And then a smaller, quieter voice:Got you.
Mason takes a long, deep breath. “What happened?”
“Bettencourt. Said he had Elise at the building. I got in and couldn’t—couldn’t get back out. We need—” If I went to sleep, the painkillers would probablyactuallykick in. The ragged ache flares in my lungs. “We need to make a plan for how to stop him. For good. I’m sorry.”
His brow furrows. “For what?”
“I didn’t believe you. About how it was. With Mom and Dad.”
Mason’s face crumples, but he rallies. “You don’t have to apologize.”
“All I could think about was Elise. And you and Remy and Jameson.”
“I get it.” The heart monitor speeds up again.Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.Mason glances at it, then back at me. “Don’t worry about it right now. Don’t worry about anything. I already called in the detective who helped me with Van Kempt. Patrick Jordan.”
Mason seemed lighter after he gave his testimony to Detective Jordan. He told him about the night of the fire that killed our parents, and about Charlotte’s father’s involvement.
As far as I know, he didn’t mention the consortium.
I think that part was mainly for Charlotte. She’d taken the weight off Mason’s shoulders, and he didn’t want to be the one who set off some massive investigation. All he wanted was peace.
I have to find that for Elise.
“Good.” Thinking about the initiation makes my throat close up and my mouth water like I’m going to be sick. Fuck that. I’m not letting them stop me now. “The other night. There was an initiation.”
Mason’s green eyes go hard. “The fuck does that mean, Gabriel?”
“A really—a really fucked-up ceremony.”
“Fucked up how?”
“I—oh, Jesus.” I’m not going to throw up on the front of my hospital gown, but my abs fight against the act of sitting up. “Mason.”
He jumps up, slides a steady arm around my back, and lifts me off the pillow. A plastic bowl appears in his hand. Mason holds it in front of me, waiting.
The hospital room shimmers, turning into the conference room. There’s Elise’s white dress. Jacob’s hand on the back of my neck. His touch at my elbow. The hot garbage in the alley, coming back to haunt me all over again.
I’m not going to let this happen. I’m not going to do this. It’s hard to keep my vision clear, but I force myself to concentrate on the hospital room until the urge subsides.
My head pounds, pissed off at me for sitting up. “Okay. I’m all right. I’m good.”
Mason puts me back down on the pillows and takes his old spot on the bed. “Should I get a nurse in here? A doctor?”
“No. I’m—I just need a minute.”
“We can talk about whatever those assholes did to you later.”
That makes my stomach turn, too, but…maybe he’s right. Maybe I should tell him. Later. “Wasn’t just me. Jacob was there, too. And Elise.” It’s too close to the full story, so I back off remembering. Look at Mason instead. “There was a guy who wasn’t comfortable with it. Newhouse. We might be able to turn him to our side.”
He picks up my hand again. Holds it tight. “Speaking of that night. Not in any detail, because—Jesus. What the actual fuck were you thinking?”
“I was thinking about revenge.”
The pain on Mason’s face is entirely different from the kinds I’ve seen before. “Tell me you understand that it’s notworthit. The cost is too high.”
“I know. I don’t want that anymore. I just want my family.”
“And Elise.”