Page 137 of The Masks She Wore

?I turned away from her, my heart pounding, the rage boiling. “No, Azrael, Everett,Greyson, they would have known. Somebody would have known.”

?“They wouldn’t have. You’re not permitted to know everything, you’re just the sons. You’re not even blood. Not all of you.”

?My eyes widened, and I turned on her.?“What the fuck did you just say?” She shouldn’t have known that. Nobody knew that.

?Rae shook her head, tugging at her wrists again. “Please, please take me home. I just want to go home.”

~~~

January 30th, 2020

“I gave her a sedative.”

?“It’s been two days,” Zo frowned.

?“Oh, don’t get all fucking high and mighty now, Zondrah.”

?“Don’tcall me that,” she bit.

?I called Malachi again, straight to voicemail. It was starting to piss me off.

?“Jack, he’s not going to answer, he’s in the middle of shit.”

?He was suddenly always in the middle of fuckingshit. “She went through the program. I want fucking answers.”

?She walked up to me and ripped the phone out of my hands, taking several steps back before I could grab for it.

?“Give that back,” I demanded.

?“There arehundredsof Initiates, it’s been almost 20 years since you’ve gone through, you can’t expect to know all of them all the time.”

?I shoved myself to a stand, stepping up to her. “He was truthful about knowing Marla, about meeting with her, about talking about Rae, but he couldn’t remember that her daughter went through the program and fuckinggraduated? That he fucked her mom? That’s bullshit, he’s hiding something.”

?“He’s always hiding something, he’s Malachi,” she frowned.

?I ripped my phone from her grip and turned for the kitchen. I had sedated her, washed her up, taken care of her wounds, forced more antibiotics down her throat, and put her to bed. I had no idea what to expect when she woke up, but I knew she wouldn’t be the same.

?“Stop calling him,” she demanded as I put the phone to my ear.

?“I’m not calling Malachi.”

?“Well, well, well, look what the gardener dragged in,” Azrael hummed. “Another daffodil.”

?“Don’t call me that and stop calling her that.”

?“Howismy little flower, hmm? Enjoying her time in the woods? Fresh air, none of that nasty noise pollution. It must be nice for those sore muscles of hers. All that time spent in that chair being tortured by the love of her life? Jack, are you taking a page out of my book?” he asked, a smile in his voice.

?I straightened, turning to Zo. “How did you know about that?”

?Her face twisted in question.

?“I know everything, baby brother.”

?Rolling my eyes, I continued for the fridge. He was five years younger than me, but I doubted that mattered to him. “She remembers going through the program. Did Malachi say anything to you about it?”

?“Well, it just so happens that I’m in his office right now. Shall I look her up under A’s or B’s?”

?My brows pulled together. “I thought you were out of the country. Why are you in his office?”

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