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Something told me, though, it wasn’t just the fact that I’d hurt his precious “tiny dancer.” Not that I really cared, ‘cause what one person saw as pain and abuse, I saw as pleasure and control. I may not have been the cause for all his anger, but I was on the receiving end. He was redirecting his feelings for both our parents, and the betrayal they made him feel, towards me. It made him unpredictable, and an unpredictable Ducane was dangerous- I should know, I was one of them.
“See, that’s your problem,” I decided to break my silence and draw their attention back, “You treat my Kitten as though she is your equal. She’s not. You need to be treating her as she is intended— someone that is there to keep your dick warm and pop out children.”
From their looks, I could tell they didn’t like me pointing out their flaws. No wonder my uncle hadn’t brought Logan into the Lords— he was too sensitive, he would never turn off his emotions. Stryker, on the other hand, looked like he was about to kill me.
“No, cunt, that’s where you’re wrong,” Stryker spat at me, before he kicked me in the guts, and sent the chair flying backwards. My head hit the cold concrete floor, the impact blurring my vision. “And she’s not your anything.”
“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?” I knew I was playing with fire but fuck it. It was too easy, and I needed to kill the time somehow. Short of escaping, I doubted I was getting out of there anytime soon. I‘d need them to bring Phee to me in order to escape. I just hoped I’d broken her enough, that she’d be willing to do my bidding for me. “I will say this though, she’s like a fine bottle of wine.”
“Enough!” Logan roared, squatting down in front of me. The look he gave me could have rivalled my own when I was pissed off, so much so we could’ve been mistaken for twins. Yanking me off the floor, he got right in my face. “Tell me, cousin, how did you survive?”
He threw me back with a look of disgust on his face, then paced the room back and forth as he ran his hand through his hair. “I fucking saw you. You were drenched in blood, barely breathing. An innocent man is in jail because of you.”
“Oh, poor, pathetic Logan. You’re a fucking fool. That one was easy to orchestrate.” I snorted at him, a huge shit eating grin spread across my face like wildfire as the memory of that night filtered back. He was so fucking predictable, it made me wonder how he would react when I dropped this little truth bomb on him. “The question is, how long have you got to spare, cause this may take a while.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. This time, Logan didn’t stop Stryker’s punch, and it left that coppery taste I loved so much pooling in my mouth. I bared my bloodstained teeth. “After her father stabbed me, I was rushed into surgery. And guess what, Lo? Your dear ol’ daddy organised for me to be flown back stateside.”
It was glorious as their faces morphed into various states of shock. Obviously, he hadn’t read too far into that journal of mine, and the stark contrast between him and Stryker was telling. The way Stryker eyed me, I could tell he knew more than he was letting on. Stryker studied me intently, almost as if he was challenging me to continue.
“Doesn’t explain how you survived that type of wound, Kyle, or the fact that you sent Phoenix’s father to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, while you were over here doing what? Living it up?” It made me wonder if jockstrap only ran on rage. Whenever he spoke, his tone was full of hatred.
“That one was masterful. You see, when you have money, you can pretty much buy anything and anyone. My father slipped the right people a few dollars.” I chuckled. Every time I replayed that memory, I saw the distressed face of my Kitten as they hauled off her daddy, screaming for them to let him go. Relished the satisfying feeling that washed over me, knowing I was about to isolate her. “But that’s not even the half of it. Fuck, the shit I did, and planned, made my father so fucking proud.”
“What the fuck does that even mean?” Stopping dead in his tracks, Logan spun to face me. “What else did you do, Kyle? Was raping her not enough for you? You had to go full Jack Harkness on her?”
If I’d had a camera right then, I would have taken a picture , capturing the exact moment when Logan’s naivety became abundantly clear to everyone.
Chapter Twenty One – Logan
I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. The shit he spewed couldn’t possibly be true. There was no fucking way. Not after the shit that went down when I’d confronted them over the whole rape cover-up. Surely, they would have been smart enough to come clean with everything, because if it was then, my fucked up psychopathic cousin had just relieved me of the guilt I had felt when I turned my back on my parents.
“You’re a fucking liar,” I yelled at him through gritted teeth. Kyle needed to stop running his mouth before he said something there was no coming back from. Stryker already had a reason to go after my parents, especially my father, and this fucker was handing them over gift-wrapped in a bow like it was Christmas. “There is no way what you’re saying has any truth to it.”
As messed up as it all was, I hadn’t been prepared to hear all the sordid details. I had to tamp down my feelings, as there was so much more to the damn story. And until I got everything I needed to know out in the open, there wouldn’t be any blood spilt. If there was a single fucking thread of truth to what he was saying, then my Tiny Dancer would be deciding the fates of more than just my cousin.
“It was genius, really,” the fucker continued, like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Daddy dearest’s pockets ran deep. You should know, Logan, you’re part of the same family, and it’s helped you out of trouble a time or two. My father paid hospital officials to say I had died.
After that, he and Uncle Max paid off the police, and everyone else involved judges, jurors, the lot, to help frame and then convict Kitten’s daddy. It was the first big move in my little game of chess.”
“What fucking game? It’s Phee’s life you’re messing with.” The more I heard, the harder I had to fight the urge to kill him. But I knew, for Phee’s sake, I needed to wait. My Tiny Dancer deserved to know.
“Don’t you get it, Lo?” It was like an arrow through my heart as he used the nickname she had given me years earlier, another reminder of how I’d fucked up. And he sat there like he had won the lottery, despite being the one chained and caged like the animal he was. “You, my dear cousin, were only ever a piece on the game board, both of you were. Only you were the rook, while she is my queen.”
Just as quickly as the words left his mouth, Stryker landed a boot into his side. He was murderous as he spat in Kyle’s face. “You must be stupid; I fucking told you already she isn’t your anything.”
Kyle’s maniacal laugh rang out around the room between coughing fits. “You’re all fools if you think none of this was fucking planned.”
“What does that even mean?” The more he answered, the more questions I had. And the more that was discovered, the deeper my parents' betrayal ran.
“You must think I’m stupid, Logan,” Kyle sneered as he gasped for air. His last statement landed him more punishment from Stryker’s fists. “I’m not telling you anything else, not until I see my Kitten.”
Chapter Twenty Two – Logan
I threw my keys in the bowl at the front door as I entered the beach house. I was still raging after my encounter with Kyle. The longer this went on, the harder it would be when we told Phee. We had what we needed to free her father, we could deal with him now and send the confession in anonymously. God knew we’d all come close to doing it several times, but each time we’d pulled back. We needed to tell Phee, and the sooner we did that, the sooner we could be done with his shady ass.
As I made my way into the kitchen, I could hear music as it drifted up from the basement. Looking at the clock on the oven, I saw it was four o’clock. No one was supposed to be home. Damon and Madz were at work, and as far as I knew, my Tiny Dancer was supposed to be at the studio. The school had let her take most of her classes online, but the dance component required her to practice.
Opening the door to the basement, I made my way down quietly. I didn’t want to spook her. After our little confrontation the other night, there had been this weird feeling between us. I’d felt the electricity jolt through my body when she had me pinned against the kitchen bench, and I’d craved her touch ever since. It took everything I had not to make my move on her. I wanted nothing more than to experience the same connection the others had with her.
