CHAPTER 16 SIBLING RIVALRY #2
A sour smile crept across the man’s face. “I’m your brother , Henry. And you …” He glared at Cole. “… were never supposed to be born.”
It was nearly 2:00 a.m., and still no news from Dane or Angel.
Noah and Noel had finally given in to exhaustion and were put to bed in Maddy’s room.
Franny woke up, asking about Maddy, but there was nothing to tell her that wouldn’t make her worry.
Just after the twins passed out, Franny fell back to sleep.
Max envied them; he wished he could sleep as well.
But there would be no rest until their son came home.
If he comes home. The horror of the circumstances was more than his mind could process.
He and Horatio sat at the kitchen counter, hands clasped, saying nothing as they waited for news they were terrified to receive.
But one could only wait so long before the waiting became torture.
“Call Dane,” Horatio whispered, almost a plea. “I’m worried about Angel, too. Once he finds out that Maddy...” The words caught in his throat, and he lowered his eyes, gripping Max’s hand desperately.
“I’ll call.” Max picked up his cell and dialed with one hand while holding Horatio with the other. Dane answered on the second ring. “It’s me. What’s going on? Have you heard anything? Is Angel okay?"
There was a brief pause before Dane asked, “Isn’t Cole there?” The tone in his voice unsettled Max.
“No.” Max looked at Horatio, his taut nerves pulling tighter. “Why? I thought he was with you.”
“Angel?” Horatio asked softly, fear evident in his eyes.
Max shook his head. “Cole.”
“He left the hospital almost an hour ago,” Dane said. “He was headed to your place.”
“He isn’t here,” Max whispered.
“Shit.”
“Why was he coming over here?”
Another pause. “Abel is with us,” Dane said. “The… kidnapper… turned him loose.”
“What?” Max stood, eyes wide, as his heart pounded wildly. “Abel is safe?”
Horatio looked stunned. “What?” he swallowed. “Maddy? Savannah?”
“The kids?” Max asked anxiously. “Are they…”
“No,” Dane replied, his voice subdued. “We haven't got them back yet.”
“Why did he let Abel go?”
Dane exhaled. “Gabe traded himself for them,” Dane murmured. “He was supposed to give the kids back, too, but…” This time, the pause had an ominous feel. “… he didn’t. He only released Abel.”
A numbing terror gripped Max. “He has Gabe, too?”
Horatio stared at him. “Gabe…?”
“We will get them back,” Dane said. “All of them.”
Max didn’t like that something resonating beneath Dane’s words. There was something he wasn’t telling him. “Dane… what is it? What aren’t you telling me?”
Emotion strained the young man’s voice. “Nothing. I need to find Cole. If he shows up at your place, call me immediately.”
“Yes, of course,” Max murmured. “And you let us know right away if you find him.”
“I will.”
When Max set the cell down on the counter, Horatio looked at him fearfully. “Cole is missing, too?”
“I don’t know for sure.” Max sank onto the stool, so fucking tired.
“And Gabe?” Horatio whispered. “He has Gabe?”
Max nodded.
“But Abel… is safe?”
“Yes, thank God. But the kids…”
Horatio looked at him. “You think there’s something Dane isn’t telling us?”
Max sighed. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “I thought maybe… but I don’t know. It was just something in his voice.”
“Do you think it’s about the kids?” Horatio asked quietly. “Do you think he knows more about them than he’s telling?”
Max shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m sure he would tell us if he knew anything.”
A foreboding look crossed Horatio’s face. “Even if it was bad?”
Max looked at him, unsure of the answer.
Brother. Cole looked at the deputy through the dim interior of the man’s car. All those times he offered comfort and sympathy to Cole as a child… it was a facade?
“If you hated me so much,” Cole asked quietly. “Why were you nice to me?”
Roland shrugged. “I liked playing with you. It was fun. I had every intention of killing you, and the closer we were as friends, the sweeter the betrayal when I ripped your guts out.”
“But you didn’t kill me,” Cole whispered.
“I was biding my time. Guess I waited too long.”
“Did you really find me over a year ago?”
Roland nodded.
“Why didn’t you kill me then?”
“Because I realized I’m not the one who needs to kill you.”
Cole looked forward at the dark street. “What does it matter who kills me?”
The deputy laughed low. “That’s an ongoing issue between our dad and me.”
Cole fell silent, trying not to look at the bracelet on the deputy’s wrist. His eyes stung as horrific images of Ezra plagued his mind. Sweet, kind, amazing Ezra. We should’ve run away together.
“You want to hear something sweet?”
Cole didn’t answer or look at the man.
“Every day, Ezra would plead with us – Do what you want to me, but please don’t hurt Henry.
” He chuckled. “Isn’t that sweet? You had yourself a keeper.
” He winked at Cole. “That’s why I kept him.
Dad thought I wanted to kill him, but he wouldn’t let me.
I didn’t, actually. I enjoyed making him suffer.
I was going to tell you about him when I killed you, so you would die knowing he was still alive and suffering—all because of you. ”
Shut the fuck up! Cole looked out the passenger window, tears rising. “Why didn’t our dad want you to kill him? Why was he keeping him alive?”
Roland snorted. “Don’t think it was because you loved Ezra.
Well, I guess, in a way, it was. He kept him for leverage.
If you became too difficult, he knew that once you learned Ezra was still alive, you would do anything to keep him that way.
But you pulled a fast one and got away before he could use him against you. ”
Cole didn’t want to hear anymore, but the man wouldn’t stop.
“When I found our dad in the woods, throat slit, I almost left him there to die.” He chuffed.
“The bastard never gave me credit, though I was the one who did everything he asked of me. You were the problem child, yet you were his golden son, the not-fucked-up son. Still, I saved the fucker’s life—then turned him in.
” His face twitched. “I wanted him out of the way until I found you and got rid of you. But by the time I found you, I was sure he hated you for trying to kill him. I figured it might be healing for our relationship if we killed you together—after we made you suffer.”
“So, you hate me out of petty jealousy,” Cole mumbled. “Well, I never wanted him for my dad. Not then, and sure as fuck not now. You can have him.”
“You see,” the deputy wagged his finger. “That’s even worse.” He shot Cole a brittle look. “Because that makes you an ungrateful little shit. And ungrateful little shits… get punished.”
Dropping his voice, Cole murmured, “I’m already being punished.”
“You think so?” Roland mused. “All that’s come before now… was just playtime.” A sinister look darkened his eyes. “Things are about to get serious.”