“The bosses have so many resources, do you really think that they tried their best to find me?” He lifted his head as he asked the question, meeting my eyes as pain and rage circled like a merry-go-round.
I didn’t know what to say to him, how to get him to believe the bosses did all that they could. They searched day and night, spent ungodly amounts of money to find him. It all came to a halt the day that they got the death records with the dental proof. I knew they all thought he was dead, that there was no boy to look for any longer.
Then I thought about how they reacted when I said I saw Lex. Maybe they hoped I would come home empty-handed so they’d be able to tell me it was a trick of the mind and I must’ve imagined him. Was Lex right? Did they really not want to find him? I couldn’t believe my dad would do something like that.
Sure, he was ruthless, cruel to some, and had a sharp mind for business and strategy, but to kill Lex as a small child. The child of his best friend who he loved? No, I didn’t think my dad had anything to do with that.
“They did search for you in earnest.” He scoffed as he looked away, but I kept going. “They searched for you so much that at times it was hard to even have him see me. Then the day came when we got evidence that you and your uncle were dead. The bosses were all heartbroken when they heard the news.”
He turned his head farther away from me, telling me he didn’t believe a word I’d said, but that didn’t matter. I only needed him to believe this. “But even with the evidence, I never believed that you were dead. I always thought you would come back to me.”Did I just say to me?Ugh!!“I mean, to the Syndicate, where you belong.”
His head swung in my direction, and his eyes widened as the frown disappeared from his face. “You did?”
I gave him a fang-filled smile. “I don’t know why, but I just knew in here”—I lifted my hand to my heart—“you weren’t dead.” Golden rays of joy radiated off him as he smiled at me, which signaled that maybe I could tell him more. “It took me some convincing, but, tonight, we were all looking for you. I wanted to bring you back to my place and have the bosses see you, talk to you. Find out how you’ve grown and to see if you’d be ready to take your father’s spot. Once a Syndicate, always a Syndicate.”
The smile stayed on his face, but as his shoulders slumped and the brightness in his eyes dimmed, I realized I said something he didn’t like. Suddenly, my lips spilled out, “Do you... Do you not want to come back?”
That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. Out of all the things I thought this reunion would be, I didn’t think he would tell me he didn’t want to be with us, be apart. It was his for the taking, his by birth and right. He was the son of Rathe and Unna Devil, his place was with us, but that meant nothing if he didn’t want it.
“Not really,” he said as he cut up a piece of his steak and put it in his mouth. “Mmm, the fatty saltiness is perfect for this cut of meat.” He motioned to mine. “Make sure you eat some. It’s delicious, if I do say so myself.”
I looked down, not really in the mood to eat anymore, but I felt like if I didn’t, then he would be unhappy, and I didn’t want that. I tried to think why he wouldn’t want this, why he would rather live a different kind of life. I mean, I guess this life came with its own pressures and problems, but when I thought about it, I wouldn’t choose to do anything else. I chewed my steak to a pulp as I thought about it. Maybe I needed to convince him to come back? Show him that any problems or issues he had could be resolved, and I would help him with them and take him under my wing if he wanted.
Then a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. If he didn’t want to be with us, then why was he here?
I took another bite, studying him through a different lens, trying to figure him out. He was smiling down at his food, moving his head from side to side until he saw me scrutinizing him.
“More questions?”
I didn’t say anything while shifting in my seat as I realized though I felt connected to Lex, it was because my mind was stuck with the boy I held hands with as a kid, not the grown man I was sitting across from today. For all I knew, he could be here to kill me, and I was making it easier. All my thoughts took a dark turn, the opposite of my gut feelings, but I had to think about this logically.
Lex slid his hand across the table, touching my fingertips. My eyes jerked up to his, surprised by the comforting touch. “Rayla, any questions you have, I will answer honestly. I don’t want our relationship to start with lies and deceit. I have lived my whole life like that, but with you, I don’t want to. I want to always be honest and open with you.”
I blurted, “Even if it’s something you don’t want to tell me? Something that could cause me to be angry or hurt?” My tone was like a dare, full of disbelief and hope, yet, I expected the worst.
Lex let go of my hand, and my heart dropped until his chair scraped across the floor. He rose from his seat and took a few steps around the table before he turned me in my chair as he kneeled in front of me. He took my hands in his as he looked up at me with sincerity. “Yes. I will always tell you the truth. I vow to you here and now that for the rest of our days, I will never lie to you. Even if you would hate me afterward, even if it hurts you, hurts the people you love, causes you to want to hurt me back.”
His thumbs were drawing soft and sensual circles on my hands, and a shiver ran up my spine. He took a big breath before he continued. “I know that you value honesty and loyalty above all else, and I can give that to you. I want to give that to you and only you. Not because of anything with the Syndicate but because you are Rayla, and I am Lex. The two kids that held hands on the day they buried their moms and my dad. Taking comfort in each other’s pain.”
My heart filled with joy at his admission, at his dedication, but something hit me from the words he said. “Lex, how do you know I value honesty and loyalty when this is only the second time we have seen each other?”
His lips rolled into his mouth for a second while looking down at my lap before raising his eyes, filled with determination. “Because, Rayla, I have been watching you most of your life.”
My eyes widened, and my insides were screaming alarm bells. I slowly and carefully asked, “What does that mean, Lex?”
He let go of my hands and went to the foyer table, pulled out a box, and came back over to me. “Do you know what a seeing orb is?”
I nodded. “I’ve heard of one, but I’ve never seen one in person, let alone used one. They are very rare.” I thought back to the last time I heard about one in the news. “I think there are only four in existence; two are said to be lost, one is in a museum, and the other, some big shot in Europe has.”
He smiled. “Well, now there’s only one that is lost.” He opened the box, and nestled inside of red velvet was a smoke-filled glass orb. As I studied it, flashes of iridescent shine kept moving across the glass, showing me the magic encased in this sphere looking glass.
I must’ve appeared shocked because Lex said eagerly, “You can touch it.” My dirty mind went to something else real quick. Heat rose on my neck as I laughed at myself internally. I was no damn better than a dude.
I ran the pad of my finger over the smooth surface. At first, it felt like a ball of glass, then the smoke shifted around, going in a different floating pattern that seemed to circle my touch. It was fascinating and mesmerizing. Something kept calling to me from the smoke, telling me to look in and find something, until Lex closed the lid on my finger, my eyes no longer transfixed, and I yanked my finger away.
“I should’ve warned you that the call to use it was strong. I guess I’m just so used to it that I don’t notice it anymore.” He walked back to the table and placed it safely in the drawer before turning back.
I was still confused, and I shook my head as he kneeled before me again. “Lex, I still—”
