Page 34 of Shattered Home

“Did you know I knew your dad?” My heart jolted at his words, my hands twitching by my sides. “Ah, I see you didn’t.” Chuckling, he continued, “He and I worked on a few projects together. Such a brilliant man and such a shame he passed.”

A cruel smile spread across his lips, stretching his beard, and I suddenly wanted to yell. My dad didn’t pass, he was murdered. And I had a feeling Vex knew that, maybe even had something to do with it.

“I didn’t know much about my dad’s work. Very confusing to me,” I finally spoke, trying to sound like a ditzy woman that couldn’t possibly understand the science my dad worked with each day.

Vex smiled wider. “Ah yes, quite complex things. But he must have been so excited to tell you about his most recent discovery?”

There was an underlying threat beneath the question and I knew that it didn’t matter how compliant I was, how dumb I acted, they wouldn’t believe I knew nothing. Just as they didn’t believe Aiden.

“He didn’t mention anything, no.”

Vex stood up then, circling my chair. His hands landed on the arms of the chair, my body curling in on itself from his nearness.

“Are you sure? Sometimes we forget. Or maybe he even mentioned his colleagues. They were probably great friends after all the time they spent together.”

Trying to get away from his voice, I bent forward, shaking my head. “I didn’t know any of his colleagues. I didn’t live at home anymore.”

Vex circled the chair once again, bending down until his eyes were directly lined with mine. “Maybe so, but family dinners were quite important, weren’t they? Weekly dinners, am I correct?”

Terror flooded my veins at his words, realizing this man knew more about me and my family than I anticipated. I had no clue how he knew so much, but I knew that it wasn’t a good thing.

“I don’t know anything, I swear.” My voice was so small, so soft, and I hated it. But I was terrified.

Vex leaned back, sighing in disappointment. “I had hoped one of the Accardi children would be helpful. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to speak to the other one before he tried to escape.”

Bringing his hands up to his chin, he scratched his beard, a maniacal gleam entering his eyes. “Unfortunately, I don’t believe that neither of you know nothing. Fortunately,” he paused, grinning like a madman, “I know that sometimes we only need a nudge in the right direction.”

Before I could prepare myself, a fist was flying at my face. My head jolted back immediately, my ears ringing from the force of the punch. My teeth felt loose while my jaw felt tight, a contradiction.

“Now, I’ll ask again, what was your dad working on? And who was he working with?”

Shaking my head, I wanted to stay strong, pull some confidence from what Rainer and Murphy had taught me, but when another blow landed on my opposite cheek, I broke.

Tears streamed down my face, my body shaking, wanting to shut down already. If I knew anything at all, I would have already spilled the truth, and I think I hated that the most. Knowing that I was this weak.

“Hmm, still have nothing to say? Well, that won’t do.”

Vex continued to land blow after blow on my body, hitting my ribs and stomach, my body feeling every inch of pain he exploited. Sobs wracked my body, my limbs shaking with pain, and yet no matter how many times I told him I didn’t know the answers to his questions, the abuse never stopped.

The hits finally stopped after what felt like hours. For all I knew, it could have been hours. My entire being felt like a large bruise and I wondered how I would stand, let alone walk back to my tent.

“Stubborn like your brother. And your dad. Let’s see how long that lasts.” Vex grabbed his chair, the metal scraping against the floor like nails on a chalkboard.

The door slammed behind him, but I didn’t dare stand, my body hanging limp in the chair. Moments later, the door opened once more, the two armed men from earlier pulling me up, not bothering to be gentle.

Walking me through the building, nobody gave me a second look, used to this. Once we were outside, I realized the sun had set, and it truly had been hours. The guards pushed me aside, not even bothering to see if I could stand.

My legs faltered, trying to hold up the rest of my harmed body, but thankfully, I didn’t face plant into the dirt. Taking a heaving breath, I tried to collect myself, knowing I needed to get back to the tent. And then I needed to compose myself before the twins woke up in the morning. If the feeling of my face was any indication, it was bruised to high heaven, and that alone would terrify them.

Limping through the rows of tents, nearly everyone already inside for the night, I reached my tent. To my surprise, the cunning man was standing only a few tents away, close enough for me to see his face. Instead of a smirk, he wore a quizzical frown.

Not bothering to entertain him tonight, I creeped into the tent, relieved that the twins were asleep. Aiden, of course, was wide awake. His lips flattened when he took in my appearance, anger brimming in his green gaze.

“I don’t care what I said before. We’re getting out of here. Dead is better than this.”

He gently led me to my sleeping bag, helping tuck me in, coddling me like I was a little kid again. Black spots dotted my vision and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay awake for much longer, but there was one thing I needed to say before sleep took me.

“Dead isn’t better than this. We’re going to escape and we’re going to survive.”

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