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“After that first time we...” He swallows the words. “W
e both agreed it couldn’t happen again. But then time after time my brother would mess up, and every time we’d find ourselves right back where we started. It became a cycle neither of us could break until she announced she was pregnant.”
James gets up and pours himself another drink, perching on the edge of his desk. “Charlie was so excited. Promised to clean himself up and get a decent job. He started making all these grand plans for their future. I was devastated. I think a part of me had always hoped she would leave him. But I knew my family would never accept her, and she knew Charlie wouldn’t survive without her. It was an impossible situation.”
“What happened?” I ask.
“She didn’t tell me, not right away. But the second I saw Ace, I knew. God, it was so hard watching Charlie with him. My son.”
James inhales a sharp breath. “But my brother was different. Calmer. He really wanted to do right by them. So I stepped aside. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“The twins?”
“Another moment of weakness. Charlie’s bad habits didn’t stay away for long. After Ace was born, he and Maria were rarely intimate and he’d started seeing other women. I begged her to leave him. Begged her to do the right thing.
“When the twins were born, it was the final straw. I couldn’t stand by any longer. She had to make a decision. Me or him.”
“She chose Charlie...” I gasp.
He nods grimly. “I stayed away after that. Of course, I checked in on the boys occasionally. But as far as Maria was concerned, we were done. And then one day, out of the blue, she called me. I’ll never forget the fear in her voice.
“We met out of town. I knew it was bad, but when I saw her body... the bruises... I’ve never felt anger like it. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to strangle him with my bare hands for ever laying a hand on her.”
“I don’t know what to say...” Their story is far more complicated than I could have ever imagined.
“I have carried this around for so long... I can’t deny it feels like a weight has lifted, getting it off my chest. But it shouldn’t have happened like this. I should have...” He stops himself. But I need to know the rest.
And something tells me he needs to purge the sins of his past.
“What happened to Charlie, James?”
“Maria wanted to leave him. She was scared of how volatile he’d become and suspected he knew about the boys not being his. So I made arrangements. Everything was set, but he found out. He found out and he threatened to...” He swallows hard, running a brisk hand over his face. “I realized then that Maria was never going to be free. All those years I spent wishing she’d choose me, not realizing that fear motivated her to stay. Maria begged me to back off. She said things would calm down once I disappeared again, Charlie would see sense. But the damage was already done. The anger and pain I felt festered inside me, growing into some ugly beast.
“So I paid a guy to make Charlie disappear. I didn’t want to know the specifics. I just wanted him gone.”
A chill zips up my spine. He makes it sound like paying someone to kill his brother is nothing, but then, I know all too well that love brings out the crazy in people.
“I only ever wanted to keep them safe, Remi. It’s all I wanted. But in the end, it cost me everything. Maria couldn’t look at me after Charlie’s body turned up. I begged her to let me see the boys, to tell them the truth, but she said if I ever came near them again, she’d tell them what I’d done.” Pain bleeds from his words, and I want to comfort him. But it feels like a betrayal to Ace. He still doesn’t know the whole story—he still has so much to learn about his life.
And James has no idea Charlie is alive.
I hesitate, wondering if it’s the right thing to do. But Ace deserves to have someone stand in his corner.
Taking a deep breath, I say, “Charlie isn’t dead.”
The blood drains from his face. “It isn’t possible.”
“It is. Ace saw him, James. Right before Maria died.”
“I... dear God. That’s how he found out? That’s how Ace knew?”
I nod, my heart aching for this messed-up family.
“But how? I saw the body, I saw...”
“Ace doesn’t know. But Charlie is alive. Which means he could come back. He could try and hurt you. All of you.”
If Charlie is as unhinged as they both say, he could want revenge. A violent shudder rolls up my spine.
