Chapter 93 TIME TO FACE HIM

Chapter 93 TIME TO FACE HIM
Kali's POV 

My arms stung where claws had raked against my skin, and my ribs still throbbed every time I breathed too deeply. The cuts weren’t deep enough to kill, but they burned as if they wanted me to remember every hand that had reached for me, every growl that had called for my blood. 

I pressed my eyes shut to at least try to ease the pain, but it didn't help one bit. If anything, all it did was aggravate the entire thing, and the more I closed my eyes, the more my wounds burned, like the mob that had gathered had somehow turned invisible and had decided that my punishment was nowhere near enough. 

I’d been holed up in my room since Diego had dragged me out of that mob, long after the bruises had formed, and long after Raelyn’s laughter had seared itself into my ears.

Honestly, I wasn't even expecting him to do so. After he'd walked away from me earlier today, I thought that was the end. My heart ached as I watched him retreat, but I forced myself to remember that I really didn't mean shit to him. I was asked to prove myself before he would consider my offer, and who knows, maybe the mob beating me up was one of his crooked ways of finding out if I deserved his cooperation or not. 

The silence pressed in around me, and I hated how it seemed to have a mind of its own. Call me crazy or whatever, but I could swear the silence around me was secretly mocking me, and my failures. I’d wrapped the gashes as best as I could, but the ache wasn’t just physical. It was shame and fury wrapped in one.

A groan slid past my lips as I pressed my forehead to my knees, rocking once, twice, before I stopped myself. No more hiding, no more waiting, I wasn't going to do that anymore. If I stayed buried in this room, I’d drown in the memory of their eyes, hungry for blood, and eager to watch me burn.

No. It was time to face him.

I pushed myself to my feet, steadying against the wall when the sharp pull in my side made me wince. The sound of my shoes padded down the hall, the quiet echo sounding far louder than it should have. With each step I took, I hated how Diego’s door loomed ahead. Right now, you could say I was literally walking to my death, and even that would be a gross understatement. 

After what seemed like forever, I stood in front of Diego's door. They looked heavy, and was shut tight, like everything about him.

“You can do this.” I let out slowly, while inhaling and exhaling as much as I could. Summoning every bit of courage I had deep inside me, I knocked once, and then again.

The door opened with a low creak, and there he was, arms folded across his chest, eyes as unreadable as ever. For a second, I searched them, desperate for some crack, some flicker of warmth, but every bit of hope I had crashed the moment I realized I was only going to be getting the stony part of him tonight. 

“You’re walking,” he said flatly, his gaze sweeping over the state of me. His eyes lingered on my wounds for a little longer, and I hated how I was quickly able to delude myself that he might actually care. “Barely.”

“I had to come,” I managed, my throat dry. “I can’t stay in that room and pretend it didn’t happen. I need you to hear me.”

“Hmmm.” His jaw tightened, but he stepped aside. “Then talk.”

The room swallowed me up as I entered. The air smelled faintly of smoke and leather, a heavy weight that seemed to fit him perfectly. In one swift moment he shut the door behind us, and for the first time since the mob had closed in on me, I felt the thin thread of safety, but it wasn’t enough.

Diego said nothing as he crossed past me, just so he could lean against his desk. With his arms still folded, he let out slowly. 

“Well?” He raised an eyebrow. “You wanted to dig, to accuse. Do you have proof?”

The question sliced through me, far more worse than I actually thought it would. My hands trembled as I searched my mind for an answer, any answer, but after a while, I realized the right answer was sitting pretty on the tip of my tongue, whether I liked it or not. 

“No.” I clenched my hands into fists as my voice dropped by a beat. “No, I don't.” 

“No?” His brows lifted slightly. “Is that so? Why's that if I may ask?”

“I don’t have proof, not yet, and since I don't have any time left, I doubt I ever will.” I forced myself to meet his eyes. “But I know what I saw, what I heard…..”

“And what about what you didn't want getting out?” He cut me off. “That's the main reason why you killed him, didn't you?”

“I didn't kill him.” I snapped, my voice taut with desperation and frustration all at once. “Yes, he said something I didn't want anyone finding out, but that doesn't mean I'd kill him. I'm not a monster …”

“Yet, you were unable to prove your innocence.” His voice was calm, too calm, like this entire situation didn't spell out my fate from here on out. “So how am I supposed to believe you, or anything you say?” 

“I’m not behind it,” I was close to whining now, but who cared? “ I just, I can’t give you the evidence you want.”

Silence stretched. His eyes darkened, unreadable, but I caught the shift in his expression, disappointment, maybe, or something colder.

“Do you know what that means?” His voice was low, measured, like a blade sliding across stoailed 

“Yes. It means I have nothing. It means I’m standing here with empty hands, and all I can give you is my word.” My lips pressed together before I answered. “I failed.”

“What's so important to you that you couldn't risk anyone finding out?” He let out again. “What's your secret?”

“I can't go into details.” My chest thudded loudly in my ears, but somehow, I still found myself speaking. “But I was accused of something terrible, and the dead man just happened to be one of the few people who believed I could do something like that. He was asking for a spot in the pack, just so he could keep his mouth sealed.” 

I found myself letting out a breath I had no idea I was even holding the moment the words slid past my lips. If I'd thought that my sob story would soften Diego's stony resolve, then I was greatly mistaken. 

“You do know this secret is going to cost you everything you've managed to gather here.” His voice was low, but it didn't lessen the punch of his words. “Right?”

“Yes.”

“And you're okay with that?” He huffed. “You could lie, connive with someone, make up a story, anything to make sure you remain here, but yet you didn't. Why?”

“There's no integrity in lying and manipulating things for my benefit.” Tears stung the back of my eyes as I spoke, but I blinked back rapidly, forcing them back as quickly as I could. “How are you expected to get into an agreement with me if I can't do the right thing, even if it'll cost me.” 

The silence that stretched between us after that was thick and heavy, and for the first time, I wasn't in the mood to break it. Diego said nothing after that. 

Instead, he nodded slowly, once, as if he was weighing my words against some unspoken scale. Then he straightened, unfolding his arms, and the distance between us felt wider than it had ever been.

“Then hear me clearly, Kali.” His voice cut through the air, final and unyielding. “I will not be helping you get your revenge.”

The world seemed to still, his words slamming into me harder than any claw, any fist the mob had pointed at me. 

My chest tightened, and I staggered back, heat rising behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not in front of him, not when he’d just pulled out the carpet from under me.

My vision blurred and my head swirled, but I forced myself to hold on to the balance. My eyes darted around the place, but I didn't dare lock eyes with him. My throat burned, and even though the urge to pass out was rapidly growing by the minute, I fought against it, staring at him as though sheer will could force him to take the words back.

He didn’t.

“You may leave now.” His icy cold voice brought me back to the present. “I'll have someone let you know what else from here.”

Shit.