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“That’s right.” Wrath nodded.

“But why? I hated Solomon and couldn’t wait to kill him.” Azrael squeezed the can of water tightly between his hands.

“Rogue hated him too, but Rogue also trusted Solomon to keep him off the streets and give him food and a home.”

“Why didn’t he feel the same way as me?” Azrael argued.

“Essentially, nobody really knows the exact reasons why some people develop Stockholm Syndrome and others don’t,” Wrath murmured. “It could be several factors. Like the intensity of the threat to their survival. It could be that Solomon showed Rogue more kindness than you.”

“Solomon never showed me kindness,” Azrael said tightly.

Nobody knew exactly what had happened between Azrael and Solomon, but they suspected that Azrael had been sexually abused while Rogue had not.

“Solomon treated Rogue like a son, and he used his bond with Rogue to make him do horrific things,” Echo said tightly.

“While Solomon treated the others like objects, Rogue was groomed to someday take his place,” Wrath said.

“But he had to have known it wasn’t right keeping us locked up.” Azrael caught his long, loose hair at the back of his head and quickly tied it away. The move left the boy looking vulnerable.

“He knew, but after so many years beneath Solomon’s rule, Rogue became paralyzed,” Wrath murmured.

“Not completely,” Azrael said with a gulp and opened the sparkling water can. “He didn’t kill Ice.”

“That’s right. In his heart, Rogue’s a good man. Only…he doesn’t think he is.”

“I screwed up.” Azrael thunked his forehead on the table and kept it there.

Wrath placed his hand on the top of Azrael’s head. “It’s okay to feel the way you feel.”

“I didn’t understand. He won’t teach me swords anymore, will he?” Azrael lifted his head to hold his eyes.

“He’ll teach you. Just let him be for a few days,” Wrath said gently.

“I’ll send him a text,” Azrael said decisively.

Echo snickered.

“That’s a great idea.” Wrath smirked.

It was sometime during the next day that Rogue got a text from Azrael.

Sorry!

The one word was accompanied by a funny emoji and Rogue sent a quick reply.

Take the next several days off and let’s pick up on Monday with training.

It was now Wednesday.

That would give him the rest of the week to browse the online job board and see what work he could pick up. Since he didn’t officially work for Erebus, he had to take jobs that were located in different places and outside of their territory.

Settled on his broken-down couch with his laptop sitting on the small coffee table, he sipped his fresh coffee while scrolling through the dark web.

The desperate cries for help were numerous, but he had to be smart. He had to investigate the situation beforehand and not go in recklessly.

One job in particular looked plausible. A mother wanted her ex-husband along with the man’s friend killed for sexuallyabusing their thirteen-year-old daughter. He noted the contact number and closed the laptop.

With a burner phone, he reached out and made arrangements to meet the woman in a few days.

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