ric’s POV:


    <b>“</b><b>If </b>I did, then there would be no reason for this meeting, would there?” she continued. “Because Meadow


    would’ve already left you by now.”


    My jaw flexed, my grip still around her throat. I didn’t loosen it. Not yet. If anything, I squeezed even harder just to watch the color in her cheeks darken. But she wasn’t scared. She knew I wouldn’t hurt her.


    I leaned in close, my nose brushing hers as I let my voice drop to a dangerous whisper. “You will not tell


    her.”


    “Or what, Ric?” she whispered back. “Are you gonna lock me up in that same facility you held my niece? Wait.” She pulled back as if something just struck her. “Meadow knew about Juni being in there, didn’t she?”


    I released rissa’s neck, examining my knuckles. It was easy to forget that I was injured. Before I left the house, I had Mel bandage my wrists up. It was the least I could do to cover just a little bit of the shame I felt about Meadow finding me down in the gym, seeking pain like a fucking lunatic.


    rissa took my silence as an answer. “Why?” Her voice shook. “Why was Juni in there-”


    I turned on my heel, walking away from her and toward the minibar. “You did a terrible job of raising her, rissa.” I poured myself a ss of bourbon. “Just thought you should know that.”


    I could feel her anger radiating throughout the penthouse. “Well, excuse me for being a twenty–one year old who had to raise eleven year old twin girls who hated each other.” she spat, storming toward me. “Did you know? Did you know that the man you used of murder had two daughters?”


    “I did,” I answered honestly, taking a sip of my drink before I looked at her. “I also knew his daughters had a mother who would take care of them. Although I was wrong about that.” I shook my head.


    “So what? That was some kind of sick revenge against me?”


    My gaze narrowed. “It wasn’t revenge. It was fucking justice.”


    rissa scoffed, brushing her hair away from her face. “Yeah, right. Real convenient that it all happened after you broke up with me.”


    I stepped around the bar slowly, dropping the ss down on the surface. “I will say this once and only once, rissa. When I decided to get justice for my family, you were not in the back of my mind. I didn’t know that you were rted <i>to </i>Clint Russell in any way. So don’t go around thinking I did that all because you fucked my brother-”


    “It was a mistake-”


    “I don’t care for your exnations.” My gaze narrowed. “All I care about is how to put Meadow’s evil twin


    in check.”


    rissa’s mouth parted for a second as her brows drew together. “What do you mean? What happened?”


    I wasn’t sure why Meadow wasn’t in contact with her aunt, but my gut told me it has something to do


    with Juniper. It was always her.


    I fixed rissa with a nk state. “I’ll leave you to have that conversation with the monster herself. However, you should know that I’ll have no problem putting her back there if she doesn’t behave, or better still, stay away from my wife. And that goes for you too, rissa.”


    The main reason I even let Juniper go wasn’t because rissa threatened to tell Meadow what I did to her father. I let her go for Meadow. All I wanted was to protect her in any way I could, and keeping her sister away and Tyler under my watch was a way of doing that. But I couldn’t keep her there forever.


    And there was no way Meadow was going to learn to stand up for herself if her sister was locked up. No way Meadow was going to learn to live without her sister. Because from what I could see, no matter how many times she hurt her, Meadow would never stop loving her.


    And there was nothing I could do about it.


    rissa’s red lips pulled down into a sneer as her gaze moved to my drink and back to my face. “Why? Because she’s yours?”


    I smirked. “Smart girl.”


    As I took my drink again, rissa watched my every move. And then she stepped even closer. Her voice lowered to a whisper as she reached for my tie again. “Do you really think her father is guilty? You think


    her father would kill yours?”


    My jaw clenched. “Fucking sure of it.”


    Meadow’s father and mine were estranged friends. Enemies, if you would. Only, I didn’t know about it


    until I needed to.


    “You have no idea of the series of unfortunate events that happened, ric. I lost my only sister, and I


    wouldn’t have if Clint wasn’t thrown in jail.” Her eyes watered and she red at me. But I knew rissa.


    She wasn’t upset with me.


    “When you said you had to go back,” I started. “That was because of the twins, wasn’t it?”


    “It was,” she nodded. “Although from what I can remember, you didn’t give a shit that I was leaving.”


    My gaze narrowed. “No, I didn’t. And I still don’t give a shit about you or what you do, rissa. I don’t get why you’re back.”


    Something crossed her eyes then, but it was gone before I could figure out what it was. Instead, she cleared her throat and smirked. “Same way I don’t get why you married Meadow. You broke her family, Ric. Something tells me you mean to break her too.”


    She didn’t get all the words out before my hand was around her neck again and I pushed her against the bar. “There we go,” rissa moaned. “Did I hit a nerve, baby? You know, if you keep putting me in positions like this, I might just be tempted to kiss you.”


    “Shut the fuck up!” I growled.


    “Why?” she breathed. “You haven’t answered my question. Despite everything that’s going on, I still care about my niece, ric. But you put her father in jail, and yearster, all of a sudden you marry her? How


    does that even make any sense? If her father killed yours, what you should be looking for is revenge. Not


    a damn wife!”


    I knew it didn’t make any sense at all. rissa was right to be concerned.


    Initially, I nned to seek revenge. Their father being in jail wasn’t enough for what he did to my family. I


    was going to ruin them before they even knew who I was.


    But then–Meadow touched me.


    And all of a sudden, all I wanted was her and nothing else.


    All I needed was her.


    And not just because I could feel her, but because she was hurt. Damaged. And I had a feeling it wasn’tpletely because of me and what I did–if it even was at all.


    Her gaze softened slightly. “It’s not because you can feel her, is it? Because if all you want is some physical touch, I’m more than happy to-”


    I scowled at rissa. “I don’t owe you any answers. I gave you what you fucking wanted, and Meadow is


    mine.”


    rissa’s breath hitched as my grip tightened around her neck. She wed at my arm, trying to pull it away from her. My grip wasn’t too tight, she was overreacting.


    “And you will leave my penthouse and forget this conversation ever happened. And god fucking help me, rissa. If I ever find out that you told Meadow the fucking truth, I’m going to make you regret it. Slowly.”


    She pped my arm away, and this time, I let her,


    “Same goes for you too, baby,” she said breathily, pushing her hair away from her face. “Meadow is my niece, and I love her. If there was anything I could do to keep her from you, I would. But if you fucking hurt her for the sins of her father, I will make your life miserable, even if it’s thest thing I do.”


    My lips twitched. “Cute.”


    I wished I could say I would never hurt Meadow. I wouldn’t–not intentionally.


    But what all this had made me realize was that secrets weren’t safe. Not entirely. Sooner orter, Meadow


    would find out the truth. That was a given.


    It was only a matter of when.