Her melodic voice was anything but soothing. After a night of tossing and berating myself for how weak I turned out to be, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her—especially with her looking rested and fresh in jeans and an off-the-shoulder jumper with her hair plaited and just begging to be fisted while I took her from behind.

She didn’t look nervous or fearful—she looked defiant and ready to battle.

“So, you’re ignoring me now?”

“Not ignoring you, just filtering out your useless questions.” I didn’t turn to face her. Instead, I kept driving. Guiding the four-seater Ferrari FF away from Hawksridge Hall, I looked into the rear-view mirror.

I’d made the mistake of sitting Nila in the front with me. I should've put her in the back with Kestrel.

He caught my gaze, smirking a little as if he knew exactly what I was dealing with but didn’t give a toss. Awful thing was he did know exactly what I was dealing with and whatever sympathy he’d given me in the past had long since dried up.

It fucking hurt to have my closest ally wash his hands of me.

Nila spun in her seat, the tan leather creaking beneath her. “You tell me, Kes. Why was my morning spent sketching my so-called ‘wedding dress’ interrupted by a mysterious trip off the estate?” Her voice lowered. “You’ve only just gotten me back—why am I being given outings when I was told I would never leave again?”

Kes chuckled, his silvering hair longer and slightly shaggy. “That’s a lot of questions.”

Nila deadpanned. “I have a lot of confusion.”

Kes had changed a bit since I’d last seen him—withdrawing from me just like I withdrew from him.

Our fight came back with crystal clarity. It’d been two or three days after Cut had given me the ultimatum: Drugs and keep Nila for myself. Die and give Nila to Daniel. Kes had raged at me. He wanted me to give in and trust that together we could find another way. Only, he didn’t know the sentence Cut had given. It wasn’t his business. It was my curse. My responsibility to stay alive in order to protect Nila even while being cruel to her. And I had to use the tablets to remain sane enough to do that.

I don’t need him anymore—just like I don’t need my sister.

Kes laughed harder. The friendship between him and Nila sprang instantly back into place as if she’d never gone. How could they have such a bond when they were practically strangers?

I’d lived all my life with these people and still wasn’t comfortable in their company. The numbness from my tablets meant I’d deliberately distanced myself from the people I was closest to, so their feelings and thoughts wouldn’t sway my conviction. But to have Kes laugh so easily with Nila, when he was stilted and removed with me, hurt in a way I would never admit.

“Perhaps if you practice patience, you’ll find out soon enough,” I snapped.

Kes scowled, his hands clasped between his legs, his leather jacket and jeans filling up the rear of the car with authority only wealth can bring. “Everything is different now, Jet. You know that. If she asks, we tell her. Cut’s orders.”

Nila twisted further in her chair, eyes wide. “What does that mean?”

“It means that things have changed and our secrets…well, they’re not just ours anymore.” He leaned forward, his bulk crowding the centre console. “Try me. Ask anything and I’ll answer.”

I ground my teeth.

Nila bit her lip. “Okay…answer my first question. Where are we going?”

Kes didn’t hesitate. “Diamond Alley.”

“Diamond Alley?” Her mouth popped open. “What is that?”

I glanced warningly at Kes in the rear-view mirror. He was right. The rules had changed. But it was still my call what she learned, where she went, who she interacted with. I was both her protector and jailer. Confidant and confessor. Even though I didn’t want our connection to hurt me anymore, she was still mine until the end.

Kes scowled at my reflection before giving Nila his full attention. “You want the truth, Nila?”

Her lips thinned. “I’ve been asking for the truth for months. Of course, I want it.”

“The truth is sometimes worse than reality,” I murmured under my breath.

She sent me a look, but the question in her eyes assured me she hadn’t heard.

Kes settled back in the Ferrari bucket seat. “Okay, here it is. We’re taking you to one of our shipping warehouses. Diamond Alley is where most of what we mine enters England. We have a few distribution centres all over Europe, Asia, and America, but this one is closest to home and where we run the others overseas.”

And just like that Nila became an honouree Hawk.

I hope you’re ready for this ride, Nila, because once you know, you can never forget.

Nila absorbed that for a second, discounting hundreds of questions fleeting in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “Alright…and what does this have to do with me?”

I answered before Kes could. “What you’re about to see is the truth. You will know where the stones come from. What they look like. How much we earn. Who works for us. Where the rocks end up. How we pay off the police. How we run fucking England. There will be no more secrets on who we are or what we expect of you. Answers will be given on every topic.”

I glared at her. “You’ll know everything. Every scrap of history, hope, dream, and disaster of our family and yours.”

Nila’s eyes glowed. “And what did I do to deserve such trust?”