by Eden Summers
I grab the handle, the gentle vibrations from the other side making my hand tremble, my pulse stutter. I want to back out already but I don’t. I inch open a door, finding soundproofing on the walls and an ominous staircase leading down into fluorescent light.
More pops assail my ears, these ones harsh and biting. I quickly scoot inside, not wanting to wake anyone else, and clasp the door shut behind me.
It’s cooler down here, the polished cement freezing my toes. I will myself to descend. One step after another. One punishing heartbeat after the next until I’m at the bottom landing, staring at a bulking man who isn’t my brother.
Hunter wields the gun, his cannon arms pointing toward the far end of the long, expansive basement.
He stands before a professional shooting station, protective headphones covering his ears. It’s not a downscaled DIY set down here. It’s like I’ve seen in movies as a kid. Three individual stations. Paper targets hanging from the roof.
Another pop sounds, the blast ricocheting off the walls to make me flinch and gasp. He glances over his shoulder, his weapon lowering as his narrowed eyes pin me in place.
“Sorry.” I wince. “I thought you were Sebastian.”
He glares, then returns his attention to the target, raising his gun. He hates me. And why wouldn’t he? He had a nice set of wheels before I got my hands on them.
“I’m also sorry about your car,” I add. “I didn’t plan for that to happen.”
He lowers the headphones. “When you fly by the seat of your pants, you don’t hold back, do you?” His tone is gruff, making it hard for me to tell if he’s angry or attempting to make light of the situation.
“Is it fixable?”
He shrugs. “It’s just a car.”
“I know, but I’m sure it was expensive.”
“It’s just a car,” he growls the statement with such venom I grip the staircase banister in preparation to flee.
“It’s just a car. It’s just a car. It’s just a fucking car.” He lazily circles his finger in the air with each repetition. “Sarah told me to keep repeating the mantra in the hopes it will stop me from putting a bullet in your head.”
All the air leaves my lungs on a heave.
“Calm down.” He rolls his eyes. “I’m joking.”
“Right…” I force out a laugh. “Hilarious.”
He turns his back to me, raising his headphones, then his gun to take aim at the target. “If you’re going to stay down here, you need to get yourself a set of ear plugs.”
I don’t move, not sure if the muttered request is an invitation to stay or a demand to leave.
“The door or the plugs, Penny.” He jerks his head toward the wall behind me, the mass of shelves displaying a myriad of equipment. “Hurry up. I’ve got bullets to waste.”
I nod and hustle to the shelves to grab a set of plugs, shoving them into my ears as another set of pop, pop, pops erupt. This time, the sound reverberates through my chest, the vibration rattling my bones. It brings a slight buzz to my system. A building awakening. It’s the power. The threat. I want it for myself.
I walk toward him, stopping a foot behind to watch as he aims and fires, the paper target dancing with the direct hit in the head.
Pop, pop, pop.
In a flurry of finesse he releases the magazine, loads another, then takes aim. Pop, pop, pop.
Pop, pop, pop.
He’s brilliantly lethal. Mesmerizingly intimidating.
When he stops firing, I raise my voice. “Would you teach me?”
“Teach you what?” He pauses, arms still straight in aim. “To shoot?”
“Yeah. I’ve never done it before.”
“Where’s Luca? I’m not the sort of teacher you want.”
“He’s asleep. And I don’t think the noise is something he’s going to want to be around for a while after he received another hit to the head.”
He shoots me a scowl. “Then what about your brother or Sarah? Even Keira would be a better option.”
“Nobody is awake.” I shrug, feigning indifference while my pulse hammers, waiting for him to lose patience with me. “And we’re both already here…”
Just like I want to fix the rift between Luca and Sebastian, I also need to mend the damage I’ve caused with Hunter. The less enemies I have, the stronger I’ll be.
“Fine.” He pins me with that scowl. “You’re going to have to move closer.”
I inch toward him, my pulse ramping higher as I stand beside his bulky frame.
“Here.” He grabs my wrist and smacks the gun in my hand, the casing warm from his hold. “You’re going to want to—”
A throat clears behind us and I swing around to see Sebastian, his eyes wary, chin high as he stands at the foot of the stairs. “Am I interrupting?”
“Fuck no.” Hunter snatches the weapon from my grip. “I was praying for a savior.” He maneuvers around me, all strength and thumping footsteps as he yanks off his earphones and throws them at my brother. “Godspeed.”
I’m left stunned silent as Hunter storms up the stairs, slamming the door behind him.
For moments, Sebastian and I just stare at each other. Sister to brother. Victim to criminal.
I think this is the first time we’ve been alone since Luther stole me. Truly alone. Without weighty emotion or people hovering close. And now that we’re here, I’m not sure what to say.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He shifts his focus over my shoulder, no longer meeting my gaze. “Was he teaching you how to shoot?”
I nod, finding it hard to come up with a response when he looks entirely defeated. I’m the one who broke him. Me and my feelings for Luca. “But he wasn’t overly enthusiastic about talking to me, let alone handing over his gun. He told me he wouldn’t be a good teacher.”
Sebastian huffs out a laugh. “I don’t know why. He would’ve killed more people than you went to school with.”
My mouth falls open. I hadn’t been oblivious to Hunter being a murderer, but those numbers aren’t what I’d pictured.
“It was a joke,” he drawls. “I’m sure the number hasn’t reached triple digits.”
It’s my turn to breathe out an awkward laugh. “You all have really inappropriate humor.”
“It comes with the work environment.”
The criminal environment, I mentally correct. The death and destruction.
Silence returns. The awkwardness, too.
“Want me to leave you alone?” he asks.
I want to say yes. It still hurts to see him. To remember our childhood and the familiar bond we had. The yearning for the past is excruciating. But I have to think about him. And Luca. I have to concentrate on the future. “No. I actually came down here looking for you.”
“Is that right?” He raises a brow, the slightest hint of hope entering his eyes.
“I thought it was time we talked.”
He straightens, broadening his shoulders. “What do you want to talk about?”
I swallow over the adamant pulse in my throat and drag in a steadying breath. “I wanted to apologize for the way I’ve treated you, am treating you, and will probably continue to treat you.”
“Okay…” He winces. “So this hatred of me is a lifelong commitment?”
“No, it’s not. And I don’t hate you, I just…” My chest tightens, painfully squeezing. “I’m trying to protect myself the only way I know how.”
“And you think you need protection from me?”
“Not from you, no. I need protection from the possibility of losing you. Everything else has been taken from me, Sebastian. Too many sisters in Greece were murdered. And anyone who defies Luther always disappears… Maybe if you weren’t a part of this—” I wave a hand to encompass the room. The house. Everything. “—my return would be different. But it feels like loss has followed me here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He starts toward me. “No way in hell would I leave you.”
“I know it would
n’t be by choice. But your job… And Robert.” I wrap my arms around my waist, trying to hold in the building hollowness. “You didn’t choose a vocation that’s overly generous when it comes to lifespan.”
“Robert can go fuck himself.” He stops before me, his face pinched. “He’s one man attempting to start a war with an army. He doesn’t have a hope in hell of surviving. And yes, I admit working for Torian has its downfalls, but I’m more of a tech guy. I hide behind a computer most of the time. I’m not on the frontlines like Hunt or Luca,” he snarls the name, adding to my emptiness.
“He’s a good man.” I let my eyes do the pleading. “I wouldn’t be here right now, standing before you, if it weren’t for him. And it’s not just because he physically saved me in Greece. It’s so much more than that. He rescued me mentally, too. Emotionally. He’s the reason I’m whole, Seb. It’s all him.”
He presses his lips tight, his nostrils flaring.
“Why is it so hard for you to understand?” I ask.
“It’s not hard to understand,” he grates. “It’s hard to digest. He shouldn’t be touching you.”
“Well, rest assured he feels the same way. But I like him touching me. After everything I’ve been through, he brings me comfort. Can’t you see how monumental that is?”
“No, it only reeks of manipulation to me.”
“You don’t think I know all about manipulation? I spent a lifetime in hell getting to know every single facet of deceit. And it’s not what Luca is doing.”
Sebastian’s jaw ticks. He doesn’t believe me. There’s no faith.
I squeeze my arms tighter around myself, creating courage. “I love him. More than myself. More than air. More than life. He’s become the reason I get up in the morning. He’s my hope for the future. And the balm to my past. I know you don’t want to hear it, but right now, he’s everything to me. He’s the reason I breathe.”
“And what happens when he’s not? Where does it leave you mentally and fucking emotionally when he walks out?”
A sharp dagger stabs through my heart, piercing skin and bone. “Hopefully by then I’ll be strong enough to stand on my own two feet.” I drop my hands to my sides. “He’s not obligated to a lifelong commitment, and he never should be. But while he’s inspiring happiness, I want to cling to him. Surely I deserve that much, don’t I?”
He cringes. “This isn’t about what you deserve. It’s about—”
“I know exactly what you think it’s about. What I need you to comprehend is that I would’ve ended my life many times over if it wasn’t for him. He’s the only reason I stand before you. The only reason, Sebastian. I know that’s hard for you to hear. It’s even harder for me to admit. But it’s the truth. And I think he deserves your gratitude for that. At the very least, you should stop threatening him.”
His mouth snaps shut again, his jaw ticking.
“Please, Seb.”
He looks away.
“Please.”
“I’ll work on it,” he growls and turns for the stairs.
Before I know what I’m doing, I reach for him, my fingers tentative against his wrist.
He stops. Stiffens.
My heart is a frantic butterfly in my throat as I walk to stand before him, not pausing for contemplation before I sink into his chest.
He stiffens further, every muscle cinched tight. He remains statuesque while I tremble, fighting hard against the burn in my eyes.
The contact is awkward. No warmth. No comfort.
He doesn’t say a word.
I’m about to pull away in heartbreak when he releases a deep breath and drags me harder into his chest. His body relaxes into mine as his arms encircle my back, his mouth softly pressing against my forehead in a brotherly kiss.
The heat in my eyes increases, the threat of tears so close before I desperately blink them away. “Please forgive him.”
He sighs. “I’ll try.”
“I need you to do more than that,” I whisper. “I need this feud between you two to be over.”
“How ’bout I start by not killing him and see where that leads?”
I huff out a laugh. “You all seriously have a warped sense of humor.”
“Yeah… I was totally joking,” he drawls.
I nudge him in the ribs and step back “Promise me you’ll play nice.”
“Fine.” His arms drop to his sides. “I promise.”
It feels strange to be having a conversation with my brother again. To argue and beg like I did as a child. It brings an overwhelming sense of home and the brief taste makes me want more. “Thank you.”
He gives a sad smile. “All bets are off if he makes you cry, though. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know.” I start for the stairs, Sebastian following close behind.
I hold the door open to the hall and we walk in comfortable silence toward the voices coming from the living area. Everyone is there—Hunter and Sarah at the dining table, Cole and Keira in the kitchen cooking, Layla, Benji, the nanny, and the kids on the sofa in front of the television. It’s Luca who steals my attention, his hip cocked against the island counter, his stance casual even though I can read the tension in his eyes as he glances between me and my brother.
“It’s about time you two got up here.” Cole pulls plates from a cupboard. “Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Perfect timing.” Sebastian squeezes my shoulder and strides ahead, taking the furthest route from Luca as possible.
They eye each other, the evil stares not amounting to anything other than tension.
I guess the lack of verbal threat is a starting point.
Luca pushes from the counter, flicking me a glance as he stalks for the glass doors leading outside. I follow, my toes protesting the bitter chill while I breathe in the icy morning air.
“Morning.” I don’t stop until I’m in front of him, my bare feet brushing his boots as I lean into his chest.
“Morning, shorty.” He engulfs me in a lazy hug, the familiar scent of his aftershave soothing me.
“I gather from the damp hair and fresh clothes that you didn’t fall back asleep.”
He stares across the courtyard, the towering mansion next door looming right beside the brick fence as the neighbor’s dog continues to bark. “I got out of bed as soon as you left the room. I wanted to make sure I was close by if you needed me.”
A grateful smile curves my lips. “I always need you.”
He tightens his hold around me for a brief moment, then sighs. “Is everything okay between you and Decker?”
“It’s better than it was.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” He strokes my hair. “How about the poison? Is that sinking in yet?”
“Poison?” I pull back, taking in his faint smirk.
“Has Sebastian turned you against me?” He appears calm on the surface, but I see the underlying fear in the tight set of his jaw. He’s joking on the outside. On the inside he’s worried.
“No, and he never will. You’re stuck with me.”
The smirk fades as he returns his attention to the neighboring building. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
I square my shoulders, preparing for the worst. “Is this what you wanted to tell me last night?”
He nods. “It’s not good news, Pen.”
I already gathered as much when he brought it up yesterday. I just hadn’t been willing to face it. And if the news hadn’t been about Tobias and Sebastian, that only left my sisters. “He killed one of them, didn’t he? Robert found Lilly or Nina.”
His chin hitches almost imperceptibly. It’s all the answer I need for a wave of grief to take hold. I steel myself against the onslaught, straightening my shoulders in anticipation.
“Not dead, shorty. But Nina is hurt pretty bad. She’s in hospital.”
Relief doesn’t come. It’s as if the sorrow is merely placed on the back burner, waiting for the follow-through. “Will she make it?”
“I hope so. The
y’re not sure at this point. The only good news is that Torian now believes you.”
Again, my relief is non-existent. I’m left to drown in guilt. I should never have let them leave Greece without me. We should’ve stayed together.
“This isn’t your fault,” he murmurs. “I should’ve made sure they were protected. And when I found out, instead of telling you, I focused on getting my rocks off.”
“No, you didn’t. I knew. I may not have had the specifics, but I knew.” I graze my fingers over his jaw. “We both needed the distraction.”
He scoffs. “That doesn’t stop me from feeling like a prick.”
The glass door slides open. The dog bursts into more aggressive barking as I glance over my shoulder to see Keira poking her head outside. “Sorry to interrupt but breakfast is ready and Cole wants us all together to talk about what’s happening.”
Luca jerks his chin in acknowledgement. “We’ll be there in a minute.”
She smiles and sneaks back inside, closing the door behind her.
“I’m going to have to get out of here today.” He drags me into his chest, his arms locking around me. “I can’t sit on my ass while that fucker is out there.”
I nod, already feeling the distance that will come between us. The exposure. The fear.
“Will you be okay without me?” he asks.
“No. But I’ll manage, as long as you promise to stay safe.”
“I can do that.”
There’s little conviction in his tone. There’s definitely not assurance. I tilt my head to meet his gaze and stare into those harshly intense eyes, wordlessly begging for a more confident affirmation.
“I need you to return to me,” I whisper. “You have no idea how much I need it.”
His lips lift in a half-hearted smile. “Yeah, I do, shorty. Because I feel the same way.”
26
Penny
We sit at the two remaining seats at the dining table. Benji is slouched in the chair to Luca’s left, his wife at his side. Sebastian is strung tight at my right beside Keira, while Sarah and Hunt sit across the table from us as Cole claims the head chair.