All the Truths (Lies & Truths Duet, #2)

by Rina Kent

“Why didn’t I get to meet her?” I ask. “Nikolai’s condition was that if you two got together again, it’d only be under the bratva’s rules. Meaning, you could only reunite with her if Gareth gave you up, too. He wasn’t ready for that.” I tighten my hands around each other. “Then something happened, right?” “Well, yes.” Alex clicks his pen. “Your father died in an accident, which I still think had Ivan’s hands all over it. That little fucker always hated his guts.”

“She said something about having business to finish and that she’d find me…I think.” How do I even remember that? Alex gives a sharp nod. “She has Nikolai’s ledger, which holds all the names, numbers, and dirt on the people he did business with. He announced before his death that the owner of that ledger is his sole heir. Ivan can’t get the others’ blessing to be Pakhan without that book. That’s why he’s hunting her down.”

The way she shuts out the world by crossing her arms over her chest. The way she leads the cheerleading squad like she was born for it. How she dances, how she jumps, and how the corner of her mouth twitches when she smiles. All those little details are enough evidence she’s still the same. It’s only that she’s more spontaneous now, more maddening.

I keep coming back to her whether I like to or not. She has me under some black magic. It’s in the way she looks at me like she never looks at anyone else. Like I’m her one and only.

This woman is my hell and I’m ready to burn.

“I’m the only man you’ll ever get on your knees for, understood?” “Yes, Ash.” “Repeat that.” Her voice turns sultry. “Yes, Ash.” “Again.” I’ll never get used to the sound of her submission, of her words. “Fuck my mouth, Ash.”

Who said it’s easy to find the right road? If Reina is the wrong one, I’m not leaving this fucking place for eternity.

Reina is fucking temptation incarnate.

Reina is that forbidden fruit, something that tastes exquisite because it’s sin.

“I love Rei.” “I know you do.” “No, not that type of love. I’m in love with her, Gray—romantically. Like I can’t live without her.”

“Thanks, Gray!” She throws her arms around my neck in a hug. “You’re the best brother in the world.” No, I’m the worst. Because I don’t want to share Reina. Not even with my sister.

I don’t want to have parts of Asher while he keeps the others hidden. I want the light and the darkness. The sanity and the madness. The beauty and the ugliness. I want everything.

Just when did we reach this phase? When did Asher and I stop holding hands and sneaking out to meet each other? I know when. When he first kissed me at fourteen. A real kiss, a kiss with sloppy lips and clinking teeth and wandering tongues. I realized I couldn’t possibly live without this boy anymore, and it scared the fuck out of me because Asher isn’t mine.

“I…I love Asher.” “I know that.” “No.” She meets my gaze then quickly averts it to stare at her lap. “I’m in love with him, Rei. Not like a sibling, but as a man.”

“He doesn’t love you,” she blurts and goes back to clinking her nails against one another. “And you never loved him, so can you please leave him to me, Rei? You can find better, I know you can.”

“I’m going to fuck your pussy hard and fast until you scream my name, but I won’t stop there. Even when you’re shaking and begging me to stop, I won’t. You know what I’ll do next?” He pauses, and I suck in a breath through my quivering lips. “I’m going to fuck your ass and claim every inch of you so when I’m done, you won’t dare think about another man, let alone let them touch you.”

I close my eyes, letting him mark me. Own me. After all, I’m Asher’s queen in public and his slut in private.

“Are you returning any time soon?” “Why?” I grin. “Miss me?” “I miss beating you in debates.” “Fuck you. I’m the one who beats your and Cole’s asses.” “That’s a lie and you know it.” “Is there a point to your call?” I shake my head. “Shouldn’t you be cuddling with Elsa and making babies?” “Don’t ever mention my wife’s name and making babies in the same sentence or I’ll fucking kill you. Deal? Deal.”

“I didn’t give her a choice, especially at the beginning. The more she ran, the faster I chased. The deeper she hid, the harder I conquered.” “What if, after you chase and conquer, she still doesn’t want you?” “Then you’re not doing it the right way. Tie her to you and make her see you. If she doesn’t like what she sees, make her like it.”

“As much fun as it’s been talking to you, I’m going back to my wife. She’s been asking about you, and this is a friendly reminder not to call her. If you do, I’m flying there and cutting out your tongue.”

“I…I told Reina I loved her. You know what she said?” Fuck. Fuck! “Come here and tell me, Ari, okay?” She shakes her head, her leg pushing back. I freeze an arm’s length away from her. “She laughed, Gray.” A sob rattles in the air as tears fall down her neck and soak the hem of her dress. “She laughed at me and asked if I was serious. She said my brother and I are so fucking delusional and made fun of me. Why did she make fun of me?”

How do you expect me to live with someone who made fun of my feelings while my brother is in love with her?” “I…” I clear my throat. “I won’t be anymore. I promise, Ari. I fucking promise, so come down.” “Really?” She sniffles. “You’ll really hate her?” “I will. Anything for you, Ari.” I’ll cut my heart to pieces and stomp on it if I get to keep Ari. She’s the only thing I have, the only person I can call family. I did everything to take care of her. If I lose her after Mom, I don’t know what will be left of my life.

“Then don’t forget this, Gray.” Her face turns stone-cold as the tears and sniffles and sobbing disappear. “Make Reina pay for my death.” And then she opens her arms wide and jumps backward, her dress flying behind her.

You can’t hate me? You want to be with me?” He crouches in front of me and traps my jaw between his thumb and forefinger. “Because I can’t fucking live without you. I tried it and it was hell.”

“You think my sister killed herself just to keep us apart?” “I know this pains you, Ash.” My palm cradles his cheek as if the touch will take the torment away. “But you have to keep an open mind if you want to learn the truth. It’s clear she relied on our lack of communication, knowing full well we’d never sit down and talk about this. From what I’ve learned, we did have communication problems, right?”

After I figured things out, I remember thinking I’d talk to you.” He’s silent for a bit. “After Ari’s funeral, yes.” “And what was your reply?” He remains silent. “What did you tell me?” I insist. “And don’t lie to me.” He sighs. “The exact words were, You’re fucking dead to me. Don’t let me see your face again.”

Jason is also Cloud003. He befriended me, fucked me, and was there for me in the most convenient times. He was also there right before Arianna killed herself. It can’t be a coincidence, right?

“I wore my engagement ring that night—where is it?” “We found no ring.” My heart flutters as I whisper, “So she took it.”

“Let me go.” “Why?” That intense possessive look returns. “You’re my fiancée, remember?” “Ash.” “Stop acting like you’re not mine or I’ll prove it right here, right now.”

He stares at my expression then at our linked hands with slight awe on his face. “I guess I never did this before either?” I ask. “You did.” He appears nostalgic as he strokes the back of my hand with his thumb. “When we were thirteen.” “But not after?” He shakes his head once. Damn you, Old Reina.

God, I love him. I’m in love with him. I have never felt as attuned to a person as I am to Asher. My orbit keeps turning around him, or rather, I keep floating in his orbit.

“Why did you have to be like this?” She sniffles. “It would’ve been so much easier if you were the old Reina. Ever since I found this, I can’t sleep.” “Found what?” “Even though I would give my life for him, I can’t do this to you or to Mr. Carson. He’s my savior and I owe him my life. “You’re not making any sense, Izzy.” “Just…just promise me you won’t ruin his entire career, please. Please, Reina.”

My thoughts shatter when the door opens. The man standing in front of me isn’t Jason. No. He’s the last person I expected to find here. Dark jeans accentuate his powerful thighs and a gray T-shirt stretches against his bulging muscles. The eyes that shouldn’t be staring at me right now capture my soul in their merciless hold. “A-Asher?” “The one and only, my slut.”

“You knew.” “I…did?” “You hid it well, but yes, you did. Last year, I was fucking you from behind while you were half-asleep and you called out my name.” He sighs, the sound long and baffled. “You even asked me to stay. Why the fuck did you ask me to stay?”

“Because I wanted you to,” I say easily. “I wanted you to stay, Ash.”

Besides, I wouldn’t have given my virginity to a stranger.” He pauses, and I pause, too, realizing what I just admitted. Asher took my virginity. Fucking hell. “I didn’t know that.” His brows furrow. “You didn’t bleed or anything. You weren’t in pain either.” I shrug, my cheeks heating. “Because it didn’t hurt.”

you are the only one, Ash.” “The only one?” “Yes. No one before you or after you. I know it for a fact.” Both his palms cage my face as he lowers his forehead to mine. “I thought I was the only one so hopeless for you.” “I was hopeless for you, too, Ash.”

“You were my first and only, too, Reina.” My lips part, my heart flipping and thumping. “But you were in England and…oh, my God. Wait. You were a virgin?” “At eighteen. How fucking pathetic is that?” He smiles but there’s no humor behind it. “I guess I’m lucky you were too drunk to notice.” “Ash…” “You were the only girl I wanted to kiss since I learned what kissing is and the only one I wanted to fuck since I learned what fucking means. All the others were nothing compared to you.

“I never wanted any other man but you, and I never will.” I wrap my arms around his neck. “You ruined me for everyone else.” His grunt is like music to my ears as he positions himself between my legs. “That’s my slut.”

We hug each other as he moves slowly inside me. I realize with tears in my eyes that I’m not his slut now; I’m almost his…queen. His one and only.

“Why Cloud003, though?” I murmur in my sleepy haze. “Cloud because of Gray, my middle name. 003 because of the day I first met you, January 3rd. It’s the reason behind this room number, too—1003.” I smile against his skin. Damn this man and the lengths he went to for this. I love you, my mind screams. I love you so much, and it kills me to think you don’t feel the same.

“Nothing feels good to me, Jace. Everything is like a rehearsed play. It felt like sucking plastic. But since I knew the right buttons to push, I made him feel good. Besides, Gray believed it. Win-win.” “You’re bad.” There’s a smile in Jason’s voice. “Thank you.” She feigns a curtsy. “It’s getting boring playing with them, you know. Gray and Reina were these two people who looked at each other like they found salvation. It was interesting to watch them dissolve, to hold on to that something even though they keep hurting.

Gray even believed Reina was behind all those dares, and Reina thought it was Gray’s revenge against her so she kept her mouth shut when everyone accused her.” A deep laugh comes from Jason. “Only you would ruin the two people who love you the most, Ari.” “Love.” She cocks her head to the side like a maniac. “What is that? And why should I care about it? The only reason I keep Gray and Reina close is because it’s fun to toy with them.

“Come on, you never cared about them?” “No. They’re just there to serve a purpose I need and then they’re out. Mom used to teach me how to be caring and attentive and it was fucking annoying. I’m glad that bitch died and left me in peace. At least Dad doesn’t care for shit and Gray became easier to fool as we grew up.”

“It’s getting boring anyway so I might as well go for the grand finale.” “What grand finale?” Jason asks. “Breaking them up once and for all. And Jace?” “Yeah?” “Continue my legacy. I know you yearn for chaos deep inside, so once I make the fire, don’t let it burn out.” “You mean keep Asher and Reina apart?” “Yeah. After I’m done with them, they’ll never come together again anyway, but just in case, don’t allow them to reunite.” “Why don’t you make sure of it yourself, Ari?”

He continues focusing on the TV as if Arianna is still there, saying she never cared for us, saying her brother who sacrificed his youth for her happiness and matured early to become her parent and her support was easy to fool, saying all she cared about was destroying him.

“I’m so sorry.” His voice is barely above a murmur. My brows furrow. “What?” His arms wrap around me in a tight hug that nearly cuts off my breath. “I’m so fucking sorry, Reina.”

“Are you running away from me, prom queen?” “No.” Yes. “You can’t leave me, not anymore.” His lips brush against mine in a brief, heartbreaking kiss. “You’re my world now.”

Detective Daniels tells me I’m under arrest for murder and reads me my rights, then he leans in to whisper, “I told you I’d get you.” My expression doesn’t change, but my pulse rises at the contempt in his tone.

Something vibrates at my side before the officer beside me picks up. He speaks in Russian, and even though mine is rusty, I recognize the words loud and clear. We got her. Oh, God. Oh, no.