“I don’t know all the others involved other than what I read. All the suspects you might imagine. The Carringtons and the Franklin family. But there are others. Truly the most powerful families in the country. I just wanted my life back. Discovering my own mother had sold her soul, no longer caring about her only child was too much for me to take.”
As soon as I’d listed the names, his expression hardened.
“How did you manage to alter your identity? That takes skill.”
“All you need to do is ask enough questions on the internet and you can find anything you want. For a price. I’d worked several jobs and saved some money, so it took almost everything I hadbut I fought my way into this life and no one is going to take it from me. No one.”
In truth, I also meant the man who I craved, who’d shown me endless passion, someone I wanted to trust.
He pulled me closer, cradling my body against his. “How did you make the leap from your past to the people who attacked us and who stole from me? Did you recognize one of them?” When I wasn’t quick enough with my answer, he lifted my chin. There was so much emotion in his eyes I was momentarily mesmerized.
“No.”
“The tattoo wasn’t what scared you when you pulled the mask off the assailant’s face. Was it?” His voice was so comforting, so relaxing.
“No. It was his necklace. A dagger where the handle was laced with diamonds. Zane always wore one. The other boys in the group as well. So did my stepfather. It was as if the symbol was their membership card.”
When he took a deep breath, I could tell his wheels were turning. “What about your phone. You were sent something instead of contacting your friend. Weren’t you?”
“I almost forgot about that. Yes. Pictures. I barely got a look at them, but they were of me. Taken in the park both before the mishap and after. With you. Then another one when we were standing on my driveway.”
“Zane.”
“Or someone reporting to him. It had all the earmarks of something he’d do. He did that when I was in school. Evena couple pictures in college. Like proving he knew what I was doing at all times.”
“You should have told me.”
“To what end?” I searched his eyes. He was angry, but not with me.
“Nothing has changed. I will keep you protected. If your stepfather or any member of this Brotherhood is after you, I will give him a painful lesson in letting go.”
“I want to be involved.”
“Not a chance.”
“I need to watch to watch him burn, even though it’s only metaphorically for what he did.”
As soon as I offered the words, I could tell he wasn’t going to let it go. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” My pulse was racing. I knew exactly what would happen if I dared tell him the truth. Yet I wanted to. Goddamn it, I wanted nothing more than to tell him everything. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. There’s more. Talk to me. Tell me. I will never allow him to hurt you again.” His voice was just as dark, but there was something even more powerful with the tone. This was very personal for him because someone had hurt me.
And he wasn’t going to stand for it.
Sinclair was so close. I could feel his heated breath. I could swear I heard his rapid heartbeat. When he cupped the side of my face, I shuddered visibly, the cracked moan telling.
“He hurt you,” he growled.
With little energy left, all I could do was nod.
“He touched you.”
I tried to look down, but he refused to allow me to escape either the moment or the man. “Yes.”
“He attacked you.”
The hard pitter-patter of my heart echoed in my ears. All the years I’d blocked out what Zane had done to me, how he’d returned to my dorm room that very night, his friends holding me down while he took his time doing vile, horrible things, came flooding back.
