He cocks an infuriating eyebrow. “You left her for ten years. I’d say you’re the one who doesn’t give a damn about her, not me.”
“I love her.” My chest aches with the truth of it. “You, on the other hand, lied, threatened, and manipulated both Elowyn and me, just to keep us apart. You were ruining your own sister’s life. Do you understand that?”
“Her life would’ve been fine if she’d only listened.” His bark of a laugh has my stomach roiling. “Besides, you’re a fucking liar. If you loved Elowyn, you would’ve stayed and fought for her. But you got cold feet about serving life behind bars. You chose yourself, not her.”
“I was a scared kid back then. I lost my parents and my home.” Old wounds threaten to tear open. No.No. Not here, in front of him. “I’ve grown up since. I’m not scared of you,of prison, of any fucking thing. I’d burn the world down for Elowyn. Would trade my life for hers. In a heartbeat.”
“You…” He scowls and shakes his head. “What do you even see in her? She’s such a pathetic, incompetent little?—”
My pulse spikes. Fueled by rage, I jab my finger at his shoulder, where his bullet came through. Where the nerves are frayed and raw.
This time, his flinch is a full-body shudder, and he cries out.
Little bitch.
“Stop,” he whines, his face blanching. “Staaaaaap.”
“Talk about her like that again.” My lips curl into a snarl. “Fucking try me.”
“Neiiiiil, helppppp.”
As satisfying as it is, I’d much rather be done with this idiot and go home.
“Just out of curiosity.” I sink my finger deeper into his wound just for the heck of it. The sound of him screaming, the agony on his face, I thrive on that. “How did you find us, anyway?”
“Sir,” Neil shouts from the doorway, gasping for air. “What are you doing?”
I don’t care that he sees my face. My mask served its purpose only while I was hellbent on revenge.
I realize that now, with Elowyn, my little piece of happiness, I’m finally free.
“I told you, I wouldn’t kill him, and I won’t.” Looking over my shoulder, I level him with a homicidal glare. “Go back to your quarters. Unless you want to lose your job and never work as a nurse again.”
Without another word, Neil backpedals and runs down the hall.
I hate that. Threatening people. Being a bully.
For Elowyn, though, I’d do anything. I’d be the biggest monster. The worst man alive.
I turn back to Barclay, lifting my finger but leaving it hovering over his wound as a warning.
“Who sold me out?”
“Don’t remember, I swear.” His eyes flick to his shoulder, then back to my face. I level him with a glower. “Fine, fine. I sent a friend to snoop around.”
“Who?”
“Jayden MacQuoid,” he rasps. “He went to school with us, remember?”
Yes, I do. Blond hair, green eyes. Burly. Came from one of those old-money wholesale food distributor moguls. His cousin went on to become a lawyer in his wife’s family law firm last time I heard. Equally rich bastards.
“How did he find me?”
“Since I figured The Restorer lived nearby—that us being neighbors had been how he found my sister in the first place—I sent Jayden to ask around the grocery stores his family supplies.” Barclay’s fear forces him to spill his confession and fast. I smirk at how humiliating it must be for him. “It took a little threatening of the local stores and…voilà.”
I guess it’s time to find somewhere else to get my groceries. “Then?”
“When I told him Elowyn might be in danger, he hired a PI since I couldn’t afford one,” Barclay wraps up his fucked-up confession. “Surprise, surprise. There you were.”
