Page 37 of Explode
“I don’t know,” I murmured because right then, I had no answers.
“Well, what about Max and Hendrix though? What about gettingretribution for Danny and Jacqueline, and every other person they have hurt or killed?”
“I guess that’s up to Kai. It was never my battle, I just got thrust into itwithout much of a say. Now he’s back, it’ll be up to him,” I replied, staring up at the canopy.
Instead of the relief I thought I’d feel at passing the buck to someoneelse, it took me by surprise to realize a heavy weight had settled in my gut at the acceptance that it would no longer be my problem.
Funny really, I never wanted the responsibility of running a city, yetnow I could happily hand it over, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to.
“Erm, Riley. I don’t think it works like that,” Sofia said. I sat up,my eyes snapping to hers.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Kai named you as successor. It’s not something you justwalk away from. There’s only one way to hand the torch over to someone else,” she said, echoing Miles’ words from when he first told me I couldn’t just up and walk away.
“But Kai never died,” I protested.
She shrugged her slender shoulders. “I know. But if people havebeen swearing their loyalty to you, I can’t see them switching back to Kai, especially when they find out he was alive all this time. It wasn’t just you he lied to.”
I hadn’t thought of that. The faces of Kimmy, Ernie, and Grahamswam into my mind from the meeting where they swore their loyalties to me. Sofia was right, people believed Kai was dead. When they found out he wasn’t, would they feel the same sense of betrayal I felt? And if they did, could they go back to being Kai’s faithful servants?
Before either of us could give it any more thought, another knocksounded at the door. Georgio didn’t wait for a response before he opened the door and strolled in.
“Ah, I thought I’d find you both here,” he said, looking from hisdaughter to me. “Sofia, there’s someone waiting to see you in the South garden.”
“Who?” Sofia said. The question in her tone made me think shewasn’t expecting anyone.
“You’ll see when you get there,” Georgio replied, glaring at hisdaughter, and making it clear she had no choice in the matter, nor was he going to tell her anything else.
Her sigh was barely audible. “I’ll catch you later, Riley,” she saidbefore hopping off the bed and walking out of the room without another glance at her father.
“I trust you slept well, Riley?” Georgio asked, turning his hazel eyeson me.
“I did, thanks,” I replied, knowing he didn’t actually give two hootsabout how I slept.
“Good. Mr. Wolfe is here to see you.”
Fuck me.
Thanks for sugarcoating it, Georgio.
The pit of my stomach plummeted to the floor. I wasn’t ready to seeKai, I wasn’t ready to hearanythinghe had to say.
But could I find the words to tell Georgio that as he promptly turnedaround and walked to the door? No, of course I fucking couldn’t.
And I couldn’t find the words to tell Kai to get lost when he steppedinto the bedroom and shut the door firmly behind him, leaving the two of us alone.
Chapter 11
Kai
Threateningtodecapitateoneof the Bianchi guards unless he let mein the house probably wasn’t my smartest move, but desperate men do desperate things, and I was desperate.
I needed my Star more than I needed my next breath.
It was a good job Miles was with me. Using his new status as thefuture son-in-law, he convinced the guards to bring us to old man Bianchi.
It was clear within a few minutes of meeting Georgio that he didn’t like me, but the feeling was mutual. If it hadn’t been for Riley making the deal, there was never in a million years I’d ever consider making a deal with the prick.
