Chapter 20 #2
I picked up my cell, stared at the blank screen then slipped it into my pocket.
It had to be all connected. My parents. This fucking Order…
and her. Our lying sister. There was only one way to get the answers I needed.
I had to become the bastard she thought I was.
The unfeeling monster everyone saw. I had to become an Ares… a man created for war.
I pushed up from the chair and walked out, heading for her bedroom. The others were quiet, hiding in their rooms, or they were out partying. My thoughts turned to Theo as I turned and strode to her bedroom, turning the handle without knocking and pushed open the door.
She was in bed, staring at the wall with an unflinching stare. Open books lay scattered around her and yet it looked like she hadn’t moved a muscle in a very long time.
“Angel.” The cold, hard tone resounded in my chest…or was it her name?
The name only mom spoke.
Except now it was Gabe.
I took a step closer to the bed as the answer echoed back—long enough.
“Angel.” She slowly turned her head toward me.
“I need you to come with me.”
She didn’t even hesitate, just pushed the bedding aside and slipped barefoot from the bed. Her breasts shifted under the satin top, long thighs reached forever, drawing my focus to the soft curve of her ass. Hunger surged inside me as the images of that video replayed in my head.
“Where are we going?” She asked.
I swallowed hard, my voice husky. “I just want to ask you some questions.”
There was no, ask me here or, no, I don’t trust you. Just a willingness to do anything I asked. That was the one thing I was counting on as I tore my gaze from her body and walked out.
Her bare feet were soundless as she followed me out and headed back to the den where we had our first encounter. One I couldn’t stop reliving. I walked in, headed to a chair placed in the middle of the room and muttered. “Sit.”
She did, looking up at me with those wide, consuming eyes.
“Why do you look at me like that?” I asked.
“How do you want me to look at you?”
“Not…not like you want to eat me alive.” I reached inside that pit of desperation, grabbing hold of anything I could. My father’s face filled my mind. Then it was my mom…and finally Lincoln’s empty stare found me.
I closed my eyes, drew a breath then started.
“I’m going to ask you one last time, Angel,” I opened my eyes and grabbed a handful of her hair.
The hard yank was brutal, making her eyes widen.
“Then I’m going to do things I don’t want to do.
But I will and I will do them well.” I pulled her hair harder, forcing her head backwards. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Her breaths turned panting.
“I want to know what happened on the night of my parent’s deaths.”
She shook her head. I knew she was going to do that, fighting me every step of the way. So I reached around, pulling my knife from my pocket. One hit of the button and the blade flicked out with a snap.
Her wide, unflinching stare was fixed on the blade.
“I will hurt you. I’ve hurt women before, so don’t think I won't.”
“D-don’t…” she stuttered, staring at the weapon. “D-don’t you mean our parents?”
I shook my head. “No.” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t.” I pressed the steel against her cheek. “Tell me or I swear, I’ll cut you so deep no surgeon alive could fix you.”
She trembled, I felt it pressed against her. She was scared alright. But was she scared enough to tell me the truth?
“The night, Angel. Tell me about the night.”
That shudder in her body only grew more violent. I looked down, watching her breasts tremble under her camisole. Hard nipples puckered against the fabric. I knew those breasts. I’d felt those breasts pressed against me, the softness of her perfect fucking nipples. The fucking scent of her skin.
I jerked my gaze up to her eyes and breathed deeper, drawing in that same intoxicating fucking scent into my lungs. .
Desire slammed into rage and my body responded, growing harder, more desperate. “Tell me.” I forced the words through clenched teeth and pushed the blade against her soft cheek. “Or I will cut you.”
She fought the need to shake her head, still the tip of the knife dug into the soft flesh below her eye, drawing a tiny bead of blood. My fist tightened in her hair. Her fear was so desperate, my howling need to pull the knife away was palpable…as was the overwhelming desire to kiss her.
The room swam all around me. Dazed and breathless, my body responded in ways I didn’t understand. All I saw were her lips. Those lying, perfect fucking lips. A sound rumbled in the back of my throat as I stared at her mouth, fighting the intoxicating need to kiss her.
I unleashed that animalistic groan and tore my gaze away to stare at the wall. “You fucking push me…” I turned back to her. “You fucking push me to the ends of my limits. You don’t want to see what’s on the other side of those, little sister…believe me.”
“What the fuck…”
My breath caught at the sound of Gabe behind me. I straightened, looking down and pulled the blade away.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
His voice rose in octaves as he flanked my side, staring at the knife in my hand. One panicked scan of her and anger rose in my baby brother’s eyes.
“I knew it!” He drove his fist into my shoulder, driving me backwards.
I stumbled, righting myself. He glared at the knife in my hand and shook his head.
“I knew you were lying. You just wanted to use her, didn’t you?
You can’t send her away, so you what…you plan on cutting her?
Beating her, maybe. Is that the kind of animal you’ve become. ”
His words couldn’t hurt me. “You have no idea of the things I’ve done for this family.”
“I think I have a good fucking idea. What kind of man makes her food one minute, then holds a goddamn knife to her face the next?”
I wasn’t going to…
I wasn’t going to.
Hurt. Her.
But I couldn’t say the words.
“Even after what the doctor said about her. She’s been programmed, can’t you see that?” Gabe threw his hand toward her as footsteps resounded.
“What the fuck is going on?” Theo grumbled.
Utter contempt is all I saw in my little brother’s eyes as he answered. “Why don’t you ask, Silas. I’m sure he has all the answers,” he looked at the blade. “Or the means to get them no matter the consequences. Come on, Angel, you’re sleeping in my room tonight. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her from the chair in front of me before he dragged her along and headed for the door.
“Gabe.” Theo took a step to block his way.
“You don’t want to push me right now, Theo.”
There was a dangerous edge in our brother. One which hadn’t been there before. Theo looked at me, scowled, then stepped aside.
They left, Gabe pulling her with him as they made for his bedroom.
Theo stared at the knife in my hand, then lifted his gaze to mine. “What do we do with her?”
“I don’t know.” I lied, not wanting to admit to myself what I wanted to do.
Kiss her.
That need raged.
Fuck her.
Make her mine.
My hand clenched around the hilt of the knife, fighting every cell in my body.