I step into his room and shut the door. My brother is sitting on the side of the bed with a towel wrapped around his waist. Beads of water trickle down his chest confirming he’s not long out of the shower.
“Talk to me.” I stride across the spacious room and drop down beside him.
“Do you think he did it? Did Denton kill our family? Was everything a lie?” The tortured expression on his face guts me.
“I don’t know.” I exhale heavily, rubbing at my tired eyes. “I don’t know what to think except we knew Denton, and we don’t know these people. The elite manipulate, and we can’t ever forget that.”
“But Denton was elite. More elite than our brothers. If anyone was more likely to manipulate us, I think it was him.”
It’s a valid point. A smart one. Although I don’t like thinking it’s true because then it means we’ve been royally played—thatI’vebeen royally played—and I’m not sure I can handle that truth right now.
“I don’t think they’re lying. Like, why would they? What would they gain from it?” Roman’s troubled brown eyes peer into mine, silently begging me for answers I can’t give him.
“We don’t know them to know what they might gain.”
“But Dad left you files, Zayn. He said if anything happened to him it was Denton’s fault. How can we deny that?”
“We don’t know those were really Dad’s files, Ro. It could all be fabricated. We can’t take what they say at face value because we don’t know them. We knew Denton. He rescued us. He got us to safety. He got you away from that cunt.”
Slowly, he nods. “I won’t handle it, Zayn. If it turns out he was playing us and he killed our family to get to us, I won’t be able to bear it.” His voice cracks, and I pull him into a hug.
“Don’t think like that. There’s no point until we discover the truth.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll figure it out.” I squeeze him tight before standing. “Don’t worry about it. Let me handle it.”
He nods.
“You need to get dressed. Abby made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.”
His eyes light up, and a host of potent emotions runs riot inside me. “I know you like them, and you want this to be true, just be careful, okay, Ro?”
I hate seeing the joy fade from his face, but we both need to be cautious.
“Okay.”
“I’ve got your back, Ro. You can always count on me. Whatever is really going on, we’ll handle it together, like always.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Zayn
“Here you go, Roman.” Abby sets a heaping plate of pancakes in front of my brother, and he eagerly dives in. She made a second batch especially for him, and from the way he’s smiling at her, it’s obvious I’m already fighting a losing battle. I think my little brother is halfway in love with our older brother’s wife after less than twenty-four hours.
“Thanks, Abby. These are the best.”
“I’ll add it to your list of favorites alongside my hot chocolate.”
“You didn’t!” Xavier looks up from his tablet with horror etched upon his face. “Please tell me you didn’t make himmyspecial hot chocolate.”
Kaiden and Sawyer roll their eyes, and Drew stifles a yawn, looking thoroughly bored.
“It was the best damn hot chocolate ever. It had sprinkles and marshmallows and everything,” Ro admits in between wolfing down pancakes.
“Blasphemy!” Xavier yells, pouting at Abby. I still don’t know what to make of the eccentric genius. “But I’ll forgiveyou because Roman is a sweetie, and he deserves all the hot chocolate in the world.”
Ro’s cheeks flush, and Abby quickly changes the subject to spare his blushes. “Have you heard back from Joaquin or Harley?” she asks Kaiden.
