Page 106 of Brutal Truths

Trent doesn’t say a word until the door closes behind her. “What did I miss?”

Aiden surprises me by sitting beside him, his focus settling in a way I haven’t seen before. “You look like if you sneeze, you’ll keel over.”

“I feel like that too,” he admits, his eyes finding mine. “You saved my life.”

“Dying seemed like the easy way out.” I stay at the foot of his bed, scanning his chart more out of habit. “You might not be so happy about that when I’m so far up your arse during your recovery, making sure you keep the stress level at normal.”

“Normal for who?” Trent frowns. “You understand what I do, right?”

“I do. But for the next several months, you’re letting Silas handle it.” Bracing my hands against the railing, I set the chart down. “I didn’t save your life just so you could throw it away.”

I hold his gaze, making sure he understands. “We need to ask you some questions, but I need you to promise me you’ll remain calm. Or at least try. Because when you hear this, you’ll want to go full mob boss—but you can’t. So don’t even try. Can you do that?”

There is no way in hell this man—someone used to giving orders and eliminating anyone who dares to cross him—will sit here and be chill.

Trent closes his eyes, drawing in slow, controlled breaths. “It’s about Drake, isn’t it?”

The certainty in his voice catches me off guard. My eyes land on Aiden, who’s just as thrown.

“Yes.”

Trent inhales once before opening his eyes, and whatever restraint he had slips. He glares at Aiden, fire burning brightly behind them, and issues a command he expects to be obeyed.

“Kill him.”

“You knew.” It’s not a question. “How long?” Aiden asks.

“Not long.” Trent does his best to do what I asked him to do: remain calm. “I was waiting for him to prove me right. Looks like he finally did.”

“It took some persuading, but Rurik confirmed. They’ve been working together. Drake went to him nine months ago. Offered him the Doyles in exchange for control after.” Aiden gives Trent a minute when his heart rate spikes, letting it settle before going on. “As I was leaving, Rurik tried to spin it like Drake had taken Isabel again. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. I’ve got a read on it.”

He does?

“What’s that?” Trent and I ask at the same time.

Aiden settles back into his chair. “He set both of you up. Maybe even all three of you, honestly. You, Rurik, and Rico. Kept his hands clean while you went at each other. If one of you survived, he’d step in, finish it, and make it look like the other did.”

“I sent you to the penthouse instead of Drake because I didn’t trust him.” Trent smacks his lips together and reaches for the water next to him.

I jump into action and help. “Here, let me.”

He takes a small sip, and when he’s done, he nods. “Thank you.”

“If you didn’t trust him, why keep him around?” That makes no sense to me. “Weren’t you afraid he’d kill you?”

That pulls a low laugh from Trent. “Not really. If he killed me himself, my men would’ve gladly handled him. Loyalty like that doesn’t waver. There’s an order. You don’t step outside it. He needed a cleaner way. Something that made him look like he had nothing to do with it.”

“Makes sense. In a warped kind of way.” I sit beside him on the bed, keeping my movements measured. “If you died, Silas takes over, right? He’d need him gone too. Remove both of you, and everything spirals. Who’s next in line?”

“Yes.” Trent grits his teeth. “His plan to take out my son failed today, didn’t it, Aiden?”

I don’t miss his blatant disregard for my inquiry about the next person in line. Silas doesn’t have a brother. He had a sister, but she died several years ago. I mean, I guess Rurik is the oldest, but hell would freeze over before any Doyle would let a Russian lead them. It seems the responsibility will fall to me, and that’s something I absolutely will not support.

“If that was the plan, yes.”

“What do you mean?” Trent asks.

“That required him to rely on Rurik, and that dipshit loves to play with his enemies.” Aiden’s tone stays even. “He’s proven that in the short time we’ve been playing his games. Leaves things unfinished, drawn out longer than they should be. You build a plan around that, it’s going to crash.”