All The Truths (Lies & Truths Duet #2) - Rina Kent Page 0,29
gave you up, too. He wasn’t ready for that.”
I tighten my hands around each other. “Then something happened, right?”
“Well, yes.” Alex clicks his pen. “Your father died in an accident, which I still think had Ivan’s hands all over it. That little fucker always hated his guts.”
“So Reina stayed on her own?”
“She had Nikolai and an insider Gareth put with her. He’s a hitman of some secret organization who kills for the bratva. I’ve been in contact with him since Gareth’s death.” Alex pauses, as if trying to lessen the blow of what he’s about to say next. “Nikolai got sick and died. I knew Ivan would try to kill Reina—Rai—as soon as he could to secure his position. I tried to have the insider get her out, but she wouldn’t agree. I didn’t know she was planning on meeting you or that you were still searching for her.” Alex straightens, becoming tenfold bigger. “What happened that night, Reina?”
“We met…” I trail off. “I think I planned to escape with her.”
Asher’s hand tightens on my thigh and I wince as I keep my head down. He was right all along; I did plan to escape.
But it was bigger than Blackwood and any reason I had to hate him.
Or maybe it has everything to do with him after all.
“She said something about having business to finish and that she’d find me…I think.”
How do I even remember that?
Alex gives a sharp nod. “She has Nikolai’s ledger, which holds all the names, numbers, and dirt on the people he did business with. He announced before his death that the owner of that ledger is his sole heir. Ivan can’t get the others’ blessing to be Pakhan without that book. That’s why he’s hunting her down.”
“So she’s alive?” I nearly choke on my own breath.
“I believe so, yes.” He rubs his chin. “I got a text from my guy that she was safe a day after your attack.”
“Nothing after?”
“Unfortunately, no. But this guy wouldn’t make any contact if he thought it would put Rai in danger. Besides, Ivan is flipping the city upside down to find her, so she must be on the run. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got out of the country.”
A breath leaves me, but it’s not complete relief. Reina is still in danger. If this Ivan finds her, he’ll take that ledger and skin her alive.
They torture people in the mafia.
They kill them in cold blood like they did to Mom.
“I’m hiring that security for you, Reina.” Alex’s tone becomes non-negotiable. “If Ivan thinks using you against Rai will bring her forward, he won’t hesitate to beat you like the other time. Just because they’re quiet doesn’t mean they forgot.”
“I agree,” Asher says.
My spine shivers at the memory of pain all over my body.
This war is so much bigger than I thought.
It takes Reina three days to move out of Alexander’s house.
Three fucking days.
She had to have a sappy goodbye with that fucker Jason, who’s starting to get on my nerves.
If I watch him put his arm around her one more time, I’m breaking it and killing any chance of him going pro. Every time he watches a game on TV, he’ll think about me and wish he’d never laid a hand on what’s mine.
Reina had a small farewell gathering with Elizabeth and the staff then made sure Alexander was good with her move and that he stationed her new security at her apartment.
The old Reina would’ve never minded people surrounding her. She’d have made her decisions in a heartbeat and the world could suffer.
Well, it turns out she’s Rai or what-the-fuck-ever. I should’ve known Alexander had all this information. I just never thought he and Gareth could’ve hidden an identity switch this way.
Does her name matter? Does it change anything?
No, and fucking no.
I was never interested in Reina prior to her disappearance. The one I got entangled within all the wrong ways was the girl who returned with Gareth that day.
The girl who watched her surroundings every time she moved as if suspecting someone was chasing her. Turns out, she really had people chasing her all along.
I didn’t know how to feel as I listened to her conversation with Alexander a few days ago. She suffered in her childhood and was a kid on the run with no one but her mother—and even that support was taken away.