Pretty in the Dark (Dark and Wild #2)

Chapter 13

13

JUNIPER

" N o. Fucking. Way."

I stood rooted to the asphalt of the shop's parking lot and stared at the man who stood in front of me. Kage Diovolo was my brother? A thousand thoughts went through my mind, a thousand scenarios, a thousand denials. But the truth had stared me in the face in the form of a discarded polaroid and an obscure name scratched out and hidden decades ago. A secret affair. A story only half-told. And now, I was staring at the other side of the page.

My brother. The Diablo himself. I couldn't believe it. And yet, I could. Pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.

Kage's hand dropped when he realized I wasn't going to make a move to shake it, his head tilting in that predatory way that left a person wanting to find the quickest route to escape his notice, and never find yourself caught in his attention again. I felt Cade's warm hand slip into mine, subtly pulling me closer to his side. I realized Cade hadn't quite moved out of the way, so that his large frame partially blocked mine. He was being protective. Why did I need protection from my own brother? A glance back at Kage told me he'd noticed, and the glare he cast at Cade said he wasn't happy about it, but he didn't comment. Instead, he turned and swept his arm toward the shop. "Cade has graciously let us use his shop for this first meeting. Hopefully, once we get to know each other better, there won't be any need for a buffer between us. But I thought neutral ground and some privacy might be better for our first talk." He smiled at me and for the first time ever, I saw some genuineness in it. And was that hope? Was Kage actually nervous about this? About meeting me? The thought almost shocked me as much as the knowledge that he was my brother. My mother had slept with Kage's father. It was going to take a lot for me to get past that idea.

I nodded and Kage turned around, leading us inside straight to Cade's office like he owned the place.

Sitting down onto the couch, Cade slid in next to me, his body pressing next to mine despite the room, and Kage pulled the desk chair around to the front to face us. If he noticed how close Cade was sitting next to me, never letting go of the bodyguard vibe, he didn't comment.

"I'm sure you have questions—" He started, and I immediately interrupted him.

"Did you hurt Stacy?"

Black eyes blinked at me, and he cocked his head in curiosity. "I'm sorry, who?"

"Stacy, my best friend. The new bar manager at the Pit." I leaned forward, not caring if he was The Diablo, my brother or anyone else. Stacy still had not returned any of my messages or phone calls, and if Kage was so insistent on privacy, I could only imagine what he would do if he suspected someone knew about our relationship.

"Ahh yes, Stacy." He gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Lots of piercings, nervous talker. Good bartender though." He shook his head. "No clue why you'd think I'd waste time hurting someone who is in my employ." The drip of sarcasm was heavy in his voice. "But I have not seen or heard from your friend since my last visit to the Pit a few weeks ago."

"Oh..." Worry gnawed in my gut. Why hadn't she called me back yet? "Are you sure? I asked her to set up a meeting and?—"

Understanding dawned in his eyes. "And now I'm here, but you haven't heard from your friend." His smile turned more reassuring. "I haven't spoken to her but, if it will make you feel better I'll have someone check with my office." He pulled out his phone and sent off a quick text. "Now, as I was saying, I'm sure you have questions?" his voice trailed off, and I instinctively glanced up at Cade, who was watching me, but remained silent. Only squeezing the hand he'd never let go of, as if to reassure me and say it was safe.

I took a deep breath.

"You said you've been looking for me for a long time. How did you know about me, but I never knew about you?" The nervousness in my stomach eased. Finally, I was getting answers.

He cleared his throat and sat back. "That's more complicated to answer than you'd think."

"Try." My voice was flat, dry. I was not in the mood for word games or deflections. Cade squeezed my hand once more, his thumb gently grazing my knuckles in comfort as I cleared my throat, amending my tone. "Please."

Kage sat back and rested one leg across his knee, observing me with a small smile dancing around his lips. The gold skull earring he never took off, danced with every movement. "You may look like your mother, but you definitely take after our side of the family. Our grandfather would have liked you, I think."

Cade snorted at that and both of us looked at him, Kage with a glare and me with mild curiosity, but he didn't say anything else. I turned back to Kage. "But not our father?"

"Oh, Niko would have adored you. If he had lived long enough to know you." A flicker of pain lanced through my heart and I realized I'd been holding out a hope that my real father was still alive. "But Papa would have loved your spirit. He was fond of spirited women." There was a flash of something in his dark eyes that made me question whether or not that was a compliment to the senior Diovolo.

"Is he alive? Our grandfather?" I'd never met my mother's family. Both her parents had died before I was born. And Edmund had never mentioned his parents. In fact, I hardly remember ever asking about them. It was as if they had never existed.

"No," Kage scoffed, his eyes appearing flat and cold. A whisper of a chill shuddered down my arms, as if Death himself had been drawn into our conversation and had reached out to just barely brush against my skin. “He would have liked your spirit, Juniper, but trust me when I say, only to relish breaking it."

"You call him Papa, and our father, Niko. Why?" I was missing something.

Kage nodded. "Yes, old habits die hard, I suppose. When our father was killed, our grandfather adopted me. He had me call him Papa, and I was not allowed to speak about my real father ever again. I could only refer to him by his given name, if that."

That seemed so harsh, I didn't understand. "But why? Why would he do that to you? To his son?"

"Because my father wanted nothing to do with the Diovolo family business. He rejected it, and as a result, our grandfather disowned him. It was as if he'd never existed in our family. No one was allowed to speak of him. He was shunned completely.” Kage's face darkened with the memory. "When our grandfather found out he'd been murdered, he immediately retrieved me and told me I was now his son."

"That seems harsh." There was more that Kage was obviously not telling me, but I didn't want to press.

"It was. But that is our life." His face hardened, his gaze never leaving mine. "That is why I'm telling you this. You have a chance right now, Juniper to walk away. You've met me. You know who I am. You can let this knowledge rest and never peel back the curtain of your past. Go back to your life, to your Emporium, to your shop, and your friends and your brother. I will never darken your door again. The people sending notes? I will deal with it. Edmund? He will be found and he will pay for his crimes. You and your brother will be safe." Dread began to fill me as he leaned forward. "You can have the life you want, free from all of this." A hand waved in the air. "But you will never have answers. You will never know who you truly are. That's the deal. That is my gift as your brother, to my long-lost little sister."

I paused, studying him, taking in every inch of him. The air of death and danger clung to my brother like it was a second skin. The brush of death I’d felt hadn’t been my imagination. He was sitting in front of me and telling me I was his blood. I only had one question before I made my decision.

“How did our grandfather die?”

Kage didn’t smile. Didn’t even blink. Just stared at me in that predatory way that made me feel like I was under a microscope, and he was dissecting every single part of me down to the depths of my soul.

“I killed him.” He stated simply.