“Will my father be invited to the annual meeting?” Kai asks.
Drew taps a finger off his chin while he thinks about it. “Most likely, but I think it’s doubtful you and Rick will be included. If this is the first time Atticus is attending a meeting after being exiled from the elite, he will be required to attend several interviews with the existing council members. If they approve him to return, then you andallyour brothers will be added to the training and induction program.”
“Over my dead fucking body will I allow my younger brothers to be brought anywhere near that place,” Kai seethes.
“You won’t have much of a choice, Anderson,” Drew says, shooting him an apologetic look. “You are all sons of a founding father. There will be no exceptions made.”
“Your father must know this,” I softly add.
“He does,” Kai says, in a clipped voice. “Rick and I had to threaten to walk away for good in order to get him to agree to leave Harley and Joaquin at home today. He’s determined we will all be inducted into the elite way of life.”
“You’ll just have to deflect and defer as much as possible,” I say. “But it might be no harm if you get access to Parkhurst. You might spot shit Drew has become immune to.”
Drew jerk’s his head up, scowling.
“No offense, D. But you have been brainwashed to some degree. Having some fresh eyes around the place can’t do any harm.” Not that I want Kai exposed to that,at all, but it could be advantageous.
Drew sighs, scrubbing a hand across his jaw. “I suppose that’s a fair point. I’m pretty much immune to the shit I see now,” he admits, looking apologetic. “But I can remember what it was like at the start.” He shudders, pinning Kai with a somber look. “It’s going to be ten million times worse than you imagine. And there will be a lot of eyes on you and Rick, so I’m not sure how useful it will be.” He slouches in his chair, staring up at the ceiling, looking like he’s drowning under the weight of all his sins.
A sixth sense prods me in the back, and I just get the feeling something else is going on.
Drew and I aren’t as close as we once were. There was a time when we could finish each other’s sentences and we always knew what the other was thinking. As we’ve gotten older, that has faded somewhat, but the twin connection is still there, simmering away under the surface.
And it’s prompting me to pry.
“Drew.”
He lowers his eyes, turning to look at me. “Yeah?”
I examine his face carefully. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Telling us?”
His Adam’s apple jumps in his throat. “Why are you asking me that?”
I tuck my hair behind my ears, maintaining eye contact. “Call it intuition.” I shrug. “My gut is telling me something is going on. That you’re hiding something.”
He exhales heavily, sitting up straighter, shooting me a shy smile. “I never could keep anything from you for long.”
I stand, walking to his side and crouching in front of him. “We agreed no more secrets.”
“I’ve kept this one for a reason, A.” He tenderly cups one side of my face. “Because I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure. I didn’t want to get your hopes up only to dash them.”
“But?” I prompt.
“But I can’t do this alone.” He looks at Xavier.
A light bulb flashes in Xavier’s eyes. “This is something to do with that research you had me doing on Parkhurst employees?”
Drew nods. “I was hoping to find something, anything, I could use, to blackmail one of them into helping.”
“But they are all squeaky clean,” Xavier adds.
“Why were you digging into Parkhurst employees’ records?” I ask.
“And why was it confined to staff working in the medical facility?” Xavier asks.
Every nerve ending in my body is on fire, and bile travels up my throat, as my mind works overtime. “Drew?” I whisper. “What’s going on?”
He hauls me up into his lap, locking his arms around me. His breath oozes out in spurts, and he looks anxious as fuck. “Please forgive me, Abby. I was going to tell you when I had proof, but I haven’t found that yet. Other than assumptions I’ve made based on things I’ve heard and seen over the years, and my gut instinct, which tells me I’m correct, this is still supposition.”
