Page 85 of Secret Heir

I let him guide me out of the garage, Len watching from where he’s standing by the car. Maksim keeps one arm around my waist, supporting me even though my legs work fine now.

We make it into the house and he sits me on the sofa in the living room. He disappears into the kitchen and returns with water.

“Drink.” He hands me the glass.

I do, even though my hands are shaking so badly I almost spill it. He sits beside me but doesn’t touch. I can feel him watching me.

“Aria,” he says quietly. “What really happened?”

“I told you,” I say, setting down the glass. “I saw a really gross spider.”

“I don’t think that’s what you saw.” He shifts closer, his body heat enveloping me and my mouth dries. “That wasn’t about a spider.”

No. It was about watching you murder someone eight years ago and hearing you plot to kill your brother. It was about realizing I’ve been running from you for eight years and I still don’t know if you’re the monster I think you are.

“It was fear,” I say again, but it sounds weak even to me.

He’s quiet for a long moment, and I can see him trying to figure out what’s really going on.

“You weren’t scared of a spider.”

“Yes I was⁠—”

“Don’t lie to me.” His voice is firm but not harsh. “Not right now. Something terrified you in that garage. Something that made you collapse and cry and shake like you were having a panic attack.” He’s touching me now, his hands on mine. “What happened, Aria? What did you remember?”

My blood goes cold. He knows. He doesn’t know what specifically, but he knows something triggered a memory.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I pull my hands away. “I just got dizzy. Low blood sugar, probably. I should eat something.”

I start to stand, but his hand on my wrist stops me.

“Stop running.” His voice is quiet but intense. “Please. Whatever this is, whatever you’re afraid of, just tell me. Let me help.”

I look at the concern in his gray eyes, the tension in his jaw, and the way his hand is gentle on my wrist even though I can see he wants to shake the truth out of me.

I pull my hand away from him. “There’s nothing you need to help me with. There was literally a gigantic spider in the garage. You should call an exterminator.” And with that, I rush out of the living room before he can stop me, my mind racing.

Is this man a traitor? A killer planning to murder his own brother?

Or did I misunderstand everything that night?

I realize with sudden clarity that I need to tell him. I need to find out if he was part of it or if I’ve been running from the wrong person all along.

But either way, there’s a very good chance I’ll be dead when I do tell him.

12

ARIA

I’m on the hunt for Daniel later that afternoon. I finally found that stupid fucking dinosaur—it wasn’t in the garage but was somehow wedged under his bed—and am trying to find my son so he can finally have it back. He’s obviously not in his room and I don’t find him in the kitchen. He’s not outside either.

Where is he?

I pass by the library and hear voices. I slow down and peek in and the sight stops me in the doorway.

Maksim is sprawled in the oversized leather armchair by the window, his long legs stretched out. He’s dressed down in blue jeans and a green t-shirt that stretches across his broad chest. The afternoon sunlight catches the silver in his dark hair, making his gray eyes almost luminous as he reads aloud from a battered hardcover book.

Daniel is tucked against his side, practically burrowed into Maksim’s chest, his small body fitting perfectly in the curve of his father’s arm. He’s wearing his favorite pirate shirt, and his feet are bare, one leg draped over Maksim’s knee.