“I know.” Nessa reached out, taking Murphy’s hand in hers. “I know,” she repeated firmly.
Colter ripped the gag from Angelo’s mouth. The male winced, rotating his sore jaw.
“I have questions for you,” Nessa began, holding up a hand when Angelo opened his mouth to speak. “I’m sure you do, too, but you’ll have to wait.”
“That’s fair,” Angelo agreed, rubbing his chin against his shoulder in agitation.
Nessa stared at him, unblinking. “How long have you been in Montana?”
“A few weeks.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Just a few?”
Angelo pursed his lips. “About a month.”
“Why did you come here?” she asked, a slight tremble in her voice. Murphy squeezed her hand in reassurance.
Angelo glanced at Murphy, and then at Colter, almost as if he didn’t want to talk with them present. That was too damned bad because Murphy wasn’t leaving. Whatever this male wished to confess to his sister, he’d do it with an audience.
Murphy moved from his own chair to stand behind Nessa, planting his hands on her shoulders as he loomed over her. Angelo watched him warily, a muscle jumping in his cheek at the possessive way Murphy stood by Nessa.
He doesn’t like me.
Good. He didn’t want to befriend the male. He wanted him gone from their lives.
Not your decision to make, he chastised himself. And it wouldn’t be happening anyway. He couldn’t let a human, a threat, leave now that he’d seen them shift. Although, in truth, he didn’t know what he would do with the male.
“I came here for you, V. I’ve been looking for you for a while now, and I got a lead from the last place you stayed at. Tracked it from there.”
Angelo looked away from Murphy and back to Nessa. His eyes softened. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you when you came to me for help. I’ve thought about it every day since you disappeared.”
Nessa shook her head. “No, you don’t get to pretend you were oblivious to everything. You knew what Tony was doing to me.”
“I didn’t,” he denied sharply.
“Watch your tone,” Murphy snapped.
“Right.” Chagrined, Angelo shook his head. “I’d known Tony was violent, V. But he promised me before he pursued you that he’d never hurt you. That he loved you. Back then, I trusted him. He’d done so much for our family. For me,” Angelo reiterated with a small wince. “I trusted him implicitly. It’s somethingthat’s beaten into us when we’re initiated; loyalty among each other above all. So when you told me what happened, what hadbeenhappening, I just couldn’t believe it.”
“You should have.” Nessa looked down at the table, and Murphy heard the gentle, rhythmic tapping of her fingers over her jeans. “I was your family, and you chose an abusive asshole over me. You wouldn’t even talk to him because you were afraid of what he’d do to you.”
“I know.” Angelo’s eyes watered. “But I confronted Tony the day before you left. I swear I did. What you’d told me haunted me for weeks. Despite how tight I was with him, I just had this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that if I didn’t address things, if I didn’t stand up for you, something bad would happen.”
“Something horrible had already been happening,” Murphy growled, his bear pushing to the surface in answer to his growing fury. “You were a coward.”
Nessa stiffened at the insult, her shoulders tensing beneath Murphy’s palms. He wanted to say more, but he held back, refusing to make this situation worse for her.
“There’s no excuse for my actions,” Angelo continued, ignoring Murphy entirely in favor of his little sister. “I’ve failed you in every way that mattered, Vanessa. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
“Good.” Nessa looked back up at him, her fingers going still. “You’re my brother, Angelo. You’re supposed to protect me from people like Tony, not turn a blind eye. The things he did to me—” Her voice cracked, the scent of her tears tickling Murphy’s nose.
“I’m so fucking sorry, V.” Angelo blinked furiously as he, too, began to cry.
Nessa let out a trembling breath. “What do you want, Angelo?”
“I want to make amends.” Angelo leaned forward, the rope around his torso straining against the back of the chair. “Toprove to you that I’m not a useless piece of shit. I want us to be a family again.”
“I have a family,” Nessa informed her brother. “They would never hurt me like you did.”
