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Kian crossed the room and fell onto the couch. “No arguing from me. I’m staying.”
Gage shot Jace a venomous glare before moving and sitting on the barstool. “Fine. I’ll drop it. For now.”
“What did Hayes want?” Jace asked, leaning on the wall next to the TV.
Jace and Gage’s argument had almost made me forget what had happened, but hearing Hayes’s name made it all slam back into me. I bit my lip, shuffling to the couch and dropping next to Kian. My heart ached when I thought of my brother, and I swiped my hands down my face.
“None of your business,” Gage clipped out. “If you’re staying here to talk about that, then just leave now.”
“I’ll learn it all from my dad anyway,” Kian pointed out.
“Well, since we have a truce, whatever Hayes knows, then he’ll tell Chris,” Jace added. “Might as well just tell us now.”
“Actually, they didn’t want you or the Disciples to know about any of this,” Kian muttered. “I doubt Chris will learn anything.”
Jace stiffened, his eyes darting between Kian and me. “Then how about someone tells me what the fuck is going on? Otherwise, I’ll tell Chris that Hayes wants her for some reason.”
Jace’s threat had Kian scowling, and Gage spoke up before I could say anything.
“I’ll put money down that you won’t say a fucking word.” The warning in Gage’s voice was unmistakable, and Kian glanced over toward the barstool with curiosity in his gaze.
Jace’s jaw clenched, his eyes growing stormy, as if he’d just remembered what happened last night. With the new ink on his back, he was now torn between the threat of what the Underground would do to him and his loyalty to the Disciples.
“I just want to know what’s going on, Rynn,” Kian murmured. “I just proved I want to keep you away from Grimrose. Knowing the facts of everything would help. How did Nick know Shawn?”
“Who’s Shawn?”
Jace’s question was met with silence, and I considered how much I should say. I wasn’t sure how much Gage knew about my brother, but I didn’t mind telling him everything. Kian was going to learn what Grimrose knew anyway once he spoke to his father. Jace was the only one out of the loop, but seeing as he wore my gang tattoo, I doubted he’d tell anyone this. I could talk about Shawn without mentioning Ellie or the Underground.
“Shawn was my brother,” I answered, keeping my voice steady. “He was in Grimrose.”
“What?” Jace hissed.
“When?” Kian asked at the same time.
“When we were teenagers.” I glanced at Gage. He was sitting rigidly on the barstool, listening intently, but I knew my words weren’t a surprise to him. “He did something to piss off Hayes. Nick and a couple other guys came after him when I was home, and they beat the shit out of him. They planned to take me to make sure he behaved.”
“Take you?” Rage crept into Kian’s voice. “On my dad’s orders?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “Either he or Nick chose to do it.”
The tension rose in the room, and I curled up on the couch, my heart aching as I dredged up the memory of that night. I kept talking, knowing they were going to ask anyway.
“I got away and ran. I didn’t come back to Pacific Point until the summer I met you.”
Kian’s stare didn’t leave me. “Where’d you go?”
“Somewhere they couldn’t touch me,” I answered. Telling them I’d gone to Ellie and the Underground wasn’t going to happen. Although I was sure Jace would be able to guess now that he knew who I was with.
“What happened to Shawn?” Jace asked softly.
My heart squeezed painfully. “He was killed.”
“By Grimrose?” Kian breathed out, guilt filling his voice.
“Rynn,” Gage warned in a low voice. “They don’t need to know.”
Jace stared at me, deep in thought. “The Disciples played a part too. You hate Chris. And there’s a reason that Hayes doesn’t want him to know you’re Shawn’s sister.”
