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Silence.
The memory of that gun in his hand was stuck in my head as I turned the handle and shoved open the door, finding T sitting on the side of the tub, naked. Water dripped from his body onto the floor.
His leg was bleeding, the bullet wound black and ugly. “Jesus, T!” I closed the distance. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me it was this bad?”
My brother just sat there, staring at the floor, his knees jerking and trembling like he was coming apart. I’d never seen him like this…not this bad—not ever.
“We have to get her out, Nick.” He slowly lifted his gaze to mine, and all I saw was a ghost. “We have to get her out.”
He looked so fragile at that moment, not like a monster at all. He looked like a man pushed to his breaking point, one who was fucking vulnerable. That’s what having Ryth in our lives had made us—vulnerable, too vulnerable. That desperation was crushing. “I know, brother,” I answered. “I know.”
But we were running out of people to ask, except for the one person who knew more than anyone. Elle Castlemaine. I stared at that bullet wound in my brother’s thigh. “We have to find Elle. She’s the one who can get her out of there. We find her, and we get our sister back.”
Tobias lifted his gaze to mine. “And C?”
And C…my heart kicked in my chest. I didn’t know…I just didn’t fuckingknow. Was he dead already? If he wasn’t, then he soon would be. They didn’t need our brother. His life meant nothing to them. It was all Ryth, wasn’t it? Allfucking Ryth.
“We do whatever we can to get him back.” I held that dangerous stare. “Whatever we can.”
T shook his head slowly. “So, we try to find Elle, if they haven’t killed her by now.”
I scowled, the way he said it worried me. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s gone, Nick. After what she did, she’s gone.”
After what she did? Sent her own daughter to that place?“No,” I answered. “They’ll need her. They’ll use her.”
My brother’s laugh was chilling as he shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you? She’s a loose fucking end. One who’s shown them she can’t be trusted, not even by her husband.”
A chill raced through me. “What are you talking about?”
“What do you think I’m talking about?” he snarled. “She killed our fucking father.”
My gut clenched as that cold moved deeper. “Shekilled our father?”
But the gun was in his hand, aimed at dad. I'd seen it for a second as I ran through the trees before he'd lunged toward him. I was sure…I was sure—
Tobias flinched, his voice stony. “You thinkIkilled him?”
I searched that stare for the truth, but I was sure, I was so fucking sure. “Yes.”
He gave a chuff and looked away. “Figures.”
“You killed him, T.” I didn’t know if I was trying to convince him or myself. Was he lying? Was he trying to pin it on someone else? I knew the hate that brewed between them. I sure as hell understood if he—
“Get the fuck out, Nick.” Tobias shoved up from the tub, but swayed. He grabbed hold of the sink and dropped his gaze, breathing hard.
My mind raced. “Elle…killed dad?”
He jerked that menacing glare my way.“Get the fuck out!”
I stumbled backwards as it finally hit me. “T…I—”
He lunged and shoved me in the middle of my chest, the force knocking me backwards as the bathroom door slammed closed with aBANG.
I stood there, unable to move. All I saw was that fucking glint in my head, a memory I now tried to pick apart. Was he telling the truth? Was Elle the one who'd actually killed our dad and all this time I'd thought…I'd thought…I—
The door was yanked open and Tobias limped out, still looking fucking pissed. Gone was that vulnerable stare. Gone was that fragile fucking moment. He was the bastard again, the ruthless sonofabitch who could easily have pulled the trigger.
