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It looked like the recordings had all been taken pretty close together. Rafael’s clothing changed, but his looks stayed pretty much the same, and his attitude kept the same vicious swagger. Whoever had filmed him had caught him ranting and raving about his brutal plans in continued detail.
By the time I let my hands drop with the phone to my lap, I’d heard him explain exactly what order he’d want to cut off various parts of my mother’s body and which animals he’d like to feed those pieces to. I’d listened to him laugh about how easily he was going to insinuate himself within her ranks.
For several seconds, I didn’t speak because I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I’d vomit. I forced myself to raise my head and meet Rafael’s gaze. Behind him, the other three men were braced in shock in the doorway.
“It’s true, isn’t it?” I said. I didn’t see how it couldn’t be. “You started working for my mother so you could destroy her and her empire.”
Every muscle in his massive body was tensed, and his face was etched with agony. His voice came out strained. “It wasn’t like that. Itisn’tlike that. I was young and stupid back then—I hadn’t really thought through what it meant—”
I shot to my feet. “Don’t give me bullshit excuses! You obviously knew exactly how you wanted to tear my family apart. You were planning that while you were watching over me, acting like you wanted to protect me when really…”
My throat closed up. A shudder ran through my body. I’d trusted him so much for so long without the slightest clue about how much rage he was hiding.
“I never hated you,” Rafael said urgently into my silence. “I would never have taken it out on you, even at first. Lou, you have to—”
“I don’t have to do anything!” I interrupted. All the anguish that’d welled up inside me threatened to spill out of me in a flood. Could I really have been so wrong—could I have put so much of my trust in a man who’d wanted to destroy everything I was…?
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I didn’t know how to wrap my head around it. I couldn’t think past the thunder of my pulse while Rafael was right there in front of me, an echo of the vicious figure I’d seen in the videos.
I swung my hand toward the doorway, fighting to keep my voice steady. “I need you to leave. Get out of the apartment. I’ve got to have some space to figure this out. I can’t decide what to think or what I’m going to do when you’re here.”
Somehow, Rafael went even more rigid than he’d already been. “Please, Lou. I swear, I’ll explain—”
“Not now. It’s too much. Just give me some room to breathe!”
Rafael stared at me and swore under his breath, but he turned and stormed toward the front door. The other men parted in his wake. He shouldered his way out of the apartment, and the door thumped shut behind him.
He was gone.
I’d drifted into my bedroom doorway to confirm it. When the front door stayed closed in his wake, I sagged against the doorframe. My thoughts swam through the haze in my head.
How could this have happened? How could any of this be possible?
But it was. I had more than enough evidence right here in my hand.
Unshed tears burned in my eyes. As I sucked in a ragged breath, my skater men eased in around me.
Quentin’s jaw was tight, his eyes flashing with vehemence that matched his voice. “We don’t need that lying prick. The four of us will do just fine without him.”
I suppressed a slightly hysterical laugh. I didn’t know if that was true. Rafael had done so much to protect me from the moment I’d fled Austin—both times.
Nothing about this situation made sense.
Niko slipped his arm around me. “We’ll figure everything out, Angel. No matter what happens, we’re here with you.”
“That’s right.” Jasper touched my cheek at my other side. “You do whatever you need to do to feel safe. We’ve got your back.”
I pressed my hand to my forehead. “I can’t focus—it’s all such a mess. I can’t believe he’d have hidden something thathuge…”
“Here.” Niko guided me over to the sofa. “You catch your breath and give yourself time to sort through things. We’ll make some breakfast. Everything is easier to take with a good meal in your belly.”
The gentleness to his usual cheer only made me choke up more. He’d only known Rafael for a few months, but he could tell how much this revelation had rocked me.
As the guys hustled over to the kitchen to try to whip up some kind of culinary masterpiece that would fix my broken heart, I slumped over on the sofa. When I closed my eyes, fragments of the video footage replayed behind my eyelids, no matter how tightly I squeezed them.
My stomach kept churning. Maybe it was ridiculous. I knew my mother was a horrible person. I knew she’d hurt tons of people. I’d been willing to hurt her myself to get away from her.
