Mason knocks Hugo in the head, Kane hissing in a whisper. But when a loud metallic click echoes through the air, four heads snap toward me, toward the gun, which, thanks to Hugo, is now loaded.
I have never held one before. Don’t know what I’m doing.Pulling the slide back seemed the right thing to do. So I did. And I know it’s ready to kill, not only because of the red dot that appears on top of the slider but because Mason loses his nonchalance in an instant.
A murderous look darkens his eyes, his whole frame turning to stone. He was amusing me… until now. A pretense to entertain my anger before he does what hereallyhad planned for me, all the while knowing I couldn’t hurt him.
“Give that to me, now,” Mason barks, taking two steps toward me, before James and Kane stop him. “It’s not a fucking toy, Eva. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“No!” I shout, my fingers shaking a little. “If you want it back, then I want the truth. Who did it?”
“Tell her.” Mason gestures at Kane, who throws him a look. “I don’t give a fuck what happens.Tell her. Now!”
Kane lets out a deep sigh, holding his arms up as he takes a careful step toward me. I take one back and aim at Kane. He is probably a better target anyway. He is as much a brother to Mason as Daniel is to me. With him at risk, Mason will stay back, even though he still seems to be twitching to lunge at me. The only thing holding him back is James’s grip on him.
“Was it you?” I ask. Kane doesn’t answer. “Tell me which one of you killed my parents?”
“That wasn’t us.” Kane shakes his head once.
“Bull,” I spit. “That was your farmhouse. That’s where it happened. It’s not a coincidence.”
“No, it’s not,” Kane confesses. “It was very much intentional. Whoever planned this, planned it to the T. We are being framed for the murder of your parents, Eva. That is the truth.”
I stare at Kane’s face, desperate to believe what he’s saying, but how can it be?
“If that was the case, he would have told me.” I cock my head toward Mason, not trusting my voice to say his name out loud.
“Would you have believed him?”
My lips tremble as my chest rises and falls in a long moment of silence.
“Yes,” I murmur.
Kane raises an eyebrow, his lips curling up on one side. “Even if we told you that the first onewasus.”
First one?
My gaze flicks to Mason, who’s staring at the weapon in my hand with the will of God. My eyes meet his, begging with desperation.
“Stop with the fucking riddles, already,” Mason deadpans. “Out with it.”
“Your family wasn’t at my farmhouse by accident,” Kane starts.
“I know, my father was looking for something,” I admit. “What?”
“The location where you were kidnapped as a child,” he replies. “And that… was my father.”
“That’s where you remember Robert from,” Mason adds.
Eh?
Are they actually saying these words, or am I losing my mind? Because I remember my childhood very well, and I wasneverkidnapped. Unless you count the time Mason kidnapped me to the Berkeley Lodge…
No. No.No!
And just like that, I have the answer to the question that has been nagging me all this time. Now I remember where I saw Robert Berkeley. Snakes coil in my stomach as I consider the possibilities.
“When was this?” I demand, my breath stuttering.
“Interesting question from a victim of abduction.” Kane’s mouth curves. He drops his arms and places his hands in his pockets. As if I’m no longer a threat. “My farm was where you were taken,” Kane says with a knowing look. “Yet, youonly remember it as the place your parents died. I wonder why…”
