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“I am so sorry to hear that,” I told him. “I know how that feels.”
“Yeah, I know you do. Shane, my brother, was fourteen, and Frey was only seven. They sent us to stay with my mom’s older sister, Jean, and her husband, Orren. They were super-religious, but of the toxic, doomsday variety. And they hated us. They were also afraid of Shane and me. We were already big, and Orren knew he couldn’t physically control us. He was friends with one of the sheriff’s deputies who went to his church. He got us accused of assault, and locked up in the juvenile detention center.”
“Oh shit,” I said. “Leaving your little sister all alone with them.”
“Right.” The silence that followed his words was awful for all the sinister possibilities it contained.
“So, uh…how bad was it?” I asked, cautiously.
“I’ll probably never know,” Ethan said. “I know they beat her. They locked her up in the basement. In the dark, for weeks at a time, with no clothes. Just a bucket. She was skin and bones when we finally got her out.”
“Oh, my God,” I whispered.
“I don’t know what else he did to her,” Ethan said. “Maybe even my sister doesn’t even know. But she wasn’t right for years. She still sleeps with the light on.”
“You said she’s married now, right?”
“Yeah. To a guy I served with in the Ranger Regiment. Jed. She seems happy.”
“Good,” I said fiercely. “Then they didn’t take that from her.”
“Yeah. At least that. Shane and I finally broke out, and came to save her, but it took us months to pull it off. She was in that hellhole for fuckingmonths.” His voice was harsh with suppressed violence.
“What about the uncle and aunt?” I asked. “Did you do any payback?”
Ethan didn’t answer for a long time. “We wanted to. So bad. We were burning for it. But Shane and I sat down one night and thought it through. If we punished them, our status as outlaws would upgrade. They would have come after us harder, and tried us as adults if they caught us. And Freya would have gotten tossed into the foster care system alone. We decided not to risk it. Being there for Frey was more important than revenge.”
“Good choice,” I said. “I approve of that choice. Where are they now?”
“You mean, my uncle and aunt? What makes you think I monitor then?”
“Of course you monitor them,” I scoffed. “Duh. What’s up with them now?”
He made an irritated sound. “They’re both still alive,” he admitted. “He has Parkinson’s. She has arthritis. They still go to church every Sunday. Fuck them both.”
“Hmmph. You did the right thing by putting your little sister first.”
He hesitated. “Thanks. How about you? Have you gotten revenge, for your thing?”
I shrank back, zinging with fresh tension. “We are not having this conversation. I told you. We don’t talk about my private business.”
“I told you mine,” he said. “It’s only fair.”
“That was your free choice. Don’t give me that ‘it’s only fair’ crap, Masters.”
He sighed. “You always call me that when you’re pissed at me. And you’re always pissed at me.”
“Yes, I am! You keep on reaching in for more, and more, and more!”
“You fascinate me,” he said. “I can’t help it. I’m so curious.”
“Bully for you,” I told him. “Be as curious as you want. I’m not telling you about my shit. I don’t do that. Ever. With anyone. End of story.”
“Okay,” he said meekly.
I was suspicious at his sudden agreement. Then he rolled over, covering my mouth with his, in an ardent, ravenous kiss.
CHAPTER13
