Chapter 45
“You have got to be kidding me,” Adam mutters, irritation sharp in his voice.
So, this is the brother Grayson mentioned.
Cain Manson.
Such an imposing man. Tall like Adam, built like him too, but leaner—like a dancer, I’d say.
His eyes are dark and penetrating, almost empty of warmth. His aura is oppressive and absolute.
There’s something off about him. Father Gabriel—Judas, or whatever—called him the boogeyman, but he seems something way worse. He feels like something even the boogeyman would avoid.
Just like Judas. He’s dressed like a priest, a man meant to bring light and guidance, yet the darkness in his eyes unsettles me.
“Not happy to see me?”
Behind him, a woman walks into the room. Her hair is apricot blonde, her eyes feline and magnetic. She looks beautiful, almost model-like, but there’s a softness on her that makes her seem nothing like he is.
“Hi Grayson.” She waves softly, revealing her bright smile.
“Welcome back, Kate?ina,” he replies warmly.
Then she turns to me and smiles, acknowledging me in this room as her equal.
It looks like a family reunion, and no one else pays attention to me.
My attention keeps drifting back to Adam. Something about him throws the whole room off. Every time he moves, my hands tense without me meaning to. His nervous energy keeps pulling at me, louder than anything else in my head.
He scoffs, turning to Grayson. “You called him, too?”
Grayson shakes his head, a wide smile breaking across his face when he sees Cain. Almost proud. The look he gives him carries the weight of something paternal.
“I didn’t,” Grayson replies, almost unable to look away from him.
“Then who the fuck did?”
“He did,” Cain says, nodding towards Judas.
“What the fuck?” Adam barks, agitated.
It’s obvious Adam hates them, or at least he needs to believe he does. However, the reasons stay buried because … Well, that’s who Adam is. But I see right through him.
What truly sickens him is the relief he feels when he sees them. That uneasiness turns to happiness, but it feels like weakness, so he crushes it and pretends it never existed, even to himself.
“I cannot help you all by myself,” Judas speaks up again, voice gruff and serious.
“Great!” Adam claps once. “I don’t need your help.”
Cain takes a step closer, his head cocking to the side and his eyes boring into Adam. “You’re in my fucking house, hiding like a rat, and you pretend you don’t need help?”
Adam leans back against the wall, barely glancing at him. “Your house?” He smirks. “Don’t get sentimental. I grew up in this shithole too, remember?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Cain mocks. “I really thought you disappeared for good. Cut the cord, washed your hands, all that dramatic shit.” He clicks his tongue. “And now here you are, like nothing happened.”
Adam pushes off the wall. “Why is everyone so desperate to save me?”
“Grow the hell up,” Judas mutters, rolling his honey eyes.
Adam smirks lazily. “I did. You all just don’t like how it turned out.”
He flips the knife once, catches it without looking, and flings it into the wall beside Judas. The blade slices through the fabric, pinning his sleeve tight.
God, he’s insane …
Judas doesn’t move.
No one does.
Adam just stretches his shoulders. “Now that I’ve got your attention …” His eyes land on each of them. “If anyone else feels like preaching, speak up. I’ve got more knives.”
Judas grips the knife and rips it out of the wall, a low growl rumbling in his throat.
His eyes go cold, all focus. I guess he’s not playing anymore.
Adam squints. “What’s the matter, Beast? Cat got your tongue?”
“Fuck off,” Cain hisses quietly.
“You shut up,” Adam huffs. “And what the fuck happened to your head? You look like a shaved ballsack.”
Cain snorts, crossing his arms. “Still works. Unlike your brain.”
Judas laughs once. “All that noise and barking, like kids trying to sound tough.”
Adam steps closer. “Say that again.”
“Or what?” Judas says, spreading his arms. “You’re cuter than you think.”
“Then let me turn scary.”
“I’ve seen scarier things in a mirror,” Judas barks back.
Cain shoves his shoulder. “Back up.”
Judas shoves him back. “Touch me again.”
Adam’s already in it, grabbing Judas’s shirt. “Oh, I’ve been waiting for this.”
A sharp crack snaps through the room, making all of us flinch. Smoke curls from the gun in Grayson’s hand as he lowers it, unfazed.
“Enough,” he says quietly. Then his eyes sweep over us. “Shut the hell up. All of you.”
He pauses, letting it sink in. “You want to act like children, I’ll treat you like children. Now stand down.”
The boys stay locked in place for a few seconds, still wired from the near-fight. Then, with clenched jaws and shallow breaths, they back down.
It’s unsettling how they fall in line for Grayson. He’s so calm, controlled, and fully willing to fire a warning to shut them up.
I’m impressed. All three of them are different in every way, but they share the same temper, the same instinct for violence, and somehow the same childish behavior toward each other.
They look like they’re around the same age, trading insults and smug looks, all ego and fake detachment, but it’s not real. Beneath it, there’s something desperate, something they won’t admit. And I see it. How can they not?
Adam lets out a long sigh, hands on his hips. “Weren’t you the asshole who butchered an entire prison just to drag your girl back to the cage you threw her in?” he asks Cain.
He did what?
Kate?ina laughs once. Cain snorts, barely hiding a grin. “Yeah, well … she knew what she signed up for.”
She crosses her arms and smiles playfully. “Not that I had a choice, anyway.”
Adam rolls his eyes back, then looks at Judas. “Weren’t you the dick who sold out his own blood and now hides behind a robe like it’s fuckin’ salvation?”
Oh my God, who are these men?
Judas holds Adam’s gaze, steady and cold, and his voice comes out smooth. “What I did and what I didn’t do has nothing to do with you.”
“Don’t start—”
“We’re here to help you save your precious princess,” Cain says, cutting in.
He steps closer to Adam, eyes locking with his.
“Even after all these years, all the fucking hate between us, you still showed up when it counted. Even if I was too proud to spit out a thank you.” His lip curls into a half-smirk.
“Now, I get to return the favor. Lucky you.”
Adam lets out a long sigh.
Cain continues, “Judas—”
“Father Gabriel,” he corrects.
Cain snorts, jaded. “Spare me the holy lecture.” He turns back to Adam. “Judas came. I came.”
Adam drops his gaze and lets out another sigh. The more I watch him, the more it’s obvious. He wants them close; he just won’t say it. Like needing anyone is some kind of failure.
He’s wrecked inside. Wrecked from a past none of them walked away from clean. Back then, they weren’t monsters. They were just kids caught in the fire, burned by the same hands. Now he wears that pain like armor, but it still bleeds underneath.
“The Mansons,” Judas mutters with a smirk.
Grayson and Kate?ina smile at the name.
Adam rolls his eyes again, the word dripping out like venom. “Fine.”
His eyes sweep the room.
“All right, show’s over. Everybody out. I need a little quality time with my brothers.”