Black Thorns (Thorns Duet #2) by Rina Kent

His steps are moderate, never too rushed, and never too slow. Everything he does is previously calculated to the smallest details. He’s like a mountain sometimes, I swear. No one can tell what’s inside its sturdy silence.

We take in the view of the garden that’s lit by dim yellow light coming from lamp poles between the trees.

“It’s a beautiful night, don’t you think?” he asks.

“It is.”

“Even the charity event was nice.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I had a few memorable impressions of a couple of people.”

I wet my suddenly-dry lips. I’ve known Akira for long enough to recognize that he doesn’t take note of everyone he meets. He might act polite and welcoming to each person he talks to, but he’s always filtering them in his mind.

He only recalls those he’ll work with.

Or those he’ll destroy.

“Like who?” I ask in a tone that I hope to hell doesn’t betray my emotions.

“Knox Van Doren and Daniel Sterling, for one.”

Sebastian’s colleagues. They came over and said their hellos to us after we talked to Sebastian since, apparently, they were previously acquainted with Akira.

“I thought you’d met them before.”

“Yes. But tonight, I met them under different circumstances. Let’s say, new ones.”

“I see.”

“Then there’s your college friend. What was his name again?”

He’s playing a game, wanting me to say his name myself, because no matter how much I tried to control my body language, Akira is a master at reading people’s reactions and he must’ve sensed all the stiffening going on whenever Sebastian was in sight.

But if I choose confrontation, he’ll just deflate and make it appear as if I’m being defensive.

So I smile. “Sebastian. His name is Sebastian Weaver.”

“Right. Weaver. I heard his grandfather is a senator again.”

“Could be.”

“His uncle owns the firm in which he, Daniel, and Knox work. I heard he passed the bar after taking an accelerated course.”

“Nice.” When the hell did he manage to get his hands on this information? I knew Akira’s line of intel worked fast, but I didn’t know it was this fast.

“Do you have any secrets to tell me about him?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I’m considering working with him.”

Fuck. Shit.

When he expressed his intentions earlier, I thought they were mere empty promises. I didn’t think he’d really want to work with Sebastian.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense if you worked with Knox or Daniel since you’re already acquainted with them?” I’m thankful my tone is casual.

“Logically, it does, but where’s the challenge in that?” He smiles in that mysterious way that still gets under my skin.

Akira always appears like a blank canvas who only shows people what they want to see. He does have his hidden tendencies, though, and presents them through that infuriating smile.

I don’t even trust anything he told me over the years when we used to write letters back and forth to each other. At the time, I thought they were genuine, but that could’ve been another way for him to manipulate me so I’d end up in this position.

Because no matter what Kai and Ren say, I don’t believe this whole thing hasn’t been plotted for years. Maybe since I was born.

“So?” Akira insists.

“So what?”

“Any weaknesses I can hold over him?”

“Why would I know his weaknesses? We only studied at the same college. Our classes weren’t even in the same department, so it’s not like we were close.”

“Interesting. I don’t know why I got the impression that you were, in fact, close. Maybe it was my imagination.”

“Could be.”

Akira pats my hand. “No worries. Although you didn’t help me, I’ll find his weakness in no time. It’ll be a fun challenge.”

My spine jerks upright and I force myself to relax so he doesn’t read my reaction.

If there’s anything I’ve learned about Akira after all these years, it’s that he makes it his mission to find other people’s weaknesses. It’s how he manages to step over them and get what he wants.

No one gets under Akira’s radar and escapes unscathed. He’s so similar to my father that way.

But I can’t try to persuade him out of it, because if he senses my interest in the matter, he’ll latch on to it.

“Good luck.”

He lowers his head and kisses my cheek as we reach the entrance. “Go ahead and change before our guests arrive.”

“You, too.” I smile as we go in separate directions. His room is on the eastern end and mine is on the west.

My room is simple with a king-sized bed in the middle and tall lamps on either side of it. The only personal item here is the sketchpad on the bedside table that I use whenever I need a breathing outlet.

I lean against the door and close my eyes the slightest bit, catching my breath.

It feels as if I haven’t been breathing properly since the moment my eyes fell on those tropical green ones. For a second, the past flashes before my eyes, but all I can think about is the last time I saw him.