Page 151 of Anton

“But keeping me here will only destroy whatever chance we have of being a family, and I don’t want that. I want you in my life, Charlie. You’re my real family.”

That hurts to say because no matter what my family did, they’re still mine too.

He releases a long breath. “I know what I’m doing, and I know you’ll come around. You just need time to accept that you’re never going to see any of them again.”

My hands quiver as more tears spill down my cheeks, and he reaches out to wipe them away.

“Don’t cry. They don’t deserve your tears. You should have always been with me, Penny. They just got to you before I could. But that’s okay. I can fix it.”

“Charlie…please. We can talk about this.”

“No.” His eyes narrow to venomous slits as he retreats one step, then another. “My name isn’t Charlie.” A smile spreads across his face, turning my skin ice cold. “You can call me Drew.”

“Okay, Drew.” I fight to keep the shaking from reaching my voice. “I’m glad you found me.”

His smile widens. “Don’t worry, Penny. Your big brother will protect you now.”

I nod even as my fear inches deeper. “I know. I know you will.”

“You don’t sound like it.” Suspicion creeps back into his expression. “You’re scared of me.”

“Can you blame me? You have me tied up in this awful place.” I swallow against the panic clawing at my throat. “I just want to go home. With you. Can you at least untie me so I can hug you?”

His entire demeanor changes, the anger draining away until he looks almost childlike. “You want to hug me?”

“You’re my brother, aren’t you?”

He stares at me long enough that hope begins to rise, and I almost believe I’ve gotten through to him.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if I trust you yet. You’ve been a Whitlock for so long that you don’t understand what it means to be a Hale.”

A shiver runs through me at the cruel slant of his mouth and the coldness in his eyes.

“I can learn.”

“You will.” His hand travels down my arm, and it takes everything in me not to recoil.

“They’re not very smart, your family.” He leans close to my ear, sounding calmer now, almost proud. “Getting hired was easy. My fake credentials were convincing. I’m very good with computers, Penny. I can find anyone.”

His warm breath touches my neck and revulsion crawls through me, but I bury it beneath the need to survive.

“That’s how I found our aunt.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat. “What about her?”

He straightens and begins pacing. “She was bad too. She knew what our parents were doing to me, and she never helped. So I killed her.”

Nausea surges into my throat. “You…you what?”

His grin widens. “I couldn’t let her have you. She would have filled your head with lies about me, and then I’d have lost you all over again.”

I’m going to be sick.

“It might only be you and me now, but that’s enough.” He stops in front of me, conviction bright in his eyes. “We don’t need anyone else. We can leave all this behind and start over somewhere no one knows us.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I need to get out of here, but how? Is there a damn ladder behind me? How can I check without making him suspicious?