side of the sofa, feigning calm despite my throbbing pulse. “That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? Why you chose to drag us down this path instead of a normal life.”
He scoffs out a hate-filled laugh. “I never asked you to follow, Luc. It was your decision to be here.” He retreats, dragging his suitcase toward the far hall. “Thanks for the warm welcome, though. It’s always good to know you’ve got my back.”
22
Luca
I don’t bother going to bed. There’s no point.
I’m too invested in trying to work out Benji’s role in all this.
I sit on the sofa armrest and stare at my reflection in the wall of glass leading outside. I go over everything, from the moment I thought Robert died till now. I try to figure out what Benji could be involved in, and when I don’t come up with anything easily digestible I go in search of Torian’s liquor cupboard and help myself to a bottle of scotch.
The alcohol goes down too easily. One mouthful after another, the burn helping to smother the panic as time ticks by.
“You’re still awake?” Torian strides into the room, his suit jacket discarded, his tie loosened. “It’s late.”
“Yeah.” I take a gulp of liquor and close my eyes with the swallow. The buzz has already hit me. My head swims in the small amount of alcohol.
He grabs a glass from the kitchen and continues toward me. “Do you plan on sharing?”
I pour him a generous finger and return my attention to my reflection, not wanting a distraction from my thoughts.
“Did you come up with any new information tonight?” he asks. “Any images? Leads? Answers?”
I clench my teeth, hating the reminder. “No. I’ve only got the few blurred side images of the suspected car.”
“But you still believe Penny is right about Robert?”
“Yes. Now more than ever.”
He studies me. “Why?”
Because your tiny half-brother backed her up.
“Call it intuition.” I keep staring at my reflection, keep wishing for a better outlook to appear. I can’t not believe her. I won’t let my faith in her be anything other than one hundred percent.
“Well, you made the right decision,” he mutters.
My gaze snaps to his, my brain taking a few seconds to catch up. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, there’s been another incident.”
I push from the armrest, the liquor sloshing in my glass. “What kind of incident?”
“With one of the rescued women. There was a break and enter. Masked men. Ski masks. Guns. They took nothing but shot the place up pretty good.”
I keep my responses to myself. The guilt. The intense anger.
Penny predicted this. She fucking knew it.
“Didn’t you have men on her? You said you were going to arrange security.”
“I said I would get in contact with Benji to get their location. But he didn’t answer my calls.”
Fucking Benji.
“Nobody died,” he continues. “Not yet, anyway. But time will tell. Apparently, the woman took a few bullets and lost a lot of blood. She’s currently in ICU.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” I throw back the remainder of the scotch and pace.
I can’t ask the questions hammering into me. I can’t speculate. Because if Torian is anything like me, he’ll turn the spotlight of blame firmly on my brother.
“Robert must have worked over one of my assets,” he says around a gulp of liquor. “Maybe someone at the airport put a tracker on Ben’s car. Or accessed bank records to get location receipts.”
It’s a long shot. Too fucking long for Torian to be aiming at.
“You think so?” I plant my feet and scrub a hand over my mouth, my neck.
“No.” He narrows his eyes on me, waiting, tormenting. “I don’t know how he’s finding them.” He shrugs, losing the hint of suspicion. “But the resources of my father and his men no longer surprise me. The one thing I do know is that we need to shut this down, and quick.”
I keep rubbing my neck, attempting to relieve the tension building at the base of my skull. “What about those women? When are you going to start protecting them?”
“It’s done. Benji gave me the details when he called for me to open the gate. Men are on their way now.”
On their way to where?
I want to know those details. I need to find out if Benji took so long to get here because he was one of the shooters. “You don’t want me to go for a drive and bring them back to Portland?”
“No. I don’t want them any closer than they already are. I need to remain distanced from my father’s mistakes.