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“Theodore McCullough!” Mom announced. “You think your son would have the balls to come home and face you and lie to your face about finding a mate? After the way you treated him after Kit? He’s your son, and you love him. You don’t want to admit it, but he’s your son! Your son, Theodore!” Mom had been pushing her finger into his chest throughout her whole speech, and Dad was cornered into a tree trunk at this point, staring down at the woman who was half his size but had such a strong hold over him. I hadn’t heard Mom use his full name in a long time, so we knew she was pissed.
Dad launched off the tree and tried to pull some authority back. “I only want to make sure how serious the boy is this time. We don’t want a repeat.” He glared at me. “Besides, I know of Jill.”
“What?” Mom and I said together.
“Of course, I do. If one of my boys is smitten, I know. I know everything. If any of you think you can hide things from me, think again.”
I was boiling inside now.
“I had a scout look into Jill and follow her,” he now added. He held up a hand to stop me from talking. “He wasn’t with her all the time, which is why he wasn’t there when she was taken. He couldn’t get too close because it was raining, and there was no one else around to block him from being seen. And”—he held up a hand to placate me, clearly aware I was seeing red—“I was only watching her because Miti is missing too. Yes, Luc, I do care about my own mother. And as callous as you might think I am, I must do dishonorable things sometimes to keep this family safe. One day you’ll understand.”
A low rumble was forming at the base of my chest, and all I wanted to do was run head first into Dad. My brothers, however, each had a hand on me, preventing me from doing so. I could tell they were upset at what Dad was saying right now too. I highly doubted I’d ever be like him.
“Miti went missing very soon after your Jill moved in. There’s something connected there, and as much as you want your mate back, I want my mother back too,” Dad added.
Mom had let go of Dad and now had her arms around him. They leaned toward each other in a way that made me ache. My mate was missing, and I felt like half of my heart had been cut away with her.
Thankfully, Brandon was able to put some words together. “Let’s go talk to that scout you had. Maybe he’s learned something new.”
“Rocco is not here at the moment. Go home and wait; we will meet you there.”
“I can’t wait!” I protested.
“You’re going to have to!” Dad yelled back.
Mom came to stand between us again. “We need to deal with him first,” Mom said, pointing at the human. “I promise nothing bad is going to happen to him. Right, Theo?” She gave Dad such a stare that he only huffed and nodded his head before turning and stalking away.
* * *
As soon as we got back to our complex, Brandon sped up and sprinted toward the main entrance. We all stared after him in shock as we followed behind.
We could hear screaming as we got closer to my room. Then we ran faster but stopped as soon as we saw who it was.
Becca came charging toward me with her hands out. It would have been easy to stop her and hold her at arm’s length, especially with Brandon coming up behind her, but I didn’t. I let her pummel me. Her hands were everywhere at once, hitting my chest, my shoulders, and even my face a couple of times. I couldn’t hear everything she was screaming at me; I was just trying to block her attack. Brandon was able to get her off me after a few seconds, and I stood up, her eyes shooting daggers at me.
“Hi, Becca.”
She spat at me and crossed her arms across her chest. “I know you have her here. Where is she? Do you have her locked up in your room again? Ray called me and said Jill never showed up to work. She said you came by looking for her, but I think it’s all a ruse.” She took a deep breath, and her words were less rushed, but her tone was no less forceful as she continued, “I knew you liked her. I even told Jill it wasn’t like you to stand her up. That being Brandon’s brother, you were an upstanding citizen and would treat her differently than her ex did.”
I growled at the mention of Rich. “And how did he treat her?”
“He’d do the same as what you did—lock her in their room for days, never letting her out unless she was with him. He’d dress her up like a doll so she would look good on his arm, but he wouldn’t pay even an ounce of attention to her. She’d get pummeled by him if she didn’t do what he said. I was the only one he allowed to call her, and even then, we weren’t allowed to talk about much. She was basically under house arrest and his own personal slave.” She was crying by this time, and Brandon had his arms around her, helping her stay upright.
The rest of us looked at Becca in horror. How could anyone do this to another? My hands were bunched into fists, and it was only the knowledge that I needed all my energy to find Rich that kept me from taking my rage out on them.
Becca whirled on me suddenly and said, “We have to call the police.” She was pulling out her phone when Brandon grabbed it and put it in his back pocket.
“I’m sorry, Becca, but we can’t.” He was holding his hands in front of him, trying to keep her from getting her phone back as he backed up.
“Why are you doing this, Brandon? My friend is missing! You of all people know how much I care about her!”
Brandon seemed to decide that the best thing to do wasn’t to keep backing away from her. Instead, he enveloped her in a hug. I watched in horror, hoping Becca didn’t reach the phone and dial the police. If the police got involved, there would be more questions than we could explain. Thankfully, Becca resorted to pounding on Brandon’s chest while sobbing instead. I could hear the comforting words he was saying into her ears—we all could—and I wished Jill was here so I could do the same.
All that kept playing in my mind were Becca’s words about what Jill had gone through with Rich. No wonder she’d been pissed at me for holding her in my home while we searched for Rich. The guy would pay. He would pay big time.
Jill
I triedto sleep but failed miserably. There was some straw in the corner I had pulled together to make two makeshift beds. I tried to entice Miti onto one, but she wouldn’t budge. At one point her eyes shot open and looked right into mine. I couldn’t look away. It looked like the whole world was behind those eyes, trying to tell me something I couldn’t understand. But somehow, regardless of her crazy behavior, her presence seemed to calm me instead of scaring me more, and I decided to sit as close to her as possible.
