Page 6 of Blood & Heartache

Glenda knew me. I wasn’t going to spread this around or use it against Astin. Quite the opposite. I needed to know to keep her safe. If I understood what triggered it, I might be able to prevent her from slipping into that darkness. Glenda turned and looked at me, hugging her arms around her body as if to comfort herself. Fuck, this was going to be bad.

“When you left to come back here and begin your training, they sent others to teach her. At first, it was routine things with her uncles… learning the business, how things worked, daily ins and outs. There were others who worked on her fighting and weapons skills, improving them until she was as perfect as they could make her. Once she’d reached that point, things changed for the worse.” Pausing, she licked her lips and closed her eyes. “I don’t know exactly what they did to her, but her screams were heard throughout the house. Poor thing was battered, bruised, ended up with a few broken bones, and slowly she began to pull away. It’s as if to withstand all they did to her, she needed to retreat inside herself where they couldn’t get to her. Problem was, something else took her place when she hid. Soon, the real Astin started to fade, and this stand-in personality became more permanent.”

If my jaw could have hit the floor, it would have. “How the fuck could Boss let this happen?”

“No one told him until it was too late,” Glenda explained. “Her uncles had returned already. Although they witnessed the start of it, they said it was a defense mechanism and to be expected. The body has to protect the mind, so it shuts down, or so they tell me. Yet that wasn’t what was happening. My Astin was gone, and that monster who took over cared about nothing, only surviving, inflicting pain, and knowing her perceived enemies died at her hand. That’s not the girl I raised.” Glenda snapped, tears welling in her eyes.

Slowly, I reached out and tugged her into a hug. I’d been fortunate to have my father with me, but Glenda raised me as much as he did. She was family to me, and to see her hurting made me want to do whatever it took to fix it. Sadly, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to change what’s already happened, but it gives me insight into why Astin has been so cold to me. I left her on her own to endure all this alone, and I’d be pissed at me too. It seems changing tactics in mending our relationship might be in order. I’d been relying on our shared history and experiences, but that was only reminding her that I’d left.

Glenda clutched my shirt as she cried softly in my arms. A noise had me looking up, and I found Luca leaning against the doorway between the hall and the kitchen. The stormy look on his face told me he’d heard what Glenda had told me. His amber eyes flickered with anger, but he didn’t make himself known or choose to speak up, he just remained where he was.

Once her tears dried, I pulled Glenda to my side, helped her over to the small kitchen table in the corner, and made her sit. Squatting down in front of her, I took her hands in mine. “How did they get her back? What changed?”

“They tried a few different therapies, but most of them failed until a hypnotist was brought in and made her forget all about her training. She still retains the skills and remembers that training happened, but she was made to forget all the details. I don’t understand how it worked, but it did, and it brought my Astin back,” Glenda said, her voice raspy with emotion. “Sometimes, she relapses when she gets too angry or hurt too badly, but for the most part, she’s herself now.”

“Thank you for telling me,” I whispered, squeezing her hands. “She has us to look after her now, and we will do our best to live up to your example. You’re kind of a tough act to follow, so I’m sure we’ll need your help if you’re up for it?”

She let out a laugh. “Like you could keep me from being here even if you wanted to. Of course, I’ll stay and look after you all. Someone will need to remind you to eat and sleep when you get lost in all your plotting and scheming.”

Leaning in, I pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You’re simply the best, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

Shoving to my feet, I grabbed her some tissues before I left, motioning for Luca to follow me. Once we got far enough away from the kitchen, I stopped and looked him dead in the eye. “You still going to keep that secret?”

He cocked his head to study me for a moment. “For now, yes, but I feel I’ll be telling you all eventually. I want a little more information and to talk to her about it before I reveal her secrets.”

That I could respect, so I nodded and headed up the stairs to the games room where I knew the others would be. I’d have laughed if you’d told me a week ago that I’d be spending more time with Gunner and not wanting to strangle him. Since Astin needed more help getting around and handling things for the funeral, and with Casimira being no help, we’d banded together. I suppose all those team-building books and seminars had something going for them when they all agreed a common goal brought people together.

Entering the formerly rarely used room, I found Atticus sitting at the table working on his laptop. Gunner was pacing and muttering to himself as he ran his hand through his hair while Tweedledee and Tweedledum were playing Mortal Combat on the PlayStation.

“You fucking cheat one more time, Brax, and I’ll tan that ass of yours until you can’t sit,” Jace warned as he shoved Braxton away from him.

The resident party boy just laughed and flashed Jace a grin. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Sir.”

Walking over to the coffee table, I grabbed the remote and turned off the television.

“What the fuck, man,” Jace snapped, shoving to his feet. “That was a dick move, asshole.”

I crossed my arms and leveled him with a look he met head-on. “Just thought you might want to know a little information about how Astin found herself with a murderous alter ego. If not, then feel free to go back to your game, pretending like nothing is wrong in your world.”

“No, you don’t get to talk to me like that, Ryker. We’re equals around here, and I know you seem to think you’ve got a bit of a leg up on us being the boss’s favorite and Astin’s childhood friend, but that means fuck all to me,” Jace shot back, getting up in my face. “You want to act like a royal know-it-all prick, then take it up with Gunner since you’d be stripping him of the role.”

“Hey,” Gunner objected. “What the fuck! I didn’t even say anything.”

Jace looked over his shoulder at the guy and shrugged. “Sorry, man, calling it like I see it.”

“Really, is that what we’re doing now, calling each other on our bullshit?” Gunner asked as he walked over to join our standoff. “If that’s the case, then how about we address your asshole way of demanding Astin do things the way you want her to do them? Using your alpha-male voice and intimidating bulk to make her submit to your way of seeing things. It’s bullshit, and if she weren’t fucking hurting and just lost her father, she’d say the same thing right to your face. Astin can’t look weak, so she uses all that energy when she’s in public, and you swoop in once she’s alone and take over.”

Well, fuck me, was Gunner really standing up to Jace right now?

Jace also seemed surprised by this as well since it took him a beat before he slugged the golden boy right in the mouth. I could have told him that would happen, but if Gunner was going to talk shit, he needed to know the consequences. I’d been on the receiving end of Jace’s fists more than once when we began our roles as lieutenants. Eventually, we worked it out, even if we still butt heads on occasion.

“You ever fucking dare to come at me with shit like that again, you’ll get more than a bloody lip out of it. Everything I’m doing is for Astin’s best interest. If I didn’t challenge her the past few days, she’d never take her pain meds, and there’d be no resting or pausing to eat. That woman would work herself to the bone to keep from facing the brutal reality of being the new boss. It might look like I’m being an asshole, but I refuse to let her hurt herself when she’s already in enough pain,” Jace roared at Gunner, then turned to look at all of us. “Anyone else got issues with the way I’ve been handling Astin? Better speak up now while I’m already pissed than trying to do this later.”

To my utter disbelief, Luca stepped up to Jace and karate-chopped his throat, making the man double over and start coughing and choking. “I think it’s in your best interest to stop fucking talking before things really get ugly.”

Braxton hurried over to Jace and helped him back to the couch, where he continued to try and learn how to breathe again. Luca’s tactics might have been brutal, but damn if they didn’t get the job done quickly.

“Enough of this. Everyone just sit and let me tell you what I found out from Glenda,” I said, exasperated.