Jayne cocked her head. “What about this Auggie?”
Syn shook his head. “Nero sent him after Hadrian the night everything blew. He was gunned down before he could get Hadrian out. Again, Nero watched it happen and barely got to Hadrian before he was killed, too.”
“How old was he?”
“They were all kids when it happened. Hadrian was still a toddler.”
But she could tell from the expression on his face that Hadrian was haunted by it. How could he be otherwise? “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I don’t really remember much. Just the screams and the fear, and Nero holding me so tight that I thought I’d suffocate. My brother still has nightmares . . . and still holds onto me so tight that I feel like I’m suffocating.” Hadrian might be trying to make it sound light, but the pain in his eyes was haunting.
“Yes, he does.” Syn saluted them with his bottle. “And judging by his late-night screams, his are as relentless as mine. Don’t envy him that.”
Those words piqued her interest. “Just how close are the two of you?”
“We shared a cell in prison.”
Jayne covered her ears and backed up. “No. No. No. Not another fucking word!”
Hadrian was stunned by her uncharacteristic response, and the paleness of her features. She was genuinely terrified as she began pacing and panting.
This was a full-blown panic attack.
“She hasn’t been out long,” Syn explained. “Apparently, her nightmares are still with her, too.”
Holy shit. Hadrian widened his eyes. “What’d you do?”
“Not a damn thing!” she growled as she struggled to control her rapid breathing.
“Truth.” Syn inclined his head. “All political bullshit that had nothing to do with any action Jaynie had taken. It was all done to hurt her sister.”
Hadrian felt those words like a fist to his stomach. From the stories his brother had told, he knew the horrors Jayne had faced in jail. She was too young for such.
Then again, Nero and Syn had been, too. It was why they remained close. Syn had been a child, put there for what his father had done and for discovering a secret that could bring down the assholes in charge.
No other reason.
Nero had been locked up because he’d been born of a race everyone feared. No one had known what to do with him as they tried to groom him into a political weapon.
All bullshit.
Had Syn not been there, Nero would never have survived.
There was no justice in this world. They all knew it. Every one of them had been slammed down by injustice from the moment they’d drawn their first breaths and hadn’t been smart enough to strangle themselves with their umbilical cords.
Pain, misery, injustice, and poverty seemed to be the only thing any of them could count on.
Oh wait, he forgot the one biggie. The humdinger that was always hovering over all of them . . .
Betrayal.
Yeah, that petty bitch loved to rear her head up whenever one of them was stupid enough to let down their guard.
What hurt the most was the fact that none of them trusted easily. They knew the sting of betrayal too badly. Yet somehow, they’d all succumbed to it in spite of their common sense and survival instincts.
Syn was right.
“It should be easy to find out who if they’re trying to hurt Nero. That’s a short ass list.”
