Page 93 of Jace
He scoffs darkly. “Our kidneys: good fucking luck with that.”
“No, he wantsus. His sons. His daughter. One last time.” I grab his arm. “Listen to me. This is our way to be free, once and for all. Even if I give him a kidney, he won’t survive another surgery. Besides, it’s not what he really wants. He wants to seeus.He wants to feel like we remotely give a damn about him.”
“We don’t. We hate him.” Grant’s not joking.
But I search my brother’s eyes, and I don’t see hatred. Not in him or in any of the kings, including Nash. Not even in our mom’s eyes or in Sasha’s. Not anymore.
The ultimate revenge, the ultimate justice, is letting go of hatred and choosing to love.
Sounds like the most anti-Bratva shit, I know, and that’s the point.
We escaped that life: bodies and souls.
Do we kill bad men? Yes.
But arewebad men?
Only if we’re like our father.
I nod. “Wedidhate him, and he deserved it. But then something happened; we grew up and found love. Love won, and hatred lost.Helost.”
Grant’s silent. He’s thinking about Delphine, I can see it. It’s what I mean; you have to feel love to find it in another person’s eyes.
“We’re better men than him,” I explain. “What does Mom always say? Hating someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
“But you always wanted to kill him,” Grant seethes. “More than any of us. What the fuck happened to you?”
I shrug. “I saw him and realized he’s already dead, inside and out. But I’m not. If we hate, we’re just like him. But if we love, we win. And I’m done. I’m ready to love Vivian. I need her to be free, and I wantusto be free.”
Grant narrows his eyes. “You expect me to love him?”
“No. Just love others.”
“So you want me to forgive him?”
“No.”
“To trust him?”
“No, but trust me. I’m giving him what he wants. I’m letting him help me. I’m roping him in to make sure he’ll meet with us. It’ll give Mom the closure she deserves, and us the justice we want: Sheremetev’s head for what he did to Sasha, and a deal with the new Pakhan, ending Ruslan’s reign.”
He shakes his head. “You’re fucking delusional if you think it’ll work.” His phone buzzes. Glancing down, he smirks. “Speaking of unhinged, I’ve got Vivian covered.”
My nostrils flare. “What did you do?”
“Called for backup. All the kings will be at Alena’s initiation, so we need a killer joker to guard a queen.”
Oh fuck.
I clench my teeth. “No. Fucking. Way. He’s a loose cannon with a mouth to match.”
Grant tsks. “We trusted him to guard Alena when Loch couldn’t.”
I snarl, “The only thing you can trust about Wilder Lawless is that youcan’ttrust Wilder Lawless.”
“Welp, he’s on his way.”
“On a fucking Harley to pick up Vivian from the airport? How’s that gonna work?”
