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So that was it. I felt a lot of things at his words. Surprised that Brendan hadn’t made it to an old man, a little shaken that my older brother was dead. Before he became a power hungry asshole, he’d taught me how to shoot a gun, how to aim for center mass, how to spit.
Then a flash of pain seared deep into my chest. My brother is dead. But finally there was relief. Not hope or grief, but a kind of lightening of the darkness that meant he was gone. I didn’t know where it had come from or why. But I let that feeling wash over me and smiled.
For a moment, I thought Charlie would put his hand on mine. But he said, “It’s okay to be sad, Savannah. He was your brother for longer than he was a prick.”
I smiled at Charlie’s attempt to make me feel better and shook my head. “If I had any money, I’d buy you a drink.” Not that I was glad that Brendan was dead, but I wasn’t exactly sorry either.
He shook his head. “I don’t believe you. Being tough is one thing, but he’s your brother.”
I scoffed. “And? What is that supposed to mean to me? The bachelor party was over a week ago, and not that I need to point it out to you, but Ronan still hasn’t come looking for me. Has he?”
“Not that I’m aware of, no.” He seemed almost disappointed as he said the words that came as no surprise to me.
“Because that’s what family means to him, probably to most men, having a son to carry on the business, no matter how idiotic said son is, or how ill-tempered, or how unsuited to business. As long as there’s a penis involved, then that’s family.”
Even recalling it now, the realization pissed me off to the point that I understood why Charlie kept saying it was okay if I wanted to go back. I don’t. “What?” I blurted out.
Charlie blinked slowly, those all-seeing gray eyes turning to a dark, gunmetal silver. “I haven’t said a damn thing.”
“You don’t have to. That look I hate so fucking much is written all over your face. Pity. Just spit it out, will you?”
I didn’t want anyone to pity me, least of all Charlie. Right now, he was all I had and I couldn’t stand it if he pitied me.
Charlie sucked in a deep breath and nodded, as if he needed to ready himself for his next words. I sat taller, straighter, while he summoned a waiter and ordered two double shots of whiskey.
“Must be serious,” I mumbled, only half joking.
“How much do you know about what your brother was up to in your absence?”
Oh. “You mean when I was with those Ashby fucks or before that?”
“Either,” he shrugged. “Both.”
“Well, I know he snatched Virgil’s old lady and supposedly got killed when one of his flop houses blew up.” It served him right. “But he wasn’t dead.”
Charlie’s lips pulled into a reluctant grin. “Smart. He didn’t die, but the explosion burned him all to hell on one side of his face.”
I barked out a laugh. “So, I heard. I bet that made him a delight to be around. Did he ever retaliate against those Ashby fucks?”
“He did, or he tried to. The night you escaped from Lance Decker.”
Lance. As much as he’d been my captor, he’d been kind to me. Treated me like a human being, which I appreciated. “You realize I didn’t escape? We were in the SUV and got ambushed. Lance treated me better than my own father. I had no reason to escape.” I blew out a breath. There was so much Charlie didn’t know. And I wasn’t sure now was the time to tell him. “I was sorry to hear he didn’t make it.”
Charlie nodded at my words but seemed unmoved, which had me rethinking just how close he was to the Ashby family.
“Brendan had already hooked up with the Black Jacks, tried to take over the family business so you couldn’t.”
“Fucking asshole. I’m glad he’s dead.”
Charlie nodded his head. “Yeah. He was pretty angry about his face and wanted to retaliate. And for some reason, he started with you.”
“Why do you say that?” I could tell there was more to the story and Charlie struggled to get it out. I sipped my drink and waited as patiently as I could even though my stomach twisted in knots and my pulse doubled.
“Brendan paid Blade a million bucks to find you and…video you. With men.”
The words sank in, and I shook uncontrollably while a thousand different thoughts race through my mind. My heart crushing into a million pieces. My own brother did this.
It was a brutal night, one that I wouldn’t forget for as long as I lived. They tied me to the bed and shot me up with heroin. Then they squirted lube up my ass and pussy and fucked me until I passed out. I shook my head as images from that night flashed through my mind. I remembered the look on Blade’s face while he made the video.
