“So, Mathers wanted to get Hamilton out of the picture to claim the presidency,” Kai says. “And Hamilton wants the intel we have on the elite.”
“We figured as much.” Hunt drums his fingers on his knee.
“Why haven’t you used it?” I ask.
“The information reaches all the way to the top, and a lot of powerful people will stop at nothing to hide it,” Hunt supplies.
“It’s not safe to release it,” Kai says. “It’s a surefire way of getting us all killed.”
“It’s why we don’t know where the file is or exactly what’s on it,” Xavier explains, and my eyes pop wide.
“It’s for our protection,” Jackson adds.
“But Hamilton doesn’t know that,” Kai says with a sly grin.
“What’re you thinking?” I ask.
“I’m thinking we turn the tables and lay a trap. You said you think Hamilton is the one helping Atticus to hide, so why not give him an incentive to give up his location?”
I sit forward as excitement bubbles in my chest. “I’ll tell Hamilton you guys need to trust me before you give up the intel, and what better way to prove trust than to hand you Atticus’s ass on a platter.”
“Exactly.” Kai’s eyes spark with dark intent.
“What is your plan for the asshole sperm donor?” I ask.
“We want him behind bars for the rest of his natural life,” Rick says.
“You don’t want to kill him?” My gaze bounces between my brothers.
“Death would be too easy. We want him to publicly acknowledge his crimes and pay the penance.”
My brow puckers. “I’m confused. There isn’t that much to send him away for long. Sure, he fucked off when the FBI wanted to talk to him about the warehouse bombing and the elite, but he’d been excommunicated and was outside the circle for years. What am I missing?”
“Your adoption was illegal, for starters, and he’s guilty of multiple counts of child neglect,” Rick says as Kai gets up and comes over to us.
Kai leans against the arm of the couch beside me. “But the main reason we want him locked up is for the murder of our mom.”
“What?” I whisper, looking between them as horror washes over me.
“He murdered our mother when the opportunity arose so he could skip off into the sunset with Olivia,” Kai grits out, and I listen as they fully explain it.
“He’s responsible for it all,” I say. He deprived us of our mother, each other, and our home—all ’cause he couldn’t keep it in his pants.”
“You could argue my sperm donor is the real culprit,” Abby says. “He stole my mom from your dad and set all of this in motion.”
“He’s already paid the price,” Kai says, cracking his knuckles. “Now, it’s Atticus’s turn to accept his punishment.”
“I really fucking hate the elite,” I say, struggling to accept what I’ve just learned. Our bio father murdered our bio mother, and then he gave Ro and me up and ripped our family apart. “Atticus Anderson has a lot to answer for, and you’re right. Death would be too easy for that fucker.” I peer up at Kai. “I like your idea, and I think Hamilton will bite. He’s desperate for that information. He thinks it will buy his way out of jail, and then he plans to oust Robert Huss and take back the presidency.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Charlie says from behind, and we all whip our heads around.
Kai stands. “I said I’d call you.”
“She’s driving us fucking insane. I won’t be held responsible if Drew throttles the bitch before she tells us what we want to know.”
“Okay. Bring her in,” Kai says, nodding at Charlie.
“What’s going on?” I ask as Charlie walks off, his shoes slapping on the polished tile floor as he walks down the hallway toward the front door. I stand and face off with my brother.
