Page 198 of With Us

Theo had been convinced it’d been someone close to him, but none of them would do that. It didn’t matter how tight-lipped they all were, leaks were bound to happen. And he had a big organization, it’d probably been some low-level nobody.

“Dahlia, baby, I’m serious.”

He never calls me ‘baby’.

I started to get a little peeved as I felt the need to defend my friend. “Ben wouldn’t do anything like that.”

“He admitted it.”

“He must have been confused. Maybe he got drunk and let something slip. I’m going to call him.”

Theo’s face softened, but I refused to acknowledge it.

“He’ll clear it up,” I said. “It’ll be fine.”

“Gattina, he—”

I stood, my legs shaking as my heart pounded. “I know you’re normally good at this stuff, but you obviously made a really stupid mistake. You said the rat tried to have me kidnapped. Ben wouldn’t have done that. No way.”

“Dahlia, come here.”

I shook my head so violently it felt like my brain was shaking around. “I’m going to grab my phone and call him. It’ll be funny. We’ll bake a cake and laugh about it.”

There was a quick knock at the door before Niall came in without waiting. Theo’s eyes shot to him, widening in surprise.

“Will you talk some sense into him?” I asked Niall, forcing a laugh that sounded shrill and harsh. “He thinks Ben was the rat.”

“Everything okay?” Theo asked him.

Niall nodded before looking at me. “She may have some questions only I can answer.”

I crossed my arms. “Like why you’re both so awful at your jobs?”

“Like what made him do it.” Niall had always been cold and distant, more like a shadow than a person. So when he looked at me with a sad smile and concern, my resolve began to crumble.

“Made him do what?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“Turn on us. On his family. Including me, hisbloodfamily.”

“What?” I’d been around them both a lot, and there’d never been any mention they were related.

Niall inhaled deeply before launching in. “I started running with the Irish when I was seven. I did shit that’d haunt me if I weren’t numb to it. Amato is organized chaos for the greater good. Donnelly is chaos for the thrill. My little sister stuck by my side through it all, loving me even when I changed into someone she didn’t recognize.”

I was caught between being riveted and wanting to cover my ears so I couldn’t hear any of it.

“When her son, my nephew, was sixteen,” Niall continued, “Donnelly started trying to recruit him.”

“Ben?” I asked.

Nodding, Niall continued. “People didn’t fuck with Ben. He was smart and thrived in hectic situations. I’d never brought him in on things, refusing for him to be a part of that life. But there was no respect. It was just about the bottom line. And, bottom line, a guy like Ben could be useful. They went around me. When Leia found out they were trying to turn her baby boy into her shell of a brother, she went wild. That Irish temper came out swinging, and she wouldn’t back down.” The hint of warmth was replaced by grief. “And it cost her. They didn’t make it quick or neat, and it was Ben who found his parents.”

“Oh, God,” I whispered. My stomach lurched, and I thought I’d be sick.

“He came to live with me.” Niall tilted his head toward Theo. “This was around the time Amato was making big changes, so I went to Theo, asking for help. Him and Mr. Ricci worked free of charge, knowing they could be inciting a war that wasn’t theirs. They found who was responsible and made them pay.”

“How?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“Do you really want to know?” Theo asked, not as a taunt but with genuine concern.

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