“Correct,” he says. “In those times, Red Cage doesn’t matter. Yourfamiglia,your other commitments, don’t matter. Nothing matters but what The O needs. And while you’ve proved to be a beast of multitasking, juggling multiple commitments at once and pulling it all off without a hitch, you’re still fuckinghuman. No matter how much money and power we have, how feared we are, how smart and capable we are, we’re not invincible. We’re made of pierceable flesh and breakable bones. We get sick. We get hurt. We bleed.
“We also need tolive, lest we die. Laughter, love, pleasure,rest, play, those are the recipe for living. Look, there was a time when I was you. Fine with just surviving for everyone else, believingIdidn’t deserve pleasure, or love, or laughter. All I cared about was successfully completing my missions and doing whatever it took to make sure my family lives a rich life. Just waiting to die. And then… I met Lyra.”
He dips his head and smiles to himself.
It’s true that he used to be a miserable, broody, ill-tempered, people-hating bastard. Still is sometimes. But the change in him since he got with Lyra is undeniable.
“Look,” he picks up. “Whatever’s going on with you and T, it won’t stand a chance if you try to hold on to everything. And seeing as she’s still running around out there breaking hearts, I think you already know that.”
There it is. The reason behind his aggressive need to beat me down earlier.
With Tillie, I’ve tried to be as careful and discreet as possible. Out of respect. But nothing gets by Torin Garza.
“Tillie is—”
“I know my sister,” he cuts me off with a chuff. “Stubborn, pushy, determined, and never takes no for an answer. I’ve got no doubt that however it started, it was all her.”
OrImade herthinkshe started it.
But he doesn’t need to know that.
Offer Tillie the world and she’ll take it, play with it, then forget it. Like a toddler with a shiny new toy.
Tell her she can’t have something and she won’t ever stop chasing it.
I won’t be the man Tillie uses like a toy then discards when she gets bored.
I want to be the man shechooses, the man she spends the rest of her life with.
The race to Tillie Garza’s fickle heart is long and excruciatingly painful. But I intend to be the man who wins her. Wholly and completely.
“I was blindingly furious at first,” Torin breaks through my thoughts.
“At first?” I question. “You just tried to shatter my ribs.”
“Okay, maybe I’m still pissed,” he admits. “She’s my little sister and you’re the man I trust more than anything else. It’s fucking betrayal, man.”
Suppose it is. But I don’t apologize. I’ll never apologize for wanting Tillie Garza.
“But I’ve had a lot of time to think about it,” he says. “Fact is, Tillie isn’t the type who’s ever gonna settle with an accountant, or a lawyer, or any kind of normal, law-abiding citizen. She’ll always be attracted to fire. It’s in her blood. And you, you’ve been ‘part of our family for a long time. We know you. Trust you. Care ’bout you. If I can trust you, implicitly, with mylife, why can’t I trust you with her?”
“I don’t think the others will have the same viewpoint.”
He snorts. “Yeah. You’re fucked when they get wind of this.” He bounds to his feet. “Whatever you decide to let go of—and that’s anorder,not a suggestion—I’ll respect it. But while you make that choice, remember thatI’mthe priority. Everything else is secondary. You’re officially an extension of me now. If I lose, you lose. If I get fucked, you get fucked.”
He offers me a hand, helping me to my feet when I take it.
“The O’s gonna visit you,” he informs me. “Don’t know when or where, but expect it.” He ducks under the ropes and jumps down. “C’mon. Have breakfast with us. Lyra’s been all excited to have you over.”
I duck out of the ring and grab my bag, catching up with him. “When the time comes, don’t stop them.”
He slides me a side glance. “My brothers?”
“Sì.”
“Oh, I’ve got no intention of stopping them.” He scoffs. Seems to think about it some more. Then belts out a laugh. “You better work on your defense, man, ’cause Tripp’s gonna fuck youupwhen he finds out.”
My aching ribs almost curl in on themselves at the prospect. “Can’t wait.”
