Touch of Hate : A Dark Romance by C. Hallman & J.L. Beck

Author:C. Hallman & J.L. Beck [Hallman , C. & Beck , J.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bleeding Heart Press
Published: 2023-01-26T13:00:00+00:00

17

SCARLET

This is almost as bad as being kidnapped.

Almost as bad as hearing what he did to Aspen and Q.

This is an atomic bomb compared to mere fireworks. It’s left me trembling, hugging my knees to my chest while I try in vain to wrap my head around it.

An older brother? Immediately, I go back through the years, searching my memory for a single reference to a brother. Not once has Luna mentioned one, and I know Ren hasn’t. That’s the sort of thing a person would remember.

Like the fact that he grew up in a cult. So that’s what Safe Haven is? I remember hearing Dad and Uncle Roman talking about it when I was a little kid, but it was the kind of thing where they’d instantly go silent as soon as I entered the room. And let’s face it. It’s not like I was paying strict attention. I was too young to care.

Ren hasn’t said a word yet. He’s too busy observing me like I’m a zoo exhibit. If I didn’t know better, I’d accuse him of joking.

Nobody jokes about something like this. It would be too sick.

As sick as injecting you with something to knock you out?

“I’ve shocked you,” he murmurs. There’s no emotion behind it. Why should there be? He’s only speaking facts.

“Yes. You did. I had no idea you had an older brother.”

“Yes, his name is River. Now you understand why I did what I did.”

Record scratch. “No, I don’t. I want to—you have no idea how much I want to.”

I lean in, reaching across the table for him. He’s still standing in front of the sink, though, and my gesture does nothing to bring him closer. “Ren. I’m here. I want so much to understand. I’m on your side.”

When all he does is stare blankly. What was he expecting? I ask, “What else can you tell me? What do you mean when you say my dad lied? What did he lie about?”

His jaw tightens as he lowers his brow, arms slowly folding in front of him. “He said the cult was destroyed, disbanded, whatever. But that’s obviously not true. He didn’t have what it took to stop them for good, and then he lied about it.”

“So you hurt Aspen and Q because my dad lied?”

“No. I didn’t want to hurt her. It wasn’t me at all. It was…” He sighs. “It was River.”

“River? How the hell did he get into Corium without anyone noticing?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. He doesn’t tell me every little detail of his life.” My eyebrows draw together. There is something odd about the way he talks about River. Something I can’t quite put my finger on yet.

“But you knew about it?”

“Not before it happened. But I knew right after.”

“Why?” Even though his body language screams at me to back off, I can’t shut down the stream of questions bubbling up in my mind.

“Because they were getting too close.”

“Too close to what?”

Ren presses his lips into a thin line. I know he doesn’t want to talk about this, but I can’t let it go.

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