Third Debt (Indebted #4)(40)

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 f*cking 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?”

My fists tightened around the steering wheel.

Because you’re special.

Kes smiled sadly. “Because you proved yourself.”

She tensed. “How exactly?”

“You spoke to the reporter. You dug your own grave,” I murmured. “And no matter how much you want to, you won’t be leaving Hawksridge again. Cut has made sure of that. Bonnie has made sure of that. You have nowhere else to go.”

Nila’s face went white, finally realising what she’d done. Kes and I stayed silent, waiting for her to verbalize her fate.

Her voice shook. “You no longer need to hide anything from me, because I won’t be around much longer to share it.”

Bingo.

I groaned quietly as a despairing cloud filled the car. The unhappiness, regret, and anger resonating from Nila was too much. Flicking the button on the steering wheel, I wound down the windows, blasting cold autumn air into the car.

I inhaled greedily, trying to dispel the lacerations of her anguish.

Nila shivered, hugging herself with white fingers.

Kes said, “You see…the truth is a bitch, but you’ve earned the right to know everything. Any question you want answered…we’ll tell you. Every facet of our enterprise and brotherhood, you’ll know.”

Placing his hand on hers, he smiled softly. “You’re one of us now, Nila. Forever and always. The world knows it. Your father and brother know it. There is nothing else to say on the matter.”

She twisted in her seat, looking to the left where the moor and the graves of her ancestors rested. A chill scattered down my spine.

“So I’ll be buried on your land to hide all the secrets I’ll be privy to. Just like them.” Her head fell forward. “I’m so unbelievably stupid. About everything.”

I opened my mouth to agree—to dig the blade of unhappiness a little deeper. But…I couldn’t.

No amount of drugs could make me kick her when she was already bleeding. I wouldn’t be able to withstand the backlash, not to mention the rapidly building agony in my heart.

I thought the tablets would save me. Nila wasn’t the only one who’d been stupid.

We’re both f*cked, and it’s up to me to hide my issues so Cut leaves her alone.

I couldn’t stand the stagnant sadness in the car. Unable to stop myself, I whispered, “You’ll like what we have to show you, Nila. You’ll see. You’re one of us now, and it’s time you understand what my family has been fighting to protect for generations.”



Diamond Alley.

Nicknamed centuries ago by an ancestor who no doubt graced Hawksridge walls in some depressing painting. It’d gotten its name due to the four huge warehouses facing each other, creating a narrow road between them.

Driving here took a couple of hours, but it was worth it to have our very own port—unwatched and unmolested—yet another example of being above the laws governing the masses.