But Gideon takes his phone out and types a note, just in case they forget.
“Tell me something else. Make it worth my while. We knew he had to be somewhere near the beach. That’s nothing.”
“If you knew that already, then why isn’t he dead? Is Jay not man enough to take out the threat?”
“We aren’t murderers, you useless git,” Gideon growls.
It’s a lie…or it will be, as soon as Jay can make it true. Gideon just grinds his teeth and stares Jay’s father down.
“Fine, you drive a hard bargain. Hmmm… what can I tell you?”
James approaches, and Jay thinks it’s because his father doesn’t want to miss a single eye twitch. There’s a slow, creeping dread that whatever he says will hurt.
“Gideon, your dear old dad has a few secrets that I am happy to share. They won’t cost you a thing.”
“Stop monologuing and get on with it. You stink, and it’s putting me off my lunch.”
It’s gratifying to see James’s jaw clench at the blatant disrespect, and the sound of a tooth breaking is loud in the otherwise abandoned car park. James spits it—and a mouthful of blood—out onto the asphalt, unbothered. It’s obviously not the first time.
“Oh, this is going to be fun.”
James gives them a macabre smile.
“I met your brother, once.”
“I don’t have any siblings. Try again.”
“Oh, I beg to differ. I think at last count, Daddy had a total of four or five little Carnells running around since you were born,” James says as he pretends to count on his fingers. “But he’s fucked his way around Nashville and Clearwater so much, who knows? He’s just trying to find fodder for his cannon…his cannon! Ha, get it?”
James uses the classic jerk-off hand gesture to punctuate his lewd pun, snickering like he just delivered the joke of the century.
Jay blinks, disgust thick in his throat—but it’s not the words that stop him.
It’s Gideon.
His mate is staring straight ahead, blank-eyed, frozen—not with rage. With recognition. Horror.
Carnell had been impregnating women. On purpose. In order to what? Build an army?
“No,” Gideon says. “He’s talking shit. Jay, let’s go—we’re done here.”
Gideon takes Jay’s arm in an iron grip and starts to pull them toward the car.
“Oh, this is good.” James laughs. “You really didn’t know. I wasn’t sure about that…not given how much of a talker your brother was. I met him once, and he just went on and on about that little human Rena bitch. How they were keeping himlocked up and away from you. A missing mate. How fucking sad. How much that must have hurt. Like torture. Goddess, how I laughed.”
Rena? Nix? Of course, they knew now that Hayes had hidden Nix away—but that his father had known as well? Jay wants to puke.
“You remember Hayes, right?” James laughs again. “That idiot had a bee in his bonnet about you, my boy. How you are so successful, how you had fated mates; and when he told this story, I can tell you for sure just how much he hated you. But finding that little human bitch on the front steps of Ripley Records? Well, he thought luck was finally going his way.”
The ache in his chest burns with those damning words, and Gideon is frozen, his scent pure petrichor and sulphuric fury. It’s horrifying to think that the abusive Hayes was Gideon’s brother.
But James isn’t done. “Carnell, ever the opportunist. He helped the idiot sell his soul for the chance to keep you out of the loop and suffering for almost five years. Something about a prophecy or some ridiculous shit. At least Hayes was getting a tight ass for his trouble.”
Jay’s wolf has suddenly had enough of his father’s poisonous words, so he grasps James by the dirty button-down shirt and swings him around until he’s pressed back over the hood of the car.
“You. Are. A. Fucking. Liar.” Jay punctuates each word with a shake, even though deep down, he knows it’s all true.
“Boy, let go of me, or you’ll be sorry,” James growls—and for the first time in Jay’s life, he feels no fear at the sound. Only blinding anger.
