Page 135 of Vexatious Queen

Ren sucked in a deep breath, recognizing the name as well.

“That’s why you keep telling Ivy that she doesn’t know how dangerous Sabastian is.”

Zigzag nodded.

“When he called me out of the blue last summer, asking for a favor, I dumped her to keep her safe. Yuriy had never asked me for anything until then. I thought he genuinely just wanted to help put me in a better position for the future. Now, I realize he was biding his time.”

“What did he have you do,” Ren asked.

Zigzag didn’t answer, and my patience had worn thin. I grabbed him, hauled him out of the chair, and slammed him up against the wall.

“Answer her. What the fuck did you do?”

“I didn’t know what he planned,” Zigzag said. “I swear I didn’t.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I growled.

“He had me put a tracker on Ren’s old phone.” He looked at Ren. “The one you took to Canada.”

“You…you’re the reason that we were attacked. You put all of us in danger. My aunt was murdered. Ivy was almost killed.” Ren snarled at him.

“I didn’t know, I swear. Yuriy only told me that he wanted a way to track his daughter. He was adamant that you were his and that he’d been kept from you by your crazy mother. He told me he was shot, and you were stolen from him. I owed him. I didn’t even know about the attack in Canada until a few weeks ago. Ivy didn’t tell me because we weren’t speaking then.”

“What else,” I demanded.

Zigzag looked around the room, his eyes landing on Theo and Blake.

“Man, I’m sorry,” he said.

“Fucking tell me, or I swear I’ll gut you with my bare hands,” I threatened.

“Shit, shit, shit. He got me to hack into Volatile’s cameras after you had them installed,” Zigzag blurted out.

My fist cracked across his face.

“You son of a bitch.”

I hit him again, and blood flew from his nose. He tried to block me at first, but eventually fell limp. The only thing that stopped me was Ren. She put her hand on my arm as I raised my fist again. Panting, I tossed him aside. Zigzag was on the floor, curled in the fetal position, and coughing up blood.

There was no proof that Christov or my father had used the information for the shooting, or the night that Ella was killed, but the probability was high. Christov had been able to watch everything, including my meetings with Nathaniel and Louis.

Zigzag looked up at Ren.

“I’m sorry, I owed him. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I was going to prison without his help, and he pretended to care for me like a father. I didn’t even know about Sabastian. He made it seem like you were his only child.”

Ren kneeled so that she was staring him in the eyes. It was the only thing keeping me from putting my boot through the front of his skull.

“He used you, Zigzag, that’s what men like him do. They find a weak spot and exploit it. He did it to my parents, you, and God only knows how many others. Did it not occur to you that if something happened to the guys or me, Ivy could end up caught in the middle? Even if you didn’t give a shit what happened to me, you said you loved her.”

“I never questioned his motives until it was too late. He seemed like a nice businessman helping teens on the wrong path. When he talked about you, he fucking cried.” Zigzag wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand. “Yes, I fell for it. I wish that I had a parent who wanted me that much.” He sighed, pushing himself up into a seated position. “I didn’t know about Canada. And recently, he claimed that Nash was keeping you from him, and…well, you two were getting closer. He told me that all he wanted was a chance to reconnect.”

“And you believed him,” I asked, pissed and wanting to hit him again.

Zigzag shrugged.

“Why wouldn’t I?” We all looked at one another.

It never should’ve gotten this far. I’d let things slide for too long with my attention elsewhere. Drugs were being sold at Wayward, Ren was being tracked, and Zigzag had fucking hacked our system. This was a royal fuck up, and it was all on me.