Chapter Twenty-Six
TOREN
Halo and Carnage are silent as we drive away from the rink. I know this is a tough situation for them. They were supposed to ensure Cas’s safety today. I know Carnage well enough to know he’s pissed off that it was me who fought for Alex’s brother’s life and not one of them.
We knew going to the rink today that we were all walking in blind, but it was a chance we had to take. I peer out the back window to see cars following behind us. Alex, some of his men and the rest of the guys were all scattered around the rink, prepared to storm the castle if we needed them.
Truth is, Cas was right. If shit popped off they would never have made it to us in time.
Halo’s phone rings through the Bluetooth speakers, he answers it, then Alex’s voice fills the car.
“Scott and some of the others are tailing the car that left,” he says.
“They’re going after the brother, he’s been hiding out,” Halo answers.
“I’m intercepting that car.” I inhale sharply. “Devlin wants Toren’s brother, then we’re going to trade Masen for Cas.”
“Understood,” Halo replies, then ends the call.
I meet Carnage’s gaze in the rear-view mirror for a second before I turn away.
I know Masen has done some evil things and he should pay for those crimes, but the thought of him being tortured and forced to endure the same amount of anguish and pain my father and Meekan did churns my stomach.
“Carn?”
“Yeah?”
“I need to be there when they intercept my brother.” Halo looks back at me with a surprised look on his face.
“Why?” he presses.
I decide to be honest. “I need to look him in the eye and hear him tell me the truth. I need closure, Halo, and I won’t get that if he’s dead.” He stares at me silently for a long moment, then suddenly nods and turns to face the front.
I watch as he pushes a few buttons on his phone, then his dial tone fills the car.
“Halo?” a man says, as he answers the call.
“Send me your location, we’re backing you up.”
“We’re still on their tail. I’ll send you my location to track.” Halo doesn’t reply, he ends the call, then turns to his brother.
“Hit the interstate, we’re going to pay her brother a visit.” Gratitude fills me.
“Thank you,” I breathe out quietly.
“Get the closure you need, we didn’t get it with our sister.” Halo’s revelation stumps me for a moment before I gather myself.
I slump back in my chair and close my eyes.
The events of the morning play on a loop in my head like a movie.
His face and the devastation he tried to mask is plaguing me.
I lied and hid the truth about Caspian from him because I knew his betrayal would open the wounds he has tried to keep hidden from the world.
He lost his sister and his best friends, the only three people in this world he truly trusted and loved.
The thought of loving and caring for someone else terrifies him.
I see it every time I look into his eyes, that’s why I can’t give up. I can’t let him go even when I know he’ll cause me more pain and say hurtful things. He’ll never say the words or drop to his knees and beg but, I know Xaden needs me.
I get so lost in my own thoughts, reliving the horrors of the past two years, so when we suddenly come to a stop, I jolt in my seat.
I snap my eyes and instantly stiffen in my seat.
My breathing turns ragged and I have to remind myself I am no longer trapped inside that building, I’m free and my father can never lock me away again.
Halo and Carnage remain still and leave me to decide what the next move is.
A part of me just wants to watch Masen be dragged out of there, so I don’t have to relive the worst year of my life by going inside, but another part, the dark depraved part of me that Xaden brought to life, wants me to go in there and show him what I had to live through.
Show my brother, who turned his back on me, the nightmare I lived while he pretended I didn’t exist and went on with his life like nothing happened.
“There are moments in life that define us and our paths. This is one of those moments for you.” Carn’s softly spoken words hit like a hammer to my chest. I feel my throat start to close up and fight against the urge to surrender to feelings trying to weigh me down.
“Scott and the others have your brother. Xaden’s men are restrained but unharmed,” Halo adds. The fact both of them aren’t pushing me or trying to hurry my decision means a lot.
I take a deep breath and center myself.
To teach is to learn. To learn is to excel. To excel is to thrive. To thrive is to live.
“I’m not a fucking meme,” I grit out as I meet Carnage’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. “I’m not that confused little girl any longer. I know where I stand in this war now and I’m gonna make power moves.”
Carnage smiles, and the pride I see blazing in his dark eyes bolsters my courage like armor. “Atta girl, darlin’,” he murmurs, his voice rough with approval.
I push the door open and step out onto the gravel driveway.
I know if I pause—if I give myself even a second to think about what I'm doing, I'll never do it.
So I put one foot in front of the other and start walking toward my own personal hell.
The building looms larger with every step. More imposing. More threatening.
Memories assault me with every inch of ground I cover.
The nights I spent crying myself to sleep on a thin mattress.
Emery.
The fights. The blood. The survival.
Harper.
The moment I realized no one was coming to save me.
Emery.
Without Em and Harper I would never have survived this place. They were my anchor, the foundation I rebuilt myself on.
The second I pass the threshold, I almost lose my nerve completely.
The smell hits me first—industrial cleaner and old wood and something indefinable that I associate with captivity.
With helplessness.
My legs nearly give out.
Without Xaden at my side, it feels almost impossible to traverse this place. To face these ghosts.
But then Carnage's hand settles on my lower back, warm, solid and grounding.
I look up at him, and my friend's face is carved from stone, dark and dangerous and absolutely unwavering in his support.
“Every step you take, I will match it,” he says, his voice low and fierce. “I'll be the pillar of strength you need in this moment to fight your demons. They can't conquer you, darlin’. You already beat them.”
His words wrap around me like armor.
“Don't let your past hold you hostage,” he continues, his eyes burning into mine with absolute conviction. “Let it go and show that weak bitch you share blood with that they didn't come close to breaking you.”
And just like that, the fear transforms.
Into rage.
Into power.
Into determination so fierce it burns away the panic.
They didn't break me.
A year in this place, and I'm still standing.
Still fighting.
Still here.
I straighten my spine and lift my chin, feeling the shift happen inside me, from victim to survivor. From prey to predator.
“Let's go,” I say, my voice steady and cold. “I have a brother to confront.”
We move through the halls, and with each step, I reclaim pieces of myself.
Halo walks ahead of us, his movements confident and sure through the halls.
But for him, they're just corridors.
For me, they're scars.
Every turn brings another memory.
The common room where I first fought back against the girls who tried to make me their target.
The bathroom where Em and I learned to patch my own wounds.
The cell—because that's what it was, a fucking cell—where I slept, plotted and survived.
Carnage's hand never leaves my back, steady and grounding, reminding me I'm not alone this time.
Not trapped.
Not helpless.
When we finally reach the room where they're holding Masen—a room I recognize with sick clarity as one of the isolation chambers—Halo pauses with his hand on the door.
He looks back at me, giving me one last chance to change my mind.
I nod once, sharp and decisive.
He opens the door.
And there he is.
Masen Kellar.
My brother.
The murderer.
Restrained in a chair, blood already trickling from his nose where someone clearly hit him. Scott and two others stand guard, their expressions carefully neutral when they see me.
Masen's eyes widen when he sees me, shock and something that might be shame flickering across his face.
“Toren—”
“Shut up,” I cut him off, my voice like ice. “You don't get to say my name. You don't get to act surprised to see me. You knew exactly where I was for an entire year and you did nothing.”
I step closer, and he actually flinches.
Good.
He should be afraid.
“Do you have any idea what effect turning your back on me took?” He looks at me with confusion so I push on. “The day I left the hospital, I thought we were going home so I could recover. I was a fucking fool, wasn’t I, Mase?” I don’t give him a chance to respond.
I pull away from Carn and begin to pace the length of the room in front of my brother.
“I assumed you couldn’t tell me any details because Dad was there.
I thought he had sunk his claws into you and turned you against me, but turns out, you were the one who chose to let him place all the blame on me so you could live out your dream.
How’s that dream looking now, Brother?” I spit the last word out like it burned my tongue.
“Once I heal from the fucking gunshot wound, I’ll be back on the ice and getting drafted.” His tone is filled with loathing and it sends white hot fury rolling through me.
“He’ll never let you touch the ice again. You stole not only his sister and best friends… you robbed him of his dream. He’ll burn in hell before he ever watches you get drafted.” My tone is firm and cold.
He drops the mask he’s been wearing and shows me the monster underneath. Unlike Xaden, who doesn’t hide from his darkness, who embraces it and shields nothing. Masen is a coward who hides behind the wealth and power of our family.
“You think you’re so smart don’t ya, Tink?” I suck in a sharp inhale of breath at him using my pet name from Xaden. Suddenly Masen doesn’t look so weak and terrified, his eyes have darkened and he sits straighter like he’s the one in power. “I knew you would find me.”
I scoff. “Bullshit.”
My brother smirks but it’s cruel and filled with malice.
He pulls his attention from me to look over at Halo and Carnage.
“Didn’t you think it was a bit too easy tracking me down?
” I look back at the twins, neither of them show an ounce of surprise.
“Ever think I wanted to be found?” Dread begins to pool inside me.
Suddenly I feel cold as I stare at my brother.
He lazily looks back at me with a smug look on his face.
“Nice try, Sister, the Kellar Cartel men are loyal to me.”
My eyes widen, Ezekiel, Vivian and Pope have been trying to help locate my father’s second in charge to take control of my family's cartel, but none of them have been able to find anything and now it makes sense why.
Masen already set things in motion. I thought he tucked tail and ran. Turns out I was wrong yet again.
“My men are stationed outside the building. We knew it was only a matter of time before you came looking for me. All I had to do was wait. You’re so predictable, Toren.” His tone is venomous and filled with hate. “I could almost laugh at how fucking stupid you are—”
“You got a lot of teeth for a smart cunt,” Carnage snarls. Masen ignores him as he keeps focused on me.
“You really thought opening your legs and letting that cunt fuck you like a whore—” Masen doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence.
Carnage flies at him with the speed of a panther and lands a jaw-cracking punch to his jaw.
Before he can deliver a second, Halo and one of the other guys grab his arms and drag him back.
Masen turns his head and spits blood onto the floor. Then looks up at me and smiles. “What’s your next move, little sister?”