Page 150 of Malicious Claim

"I need to kill him," Makros said.

He didn't say I would have to kill him. He said he needs to kill him. She noted the difference.

Leila looked at him, trying to read his expression but all she could see was the same fuming look. "Do you believe me now?"

"I do."

Leila exhaled. But before relief could set in, Makros stepped closer. His voice dipped low.

"There's something you should know."

She stiffened and silently hoped that whatever she needed to know had nothing to do with Dimitri saying she'd helped him escape.

Makros leaned in, watching her reaction as he said, "I did kill your family in revenge."

Leila swallowed, caught by surprise by the sudden admittance. "Whose revenge?"

Makros quietly sighed.

"Mine."

Her breath caught.

"What did my family do to you?"

Makros locked gazes with her, silent for a while. Then, finally, he spoke.

"They killed my wife and child."

Leila gasped, but Makros was not finished. He allowed just the right amount of brokenness to creep into his voice to reveal his pain.

“I was away working. I came back, and my house was quiet. I found my wife inside, hanging on. My son—" His throat closed, but he forced himself to continue. "They murdered him first. She lived long enough to say who had done it."

"My family?" Leila whispered, a tide of faintness washing over her.

His eyes darkened, locking onto hers. "Yes, your father had an assassin sent on my wife and child. Your family targeted mine first."

Leila stumbled backward, shaking her head in denial. "No."

Makros breathed out, half sigh, half laugh. "Yes."

Leila's breath caught, her mind struggling to get around his words. No. That can't be. Her father had been cruel to men, but he had never been cruel to women and children.

She shook her head, her heart racing in her ears. "No. " The word was little more than a whisper. Then louder, more forceful, "No. That doesn't make any sense."

Makros simply stared at her, his face expressionless.

She retreated. "What did you do?" Her voice shook despite herself. "They wouldn't just go after your family. My father wouldn't—"

Makros snarled. "Wouldn't what? Kill an innocent?" His voice sliced through the dense air between them, cutting as a blade. "I didn't do anything to deserve to lose them, Leila."

Her gut churned. "That's not possible. My father never went after women and children. We don't—"

Makros' head inclined to the side, his eyes narrowing. "You don't?"

Leila hesitated.

"Hardly," she said finally, but the word was bitter in her mouth.

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