Page 20 of The Merciless

They were all sitting on the floor, thanks to him and the havoc he’d raised all across her living room.

And the sofa he’d somehow managed to destroy.

“You’re going to pay for it.”

Angel whirled to face Akash, who had followed his line of sight. He sat beside Myra, his arms crossed as he glared at him. It was weird. He’d spentyearsbuilding a concrete relationship with each of them.

Starting with Noah and their time in Las Vegas.

Ending with the godforsaken rivalry with Akash Smith.

Now, however, Angel only arched a brow and dismissed Akash by turning to look at Ray instead, who was staring down at her hands.

“Are you going to start explaining?”

Ray shot him a dirty look in response but balled her hands into fists and inhaled deeply. Angel leaned back on his arms, his shoulder brushing Luke’s in the process. The four of them were sitting on both his sides, with Luke and Jack on one end and Christina and Mia on the other. All of them looked terribly constipated by this entire situation.

He couldn’t really blame them.

“Where do you want me to start?” Ray asked, a bit quietly as she lifted her chin to look directly at him. Angel straightened, catching the note of rare seriousness in her voice when she said the words. Everyone in the room remained silent, waiting for Angel’s response. Because in the end, this was a conversation that belonged to them.

“Start with how you know the people I’ve known for years now.”

Ray’s nod was nothing short of understanding, but she still shared a secret glance with Akash. The boy only matched her look with a soft dip of his chin.

“I’ve known most of them all my life.”

Angel blinked, but not before Cameron caught his surprise.

“We’ve known each other sincebeforewe met you.” He signed and Angel arched a brow, “You’ve been in this world longer than either of us.”

“Everyone except me of course,” Noah interjected expertly and shared a grin with Angel, “I’ve been a part of this world since the very beginning.”

“When did you and Ray–”

“It began as a business thing.” Sorin spoke up, “Noah was the face of the Hassans, and I handled his shadows. No one except the people in this room knows about us being twins.”

“It’s a great advantage.” Noah continued easily, “Ray came to us–” his gaze cut to Ray’s. She had her head tilted in his direction though, gauging his reaction. Angel turned to face her, waiting patiently.

“I’ve known Myra and Irene since middle school.” Ray began softly, not breaking their stare, “Akash found Cameron and Neera. I went after Noah and SorinafterI–”

Ray gulped and Angel watched as Neera slowly laced her fingers through hers in a show of support. It seemed to do the trick as Ray went erect and began,

“I’d been involved with this side of business long before the Lions recruited me,” she said, her voice low as she spoke, “And in doing so, I once made the mistake of making enemies I couldn’t handle back then. It resulted in…” a pause, a brief inhale, “Someone important to me died because of that mistake. And well,” she looked up at all of them. Till then Angel hadn’t noticed her head dropping. Was lost in the echo of her words. But those honey eyes, they seemed to jar him awake,

“I haven’t forgotten or forgiven them since.”

Sudden chills erupted on Angel’s arm. This story, this tale, it was too familiar to his, something he could resonate with on a far deeper level than she wouldeverunderstand. But she must’ve seensomethingin his gaze because the conviction in her voice only strengthened. Her eyes turned sharp when she turned to the rest of his friends,

“All this information, all that we share, itcannotget out of this room.”

Luke straightened beside him, but it was Christina who laced her hands and leaned forward, her white bangs curving around her face as she returned her fierce gaze,

“What do we get in return?”

Angel arched a brow and turned to Ray with a light smirk. One that immediately dropped at her answer,

“Your lives.”

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