Page 64 of Property of Quake

“We confirmed it.”

“Confirmed what?” I ask.

His jaw hardens, and he darts his gaze past me. “Tom.”

“That was already confirmed by Melissa,” I remind him. “So what exactly are you referring to?”

“Okay, he admitted it,” he corrects.

My knees buckle, and he sweeps me into his arms before carrying me across the room and sets me on one of the long couches. He remains standing in front of me.

“What exactly did he admit to?” I ask, needing to hear all of it.

He heaves a sigh. “He wasn’t trying to rape her as Keith suggested. He was identifying vulnerable kids for Keith. Most of the time, he simply passed along information about them, but it was different with Melissa for some reason. Keith wasn’t satisfied with simply getting the info. He wanted to meet her. The night Tom tore Melissa’s shirt wasn’t the first time he tried to get her to go with him so Keith could meet her. It started almost immediately when she arrived at Sacred Haven.”

Nausea rolls through me. The level of depravity is almost impossible to comprehend. Sacred Haven was supposed to be a place children were protected, not targeted. I close my eyes briefly, struggling to process the enormity of it all.

“What happens now?” I finally ask when I’m sure I won’t vomit.

“We keep digging.”

His response makes sense, but frustration still rises inside me. “That’s it?”

“No, it’s not it,” Zombie says with a dangerous edge to the words.

I glance around at all of the brothers, and each of them wears expressions that mirror the fury emanating from Quake.

Each of them, in their own quiet way, is vowing vengeance. They aren’t finished, not by a long shot. Unfortunately, there are some truths I don’t want clarified, so I focus on what matters most.

“Melissa is safe?” I ask, locking eyes with Quake.

“Yeah, she is.”

“What about Carrie?” I have the presence of mind to ask.

The atmosphere shifts, becomes more emotionally charged as the brothers exchange looks. Quake’s expression darkens more than I thought possible.

“What about her?” I prod.

He crouches in front of me, resting his hands on my knees. “Tom confirmed a connection with her.”

“Which is?” I ask when he doesn’t elaborate.

Lyric answers when Quake won’t. “Carrie is Keith’s biological half-sister. She was put up for adoption as an infant. Two years later, Keith was born, and their mom kept him.”

I lunge to my feet, knocking Quake in the chin in the process, but he takes it in stride. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I shout, punching him in the chest, over and over, needing to expel my rage.

Quake lets me pound on him for a minute before he grabs my wrists, stopping me. “Calm down, Whitney,” he snaps, not with anger, but with the force necessary to break through my fury. “Tom didn’t confirm that she was involved, just that she and Keith are related.”

“Of course, she’s involved,” I counter.

“Maybe, but we need proof,” Zombie states.

“Then get the proof,” I demand. “Because if she’s involved, then there are countless other kids at risk.”

“We’re working on it,” Quake insists. “But she’s missing.”

“Missing,” I repeat. “What do you mean, she’s missing?”