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“I didn’t give a fuck that he was my cousin. The only thing stopping me was what my father would say and if he’d believe me. I let the son of a bitch live, and now Arturo could… I want Franco to die, but now I want it to be slow. I want to torture him until he begs me to kill him. I want him crying from the pain. I guess you think that makes me a monster.”
26
RHYS
Isat up enough to look down at TJ. “No. I don’t think you’re a monster. Franco has hurt someone you care for, an innocent boy. I understand that completely. That’s exactly why, when the opportunity came, I killed my father.”
TJ’s mouth fell open. My heart hammered as he stared at me, disbelief on his face. Why the hell had I told him? I hadn’t even agonized over it. I’d known it was time to speak, time to let him know I wasn’t any better than him, no matter how much I’d wanted that to be true when we first met.
“Did you really just say… I couldn’t have heard you right.”
“You did.”
“I’m not hallucinating or hearing things or whatever? I’m not crazy? You said—”
“I killed my father.”
“But I thought the Carlottis took him out.”
“That’s the story I spread, and they might have if I’d waited long enough, but the truth is, it was me.”
His eyes widened even more. “Oh God, the other day, the FBI agent. I’ve seen a picture of your father, and he looks so much like him. Is that why you were upset seeing his body?”
I nodded. “I killed my father exactly the same way you took that man down, and when I saw him up close with that bullet hole in his forehead, I…”
Even then the world started to spin around me, and my stomach churned.
“Don’t think about it. I killed that man, not you, and you’ve done nothing wrong. Your father hurt you and your brothers. You were just defending your family.”
“Same as you will be when you kill Franco.”
He smiled. “Damn right.”
Silence stretched for a few moments, and the uneasy feeling in my stomach grew worse. “So… Now you know my biggest secret. I’ve never told anyone, and…”
“You mean Rogue and Grant don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“Why did you tell me?”
“You needed to know. And I… I’m tired of being the only one holding this secret. I guess I needed to tell someone who would understand.”
“Your brothers would understand.”
“Dad was going to kill Rogue because he hadn’t taken care of ranch chores Dad had ordered him to do. Dad didn’t do them because he was off drinking with his mafia buddies. Rogue was at school, serving detention. He couldn’t have been there, but even if he’d just slacked off, it wouldn’t matter. It wasn’t his job. It was Dad’s. I wasn’t going to let him hurt Rogue ever again. I would do anything to save my brother.”
TJ reached up and cupped my cheek. “You did the right thing. I’ve never been anywhere near as close to Arturo as you are to Rogue or Grant, but he’s family, and he’s innocent. I will not let Franco hurt him or any member of my family, not even my father.”
“Good for you.”
“Rogue is too trusting. He wouldn’t have defended himself against your father until it was too late.”
I tilted my head, studying him. “How do you know him so well?”
“I’ve learned to size people up quickly. It’s important in my line of work.”
“And it makes torture more effective?”
