I walk over to Saint, and he holds out his arms as if I’m going to give him a hug. Instead, I reach down and yank the gun he has tucked into the waistband of his jeans. Cocking it, I point it at Adam.
He throws his hands up, and all the chatter stops. “Kash?—”
“What in the fuck is going on?” I demand, interrupting him.
“Just put down the gun.” Adam looks from Haidyn to Saint, but neither one of them makes a move to stop me. I’ve seen what they’re capable of when it comes to their wives, and if they were in my shoes, they’d act no different. Hooke also stands off to the side, not daring to get in my way. This doesn’t involve him.
“Adam,” Ashtyn squeals, rushing through the double doors. “Oh my God…”
Saint wraps an arm around her, holding her back, because I’ve got a gun trained on her brother’s chest.
“Fucking answer me,” I shout. “I held my wife’s body in my arms. I held her cold hand while she laid in the morgue. I buried her in the fucking ground.” The gun shakes uncontrollably in my hand. I would normally hate how weak I look right now, but I need answers. “She was dead. So tell me, how in the fuck is she here now?”
Ashtyn cries. “Kash…please don’t…” Saint covers her mouth with his hand to shut her up.
I ignore them, keeping my eyes on Adam. His hands remain raised in surrender. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’d kill an unarmed man. I’ve done worse to a human.
“She needed to die.” He licks his lips. “The Lords would never allow you to be with her. She knew that.”
“Why?” I demand.
Haven’t I done enough for them? Don’t I deserve to love who I want? Is this a punishment? They had to have put her in my path. They sent Haidyn and me to pick up that Lord from the cathedral, and I guarantee they knew I was looking for her and that she was his half sister. So why give me something only to take it away?
They will take away what you love most, she once told me.
The doors open, and I see Ryat and Sin rush in but come to an abrupt stop. I put my attention back on the brother who betrayed me. I’m not sure why I’m surprised. He’s done nothing but fuck us over for the past four years. I just kept hold of the idea that he’d come home and everything would go back to normal. Like a scared little boy begging his big brother to come back. It was a stupid thought; we’re better off without him.
“Listen,” Adam growls, getting angry but also dodging my question, “you went to Bill and told him to make her your Lady. He told you what to expect.”
“No.” I shake my head.
“Yes. You said you could handle it. You saidshecould handle it.” Adam nods over to Sin. “You were there with me. You know.”
I whip around to glare at Sin. “You knew my wife wasn’t dead?” I bark.
“Eve is alive?” he asks, wide-eyed, looking at Haidyn for confirmation. He nods in answer while standing in front of his pregnant wife, shielding her from me. As if I’d ever hurt her. But I get it. I’d protect Eve if the roles were reversed. I’m a suicidal madman running on very little sleep and still trying to decide if this is real or not. “I don’t know what’s going on.” Sin looks back at me. “We got a text from Saint that you were on your way home and to get to Carnage ASAP. There was an emergency.”
I place my attention back on Adam. “Three weeks,” I say through gritted teeth. “Three fucking weeks you’ve let me think she was dead.” It was the most agonizing thing I’ve ever been through. I’d rather take three years oftraining than live a day without her. Cuts and broken bones will heal over time, but what I felt when I lost my wife? I’ll never recover from that. Even if she is alive.
“We’ve known she was alive for the past week,” Saint says.
I turn to him and ignore the sobbing Ashtyn in his arms. She’s trying to pry his hand off her mouth so she can beg me to not kill her brother. “What the fuck did you say?”
“I—”
“You knew she was alive?” I ask, even more confused than before. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“We tried,” he says through gritted teeth. “You left. No cell phone. No tracker. Calls, texts, and voicemails went unanswered.”
“How did you know?” How am I the only one between my brothers who didn’t know my wife was alive?
“I had Sin call Bill and demand contact with Adam. A few days later, we were told to call Bill.” Saint nods to Adam. “Adam answered, and I begged him to come home. To help us find you. You left, and Haidyn was on a warpath. I needed help, but Adam refused to come back.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait.” I feel like I’m losing my mind. “Did Bill know she was alive this entire time?” I growl at Adam, and the fact that he can’t look at me answers my question. “His wife helped me plan Eve’s funeral, for fuck’s sake.”
“Janice didn’t know,” Adam rushes out, shaking his head at Sin. As if his mother could be such a coldhearted bitch.
I turn my attention back to Saint and the previous conversation. “How did you know Eve was alive during that phone call? He just told you?” I take a quick look at Adam, and his arms are still raised since I have the gun pointed at him.
