“Does her mother know…” Trey swallowed. “Is she aware he hits her?”
“Doubtful. If she’s noticed, I’m sure Harrison’s made up excuses. According to Ava, Renee’s not well, and I don’t think Harrison helps matters. He’s a dick.”
“Do you believe Ava’s a threat to herself?”
“No.”
“What about her mother? If her daughter’s missing, could that send her into a spiral?”
“That’s a good question.” Magnus turned to grab two mugs from the cabinet. “According to Ava, no. If you ask Harrison, he’ll say yes. Honestly, I haven’t seen Renee in years. Not since they moved from next door.”
“I take it your father doesn’t talk to her anymore, either?”
Magnus met Trey’s gaze, felt the overwhelming sadness when he said, “My parents are dead, Trey. I lost them all in the house fire.”
*
FOR FUCK’S SAKE.HE’D DONE IT AGAIN.
“Shit, man. I’m sorry,” Trey blurted as it sank in.
He could see the pain in Magnus’s eyes, knew he still felt the loss, and Trey felt like such a jackass for not knowing something so important. He’d fucked this guy senseless at least a hundred times over the past year, and he didn’t know the first thing about him. What did that say about him?
Deciding he wouldn’t think on that now, he asked, “When did it happen? The fire?”
“Thirteen years ago.”
Fucking hell.
Trey thought about his sisters, his parents, his brothers. He couldn’t imagine losing any of them, much less more than one at a time.
“I was stayin’ with a friend,” Magnus said, as though he sensed Trey’s next question. “I wasn’t here that night. Shit, I was only thirteen and never here unless I was working the kennels.”
Magnus nodded toward a hallway off the kitchen.
Trey glanced back, not sure what he was referring to.
“Fire started in my parents’ bedroom. They say it was from a propane heater. Caught the curtains on fire. Spread from there.” Magnus swallowed, inhaled deeply as though to hold back the emotion. “Carbon monoxide put them to sleep; fire killed them all.”
Trey shook his head when Magnus offered him coffee. There was a knot in his throat, one he didn’t think he could choke down. He could practically feel Magnus’s pain, even all these years later. Trey wondered if that sort of devastating loss ever got any easier.
“I should’ve been here,” Magnus said softly.
Trey didn’t know what to say to that. He could understand Magnus’s grief because he would’ve felt the same if he were in his position. Even knowing there wouldn’t have been anything Magnus could’ve done. He would’ve probably died along with them, and Trey would honestly say he was glad that hadn’t happened.
Magnus stood tall as though he refused to let the grief weigh him down. “Anyway. My mother’s relationship with Renee had started going downhill before that. Renee never was very stable, but my mother knew how to handle her. I think Renee started dating some jackass, though, which came between them. My mother didn’t like him.” He waved a hand. “It’s true what they say about abusers. They isolate their victim, shut them off from the world. He did it to Renee from the beginning.” His gaze swung to the window overlooking the backyard.
Trey wondered if that was how Ava had ended up in a similar situation. Had she not seen the warning signs because she’d seen it so much it had become familiar? Or maybe Harrison had come along and treated her like a princess, promised to solve all her problems before revealing he was actually a monster in disguise.
“After they moved,” Magnus continued, “Ava stopped by once or twice, but then I didn’t see her for several years. Not until she graduated from high school. I think it was hard for her. When my sister died, she was so distraught. Eleven years old and lost the family who’d been there for her when her mother wasn’t.”
“You stayed,” Trey said. “In this house?”
“Yeah.” Magnus looked at him. “I had nowhere else to go. No other family. Not that we kept in touch with, anyway. We had a kennel helper who’d become good friends with my parents. He lived on the property and took legal responsibility for me after. He made sure I went to school and kept my nose clean. Told me no one would hassle us about the situation as long as I stayed off the radar. House was paid for, insured. Edgar helped me with all that. I kept up the kennels, had income from that. I expanded it when I graduated. Finally got around to renovating the house a couple of years ago.”
“What happened to Edgar?”
Magnus’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and Trey realized more bad news was coming.
