been my family from the moment I met them, and they had done more for me than the people I shared blood with from the beginning.
“Sawyer is my older brother for all intents and purposes.” A shocked silence descended on the small space. “Same dad, different mothers. Mine was a criminal who got pregnant for a paycheck. His is the heiress to a multimillion-dollar real estate fortune who was pretty much betrothed to my dad from birth.” I shrugged. “My dad’s affairs were the worst-kept secret in the town where I grew up. It has always been Sawyer’s misfortune that I look just like our old man, so no one could ever deny I was his kid. Ollie’s mom was the head housekeeper at the estate. She took care of me and Sawyer, and then Ollie when she came along a little bit later. The minute Sawyer saw Ollie, he decided that she belonged to him. It was instant and intense before she could even talk or walk. Something in his wiring was always off, but his mother coddled him and let him do whatever he wanted. Her mom was stuck between a rock and a hard place; she tried to rein Sawyer in but didn’t want to risk being tossed out on her ass with a baby. I was the only one Ollie had to protect her from him.”
I pushed off the sink and stepped around a silent, sulking Harlen so I could put on a pair of boots and grab my wallet and leather jacket before heading to the bar.
“Sawyer hated me for a lot of reasons from the start, but his biggest issue was that I was the only person who managed to get Ollie to question why he had so much control over her. If it wasn’t for me, she would’ve more than likely been meek and mild. She would’ve accepted her place as his toy without question. But since she followed me around like a lost puppy and clung to me like a koala our entire childhood, I managed to convince her there was something wrong with Sawyer, especially with how he fixated on her. I was a bad influence, but I was the only reason she had any freedom. In return, Sawyer made my life a living hell every chance he got.” And ultimately managed to get me to turn my back on the girl forever.
Harlen plowed a hand through his unruly hair and looked down at the ground. “Did your own family run you out of town, Huck?”
I shook my head. “Not really. But they forced me to pick between spending two years in a juvenile detention center or a boarding school for troubled boys after something really bad happened between all three of us kids. I don’t have time to get into it all right now, but I’ll give you the details later. That scar on Ollie’s cheek, it’s from that night. Jail, or reform school, was a great option, but it was out of sight, out of mind, which is what Sawyer always wanted when it came to me. I don’t talk about my past because Sawyer is still insane. I don’t want anything to do with him, and I don’t want him anywhere near the people I care about.” I gave them both a hard look. “Which is why it’s best if Ollie is far, far away from us. It’s been years, but I finally stopped looking over my shoulder every time I walked out of the house, thinking he might pop up to sabotage me. I’m not about to go back to living under the constant threat of an attack.” I reached out and clapped a hand on Vernon’s shoulder because he looked like he might throw up. “Look, I’m glad Ollie finally got away from him and slipped the leash, but the first place Sawyer is going to look for her is wherever I am.”
Back in the day, I was the one person in the entire world Sawyer Richman was afraid of. He got to keep our father’s last name, while I didn’t. I was the only one who stood up to him, and I was the only one who dared to turn Ollie against him. He was a lunatic, but he wasn’t stupid. I was certain he would figure where I was now that Ollie was missing. He would immediately assume she had run directly to me. Exactly like she always had back in the day.
“I need