Consumed by Truths (Truth or Lies 6)

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I chuck my phone hard against the wall as tears stream down my face. My little brother. Liesel, my sister, for all purposes, both taken by a madman because of me. I should have protected them, like I protected my own children. Instead, I was selfish. I put my own happiness above everything else. I could have attacked Felix any time during the last couple of weeks. I could have stopped this before he resorted to taking Liesel and her son.

Now, I failed. Again.

I stand and pace, my anger flowing through my veins, pumping me with so much hate and frustration. How could I have failed?

“Enzo,” Kai says cautiously, as she puts both babies in Beckett’s arm. He's sitting in the bed watching us. She stands, and our eyes meet.

While my eyes are filled with pain and hate, her’s are filled with love and compassion. I don’t understand how she could feel that way at a time like this.

“This isn’t your fault,” she says.

“Yes, it is. I failed.”

“No, you didn’t. You haven’t had a chance to fail. You didn’t know Felix would take them. And you were doing everything you could to protect your family. To be there for your kids. You were keeping your vow to me and putting us first.”

She strokes my cheek. “Now, we can fix this.”

I grab her hand. “I can’t lose you. Any of you. But—”

“I know. You won’t. We have a week to figure out a plan. But we are not losing Liesel or that boy.”

I close my eyes as tears replace my anger. Finn’s cry stirs me deep in my soul. I have to do this for them. I have to do this for the boy Felix has trapped in a cage. I have to do this for Liesel, Langston, Beckett, Zeke. I have to do this for my mother. For Kai’s birth parents. For her father.

I never wanted this, any of this. But this is what life gave me. A chance to change the Black organization forever. A chance to stop the evil that has been going on for generations.

I look from my children, to Beckett, to Kai. I couldn’t pick a better army to help me.

“Let’s destroy the evil once and for all,” I say.

Kai smiles.

Beckett nods sternly, gripping the babies closely to his chest, like his arm alone is enough to protect them.

“One week,” I grin. “That was Felix’s mistake. Giving us a week to get ready.”

We all nod.

“What are we going to do with the babies? Before I can discuss any attack plans, or how to destroy Felix and his army, I need to know our children are going to be safe, no matter what. I need to know if something happens to us, the babies are going to be taken care of and loved,” Kai says.

“I can’t—”

“No, we have to have a plan in case we both die fighting for them. They have to be safe,” Kai says, not letting me think otherwise. We do need a plan, as much as it hurts me to think of Kai dying. Of our children growing up without a parent.

We both look to Beckett. He already loves our children. He would make a great substitute parent to our babies if it comes to that.

He looks down at the two bundles sleeping on his chest. “You know I love your children and would give my life for them. And I would be happy to raise them if anything happened to both of you. But you are going to need my help. I can’t stay back and watch them while you go running off. I’m not the safe choice anyway. Felix knows I’m alive. He knows I flipped sides. If he wins, he’ll come search for me—for us.”

Beckett is right; I want him with us when we take on Felix. We need all the allies we can get. And Beckett is only a good choice if Felix and his men are dead along with us. Only then would Beckett be the safe choice to raise our babies.

I look at Kai, and we both have the same idea at the same time—“Langston.”

“But where is he? How do we get in contact with him? Does Felix know he’s alive?” Kai asks.

“I have a general idea where he might have gone. And yes, I can find him if I want to.” I turn to Beckett. “Does Felix know Langston is alive?”

Beckett thinks for a moment. “I don’t think so. He knew Liesel was alive. He saw the security footage of her crawling away from the car after the explosion. But he had no reason to suspect Langston lived. But if he suspects…he’s good at finding people.”