I wrapped my hand around Matthew’s wrist. “We were discussing this past weekend. You know,dicksand all,” I added, “but we were just leaving.”
“Good,” the first snarled. “Best be on your way.”
I didn’t wait for Matthew to reply as I hauled both of us down the hallway toward my quarters. Once enough distance was gained, I narrowed my eyes. “Howdeepdoes the corruption go?” I whispered, more than aware I needed to be careful now.
“Deep, Oren. Too fucking deep.”
“Is there a way out?” I wasn’t sure why I asked. Maybe not for me, but for the chance that the rest could escape. Leave this place and start fresh.
Matthew bit his cheek, his words containing a finality I hadn’t expected, even though I knew my father was awful. “Not unless we kill every person involved. They’re all well-equipped soldiers but, just like your father, their believed impenetrability only runs as deep as their humanity.”
This was too much. I shook my head. “I can’t believe…” But could I really not? Could Ireallynot believe my father’s corruption ran this deep? Had his hands so far embedded into the system that the only way out was through death?
“Your father has restructured the functionality of Special Operations. He has his own agenda, his own ties, and even we haven’t figured out what for yet.”
“What can I do to help?” I blurted before the statement registered. Me? Offering to help? Fuck, Matthew was exceptionally good at making me feel bad for everyone, not just him. Even Thorne, despite everything.
His smile returned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I never thought you’d ask.”
“I didn’t think so either, but I want to do something with my life. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I honor my mom through this.”
What started as a pitiful conversation focused on my own self-deprecation had now turned into something far greater,farmore dangerous, but also far more important.
I was tired of hiding from my dad. Tired of Graves stuffing his rhetoric down my throat because he didn’t have a choice. If breaking the system meant I would be free, maybe…maybeit was all worth it.
CHAPTER NINE
THORNE
My shoulder blades dug into the cot, my back arching as white hot agony tore through my nerves and consumed my veins. Overhead, the fluorescent lighting assaulted my system, my eyes struggling to adjust alongside the sudden onslaught. I’d been dead, or so I thought. But now I was backhere,back in the hellscape I’d done everything I could to try and escape.
A cry of anguish bubbled in the back of my throat, and I struggled to move, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t.
“Morningsunshine,” the voice I’d expected and dreaded said.
Pressure,immediatepressure spread along my arm, a muffled groan escaping my lips as it turned sharp. My gaze flicked down to findhishand digging into the wounds they’d patched, blood seeping through layers of gauze.
“Did you know most medical beds have restraints?” The calmness to his timbre was terrifying. “You wanted to cheat by leaving this world early?” He laughed, his nail sinking through another layer. “Even in death, I’d find you, Thorne. Especially after the shit you exposed last night. Wanting tofuckmy whore of a son while you pleaded to him about your issues?”
He stood, the difference in our heights a metaphor for his power. “He told meeverything. Every worthless phrase you spewed to him, because at least you managed to break him. Soulless, pliable, andbland.” He grinned. “And now? You’ve opened yet another weakness, and who would have fucking thought it’d be my son? Do you know how enjoyable it’ll be to torture the motherfucker to get to you? Tobreakyou while I hurt him? He is so soft, isn’t he?”
My head was swimming, my body aching. Oren told him? It didn’t make sense. Not when he’d been so vocal about how he felt about his father, how much hedespisedhim. And still, in the same breath, I understood.
There was nothing Oren hated more than his father, except maybe me.
Swallowing, I tugged against one of the restraints, but the act only displayed how weak I’d rendered myself. “Y-You won’t…t-touch him…”
“Touch him?” He shook his head, and that’s when I saw the glint of a blade—myblade. The one I’d attempted to end his life with. He tapped it against his nails. “I won’t lay a finger on him, but you? It’ll beyourblade that stabs him.Yourweapon that provides the first scar.”
“No.”My reply came through clenched teeth, filled with the strength my soul no longer had. “I’ll fucking killyou, Andrew.”
“As if you’d successfully do so.Lookat you. One rejection from Oren and you’re rendered useless.” He stepped to the door and passed the blade to one of the soldiers guarding it. “See to it that my son is taken care of. Report back once it’s done.”
“You son of a bitch!” I screamed, my voice echoing off the barren walls of the room. Thrashing against the cuffs that bound me, I continued, praying that someone,anyone,would hear me. “You psychoticfuck! Your corruptionleechesinto the men you lead, and everything,everythingabout Special Ops has been tainted by your maliciousness. And you want to know the best part? You coil your hands so tightly around the reins of control because you’veneverhad it until now, and you’reterrifiedof losing it.” I tossed out the piece of information I’d assumed through observation. “How was it being abused by your own father? Sexually assaulted?Unloved?”
His jaw feathered, fists clenching as he cracked his neck. “If you’re looking for remorse, shame, or sadness from me, I’m afraid you won’t find it. Those traumatic days made mestronger. It’s why I utilized similar tactics on Oren’s…innocence, but he still turned outweak, muddied by the renderings of his mother.” He gritted his teeth, the sound like sandpaper. “The only semblance of love was destroyed whenshedied. There is nothing in this world that I hold dear, making it impossible to gather weaknesses. You? You bleed it—a pathetic bitch who tried to fuck one to make himself feel better. Well, did it work?”
“You are so fucking easy to read when someone strikes a nerve.” A weak smile crossed my lips as I glanced down at his fisted hands. “Body language can tell a far different story than words. And the most ironic part about that statement is thatyouwere the one who taught it to me.”
