Chapter 3 - The Secret My Mother Took to Her Grave
Three days passed.
No Gregor.
No threats.
No explanation.
But peace was temporary.
I knew that now.
Ronin became busier.
He left before sunrise and returned long after midnight.
Whenever he came home, he checked the locks.
The windows.
The security system.
Then he would stand outside my door for a second before walking away.
I pretended not to notice.
One afternoon, I found an old photograph inside the folder he'd shown me.
It showed my mother standing beside a young man.
I didn't recognize him.
But I recognized the tattoo running along his wrist.
The same symbol was visible beneath Ronin's cuff.
I carried the photograph to him.
“Who is this?”
He looked at it.
His face went blank.
“Where did you find it?”
“In your office.”
He sat back.
“That was taken fifteen years ago.”
“Who is he?”
Ronin hesitated.
“Matthias Morgan.”
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
My breath caught.
Ronin's father had once been the head of the Morgan syndicate.
A man whose name my father had mentioned only once.
With fear.
“What was my mother doing with him?”
Ronin didn't know.
Or he didn't want to tell me.
Then Silian entered.
“Boss.”
Ronin looked at him.
“We found the records.”
“What records?”
“Hospital archives.”
Silian handed him a tablet.
“There was an entry twelve years ago.”
Ronin read.
Then his gaze lifted to me.
“Your mother wasn't alone when she died.”
I felt numb.
“What do you mean?”
“The accident report was altered.”
My knees almost gave out.
Ronin caught my elbow.
This time I didn't pull away.
“What happened?”
“Someone tampered with the brakes.”
Silian continued.
“She was being followed.”
My heart pounded.
“So she was murdered?”
“We don't know.”
“Then find out.”
Ronin looked at me.
“I will.”
That night we went to the cemetery.
My mother's grave sat beneath a large maple tree.
I hadn't visited in years.
The wind moved through the branches.
I placed my hand on the stone.
“I'm sorry.”
Ronin stood beside me.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I stopped coming.”
“You were surviving.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know that?”
“Because surviving is something I understand.”
I almost asked what he'd survived.
Then I stopped.
He would tell me when he wanted to.
We sat in silence.
Then I whispered,
“She used to tell me I was too soft.”
“Were you?”
I smiled.
“I tried to be.”
Ronin looked at me.
“You're not soft.”
“No?”
“No.”
He turned toward the grave.
“You ran away from violence without becoming violent yourself.”
He looked back at me.
“That requires strength.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“Why are you so kind to me?”
His expression changed.
“I don't know.”
He reached out.
This time, his hand brushed mine.
It was barely anything.
Still, my heart reacted like he'd touched something much deeper.
Then headlights appeared at the end of the cemetery road.
Ronin stood.
“Get behind me.”
I did.
Three black vehicles arrived.
Men stepped out.
Silian swore under his breath.
Ronin remained calm.
A man emerged from the middle car.
He was older.
Elegant.
Gray at the temples.
“Ronin Morgan.”
Ronin's eyes narrowed.
“Damian Cross.”
The man smiled.
“You've been difficult to reach.”
“What do you want?”
“The girl.”
I froze.
Ronin stood between us.
“No.”
Damian laughed.
“You don't understand what she carries.”
“I understand enough.”
“Her mother stole from us.”
“What?”
Damian looked at me.
“She stole the Black Ledger.”
I frowned.
“I don't know what that is.”
“You don't need to.”
Ronin's voice sharpened.
“You're leaving.”
Damian looked at him.
“You know what happens when an Istvan and a Morgan become involved.”
Ronin didn't answer.
Damian smiled.
“Everything burns.”
Then the men raised their weapons.
What happened next was chaos.
Ronin pushed me behind a stone marker.
Gunfire shattered the night.
Silian fired back.
Ronin moved with terrifying speed.
I saw him disarm one attacker, shove another into a car, and move between me and every line of fire.
Within minutes, Damian's men were gone.
Silian was bleeding from his shoulder.
Ronin had a cut across his forehead.
I ran toward him.
“Are you hurt?”
“I'm fine.”
“You're bleeding.”
“So are you.”
I looked down.
A tiny cut crossed my arm.
Ronin touched it.
His fingers trembled.
Not from fear of the attackers.
From fear of losing me.
That was when I finally understood.
His protection wasn't an obligation anymore.
It was personal.
Back at the apartment, Ronin cleaned my cut himself.
“You're very quiet,” I said.
“So are you.”
“I'm trying to understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Why everyone wants me.”
He lowered his eyes.
“Because your mother hid something.”
“The ledger.”
“Yes.”
“From your father?”
“From many people.”
“What was she to your family?”
Ronin stopped moving.
“Friend.”
Only one word.
But it sounded painful.
Then I asked the question that had been sitting between us for days.
“Did you know her?”
“No.”
“What about when she died?”
“I was there.”
I stared.
“What?”
“I arrived after the crash.”
My throat tightened.
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you ever tell me?”
“Because I had a reason.”
“What reason?”
His eyes met mine.
“You.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Me?”
“Your mother begged me to stay away from you.”
“Why?”
“She believed anyone close to my family would become a target.”
“She was right.”
“Yes.”
“And yet you didn't stay away.”
“No.”
“Why?”
He looked at me for a long time.
“Because you crossed the street.”
My heart broke open.
“You came to me.”
I whispered,
“You held me.”
He nodded.
“And I realized I couldn't pretend I didn't care.”
The room became silent.
I stepped closer.
He didn't move.
Neither did I.
Then I rested my forehead against his chest.
He slowly wrapped his arms around me.
May you like
Not because I asked.
Because this time, he chose to.
