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My father-in-law loves his brother despite his evil nature. “Thane always lets Abram off the hook. I don’t have to tell you that.”
“You’re right, but I’m not letting Dad overturn my decision.”
I love Sin for wanting to stand up for me, but Thane is still head of The Fellowship. His word overrides anything Sin decides. If Thane says Abram stays, then he does. End of story.
He’ll come for me again. I’m sure of it.
I’m going to face the same scenario again and again. Kill or be killed. My choice will be the same every time.
Kill instead of be killed.
We go into my in-law’s home and find them waiting for us in the living room. “We apologize for dragging you out into the cold again, but it’s with good reason.”
Sin wastes no time jumping straight into why we’re here. “I assume something happened after we left Abram’s.”
“Aye. He demanded to be pardoned and allowed to return to The Fellowship. He threatened to join The Order and become their new leader if I don’t agree.”
Oh God. Here we go. Abram manipulates Thane and gets his way again.
Isobel places a supportive hand on Thane’s leg. It’s odd. I’ve never seen them within touching distance. “Their organization is in complete mayhem right now. I think they’re desperate enough to accept his offer regardless of him being raised Fellowship. His reputation precedes him. They’d be happy to have him for a leader,” Thane says.
Motherfucker. I hate his guts.
“I told him there would be no pardon and asked him to not join The Order because it would make us sworn enemies. In fact, I forbid it as his leader. His response was that your twins would be the first to die under his rule if he wasn’t allowed to return to The Fellowship.”
My stomach flips. I may literally be sick.
Sin reaches for my hand and looks at his father. “I let him keep his life by exiling him and now he threatens to kill my children if he’s not allowed back in? Surely you know I can’t let this go on any further. He’s giving me no choice. I have to kill him.”
I sit on pins and needles awaiting Thane’s response to his son’s declaration. My heart will break if he rules against Sin in Abram’s favor.
“He’s ruthless. Can’t be controlled,” Thane says.
I see the pain in his eyes and know what’s coming next.
“Even from an early age, there was something wrong with Abram. A disconnect somewhere in his head. He enjoyed hurting people. I couldn’t fix him, but I did my best to control him. But now he has threatened to go to The Order. Become our enemy. The only choice we have is who will be the one to kill him.”
“I’ll do it,” Sin says. “You can’t kill your only brother. It will haunt you the rest of his life.”
I’m relieved, yet sad for Thane. He will not soon stop grieving the loss of his brother.
It was inevitable. Abram had to die so it wasn’t one of us, particularly my children. I’m not sorry he’ll soon be dead.
Chapter Sixteen
Sinclair Breckenridge
No doubt. This is going to be the hardest thing I ever do in my life. Not because of any love I have for my uncle. It’s the pain I’ll cause his family. Especially Jamie and Westlyn.
How do you tell two people you love that you’re going to kill their father?
The family is in the living room when I return to the house. They immediately know why I’ve come when they see Sangster at my side.
“No. You negotiated for exile!” Evanna shouts.
I tell them of Abram’s demands and threats. “He sealed his fate when he vowed to kill my children. I can’t give him another chance to be successful. There’ll be no more bartering.”
My word is final and no one tries to convince me otherwise.
I go into Abram’s bedroom. I’m hopeful he’ll come with us peacefully. It would be awful to kill him in their home but I will, should the need arise.
“Thane must have discussed my new terms with you.” He appears so self-assured, as though he’s untouchable. Wrong.
“He informed me of your threats. But there was no discussion since neither of us are bending to your demands.”
Abram’s eyes narrow, his jaw stiff. “Then I can promise you that your twins will never see their first birthday!” he shouts.
“I can promise you they will. You’re the one who won’t be here to see it.”
I call out for Sangster to come into the room. “You can exhibit honor and come with us peacefully, or we can kill you with your family in the next room.”
I’m not oblivious to his arm easing beneath the covers. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He’s a coward without honor. I know this so I’m prepared when he pulls a gun from beneath the bedding.
But I’m the faster shooter. One shot to the center of his forehead and it’s done.
A woman’s screams carry into the bedroom. Torrie’s.
Only one thing to do. I phone Oscar Lennox, resident cremator for bodies we need to dispose of. “Come to Abram’s for a pickup.”
I’m sitting on a cold concrete bench in Torrie’s extravagant garden when Jamie and Westlyn find me.
“Oscar has taken him away,” Jamie says.
Killing Abram wasn’t the difficult part. This is. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but he gave me no choice. He was going to offer to lead The Order. First on his agenda was killing my children.”
“I came to Dad’s bedroom. I wanted to talk to you. To see if we could work something out. But then I heard him tell you that your twins would never see their first birthday. And it was over for me after that. You did what a husband and father does to protect his family. Westlyn and I understand. We don’t bear a grudge against you.”
Westlyn puts her arms around me and squeezes. “We understand.”
Relief washes over me. “I was so afraid both of you would hate me.”
Westlyn continues, “We will grieve the loss because he’s our father. But he wasn’t the same man we knew when we were children. He wasn’t well and hadn’t been for some time. He gave you no choice.”
* * *
It’s been five days since Abram’s death. My father won’t soon stop mourning the loss of his only brother. But I think it’s important for him to do something to get his mind off it. That’s why I’ve asked him to accompany me on the sweep of Todd Cockburn’s flat.
I remove Bleu’s lock-pickin
g kit from my pocket and choose the tools I need. “This may take a minute. I’m rusty.”
I insert the tension wrench into the lower portion of the keyhole. I put the pick into the upper section and rake the pins. Though I learned this when I was eight, I haven’t had to use these skills in a long time.
I continue unsuccessfully raking the pins with the pick. “I should have brought Bleu for this. She’s damn good at it. She can pop a lock in a snap.”
I pass the pick a final time and hear the magical click. “Got it.”
I push the door open and look inside before entering. A thief stealing large sums of cash will be looking to hold on to it, so I inspect the entrance and foyer before entering. “Looks clear.”
I’ve never visited Todd Cockburn’s home. It’s clean—no, immaculate is a better word. Most bachelors aren’t this organized, even if they have housekeepers. I know I wasn’t before I married Bleu.
We need to get what we came for first in case we have to leave. “I’ll collect the sample now and then we’ll do a search front to back.”
I go into Todd’s bathroom and retrieve his toothbrush from its holder. I swab the bristles just as Bleu directed.
I rejoin Dad at the front of the house. We comb through one room at a time, not moving on until each space has nothing left to search.
Nothing.
“If he’s a thief, he’s a thorough one,” Dad says.
My gut says we’re missing the evidence. “I wouldn’t expect anyone in The Fellowship to be less than methodical. It’s here. We just have to find it.”
“There’s nothing else to check unless you want to start ripping open furniture and mattresses.”
I look at all the potential hiding places. I don’t think we can call this an extensive search if we don’t take it all the way. “Let’s do it.”
I take my knife from my back pocket and stab it into the center of a sofa cushion, dragging it downward in one motion like gutting a fish. I find zilch.
