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Shit! I’m feeling Lincoln’s physical pain, too. I hate when this happens. Focus!
I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood. I swayed on my feet before the pain subsided and then disappeared completely.
Lincoln grunted and curled in on himself.
My dad crouched next to him, grabbing onto his dark hair and yanking his head back. “It doesn’t have to be like this, Lincoln. Just answer your brother’s questions.”
Lincoln blinked up at my dad with an angry glare. His nostrils flared. “No.”
My dad flung Lincoln back so fast I was afraid his head was going to snap off. “You would rather help them than your own family?”
He stomped back and forth in front of Lincoln.
Lincoln swiped at his bloody lip with the back of his arm. He didn’t try to get up though. “I can’t go along with what you’re doing, Dad. You’re killing innocent people. I’m afraid to even ask what’s happening to the women being kept in the enforcers’ barracks.”
My dad stopped pacing and put his hands on his sides as he glared at Lincoln. “I am making things better for us. There will be some hiccups along the way, and not everyone will agree. But I never thought I’d be fighting against my own son.”
Lincoln looked at the floor and just shook his head. “Mother would’ve never wanted this. Imagine how you would feel if someone was doing this to Hannah.”
That was the wrong thing to say. My mother and baby sister were a sore spot for my dad. And had been ever since their deaths.
My dad roared and kicked Lincoln like you would a soccer ball to score the game’s winning shot. I winced at the crack of ribs breaking. Lincoln wheezed and coughed, fighting to catch his breath. My dad went to kick him again.
“Dad, that’s enough.” I didn’t even realize I’d said the words until both he and Mikey were looking at me.
Lincoln stared too, his eyes wide. He gulped and looked at our dad and brother, watching them closely.
I swallowed and met my dad’s gaze, doing my best to ignore every instinct in me telling me to grab Lincoln and run.
“Look at him.” I motioned to Lincoln, who was still struggling to breathe. “If we keep this up, we run the risk of killing him. Mikey’s already pumped him full of wolfsbane. He isn’t healing at all. Look at all the bruises and cuts. We will get nothing from him if he dies.”
I hoped I hadn’t shown my hand. My dad knew that Lincoln and I were close.
My dad scowled as he closed the distance between us, crossing his arms over his chest. “You aren’t getting soft on me now, are you, Sawyer?”
I kept my eyes locked on my dad’s. “Of course not. I just want to make sure that the one person who can give us the information we need doesn’t get killed.”
My dad stayed silent for a long minute. He was looking for any signs of weakness in me.
I took the opportunity to further drive my point home. “Lincoln is the only one who knows where his computer is. He’s the only one who can crack his codes. Even if we trusted someone in town to try to break them, it could take them days or weeks, maybe even longer. Like it or not, Lincoln is smart, and our best bet is to break him without killing him.”
My dad narrowed his eyes before returning to Lincoln. He sighed. “He does look a little worse for wear. Mikey, lay off the abuse for another day. Give him a moment to heal before you continue.”
My dad turned back to me and pointed his finger. “You know what I love about you most, Sawyer?”
Love? That was a word I hadn’t heard him utter in years.
When I didn’t answer, he continued, “You have my brashness, but your mother’s calmness. Maybe what we need is for you to try to talk to him.”
Me? “I can try.”
Mikey growled and threw his arms open as he glared at our father.
Dad snarled at him before turning back to me. “One day, Mikey. Calm down.”
Mikey grinned like a Cheshire cat. “You have twenty-four hours to talk some sense into him. And then I’ll be taking back over.”
My stomach rolled. God, he actually enjoyed this. My father, at least for all his cruelty, didn’t seem to enjoy hurting us.
