thought." Adam turns to me, his eyes wide, "How did you find me, when the Mafia tried and failed for all these years?" "Clearly, they aren't as resourceful as I am. Funny how almost dying can light a fire under you, and ensure that you never give up until you track down your quarry." Summer angles her body toward me."Wha... what do you mean? Who almost died?" I slice my hand through the air, "Doesn't matter." I glare at her. Now is when she explodes, and tells me off, pulls off a snarky comment at my expense. My pulse rate picks up; my blood thrums in my veins. Come on, little Bird, give me a taste of that sass and fire hidden below the surface. I scan her features, wait... wait. She peruses my features with a searching look in her eyes, then shakes her head. "Cora." Adam's chin quivers. Summer stiffens, "You lost the right to call me that." "When you were born, your face was a perfect heart shape. I wanted to name you Cora. Your mother insisted on Summer. We compromised, as was often the case." His lips twitch. "And Cora became your middle name." His features soften. "You were so beautiful. The tiniest little child with the sweetest disposition ever." He sways; rubs his chest. "I'll never forget how you lit up my life, my child. The time we spent together is among the most precious memories of my life." She firms her lips, raises her chin, "I am pleased to say I don't remember much of my growing years."
He winces, "I deserve it." I take a st ep forward, "Tell her what you did to us." "You mean there's more?" Summer tucks her elbows into her sides, her entire body stiff. Her chest rises and falls. She’s imagining—I can’t begin to fathom what it is she’s thinking, but the reality is far worse. "I..." Adam licks his lips, "Please, can you get me some water first?" I turn to do that. "No." I pause, glance toward my wife. "The complete story first." Summer sets her jaw, "Enough with your delay tactics." A small smile turns up his lips, "You remind me of your mother." "You don’t get to do that." Her chin trembles. "Spit it out already.” She spits out his name, “Adam." He squeezes his eyes shut and when he reopens them, they glitter with unshed tears. "Fine." He weaves on his feet, puts out his hand, and grabs onto the nearest chair. "They coerced me... I had to obey them." He looks from me to her, "I kidnapped your husband." She scowls, "What do you mean?" "Your father aligned with the Mob in furthering their business interests." My voice emerges as if it belongs to someone else. I glare at Adam, "Tell her how you kidnapped me on the way home from school when I was twelve." His gaze flicks to his daughter, "It's not how it sounds." "Oh?" The blood thunders at my temple. "Are you denying what you did." He tips his chin up, drags his fingers through his hair. His fingers tremble. "It's true that I delivered you to the Mafia." I fold my fingers into fists, "As you did the rest of the Seven?" He furrows his brow. "I wasn't responsible for any other children. The Mafia must have put others up to that." He raises his hands. "I swear. After taking you, I knew I couldn’t do that again. That’s when I faked my death." Anger explodes behind my eyes; my vision tunnels. "Why me?" I growl. "I was the sole scholarship kid in that school. My parents had no money, let alone the kind of old wealth that the rest of the Seven did." "It was a mistake. Last-minute change of plans. The child they had set their eyes on didn’t come to school that day. You walked out instead." He raises his shoulders. "I was desperate; you fit the bill." "Wrong place, wrong time, huh?" His lips twist. "You could say that." There’s a sharp inhalation from my wife. "You were unlucky, Sinclair." He waves a hand at his surroundings, "But look what it did to you." "The fuck you mean?" The blood drums at my temples with such intensity that the edges of my vision go dark.
"Clearly, it gave you the motivation you needed to lift yourself to the very top." "Are you actually trying to take credit for my success? It drove my parents to an early grave, you dumb fuck. My entire life changed in an instant." A trembling stumbles up my spine. I grip my fingers at my sides. Take one st ep forward, then another. "Sinclair." My wife’s voice follows me I reach him, grab his collar. "Sin." She grips my collar, "Don’t." "Do it." Adam smiles, then his lips pull down. "I deserve all of it." I pull back my hand in a fist; my wife screams. Adam crumples to the ground.