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“Before?” Yale asks.

I stand, focusing on Ryker. “Get me some antibiotics. Some gloves.”

Ryker looks behind me, his gaze darting between each brother. “We’ll discuss it over dinner.”

“He could die before then!”

He presses a kiss to my nose, and somehow, I don’t recoil. “Then you’d better eat fast.”

Chapter 37

Silence

Ryker places a plate of pasta before me, along with a glass of water, and a napkin. The dining room we’re in is garish and large, the table big enough to hold thirty people, and we’re sitting at the end. Ryker is the head of the table, and I’m to his right. Bullet is sitting between us, his focus on me.

I stare at the food. “Has Bullet eaten?”

Ryker tucks into his pasta and chuckles. “Bullet eats like a king. Only the best steak.”

“And the brothers?”

He tenses, but I don’t regret the question. “They eat enough to keep them alive.”

I pick up my fork, twisting the utensil between my fingers, considering the prongs. With enough force, this could go into his throat. It might not kill him, but it would subdue him.

“This house may look old, but it’s fitted with a unique security system that requires a code to be inputted every twelve hours.” He forks some more pasta into his mouth, chews, and swallows. “If that code isn’t entered, each room is locked down with a metal barrier. You kill me, you’re all trapped in here, and you’ll starve to death.”

I don’t even know if something like that is possible, but either way, I use the fork to eat instead of murder.

“The last night I saw you,” Ryker says, “I’m sorry for what I did to your dad.”

I chew slowly. “It doesn’t matter now. He’s dead.”

“And that’s why you left?” I nod. “What about your mom? Where is she?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. She ditched me not long after Dad died, and I haven’t seen or heard from her since. Maybe my dad’s paranoia finally took its toll on her, and she decided to run from whatever the threat was.”

He tuts. “That fucking threat. He used it to control you.”

Yes, he did. Whenever I’d beg him not to train me, or to let me be normal, he’d remind me that if they ever showed up at our door, I’d be unprepared.

“What if they get to me or your mother? You couldn’t protect us, could you? You’d just let your parents die, Silence? You’re so fucking selfish.”

“As it turns out, he wasn’t paranoid,” I say, pushing my food around my plate. “They found him.”

Ryker pauses eating and focuses on me. “You think that’s who killed him?”

“Who else? We weren’t robbed. The police described it as an execution.”

“Who found him?”

“I did.”

Ryker is quiet while I continue eating, clearing the plate and drinking my glass of water. Finding my dad wasn’t the hardest thing I’ve gone through in my life, but it wasn’t pleasant. I was plagued by relief that he was gone and terror at living in a world without his routine. It was better the devil you know, and when my mom left, I was totally alone. My mom’s sister in Vegas said she’d take me in, but only if I paid my way and didn’t get under her feet. She made it clear I wasn’t welcome, only happy when she could cash my checks, and I got away from her the moment I could afford my own place.

“Yale says your brother was in the Agency,” I say. “Is that true?”

He looks away, tension rolling off him in waves. “Yes.”