Page 104 of Chaos Kills

“You must have not been keeping up.”

Lorenzo tries his best to hide his smile behind his glass. “Eh, male egos. They get the best of us. However, Cairo and I, as well as Ozzy, are a hundred percent committed to helping you take down Emilio. I’ll even let you pick the way you’d like it done.”

“I want something else.”

“Name it,” Lorenzo replies instantly.

“I want the video Matteo holds of Judah Wildes.”

TWENTY-FIVE

cairo

I wantthe video Matteo holds of Judah Wildes.

She could’ve had anything she wanted, but she chose her innocence instead.

I can’t pin Bay Astor down entirely; the woman is always shocking the fuck out of me with her recklessness and the wild nature that’s laced in her DNA.

She’s not Vivian.

Not any other girl I’ve fucked with or ever had any correspondence with can compete with Bay. She keeps me on my toes, I never know what she’s thinking, and I give Reeve and Torin props for even trying.

Meanwhile, with everything that’s going on, it’s taken its toll. Bay looks like she’s walked across a desert with no food or water, but she’ll eat well tonight.

However, I can’t say I’m thrilled at how defeated she’s looked lately.

My mother is known for her elaborate dinners and has been talking about Bay’s arrival for the last few days now. But I’m second-guessing agreeing with my father to bring her here so soon.

She and Torin are not on good terms. Reeve is heartbroken and spiraling. And Bay is sinking.

But that doesn’t stop my sisters—Carina and Luisa—from talking her ear off.

“Can you teach me how to drive a stick?” my youngest sister, Luisa, asks with enthusiasm in her eyes and tone. “Cairo says you race. And Daddy doesn’t own one, and I’ve always wanted to learn.”

“Since when?” I ask, twirling my fork in my mother’s latest pasta dish of cream sauce, scallops, and fresh parmesan cheese. “The only thing you know how to drive is your credit card through the reader.”

Luisa flicks her content hazel eyes at me, unaffected by my words, as always. “I wouldn’t talk, brother. That Gucci shirt that you have on speaks otherwise.”

“I’ve owned it for years.”

“And maybe Bay can teach you, too. Didn’t you wreck Torin’s motorcycle a few years back?”

Leave it to my sisters to remember everything.

“Clutch was stuck,” I deadpan, shoving food in my mouth and savoring the creamy sauce.

“That’s what they all say,” Bay sasses back, which is the first full sentence she’s formed since meeting my father.

I was fully expecting her to say no, but my father has been pressed with wanting to meet ever since Roger Astor died. He was afraid Emilio would use it to his advantage and use her grief as a weapon.

“I know how to drive a stick.”

Bay picks at her food. “I’ll have to see that for myself.”

I lightly nudge her with my elbow. “Don’t be a dick.”

“Don’t be in denial.”

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