I shake my head.
Our prisoner seems to be holding his secrets pretty tight to his chest. It’s the only reason he’s still alive—because we know there’s more.
Almost everything we know so far is down to the DNA tests we carried out.
The relief on Toby’s face, although laced with fury when he discovered that this cunt never had a hand—or cock—in making him, was one I’ll never forget.
He might have lost something in that moment, but he gained so much more. I mean, in this life, who doesn’t want a kick-arse sister like Stella?
I know the whole thing has messed with his head more than he’s admitting to. I can see in the depths of his light blue eyes every time I look into them. It’s in his stance every time he stands over the man behind me, hoping that whatever pain he’s causing will be enough to finally reveal all.
At this point, I’m pretty sure we’ve got all the main information out of him.
Jealousy. All of it boils down to his inability to control his jealousy that Maria never really gave him her heart. She always belonged to Galen. Although, if we were to dig even deeper, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had started years before that. They trained together. They grew up together. Galen claims that they were like us. Tight, close. A team. But I suspect there’s more to that, at least from Jonas’s perspective.
Toby stares at the man who claimed to be his father all these years, the cunt who controlled his and his mother’s lives, spits on his passed-out form and then turns to leave.
I follow him down the hall. His shoulders are pulled tight with tension as his feet pound on the cold, grey concrete floor.
He continues forward when I stop at another door.
This place doesn’t just hold that snake, but any enemies Dad and the others deem worthy enough to keep alive.
I turn to the metal door, my fingers itching to slide the little panel aside and look at her.
I’ve known that she’s been here for a long time. Longer than I should. But the others don’t know.
Guilt rips through me for all the secrets I’m keeping, all the lies I tell for my old man despite the questions I have over whether he deserves my loyalty over my boys or not.
Dad might be the boss, but one day, that’ll be me. And I’ll be nothing if I don’t have my boys right beside me.
It’s too early in the game to make them question my decisions.
I pinch the small handle and move the screen, but I only get halfway across when Toby must notice that I’m no longer behind him.
“Theo?” he calls, his hard voice echoing down the concrete enclosed space.
“Coming,” I say calmly, finally alerting the woman inside the cell to my presence.
Her tired, empty eyes find mine, and we both gasp in shock.
She because she’s got a visitor. Me because of how familiar those dark depths are.
Fuck. Wrong move, Cirillo.
I slam the little panel shut as quickly as I opened it and turn away from the door.
But as much as I hate having reality slammed in my face like that, it helps. It makes me remember that this is a job. It’s not my reality.
Walking into my bathroom to find her naked in my shower isn’t my reality. It’s an illusion that I don’t need to fall too deep into, because something tells me clawing my way out is going to be fucking impossible.
Turning my back on the door and the women curled into the corner of the dank room, I head toward the exit of the basement to catch up with Toby.
“Everything okay?” he asks, clearly suspicious as fuck as to what made me pause.
“Yeah, great.”
His eyes drop to the blood that’s covering me as we unlock the door and climb the stairs.