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“Don’t read too much into it; I’m not setting you free.” He tilted his head at Chris. “Your ass is still mine, understand?”
Chris looked away. “I’ve handled many monsters in my life. You’re just another name on the list.”
“And how many of them turned into monsters after ending up in prison because of you?”
Every fight they had seemed to end up with Jay pulling that trump card. Chris was powerless to counter that, so he didn’t even try. He turned to lie on his side with his back to Jay, hoping they wouldn’t speak for the rest of the day. He began to doze off again when his phone rang in his pocket. Annoyed, he pulled it out, expecting to see Melissa’s name on the screen, but it was an unfamiliar number. He yawned and answered the call. “Hello?”
“Mr. Roberts?”
“Yes?”
“This is Benji Lewis. I’m your parents’ lawyer.”
“My…?” He moved to sit, bile climbing up his throat. “What do you want?”
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Robert and Kimberly have passed away in an unfortunate car accident. I was sure your brothers would have told you that by now, but yesterday I discovered that they hadn’t.”
Parents. Brothers.
He never thought of those people as family. A nice feeling grew in the middle of his chest. “Are they really dead?”
“Well, yes. They are.”
“Did they suffer?”
“Suffer? I… I can’t really say. Robert lost control of the car, and they crashed into the back of a truck. He passed away immediately.”
“And Kim?”
“Kimberly… not so immediately.”
That meant she must have suffered, right?God, he hoped she had. “Thanks for letting me know. I won’t be able to make it to the funeral.”
“The funeral has already taken place. It was a lovely ceremony.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Benji cleared his throat in annoyance. “I’m also calling about their will.”
Chris frowned. “What about their will?”
“They left you a lot of money, practically all of their money, in fact.”
The hell?“That doesn’t make sense.”
“I assure you it’s the truth, although their conditions were a bit peculiar…”
“No matter what they left me—I don’t want it.”
“Now, Mr. Roberts, I understand that you’re upset, but if we could meet, I’m sure—”
“No need for that. I won’t change my mind. Send me a renunciation form when you can.” He hung up and let out a deep breath.Dead.They were really dead.And just like that, the world suddenly felt a lot more positive.
He looked around to find Ethan, Anthony, and Jay staring at him in confusion. He could understand how weird that conversation must have sounded to them. He was about to make up some lie, but the words got stuck in his throat. He had unraveled himself to those three at the cabin, and it gave him the courage to be honest once more.
“My adoptive parents are dead.”
Ethan moved to sit. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
