51. Rook
Chapter fifty-one
Rook
My shoulders burn when I wake, blinking in the light that now fills the small room. I must not have been out long, but long enough for my hands to be tied behind my back. I’m propped up against the edge of my bed, facing Tilly.
She looks at me with wide eyes, tears streaming down her face as she tries to free herself to get to me. I try to move closer to her, but then I hear a tutting sound from the doorway.
“Well, that was quite the show.” I instantly recognize my father’s gloating. I look over at him, leaning against the door jamb. “See, Othelia, didn’t I promise you would be awake in time?”
He strides closer, shoulders back, head held high like he has all the time in the world. “Plus, it wouldn’t be very nice to kill her while she isn’t awake. That’s just rude.”
Clay circles the back of the room, letting his presence be known while maintaining his distance. “I told you I’d make you regret this.” He motions towards the nose I broke several months ago, clearly showing it hasn’t healed properly.
“Oh yeah? Untie me and see how you go when I know you’re coming,” I threaten, and the promise of death in my eyes has him balking for a second before he must remember I’m still tied.
“Sorry to interrupt this little family gathering, but I have more pressing issues that need to be attended to,” my father cuts in and his words bring another to the forefront of my mind.
“Brother ?” I whisper to myself before looking back at Clay. The jawline, the eyes, the cocky fucking grin he has on his face. Fuck .
My brother.
“How?” I croak out.
“Well, when your bitch of a mother disappeared, I had no choice but to find a replacement for my… needs .” Clay shudders at the words spoken about his mother but doesn’t look away from me as he waits for our father to continue.
“Veronica was just some whore I had on the side for a while.” I have to hold back the bile that burns the back of my throat. “When she told me she was pregnant, I was disappointed, but it gave me an excuse to stay in the Seattle area while I searched for your mother.”
“You’re gonna let him speak about your mother that way.” I glare at Clay, who has the decency to look momentarily ashamed, his mask slipping, but one look from our father has him snapping back into place.
“Wow, you really are a piece of shit.” I laugh, but it’s cut short by a punch to my jaw. My head snaps backwards and blood pools in my mouth. I smile back at Clay, who stands above me, fists clenched and breathing heavily before spitting my blood out on his shit.
He grabs my shirt, rearing back to punch me again. “You motherfuck—”
“Now, now, boys. That’s enough.” Our father chastises us like we’re two kids roughhousing instead of two men ready to kill each other. He releases me with a shove, and I slump back against the bed.
“I’ve kept Othelia alive for one reason. I could’ve got Clay to kill her in that hotel room, you know, so you should be thankful you didn’t come home to find her corpse instead of my note.” He stares at me like he is genuinely expecting me to thank him for not killing her. I sit in silence as I stare back, waiting.
“Well, I guess there’s two reasons.” He laughs. “Of course… she will still die today. How, though, will depend on how cooperative you are. Will it be quick with a bullet to the head or will I shoot her in the stomach and make you watch while I fuck her as she bleeds out all over the rug?”
The sick smile that slides across his face almost has me gagging. I pull on the cable ties, but they just tear into my wrists and don’t budge.
“Where are you keeping her?” He scratches his forehead with the barrel of the gun as he glares at me.
“Fuck you.” I spit back. I will keep Tilly safe, but I won’t put my mom in danger to do it. There has to be another way.
I look over at Tilly, who still sits bound as she stares at me, her eyes softer, now that her tears have stopped flowing.
She gives me a small nod, mouthing, it’s okay, as she stops fighting her restraints, resigned to her fate. Rage simmers underneath my skin, my fists clenching and a muscle ticking in my jaw as I look back to my father.
“Where is she?” he asks again.
“I will die before I tell you.”
“Hmm, I figured you would say that, but that is where my new friend Othelia comes in.” He chuckles as he steps closer to her.
I struggle against my restraints and try to throw myself closer, but Clay grabs my shoulders, yanking me back against the bed, laughing as he holds me back.
“You might be willing to sacrifice yourself to keep your secret, but are you willing to sacrifice her?” He points the gun at Tilly’s face. Surprisingly, she doesn’t look away. Just stares at the barrel before looking up into my father’s face.
“I won’t let him pick between us.” Stealing herself, she speaks with unwavering conviction in her voice.
“I bet you’re regretting getting messed up with this fucked-up family now, hey Othelia,” he jokes, and that wall breaks for a second. Her features freeze and she looks over at me, determination filling her gaze.
“I will never regret you.” Tears well in her eyes and her mascara-stained cheeks soften as those piercing gray eyes lock onto mine, looking deep into my soul. “I choose you. Always.”
“Tilly.” My voice breaks as a sob wracks through me. “Please, just kill me. Let her go. She has nothing to do with this.”
“Oh, but my son,” my father clicks his tongue, “she has everything to do with this.”
He trails the gun down her collarbone, stroking her with the barrel. “You took my wife from me, so now I’ll take your future wife from you. Shame, she would have made such a pretty wife. Oh, and the babies.” He clutches his chest mockingly. “How beautiful your babies would have been!” He bursts out laughing. “Oh well, moving on. Once I’m done with this bitch and you’re out of the way, nothing will stop me from taking back your mother. I can swoop in, the loving estranged husband, her only next of kin, here to look after her in all the ways you never could.”
“She will never be yours,” I spit at him.
“No, I suppose she won’t. The head injury will make things more difficult, but, oh well, I will have nothing but time to convince her she loves me.”
“What?” Clay questions from behind me, releasing my shoulders as he stands and walks closer to our father. “I thought you wanted to be with me and Mom. You said once he was out of the way, there would be nothing stopping us from being a family again. A proper fucking family, like we would’ve been if they never existed.”
Randall drops his bottom lip. “Oh, you really aren’t the brightest son, are you?” he mocks and Clays freezes as his eyes turn cold, nose flaring. “I suppose now I have these two here already. I have no use for you anymore.”
Clay’s mouth gapes as a pained expression crosses his face. Staring at our father, he stumbles back a few steps as if an invisible force has hit him.
With a shrug, Randall lifts the gun towards him and remarks, “You truly were a disappointment.” He sighs as he pulls the trigger.
The deafening crack of the gunshot reverberates through the air, causing Tilly to let out a piercing scream as Clay crumples to the floor.
As Randall walks closer, he surveys Clay with the gun pointed at his head, ready to shoot him once more. I kick out, knocking the cupboard, causing the lamp to tip and smash on the floor next to me.
Randall glances my way, momentarily distracted. In a flash, Clay strikes, tackling Randall to the floor, knocking the gun out of his grasp.
They both reach for the gun, Randall’s hands wrapping around the handle a second before Clay’s.
Clay’s hands trembled as he fights to wrestle control of the gun, desperately trying to redirect the barrel away from his own body.
While they’re fighting, I jump up and throw myself over Tilly, and we both tumble to the floor, shattering the chair.
I shield her with my body. Her panicked voice echoes through the room, calling my name, right as the sound of a second gunshot pierces the air.