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I’m in control, yet he’s entirely calm.
“Tell me why you’re here,” I grate.
“First, why don’t you let Luca make use of my peace offering so we can talk in private?”
The woman sucks in a breath.
“What’s he talking about?” Luca approaches, stopping beside my armrest. “What peace offering?”
“I’m handing Pe
Luca glances at me with a raised brow.
“Go.” I wave him away. “Enjoy yourself.”
Pe
“Go,” I bark. “Teach her what she needs to know.”
Her lips tighten, pure spite entering her features.
“Remember what will happen if you don’t behave.” Luther slaps her on the ass. “Now make me proud.”
She grows an inch, her shoulders rigid. “Of course.” She maneuvers around the coffee table and waits for Luca to join her before they continue to the hall.
“Right.” I rub my hands together. “It’s just us now. You can quit the act.”
His mouth lifts at one side. “You’ve always lacked trust.”
“I learned from the best.” I lean back, stretching my arm along the headrest. “Now tell me why you’re really here.”
“I heard you’re leaving and I wanted to confirm, in person, that there’s no future of us working together. I wanted you to tell me face to face you’re turning your back on the opportunity.”
“That’s not true.” I match his smile. “I’m turning my back on you, Dad, not the opportunity.”
“And your brother, too. You’ve just met him, yet you’re pushing him away.”
“I’m not pushing anything.” We maintain our friendly facade despite the bitter meaning behind our calmly spoken words. “You’re the one who kept his existence a secret.”
“For his protection. You have no idea the safety risks you kids faced when you were young. You’ll never understand the lengths I went to for all of my children.”
My restraint vanishes as I sit forward, glaring my resentment. “What lengths did you go to when I told you your own brother molested your daughter? What fucking lengths were there then?”
“Is that what your badly bottled animosity has been about? You’re holding a grudge over something you don’t understand?”
“Something I don’t understand? I was there. I dragged that son of a bitch off of her. And all you did to protect her was encourage Richard’s fucking perversions.”
He scoffs. “Did you ever think I was sating an addiction in a controlled environment so he wouldn’t look elsewhere?”
“You—” I snap my mouth shut, my hands fisted.
“I handled your uncle,” he reiterates. “I contained him.”
“No, you only encouraged him to fuck other little girls.”
He holds my gaze, the cogs turning in that messed up brain of his before he finally cuts his attention to Tobias.
Shit.
The fucking kid.
His tiny frame sits beside me, his shoulders curled inward, his head slumped. He clings to the cuffs of his long-sleeve shirt, trembling with quick breaths.
He’s a mess.
“Tobias, have you got something to share with your brother?”
I scowl at my father. “Leave him alone. There’s nothing he could say, about you or Richard that could cause me the slightest sense of vindication. I’m done.”
I reach inside my jacket.
“Tobias,” Luther warns.
I wish things were different and I didn’t have to do this in front of the kid, but his life will be all the better without Luther in it. I curl my fingers around my gun when something stabs my thigh, a warm sensation spreading beneath my skin.
“Fuck.” I shove to my feet, my weapon drawn. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The kid stares up at me with wide eyes, his pupils tiny pinpricks. He clutches a plastic tube in his hand, his fingers white from the tight grip.
“Lower the weapon, son.”
“No.” My brain swells. It fucking tilts.
Everything slows—thoughts, breaths, heartbeats.
“What the fuck is this?” I snatch the plastic tube, the device similar to an EpiPen. “What the hell are you…?” My train of thought sways.
“It’s a sedative. Don’t worry. The effects will eventually wear off, but they’re going to get worse before that happens.”
A sedative.
A fucking sedative.
I bark out a laugh at the poetic justice.
“Burn in hell.” I raise my gun and aim at my father’s chest as my muscles stiffen. My body becomes heavy, each limb weighing a ton, my arm shaking.
“I didn’t plunge it all.” Tobias curls into himself. “I didn’t do it right.”
“What?” My father stands, his blurry frame barreling toward me.
He grabs my wrist, shoving it downward and twisting to lever my arm behind my back. He manipulates me like a puppet.
I have no control to stop him. No power to protest. All my strength goes into clinging to my weapon. It’s all I focus on.
I won’t let go.
I won’t fucking fail.
“You’re a piece of shit.” My words are mumbled. “You steal from your own son. Then what? Attempt to kill him?”
“If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t waste time with theatrics.” He speaks against my ear. “I told you I’d do anything to protect my children. This included. You’re being softened by the people you surround yourself with. You’ve grown weak. It’s time you went back to basics and learned what it’s truly like to be a Torian.”
“I know exactly what it’s like. You’re the one desecrating our name.” I launch my elbow into his ribs and dive forward, hoping he’ll release his hold. Instead, I lose my fucking balance. I stumble into the coffee table, the corner of my vision darkening.
Fuck.
I’m weighed down by air, the pressure intense.
But I don’t lose my grip on the gun. I keep holding tight, fighting to tug it from Luther’s grip. I close my eyes and force myself to focus. I concentrate everything on stopping the sway of consciousness.
The kid said it himself; he didn’t succeed in injecting me with a full dose. I can pull myself out of this nosedive. I just might not be able to do it on my own.
“Luca.” I’m a pathetic piece of shit for having to call for backup. “Luc.”
“He can’t help you.”
I climb to my feet, the gun held between me and my father. “You sedated him?”
“Out of courtesy, yes, but he’s one of the pathetic men you’ve entrusted with my legacy, and you’re going to need to cut him loose.”
He doesn’t struggle with his grip on my gun. He’s confident. Strong, while I’m flailing to hold tight.
“Your guy was being nice to Pe
“Luca,” I roar.
Luther sighs. “Tobias, go get Pe
The boy scampers from the sofa and runs for the hall.
I sway on my feet as I wait for hope. But there’s no pounding steps coming in the opposite direction. I don’t hear Luca or the sound of help on the way.
“It’s time to go, son.” My father grips my upper arm. “Let’s make this as easy as possible.”
“Fuck you.” I launch a fist at his face and barely feel the co
He stumbles regardless, staggering backward, his grip leaving the gun.
Pull the fucking trigger.
My brain doesn’t send the message fast enough. I’m stuck in a holding pattern as he rights himself and lunges at me, twisting the gun from my grip.