Page 133 of Abundance of Obsession

Ifind Ryker in Feather. Without knocking, I walk into his office and sit down in front of his desk.

It reminds me of the many times he has yelled at me for not knocking, but I never did.

This time is different. From now on, everything will be different.

Now isn’t the time to laugh.

Theo is sprawled out in the chair next to me, resting his ankle on his knee.

“Good thing we’re all here. It’ll be easier that way,” I say with a grim expression, staring at the desk.

“What happened?” Theo asks.

“I have to tell you guys something.”

I just don’t quite know how yet.

I regret coming here at all. But I have no other option.

Taking a deep breath helps nothing. Chaos reigns in my head, something I can’t stop.

“This—this is my official resignation from the rank of general.”

“What the fuck?” Ryker can’t hold back.

It takes a lot of courage to look him in the eye, more than I have at the moment. I’ve let my brothers down. But I couldn’t have done anything else.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “After you left Theo and Damien behind, Zoe let him live. Zade Damien Estrada was the fourth boy who’d been bullying her. Ash couldn’t have known that, because back then he went by the name Zade. He became Damien when he grew up. Either way, Zoe had a plan to kill two birds with one stone. To help us as a mole and get Damien in the end. But he… he figured it out.”

I close my eyes.

Forgive me, Zoe. I need to tell them.

It hurts to say it out loud. It is also a scar that proves our strength.

“What I’m about to say will never leave the walls of this office. Never. And you’ll never let her know you know. She was stubborn, with her own agenda, and I was against their last date. He took her out on a yacht. Gave her earrings and pressured her to wear them. Knew about the bug too. And then he took her to the cabin. Ripped the necklace off her and stripped her of her last protection. Tore—” I have to stop for a minute because my breath is stuck in my lungs. And I’m shaking. But I have to go on. “Tore off her dress, then her panties, and... He raped her.”

My hands clench to the point of pain.

The silence that falls is so cruel. It drags on, and I think I would rather one of them say something.

“Jesus Christ…” Theo finally whispers.

And for a long time, I see Theo losing control. His hands are shaking too. Just like mine.

“Fuck! And I agreed to this. I encouraged this.” Ryker covers his face with hands. His breathing is just as labored as mine. “What have I done?”

“You didn’t know. None of us knew,” I drawl.

“But that doesn’t make it any better,” Ryker growls. “I don’t know how to apologize to you. To her. Eli—”

Only now do I look up and meet his pained gaze. I glance at Theo and he, too, can’t hide the wounds this confession inflicts.

“This isn’t the end of the story.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “Zoe left Damien alive in the basement, but I’d promised he’d pay. He didn’t deserve her kindness or her mercy. I couldn’t let him live to see another day. So I set him on fire alive in that basement and left. But outside, Zoe wasn’t alone anymore. Four men from Veirix were guarding her. One of them handed me a phone. And it was Aisling on the other end.”

Silence.

Even worse than before.