Page 94 of Made for Cyn
It was a foolish thing to ask and could have exposed me, but thankfully, Oscar hasn’t ratted me out, at least not yet.
“Why did you ask?”
“Oh, um,” I say, contemplating my answer. Should I go for it? I don’t know, but I’m stuck, and I feel like I have nothing to lose.
Clearing my throat, I whisper, “My uncle, he’s a bad guy. He . . . hurts people.”
“You?” he asks gruffly.
“Yeah.” I smile wanly.
We drop into silence once more before he says hesitantly, “Have you told Cyn?”
“No. I’m afraid.”
“Of what?”
“I don’t know what he’ll do. And I’m scared that something bad will happen.”
“Rain, Cyn has more power than you give him credit for.”
“Which is what? Because nobody will tell me anything,” I say dryly.
He glances around warily, before turning back and shifting uncomfortably. “He works for Paddy McCafferty.”
“Who?”
Oscar rolls his eyes, and I glare at him when he chuffs. “Paddy McCafferty is a crime boss.”
“A crime boss,” I murmur, rolling the words around in my mouth. “Like Mafia?”
Nodding grimly, he looks away, and I take a deep breath as I process the information. The guy I’m obsessed with, who lights my body and, admittedly, my soul on fire, works doing what?
“Are we talking about drugs?” I ask, wiping my palms on my jeans.
“Yes. Drugs. Prostitution. Probably more,” he says with a shrug.
“Prostitution?”
My stomach cramps painfully at the thought, images of Uncle John and his misdeeds rolling around in my head. Is Cyn the ultimate hypocrite?
“Look, Rain, I don’t know exactly what part Cyn’s a part of, but he’s got power behind him. He can help you with your problem.”
“So, what? He’ll make John disappear? Meanwhile, he’s working some ring with poor innocent girls, prostituting them out?” I ask harshly.
“Rain, do you want your problem to go away? Because if you go around him in any way, he’s going to be very angry. You don’t want to see him angry.”
Nodding, I scrub my face and stand. “I should go, but thank you, Oscar.”
Searching my expression, he slumps. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything except I’m trapped between two evils, and I don’t know how I got here.”
Turning away, I walk two steps before Oscar calls out, “Rain?”
“Yeah?”
“Whatever Iris is doing, you need to steer clear, or this won’t end well for you.”
