“Tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes,” I say, heading toward my en suite bathroom to freshen up.
I grab a super quick shower because I’m pretty sure I smell. I twist my wet hair into a messy knot on top of my head before slipping on sweats and an old T-shirt. Sliding my feet into flip-flops, I head downstairs.
“Presley.” Keven stands when I enter the smaller of the living rooms, walking toward me. He pulls me into a soft hug. “How are you?”
I shrug casually like my heart isn’t broken in a million pieces and my life isn’t crushingly empty without his brother in it. “I’m hanging in there.” I traipse to the couch, sitting down on one end.
His eyes rake over me quickly, and he’s no doubt noticing the bruising shadows under my lackluster eyes, my pale complexion, and how my clothes hang a little looser off my limbs. “I’m glad to hear it. You’ve been through a lot. We’re worried about you.”
“I’m okay. Mo and Rafe have been amazing, and your family has too. Tell your mom thanks for the care package. It was sweet and thoughtful.” I pour lemonade from the glass jug on the coffee table into two glasses, handing one to him.
“You know you’re not to blame, right?” he says, accepting the drink.
I shrug because I don’t agree.
“Presley. Kent didn’t mean those things. He’s traumatized and lashing out at all of us.”
“You don’t have to explain, Keven. I’m traumatized remembering the things he said, so I can only imagine how difficult it’s been for him, and he’s had to live with this for years.” A sob escapes my lips, and tears stab my eyes. I can’t speak over the messy ball of emotion clogging my throat. The thought of what they did to Kent and what he’s endured in the years since the attack is almost too much to bear. I never thought I could feel this much pain again, but the throbbing, aching torment slaying me on the inside is constant every time I think of what was done to Kent, and my heart bleeds endless rivers.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to upset you.” Keven rubs the back of his neck.
I hurriedly compose myself because he doesn’t need to worry about me when his focus should be his brother. “How have you been?” I ask. “It’s been hard on everyone.” Especially Keven, because on top of dealing with Kent’s upsetting revelation, which I’m sure has sent his family into a tailspin, he’s working around the clock with his FBI colleagues trying to build a case against Clay and The Vipers, as well as trying to locate them.
“We feel huge guilt,” he admits, staring off into space as he sips his lemonade. “We always knew something was troubling Kent, but never in a million years did we imagine it was something like this. We all feel like we’ve failed him.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
He jerks his eyes to mine. “Presley, out of everyone, you were doing the most good. You were helping him to move forward. He was happier than we have seen him in years.”
“Until my association with the monster who hurt him took all the good away.” It’s just another thing to hate Clay for. He has taken the only good thing I had in my life. Taken the love I shared with Kent and twisted it into something ugly.
Keven hangs his head because there is no refuting that truth. Even if Kent hadn’t broken down and kicked me to the curb, the demise of our relationship was inevitable.How can you ever come back from something like this?I will always remind him of the man who hurt him, and he will forever remind me of my abject failings and my naivete in trusting a man who has no humanity.
I wonder if I have ever known Clay.Was the boy I knew from my childhood a monster too, or did that side of him only emerge in adulthood?It’s this question, and others, that also keeps me awake at night. I need answers though I don’t know if I will ever get them.
“You both need time to heal,” Keven adds after a few heavy, silent beats.
“What was it you came to ask me?” I say because I can’t talk about Kent and all I have lost anymore.
“My boss has set up a joint task force, and he finally relented and let me help. I’m on a tight leash so my involvement doesn’t jeopardize my brother or the case. The team is building evidence against Clayton, and I’m hoping we can nail that bastard to the wall so no charges are brought against Kent.”
“They’re planning to charge Kent?” Disbelief threads through my tone. After everything The Vipers have done, you’d think they would let what Kent did go. The assholes tried to murder him, for fuck’s sake, and they almost succeeded. I dig my nails into my thighs, shaking with anger.
“I hope it won’t come to that, but he’s not in the clear yet. I’ve explained the circumstances, and Sinead and Colin have backed me up. However, one of the women in the bar that night sent the recording to a known associate of The Vipers, so it’s out there. We’re trying to locate it so we can remove all trace of it. But if we can’t—if it surfaces and the public finds out the FBI was aware of it and didn’t take any action—it could jeopardize the entire case.”
“They can’t charge him, Keven. He wants to be a lawyer so bad.” Now that I’ve had time to think about it, it’s no wonder Kent wants to go into family law. He wants to protect other innocent kids and see justice served in a way he was denied.
“I’m determined to fix it, but it’s a delicate balancing act. I’m also concerned about the recording The Vipers have of the assault. That needs to be found and contained.”
“Surely, it would incriminate them if it came out? I thought that’s why they hadn’t released it.”
“That could be the case, or it’s insurance, and they were keeping it in reserve for the right moment.”
I lean my head back, closing my eyes. “Fuck. This is like a never-ending nightmare.” If that tape gets released into the public domain, I don’t know if there will ever be a way for Kent to come back from it.
I will slaughter Clay and every member of that fucking gang if that tape ever surfaces.
I don’t care if I have to gun them down in broad daylight.
