Chapter 198
(JERICHO)
“This is hard to believe, Jericho. I’m not even surprised that you don’t believe me. But trust me when I tell you that I really wanted to help Arlo. I knew that it was risky and unwise to take the position, mostly because I’m a Sawyer. But I have been on the run for six years. I have always avoided anything to do with the mafia because I was terrified that my brother and my father would find me p>
I glance at him skeptically. “And yet you somehow ended up living in the home of one of the powerful members of the Triple Triads? That seems so far-fetched p>
“I know, but that is the truth. As I told you, Arlo was unraveling and Miles was worried about him. Miles looked like he’d strangle me if I turned him down. So, I thought that maybe I’d stay for a short while and show Arlo the best that I could. I figured that once he was more confident about handling baby Reign, then I’d leave. I thought no one would learn that I’m a Sawyer, and so, I decided to help Arlo p>
“I’m sorry, Wesley. But I’m still not buying the saint act.” I say drolly.
“Oh, I’m no saint, Jericho.” He narrows his gaze. “I never once said I was p>
Our gazes meet and I feel a familiar rush of need fill me. I force my gaze away, angry at myself that despite all he has done, I am still attracted to him. “You lied about the baby thing too?” I ask harshly. I think that it is best if I stay angry at him. It helps to keep the need at bay.
“No.” he says quietly, face flushing and he looks away.
“Who knows, Wesley? Maybe you just pulled that stunt to get my sympathy. God! I can’t believe that I fell for the act. You looked so sad and gutted that you couldn’t have babies of your own.” I let out a jagged laugh. “I bet you found it funny that I truly wanted to comfort you p>
“Jericho,” he calls me softly, his voice laced with pain. “I didn’t lie to you about everything p>
“Yeah, right p>
“I had to hide my identity.” He sighs. “I could have wound up dead if I didn’t. Miles wouldn’t have believed me if I told him that I was no longer part of the Sawyer clan. He would have thought the exact same way you are now. That I was sent there to spy on you p>
“That’s because it is the only thing that makes sense now.” I snap.
“I’m not lying to you about that, Jericho. I promise p>
I glare at him hard. “What of the sister you mentioned who died in the crossfire? Do you even have a sister p>
His flush deepens. “No. I don’t have a sister p>
“Why the hell would you lie about your sister dying?” I ask, bewildered by everything that Wesley is admitting to lying about. “That’s fucked up, Wesley p>
“I…I know.” He whimpers. “That was a lie that I was so guilty about. But I could already sense that Miles was already suspicious about me. He sensed from the get go that I was uncomfortable about him being in the Mafia. I couldn’t come clean and tell him the truth that I was hiding from my crazy Irish family, okay? He would have killed me on the spot. And I…I knew that if I said that I had lost someone due to mafia violence, he would back away. And he did p>
“Temporarily, yes. But he didn’t trust you, so he dug deeper. He said that there was no girl who died in the crossfire that day p>
“Sure. But he only dug deeper after I left.” He winces. “Like I told you earlier, I didn’t plan on staying in Miles’ home long. I thought that by the time he figured all that out, I’d be long gone. I just wanted to help Arlo with the baby until he was more confident with himself, and then I’d be gone p>
“Okay, and why did you leave without saying anything?” I scowl.
Wesley stares blankly out at the windshield. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard that the Sawyers went to war with the Triple Triads. But that also showed me that it was time to leave. I couldn’t risk being caught by either side. I’ve been running away from my family for years. The fact that they are now at war with the Triple Triads was a nightmare. I knew that both sides would want me dead. I had to go p>
“Then why didn’t you at least tell Miles and Arlo that you were leaving?” I say gruffly. “You could have just cooked up some lie. You left them abruptly without a Manny, Wesley. You let them down p>
You let me down.
“I couldn’t have faced them, Jericho. I was afraid that they would see right through me.” He glances at me. “Why do you think that I didn’t say goodbye to you, Jericho p>
“I have no fucking idea.” I yell harshly. I loathe even thinking of that night. I waited and waited for him to come up to my room, but he didn’t show up. Then I just discovered that he has left. And he left without a word. He didn’t care about how I would feel at all. The pain that I felt that night still haunts me. “All I know is that you are a liar, Wesley. Everything that I have ever known about you is a lie.” I scowl, focusing on the road ahead. “I don’t know who you are, Wesley p>
He hesitates for a bit then says quietly. “Yet you risked your life to save me p>
I don’t respond to him immediately because in truth, I feel foolish. I shouldn’t have rushed to that apartment to save him. I should have left him to save himself, or die trying. But even as the thought crosses my mind, I’m relieved that he is safe with me in the car. I don’t know why I’m this bonded to him or what to do about it. I just know that I don’t trust him one bit.
His fingers graze my arm and I stiffen. “I may have lied about who I was, Jericho. But I was real with you. Whoever you saw was the real me p>
“Bullshit. Everything about you is a lie.” I say, hating the way his fingers feel good against my skin.
He drags his hand away. “No, Jericho. You are wrong. Do you think that it was easy for me to leave without telling you anything? You’re wrong if you think that. I felt gutted. It was a nightmare for me too, trust me. I had to run. You saw how Papa and Danny are. I couldn’t risk them finding me p>
“But they did find you p>
“They did. I don’t know how, but they did.” He frowns.
“Maybe that new boyfriend of yours turned you in for money.” I tell him that knowing that it isn’t true. That redhead wasn’t in cahoots with Wesley’s family. He looked too innocent to be in the mafia and was out of depth. I even felt a bit sorry for him when Danny nudged the side of his head with a pistol.