There was a haunted, detached look in my brother’s gaze when he looked at me. One that made me look down, but that sight wasn’t any better. Bright red splatters of blood shone on his shirt, brightening as we passed under the streetlights before they dulled once more. But the blood wasn’t mine. I knew that. So who the fuck’s was it?
“T,” I spoke carefully, staring at the mess. “What were you doing when I called?”
He didn’t answer, the muscles of his jaw flexing the only sign he’d heard me. I sucked in careful breaths and tugged the seatbelt away from my side as the Jeep rocked and jolted. The damn thing wasn’t the smoothest ride, not like the Mustang. I winced when I thought of it, the brutal crunch as I’d hit the gate the goddamn soundtrack to my thoughts. My goddamn car…
I’d get it back. Fix it up…after I found Ryth.
I swallowed hard and glanced at Tobias as he turned the corner, heading deeper into the city instead of to our home. “Where’s Caleb?”
Tobias shot me a glare, hate detonating in his dark eyes. Fuck, the dude looked scary. “How the fuck do I know?”
Something went down between the two of them while I was in the damn hospital. That was all we needed, for us to hate each other. I looked around at the familiar buildings, spotting the glinting windows of dad’s office up ahead. My pulse sped as I glanced at the blood on my brother’s shirt once more.
Was that dad’s blood?
Tobias jerked the wheel and the Jeep swung hard, making me brace against the dash. We pulled into the underground parking garage, tires squealing as we pulled up next to the elevator. Tobias glanced my way, that menacing spark burning in his gaze as he reached behind him and grabbed the jacket that’d been tossed on the backseat.
He tugged it on, zipped it up to cover the bloodstains, and shoved out the door before stopping. “You coming?”
I stabbed the seatbelt release, desperation humming in my veins. “Want to tell me what the fuck’s going on, T?” I asked, but deep down, I really didn’t want to know.
I’d seen T like this only once before. Pushed to the limit…deadly as fuck. Both times had involved our father. I braced my hand against my side, yanked the handle, and slowly climbed out. The glaring underground lights blurred with the effort.
“T.” I sucked in hard breaths as the Jeep’s locks gave a clunk.
Part of me wanted to talk him down from what he was doing, but a bigger part of me didn’t. I sucked in a deep breath as Tobias turned to the nearby locked doors and dragged an ID card from his pocket.
I caught the image printed on the card and it wasn’t our dad.
It didn’t relieve me.
I followed him through the doors, leaving them to slam and lock behind me as I followed T to the elevator. He pressed the card against the scanner and the elevator doors opened. An uncomfortable silence filled the air as we stepped inside.
I’d made a point to avoid this goddamn place at all costs. Dad and I might not have been at war after mom’s death, like he was with Tobias. But we sure as fuck were far from okay. The elevator gave a jolt as it stopped at the twenty-third floor.
Tobias strode out and headed left, like he knew this place intimately. I followed as he pressed the unknown dude’s card to the scanner and stepped inside. The reception area was sleek and expensive. Dad liked to maintain an office here. But that was as far as I knew.
I had no idea who his clients were, or what called him out of town so damn often. Now, I was regretting not being more involved. Maybe then I could’ve seen all this coming. Blame weighed heavily on me as I strode through the doors after my brother and followed him through the small reception area. It was clean. A phone, coffee cup, and pictures of two young kids gave me the impression someone still worked here.
A low moan cut through the air, coming from the rear offices. I gripped my wound, fighting a wave of pain, and followed my younger brother along a hallway.
Bright red smears shone on the glaring white tiled floor. A twitch came at the corner of my eye at the sight before I jerked my gaze high. Tobias stopped at a closed door, pressed the card to the scanner, and opened the door.
The sight inside assaulted me. The guy from the ID lifted his head, his eyes wide with terror. His hands were bound behind him as he sat in his office chair. Tobias never even flinched from the sight, just glanced my way, watching the door as it closed with a click before he moved toward the terrified guy.
“Now, Harvey. I’ve given you some time to think about this, from the goodness of my heart.” My brother unzipped his jacket and peeled it from his body before clenching his fists. It was then I saw the blood between his knuckles.
“Jesus, T,” I muttered, revulsion making my gut clench.
The guy wasn’t a fucking threat. He was far from it. Young, fucking scared, beaten all to hell. His lips were split, one eye already swollen until it was nothing more than a slit. He even had crusted blood inside his nostrils.
He whimpered and tried to speak, but the words were muffled by the rag stuffed in his mouth. Tobias reached forward, snagged the edge, and yanked it from the poor bastard’s mouth.
The guy coughed, sucked in harsh breaths, and narrowed his gaze at T. “You…you’re fucking crazy.”
“Crazy?” Tobias repeated, and flexed his hands. “More like determined. Now, are you going to give me the truth? Hale Order, what is it and how the fuck can we get inside?”
The guy just shook his head. I glanced at the desk behind him. He was obviously some schmuck who worked for our dad, so how the fuck did T expect the guy to know?
“You know his clients,” T continued. “You know who he sees. You know where he is right now, don’t you?”
The guy flinched and paled. But he didn’t say no.
He didn’t say no…
“Where?” I croaked. “Where the fuck is he?”
The guy suddenly looked even more terrified. Yeah, he knew something…
I stepped closer, fighting the agony that pulsed in waves through my middle, making the rest of the room washed out and gray. “I’m not going to ask again, Harvey. Where the fuck is our father?”
The guy whimpered as I shuffled closer, staring down at him. “Please,” he whispered. “I’ll lose my job.”
“Lose your job?” Ryth’s torment howled inside my head as I leaned down to the idiot. “You’re about to lose more than your fucking job.”
His breath caught and his eyes widened. There was a glimmer of desperation before he stuttered. “H-he…he t-told me to not say a w-word to any of you. H-he s-said you were nothing more than thieves and b-bullies. Said you only c-came around for your mother’s m-money.”
I stiffened, unable to fight the burn in my gut. “He said what?”
The guy looked from me to Tobias. “B-but the jokes on y-you. Th-there’s…n-nothing…l-left. It’s all g-gone. Every cent.”
“You think…” Tobias moved, grasping him by the shirt and jerking him forward. “You think we’d do this for fucking money?”
The guy didn’t understand. He truly didn’t fucking understand the hole he’d just dug for himself.
But he was about to find out.
Pain moved through me as I straightened. But this time it had nothing to do with the stab wound in my side and everything to do with the agony that welled in my heart. My sweet mom’s face rose to the surface.
The indignant little prick jutted his chin upwards, his eyes burning with misplaced loyalty. But in that moment, I couldn’t give a shit. I had no energy left to explain. I doubted it’d make a difference, anyway. “T,” I murmured, and straightened. “Show this asshole what it means to cross us.”
Tobias gave a nod, clenching his fist. “My goddamn pleasure,” he muttered, right before he lashed out and punched the asshole in the jaw.
The blow launched him sideways so hard the chair toppled and fell. He hit the floor with a crunch. I stepped backwards, letting Tobias be what he was born to be. Savage. Dangerous…wrath in its most primal form. He grasped the guy and hauled him from the floor, screaming.
“I’ll tell you!” Harvey howled.
But it was too late. Tobias drove his fist into the guy’s chest and was rewarded with a crack. A roar of agony followed, the asshole turning a sickening shade of gray.
Whack!
Whack!
WHACK!
Over and over, until there were no more screams left. By the time Tobias was done, he was breathless. Blood glistened on his knuckles as he straightened and looked down at the guy. He was breathing, barely. But we were done.
“I told you once before, Nick. So, I’m telling you again, just to be sure.” Tobias’ voice was devoid of emotion as he turned and met my gaze. “When we find our father, stay the fuck out of my way. Don’t make me have to hurt you too.”
I’d never seen my younger brother so cold.
So void of the life our mother had given him.
He didn’t just want our father’s blood.
He wanted his goddamn life.
