length with Symon. He says you are not biologically related to him or Rebel.”
Hyatt shrugged. “We were told we were given to the Watkins couple a few months apart, all as newborns, so we were raised as siblings. Biology or not, we’re brothers.”
“So as brothers, you would try and protect each other.”
“I guess. Rebel protected me from what Edgar was doing to him. He’s always protected me. For years because Edgar is cruel and horrible.”
“Will you tell me more about Edgar?”
“Why?”
“Because Edgar is a criminal suspect, at least according to what Symon told me about your lives with him. No identifications, no education, the things he forced Rebel to do. No one will miss Edgar, but we still need to investigate what happened to you and your brothers.”
“Why?”
Bauer tilted his head. “So you and your brothers can have justice for what was done to you. You’re all orphans with no clear origins, and I imagine you have questions about that. I have questions about why three children were allowed to reach the age of eighteen before anyone knew you existed. I’m on your side, Hyatt.”
“I want to see Rebel.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that yet. Rebel was violent with the staff and has been sedated.”
Hyatt shivered, hating the idea of his brother drugged and helpless.
“I also need to speak to each of you three separately,” Bauer continued. “Get your side of the story before you speak to each other again.”
“We’re all telling the truth.” Hyatt tucked the blanket over his chest beneath his chin, wishing he had more than just that and a gown to protect him from the world. He wanted his brothers.
“I believe you, but Rebel killed a man today. I need to find out why, and if there were extenuating circumstances.”
“I don’t want Rebel to get in trouble because of me.”
“Why would he be in trouble because of you?”
Hyatt bit his tongue hard to stave off a fresh wave of tears, and it took him several minutes to find enough control to speak. “Because Rebel had a deal with Edgar. For a long time, Edgar sold Rebel to other men, usually alphas, for sex. As long as Rebel cooperated, Edgar would leave me and Symon alone. Symon and I didn’t know about it until about two years ago. We didn’t know everything Rebel had been giving up to keep us safe.”
“Why did Rebel tell you the truth?”
“An off-hand comment he made. Because we were all about sixteen, Edgar was concerned about me possibly going into heat, and he thought Rebel might attack me if I did, because we aren’t blood related. In private, Rebel said he didn’t want to have sex ever again.” Hyatt shivered, wishing he had a huge, wool blanket to properly keep him warm. “When Symon and I questioned him, he admitted everything. That Edgar began grooming him when we were only ten.”
Bauer was making notes on a pad. “This is consistent with what Symon told me. Why did you three never try to leave or get help?”
“We didn’t know how. Edgar didn’t educate us. I can’t read or write or even spell my name. We could only watch junk TV. We had no idea who our neighbors were or that what Edgar was doing to us was strange. It’s the only life we’ve ever known.”
“What Edgar did wasn’t just strange, it was illegal and immoral. I cannot imagine what you three have suffered.” He wrote something on the pad and showed it to Hyatt. The squiggles made little sense. “Do you know what that says?”
Hyatt glared, his temper rising for the first time all day. “I told you I can’t read.”
“Okay. I apologize. Can you walk me through what happened today?”
“It was a regular day of cleaning and trying to be quiet. Symon has had a cold for a few days, so he’s been sleeping in the guest room, and that’s where”—he swallowed against a rise of nausea—“Rebel entertained guests. So when the man came, Edgar sent him and Rebel into Edgar’s room. Almost right away, Edgar came into the room I shared with my brothers and told me to undress.”
“Had Edgar ever asked you to do that before?”
Hyatt was not going to tell some random constable a secret he’d kept from his brothers. And what did it matter if Edgar had done it before? All that mattered was today and saving Rebel. “No,” he lied, but he pulled on the details of the first time Edgar had done it. “I didn’t