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“Dallas, his twin, is more reasonable,” Dare added. “You might meet him today.” Dare leaned back on the couch and stretched his legs in front of him. “I’ve got some questions, though.”
“Shoot,” Toth said with a nod.
“Where are they now? Mom and Dad.” Dare’s voice suddenly had a hard edge, making the acid in Savannah’s stomach burn.
She swung her gaze to Toth. The same question burned inside her, but she hadn’t had the chance to ask.
Toth’s gaze grew distant. “Mom lives in Portland. Dad, well, I dunno where the fuck he is. He took off when I was younger. Probably a good thing.”
Dare’s face was somber. “Did he still hit her?”
“Here and there. Most of the time he was too drunk. I think he was out screwing around a lot. Sometimes he didn’t come home. I asked Mom about it once, and she just said she hoped he didn’t come back.” Toth rubbed his thumb and forefinger together in a circular motion. His gaze drifted and locked on the wall. “He wanted her to get rid of me. I heard him say it to her more than once. Even said that one day she’d come home and I’d be gone. Don’t know why he didn’t do it.”
Dare’s nostrils flared. “What’d she say?”
Toth gave his head half a shake and refocused on his brother. “She said she’d kill him.” The words dropped like a grenade, leaving silence in their wake.
Savannah massaged the skin at the base of her throat, using all her resolve not to ask questions and break the bond forming between these men.
Toth coughed. “She also said she hated him for taking her other babies away. That she’d never forgive him.” He brought grave, stony eyes to Dare. “That was the last time I saw him.”
Dare blinked and looked toward the large window facing the serene harbor. The sun was setting and the silvery water was smooth as glass in the afternoon sun. His throat bobbed. “I hate that she didn’t try to find us.” He shot his gaze back to Toth. “When’d you see her last?”
“Couple months ago.”
A shadow crossed Dare’s face. Regret? Longing? It was too hard to read him. A beat later he stood. “Don’t tell Cole or Dallas any of this, all right? Not yet. When all this is over.”
Toth nodded. “Sure.”
Dare’s mouth slanted into a smirk. “Good. Cole doesn’t need another reason to want to kill you.”
***
An hour later,Toth’s chest swelled as he stared around the now-too-small hotel room. Strangers, but family by blood. Dallas and Dare sat on the sofa and Cole sat in the armchair with Sophia perched on his lap. Everyone chimed in about how to get to Brett.
Toth stayed close to Savannah. Her tight brow told him she was a bit overwhelmed by the scene.
“That’s ridiculous,” Sophia said to Dallas. “You can’t use her as bait.” She gestured to Savannah.
“Absolutely not,” Toth choked out. He hadn’t even heard Dallas’s suggestion.
“It’s not bait if she’s not alone.”
“I agree with Toth,” said Cole. His voice carried authority and finality. “She stays here with Sophia and one of you dipshits.” He nodded at Dallas and Dare.
“Hold on,” Savannah said, commanding the room. “You guys are talking like you know where he is. Do you?”
All eyes swung to land on her, but Savannah didn’t shrink. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest and stared down the group.
Cole met Toth’s gaze, Dallas and Dare looked at each other, and Sophia chewed the side of her cheek. “We have an idea,” she said.
Savannah didn’t miss a beat. “Where?”
Toth pinched his earlobe as uncertainty flooded him. The last thing he wanted was Savannah chasing her drug-dealing ex-boyfriend’s best friend. She was safe here. But he also couldn’t ignore her desire for revenge.
“I tracked him,” Dare said.
Sav’s eyebrows inched up. “Tracked him? How?”
