Catching Fire (The Fire Duet Book 2)

by Billie Lustig

  “They found a body, in the harbor of Malaga. They haven’t officially identified him yet, but El Mundo claims it’s Frank Reyes.”

  “What?” I feel the blood drain from my face as I do my best to keep breathing, deep down knowing this is not the result of some freak accident or a swimmer who drowned because of exhaustion.

  “H-he’s been murdered?” I stutter, confused as to who would murder him.

  Kane starts to rub my shoulders while keeping me on my feet at the same time.

  “Yeah.” Reign nods, a look of sympathy in his eyes.

  “Why?” My head is trying to keep up, but my brain is having a hard time with this.

  Twenty-four hours ago, I found out my father is not my father, giving me more questions than answers, really. And now the only person who would be able to answer them … is dead.

  Fuck.

  “What else did you find?” Kane asks.

  “So, Nathan was right,” he starts. “The trail of the trust fund leads back to a Russian Holding that’s linked to an oil company called Kulakoil. The owner of the company was Dimitri Kulakov. There is evidence that he did business with the Reyes’s, buying guns to transport them to the Russian rebellion in Ukraine.”

  “Russian,” I muse, thinking out loud before my eyes snap back to Reign. “Didn’t the Russians kill Junior’s mother?”

  “Yeah, there is no proof that was Kulakov, but he did have connections with the Russian mob. So it makes sense.”

  “Says here he spent six months in Ireland in 1990 where he was seen with the IRA,” Jeremy points out.

  “Yeah,” Reign continues, swirling the bourbon around in his glass while leaning back in his chair. “Supposedly, he started dating the daughter of IRA leader, Jack Byrne.”

  “Jack Byrne,” I repeat. “That’s my grandfather? He died before I was born.”

  “Yeah, Kulakov had a relationship with your mother. A few years before you were born. For some reason, she also came into contact with Frank Reyes, who was seen with her a few times after that. However, there is no evidence or record of them actually dating before they got married when you were a baby.”

  “Where did you find all this?” I shake my head, not sure what it all means.

  “These are some serious RICO cases. There are dozens of FBI investigations about this.”

  My mind wanders off, thinking about everything that has happened over the last few months. Here I thought the worst thing that happened was my mother dying, because I at least still had a father. He was a selfish jackass, but at least I still had someone.

  Guess the joke was on me.

  “What do Cristina and Junior have to do with it, though?”

  “What do you mean?” Reign cocks his head, locking his eyes with mine.

  “Ronnie mentioned that Cristina set me up, giving me an easy target like Gino DiMaro, knowing he was a member of the mob. Why?”

  “It’s no secret Junior wants the Carrillo pipeline. He’s been wanting a safe drug channel for years now, and yours is the biggest there is. I’m guessing Cristina is in on it?” He shrugs.

  “But what do I have to do with that?”

  “I don’t know, Angel. But I know she was involved in everything Junior was doing since the first day I met you.” He gives me a knowing look, taking another sip of his drink.

  “She was? She knew about the prostitution network?”

  “She recruited the girls,” he explains.

  “What in the actual fuck?” I yelp before letting out an uncomfortable chuckle.

  The fuckery never ends. I knew she played me for some reason, but part of me had hoped she was trapped in Junior’s grasp, forced to do whatever he said. Being caught up in the Reyes web of scam, but now it’s clear she is a fucking part of the web.

  Cheating little bitch.

  Any bit of respect that I had left for Cristina was just demolished in front of my eyes as I comprehend the fact that she has been pimping out girls with my brother.

  Girls like me.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I can’t help my scowl as I look into Reign’s green eyes.

  “You’d been through a traumatic event. I was waiting until you felt a bit better. Stronger. By the time I left, Cristina hadn’t contacted you once, so I figured she would leave you alone.”

  His words make sense. In fact, I hadn’t seen Cristina in years before she turned up right after my grandmother died. Looking back, that should’ve been my first clue, but I trusted her.

  Annoyed with myself, I breathe out through my nose, letting my nostrils flare like a raging bull before I glance at Reign’s screen.

  “You think Kulakov is my father?”

  “I’m ninety-nine percent sure.” He nods.

  “What’s the one percent?” Imogen asks from where she sits on the couch.

  “Well, it wouldn’t make sense that he would leave his entire fortune to a child that isn’t his, but there is no father listed on Callie’s birth certificate, and I haven’t found anyone to confirm paternity. Yet. I will find someone, though, Angel.” His green eyes are filled with promise, and I give him a coy smile. “But yeah, my guess? You’re a Kulakov.”

  “Why don’t we look for Kulakov?” Reign rolls his eyes at Imogen’s naïve question.

  “Really, Gen?”

  “Whaaaaat?” she screeches.

  “He’s dead, Gen,” I say, not masking the disappointment in my voice.

  “Kulakov was found dead in the mountains of Siberia, close to one of his oilfields, but the report says he was probably killed somewhere else as there was no evidence at the scene.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah.” I take a sip of my drink, removing myself from Kane so I can process all of this. My feet bring me to the window where I stare out at the massive pines.

  I just need confirmation.

  My entire life, I felt like I didn’t belong, always pushing back the feeling in order to keep my loyalty in check. When the questions entered my head, I would force them out, not touching them until the next time they flicked through my brain. But now that there is actual information indicating that I have other blood in my veins, that there was someone out there who left me a bunch of money—now I want to get to the bottom of this.

  “Could I still be a Reyes?” I spin on the spot to face Reign, who opens his mouth to respond, but Jeremy beats him to it.

  “No,” he blurts out. “You were born October twenty-seventh. Frank Reyes was locked up from December tenth until March twenty-eighth. He couldn’t be the one who got your mother pregnant.”

  “Conjugal visits?” I counter.

  “Nah.” Reign shakes his head. “He was in for murdering the manager of the museum where he tried to steal a Monet. The guy was unarmed, and security footage showed how he surrendered, but Frank Reyes shot him six times, anyway. He was in maximum security. No visitation other than his lawyer.”

  “How the fuck did he get out?” Imogen calls out.

  Liam gives her a sweet smile, which makes me narrow my eyes at him in suspicion, wondering if maybe my cousin makes the ice-cold crime lord melt a little.

  “Must have had a damn good lawyer.”

  “That’s how,” Reign confirms while he puts his drink to his lips, looking at us from above the rim.

  “And mysteriously, the tape with the security footage disappeared from the evidence room,” Reign adds before he pours the contents of his glass down his throat.

  “Do you have a picture of Kulakov?” Kane moves away from me towards the laptop.

  His question makes me freeze, not sure if I’m ready for a face to appear on that screen.

  “Yeah, sure.” Reign takes back the laptop from Jeremy and starts tapping the keys. He’s in my exact line of sight, and even though my stomach is turning, and I feel like running away right now, my eyes are plastered to the screen until a picture finally pops up.

  I suck in a shocked breath before I clap my hand in front of my mouth, staring back at the face th
at has the same eyes as I do.

  Blond hair.

  Fair skin.

  Blue-green eyes that pierce right through you.

  Blue-green eyes that are staring back at me with defiance.

  Definitely the same eyes.

  Imogen moves to stand next to me, her eyes widening when she takes in the image.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” she sighs.

  Yeah, tell me about it.

  I’m not in the right mental state to voice anything, but all of a sudden, shit is starting to become really clear. I keep my face locked on the image of the man who clearly is my father while a sense of peace fills my body. I close my eyes, trying to keep it together when I feel a hand land on my shoulder.

  “You okay, baby?” Kane rumbles close to my ear, removing my hair from my shoulder before pressing a kiss there.

  I open my eyes as I suck in a deep breath.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.” I look up at him, giving him the best smile I can muster.

  He looks back at me with a worried look, as if he can see right through my bullshit.

  “I just need a minute,” I murmur before I walk out of the room.

  Twenty-Seven

  Callie

  Present Day

  A minute became the rest of the day, and it wasn’t until I smelled Julian’s cooking that I decided it was time to come out of my sulking hole. I’ve been staring at the ceiling for the last seven hours, feeling nothing, not even knowing what I should feel. No one checked up on me, and I’m happy they didn’t because I would’ve had no clue what to say, anyway.

  My father is Dimitri Kulakov.

  I’m half Russian.

  He is dead.

  I feel like I just got a puppy that I’m extremely happy about because I’ve always wanted a puppy, but then I opened the box, and there was a dead puppy inside.

  Am I supposed to feel happy?

  Am I supposed to feel sad?

  Am I supposed to feel angry?

  Because at this damn moment, I just feel fucking numb.

  Dinner was silent, other than Imogen and Liam trying to fill the silence with small talk while Reign and Kane were glancing at me in concern every two seconds.

  I ignored them.

  Obviously.

  After dinner, my feet take me to the deck while everyone else relaxes in the living room.

  I need the cold air to clear my head. I feel as though a fog settled in my head the last few hours as I tried to comprehend all the information I found out today. It’s hard to deny that I never felt like I belonged in the Reyes family, but it’s even harder to hear that those feelings had been legit. I’d always wanted to believe that my father loved me in his own way, but after today, there is no doubt that he didn’t. That I’ve never been anything more than a price tag. An easy way to get rich.

  The door opens, and somehow I know it’s Reign checking up on me.

  “What’s on your mind, Angel?” His voice is the same as I remember but somehow more mature, even though I have no clue what exactly is different about it. I glance over my shoulder as he moves next to me, leaning his elbows on the wooden railing.

  “Who says something is on my mind?”

  “Pff.” He rolls his eyes. “You are out here, alone, holding a glass of bourbon, staring into the night sky as if it will give you all the answers you’ve been looking for. I know you well enough to know something is on your mind.”

  I smile at his observation, forgetting for a second just how well this boy knows me.

  However, there is nothing left of the nineteen-year-old boy who became my superhero overnight. The muscles in his arms are tighter, his shoulders are wider, and his face is more rugged than it was six years ago, making him even more attractive than before.

  If only he still held my heart.

  But he doesn’t, at least not the majority of it.

  “Do you love him?” he asks, as if he can read my mind.

  A breeze rustles the pine trees in front of the house, and I suck in the crisp air that immediately feels like a cleanse. I loved the freedom I felt in Havana, the spirited vibe that you could feel anywhere, the people, but I hated the humid air that sometimes made me feel like I was choking more with every breath.

  Okay, that also could’ve been the fact that I was being hunted down by the love of my life, but let’s not go there.

  My head turns towards Reign, looking straight into his kind face.

  “I do,” I admit without any hesitation.

  Part of me feels weird, admitting this to the only other guy I’ve ever loved, but I cannot leave any room for doubt, even though I don’t think Reign still has feelings for me other than the undeniable friendship we will always have.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty clear.”

  “Is it?” I twist my body a bit, leaning my hip against the wood to face him.

  He keeps his gaze focused on the trees, taking a pull of his beer.

  “Well, it’s clear how he feels.”

  “How so?”

  “Callie, the guy threw a knife at my head for hugging you.”

  A half-smile hooks my lips.

  “Yeah, he does that sometimes.”

  “He does that sometimes?” he parrots, the goofy look he’s giving me making me unwillingly cackle.

  “I’m used to it by now.”

  He shakes his head with the same sparkling eyes he used to show me every day, and fuck me, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t missed that.

  “I thought we agreed you were going to stay out of trouble. Yet here you are, running around with the biggest crime lords in the Western Hemisphere like it’s nothing.”

  “Oh, please. You’re here, too, aren’t you?” I give him a playful shove.

  “Yeah, I guess we both suck at staying out of trouble, huh?”

  “I guess that’s the one thing I can thank Junior for.”

  I can’t believe the words that are even leaving my mouth right now, but in a way it’s true. In some sick way, it’s Junior who pushed me into Kane’s arms.

  “Don’t say that.” Reign straightens his body up to mimic my stance. “You don’t owe your brother anything. I told you this before, I’m telling you again now, and hopefully I won’t have to tell you again. The only thing you owe your brother is a bullet through his head.”

  He scans my face then just stares at me for a while, looking at me like I’m still the best thing he’s ever seen. He’s a pro at making me feel like I’m the most magnificent creature he has ever seen.

  “Why are you feeling insecure about him?”

  Even now, after all this time, we still have this undeniable connection. A chemistry that isn’t made of passion, and I have no clue what the fuck it really is, but it’s indisputable. We don’t need words; we don’t need to know what happened during the last five years. All we need is this.

  He only has to look at my face for a brief second to know exactly how I feel.

  Even though I don’t really want to answer his question, there is no need to deny it either.

  “There were days when I could stare at you all day. I’ve seen every face you’ve ever made in your life. You don’t have to be strong with me, Angel. You know that.” He brings up his arm to stroke my cheek with the back of his hand, and for a second, I close my eyes while I swallow to suppress a tear.

  Our love, our passion may have come to an end at some point, long before we physically parted, but being in this moment reminds me of the moment he walked out the door. He was right about every word he said. We weren’t meant to be. It was never going to be me and him.

  There was no Reign and Callie.

  But that didn’t mean it didn’t break my heart when he left. He took Reign, my best friend. It’s that guy I’ve been missing for the last five years.

  “Don’t cry, Angel. You know I’ll always be here for you, right?” Without a second thought, he grabs my neck and tugs me into his chest with one quick move, wrapping me in his arms.

  For just
a brief moment, I want to forget about everything that happened over the last four months and just be back with Reign where life was still simple.

  Simpler.

  At least, that’s how it felt compared to the rollercoaster ride I’ve been on lately.

  I hug him tight, knowing this will probably be the last time I will ever get the chance to hold him like this. Like he is the sledgehammer breaking down my walls, I feel my tears start to roll uncontrollably until I’m bawling in his arms. His head is resting on mine while one of his hands cups the back of my head, the other comfortably brushing the small of my back.

  “Sssh, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

  I don’t even know why I’m crying. Is it my brother? My mother? My father? Reign? Kane?

  Probably all of the above.

  I hear his steady heartbeat against my ear, making me aware of how irregular the beating of my own is. My head is one big foggy mess, and all I feel is this mountain of pain inside me that I have to push out while in the safety of his arms.

  If I would’ve told anyone else why I needed Reign, it would probably make no fucking sense. When I declared my love for Kane, it was one hundred percent pure. I want Kane to be my future if he will let me. But I need Reign to help me let go of my past.

  When the pounding in my chest finally calms down, I take a few deep breaths while still having my arms locked tight around his body. I smile against his leather jacket when we hear someone clearing his throat.

  I turn my head towards the sound before I meet Kane’s gaze.

  Well, shit.

  Immediately, I let go of Reign and take a step back, cursing inside as I wipe the tears from my eyes, knowing Kane is not liking the sight of this.

  My mouth curls in a sweet smile, hoping he doesn’t take it out on Reign, praying he doesn’t throw another knife at his head.

  “Kane, hi.”

  His face is stoic like any other day, but his eyes are what really tell me his mood.

  He’s furious.

  “Reign, was just—” I start, trying to explain that there is nothing going on between us, but he raises up his hand in a condescending way to shut me up. I can see the fire in his eyes. It’s killing my already weeping heart, not wanting him to get the wrong idea but also knowing he won’t listen to a word I say right now.