Page 67 of Bitter Lies

No point keeping this from him, so I give him what I can without overindulging. “I’ve been ordered to get inside Lopez’s penthouse and have a look around.”

I don’t need to explain what that means. He knows what I’m saying, and by the way his eyes darken, I see what’s coming.

“Sounds like a job for two.”

“No.” Sighing, I run my hand over my face, knowing he’ll keep pushing. “Two’s a crowd, and I don’t have time to babysit. It needs to be done quickly, and you’ll only get in my way.”

I also don’t need him there while I chase a theory bouncing around in my head. I work better alone—when I can manage it. It gives me room to collect what I need and to cover my arse when shit hits the fan.

Reaching into his jacket, he produces a pack of smokes, taps it against his palm, and slides one out.

“I’ll have you know my job before I became warlord was much like yours. And I owe your favorite princess a favor.” Placing a ciggy between his lips, he speaks around it. “When I first met her, I didn’t realize who she was. But after the gallery exhibit and meeting her grandmother… things became clearer. My attraction to her⁠—”

“Don’t!” I snap between gritted teeth. “She’s off-limits.”

Holding his hands up, the pack of smokes in his right, he explains. “You’re misunderstanding. She’s off-limits, yes, but for other reasons. I only meant because I knew her mother, Sofia. We were friends.”

I’m sorry, what did he just say?

What does he mean Sofia and he were friends? And how come I’m just now learning about this important piece of intel?

Chapter 25

Aiden

Narrowing my eyes, I study Silas, eager to learn more. “Friends? What kind of friends?”

“The best kind.” He smirks, dropping his hands to retrieve his lighter.

“Just friends?” I don’t believe him. Silas doesn’t know how to be just friends with a woman.

“At first, yes.” He lights his ciggy and inhales. “Alma and my mother were two peas in a pod. They shared a love of art. Mother dragged me along with her to every event she could. Claimed it added culture to my life, a counterbalance from the world my father would one day throw me into.”

His fingers drum against his leg before going still. “At first, I hated it. Found it rather boring… then I met Sofia.”

The way he says her name, as if it transports him back to a cherished memory, immediately grabs my attention.

“Sofia was special. Like me, she didn’t want to be there. But it wasn’t just that.” The corner of his lip turns upward as he glances my way. “She was a bird meant to fly free. Instead, her parents locked her in a cage she couldn’t escape from.”

A car drives by, its tires’ soft hum filling the silence between us.

“Unlike me, she had an eye for the arts. Taught me how to appreciate it. Art was more than just some random painting or odd sculpture. She taught me that each piece would speak to you to say if I’d let it.” He blinks a few times; it’s like he’s lost in a memory. “We’d sit and discuss the ones that caught our eyes. She was always more passionate about it than I was, but I tried.”

That reminds me of the first time I met Alma. She did the same. Forced me to see beyond the lines and colors, to appreciate the deeper meaning. I bet that’s who Sofia learned it from, even if they had a rocky relationship.

“So, she’s where your love for art comes from?”

I wonder if Isabel knows this about her mother. If that’s what draws her to art. Perhaps it’s her way of feeling a deeper connection to the mother she never had the chance to truly know.

He nods, then exhales a stream of smoke from the side of his mouth. “As we got older, we grew apart. She headed to university. I was deep in this world, learning it from the bottom up. Then one night, Sofia called me out of the blue. We hadn’t seen each other for over six months.”

“What was she studying?” Call me curious.

He shrugs. “Not sure. It wasn’t something we talked about. She only went because her father demanded it. Her grades weren’t the best, took her longer than most to finish.”

Taking a puff of his ciggy, he holds it before releasing the smoke. “Her call caught me off guard. She was hysterical. Could barely get a sentence out. Took me longer than it should’ve to calm her so I could understand.”

His jaw clenches at his next words. “Sofia had a knack for finding trouble. This time was no different. She and Rico had a fight over her future. He was fed up. Done funding her education. Had come up with his own solution.”