He cocks his head.
“The assignment had me remove a finger and deliver his cell. There was something on it that the Lords wanted.”
“No.” He sits down.
I run a hand down my face. “I went through it. He had pictures of her. They started from when she was as young as thirteen.” When he married her mother. They weren’t all sexual. There were some of her in bed sleeping. In others, she was wearing a bathing suit and swimming in their pool. The older she got, the more X-rated they became. In some, she was looking at the camera, and in others, she had no clue.
“Maybe they knew he had evidence on his phone,” my father offers as an explanation.
“I deleted them,” I announce.
“You what?” he barks. “Easton, you can’t tamper with what they want.”
“I wasn’t going to hand a phone over with inappropriate pictures of her on it. She was underage in some of them.” I shake my head. No way in hell would I allow the world to have those. Who knows what the Lords would have done with them.
He stays silent but I can tell he’s angry with me now. I grab another picture out of the box, unable to stop myself, and my chest tightens. She’s crying, blood running from her busted lip and a handprint on her cheek.
How did he do this to her, and I not see it? I mean, it wasn’t like I saw her on a day-to-day basis. Once I started at Barrington, my life revolved around the Lords. I lived at the house of Lords. Was always serving them. You don’t get much freedom and downtime until you’re a senior and are officially initiated in. But still, how did people not notice marks on her? Her mother? My sister? Did he keep her caged in a private location somewhere that no one could see what he was doing to her? I close the box and stand.
“Have you tampered with her birth control?”
I come to a stop and turn to face him but don’t answer.
His jaw clenches. “Whatever you’ve done, reverse it. If you’ve replaced her pills, put the correct ones back. If you’ve given her something to counteract the shot, stop it.”
I look away, my hands running through my hair. When I look back at him, I see disappointment in his eyes. “So you don’t care if Corbin knocks up Kira, but you care if I get the woman I love pregnant. Got it.” I know my friend, and he’s not wearing a condom when he fucks my sister. And who knows if she’s being smart.
His face softens a second before he masks it. “Why do you think Linc married Laura?”
My brows pull together. “You know about that?”
“Have a seat, son.” He gestures to the chair I stood from. I fall back into it. “I was best friends with her dad before he even got with Laura. They fell in love immediately. She was his chosen. They got married before they even graduated from Barrington. They wanted to start a family as soon as possible. Laura had a rough pregnancy. Bedridden, very sick. She went into labor six weeks early. Me and your mother were there when they wheeled her back for an emergency C-section. Elli wasn’t breathing. Laura was bleeding. She ended up having a hysterectomy.”
“What does this have to do with Lincoln?” I demand, wanting him to get to the point.
“Linc wants an heir. An Asher heir.”
I frown. “But you just said Laura can’t have more kids. Even if she could, she’s not an Asher…” I trail off, finally understanding. “No.” I shake my head. “Elli wouldn’t…”
“Do you think he’d ask her to have his child?” he snaps. “He’s inserting himself into that house to get close to Elli. He saw what James did. He’ll do the same. You can’t watch her twenty-four seven, son.”
He’s right, and I don’t like the pit I feel in my stomach that I can’t keep her from harm. That she’ll end up like Whitney Minson all over again, and the Lords will cover it up like she never existed. I’d lose my mind, just like Tyson did. After she died, nothing and no one mattered to him. Hell, he gave up his future, knowing that one day he’ll get his chance at revenge.
My father shakes his head. “Lincoln will wait for his opportunity, and he’ll fuck her. Every chance he gets. Against her will or by manipulation. Whatever it takes. Elli is a good girl and I hate what she’s been through, but she’s been groomed for too long. You can’t reverse that type of psychological damage. You know that firsthand.”
My eyes narrow at that. “So you’re saying I’m using her.” Haven’t I? I’ve pretended to be someone else to get her off. I used her body. That night at the Freak Show, afterward at her house. Fuck, she liked it. So did I. Which one of us is more fucked up? Even now, I don’t want to be soft with her. I want her crawling on her hands and knees to me. Begging me to fuck her. To make her my whore. She’s so pretty when she cries. When she begs. The way her body leans into mine. The way her lips part when she’s begging to breathe.
“I’m saying when he gets the chance, he’ll take it. And if you’ve tampered with her birth control, she’ll be having his child. Not yours.”
My hands fist at that thought. Elli will be my wife and she will have my kids. No one else’s. “He warned me. Told me to take my chosen, and if I didn’t, he’d do things to Elli. He already knew he had plans in place.” How will I keep her from that house? That’s her home. Elli may be willing not to go back but her mother will ask questions.
“There is one more thing.” He sighs. “Amelia…”
“I don’t want to talk about her.” I shake my head.
He flexes his jaw. “Son, it’s not going to go away. Plans have been made…”
“Without my approval,” I argue.