But Achilles gets it right away, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"I don't need atreat-my-daughter-righttalk, Kayla. I get it. You're all dangerous in this household. I would care if I was planning on treating Nyx in any way that would hurt her, but I don't."
He takes a step toward the door, my hand now in his, but Kay's voice stops us again. There's something in it that comes from years of being a leader, and that commands a room.
"I said, sit back down."
This time when we turn our heads toward her, there's a gun on the table.
"Holy shit, Kay," I gasp. "What are youdoing?" I sound like a kid being embarrassed by her mom, and honestly, it's kind of the North Shore version of that.
"It's alright," Achilles says to me. "You want to talk? Let's talk."
She sits at one end of the table, so he goes sit back at the other, and I'm in the middle like a damsel in distress. I'm always the fucking damsel in distress.
"Here's the thing," she starts. "I'm a busy woman, and I won't always have time to check on your behavior, which I know hasn't always been the best when it comes to Nyx."
"Don't you think this is a bit over the top?"
Ignoring me, she stares at Achilles as she keeps going. "Do you know how I used to test people who would want to join theKings? They would share a secret. Something real, something I could hold over them. It wasn't everything, but it gave me something to work with at first while I decided if they could fight by my side."
One of her hands comes to rest on the gun without her picking it up.
"I want Nyx to have something over you, should you decide to stab her in the back. Because that's how you Stoneview kids do it, isn't it? Never really brave enough to confront someone, always making sure they're looking away while you bring them down."
"I know plenty of his secrets," I tell her while Achilles stays silent.
"I'm sure you do." She smiles warmly at me. "Whatever hewantedto share, he did. He felt safe. You're in love after all, right?"
Her black hair is shorter than it used to be, not going past her shoulders, and it gives her a more housewife look than the wild card we used to call the ruthless King. It doesn't mean she's any less dangerous, though.
Achilles chuckles, smiling to himself.
"You're good, Kayla, you know?" He looks around. "You hide in your Stoneview mansion, with your mafia husband, giving the impression of a retired gangster. But the things I found out about you could make any man cry for his life."
She cocks an eyebrow at him, the tattoo that says ‘Hell’ at her hairline shifting.
"I'm grateful that Nyx has someone like you in her corner," he finally says, and my mouth drops open.
What?
"You want me to give my most sacred secret to Nyx? I'll give it happily. I trust her with my life, and if that's what it takes for the personshetrusts the most to trustme, then why wouldn't I?"
His eyes stay on Kay, seemingly unaffected, but I watch his Adam's apple moving as he gulps.
"I have a baby sister, Sophie. She's hiding with my mother from my abusive father in the South of France. I won't tell you where. That would be putting her safety at risk, and I can't do that, not even under torture."
Kay stays silent, sensing there's more to come. Iknowthere's more to come because I was already aware of that secret.
He licks his lips, preparing for whatever he's about to drop, and his gorgeous gray gaze finally lands on me.
"Sophie isn't my sister. She's my daughter."
Chapter Thirty
Achilles
Achilles Come Down – Gang of Youths
