Page 8 of Defy

“Brother,” he starts, “I’m glad to see Diego didn’t break your legs.”

He doesn’t sound glad. He sounds disappointed.

“Come. Let’s talk. I’m interested in the rest of the story,” he commands in an arrogant, entitled tone. I can tell he’s enjoying having the upper hand but I’m not worried.

He won’t have it long.

Seeing no way to avoid his demand however, I follow him into the familiar set of rooms.

The first thing I notice is that the furniture is different. A much more ostentatious set of solid wood furniture greets my eyes than the simple mahogany bed and nightstand that used to be in here.

I have to work to physically drag my eyes away from the door that joins his sitting room to Libby’s as I listen for any sound of her movement or voice next door.What was he doing in there?

“Drink?” he asks, walking to a sleek bar which is the second difference I notice in the room. My brother tends to enjoy in excess and he always sought that excessimmediately. He never did delayed gratification well as a child and I’m getting the sense that trait has carried over into his adult life. The stocked bar in his bedroom ensures he can have what he wants, when he wants it. This M.O. is the biggest reason I’m less than thrilled that Libby is so close.

“Hell yes,” I grit out as he holds up a shot glass in question. “Better just dump a few ounces over ice. One shot isn’t going to cut it.” I need to keep a clear head, but right now I need a lot of things and dulling the damn pain in my shoulder, side, and face are at the top of the list.

Along with finally getting some answers.

“Sit,” Luis orders as he hands me my drink. Too tired to argue and realizing that it would serve no purpose right now, I do as he says, my body silently protesting the change in position. I pop two of the pain pills in my mouth and swallow them back with a healthy sip of tequila.

The windows let in a large amount of sunlight and with the old window open, I can hear the seagulls in the distance. The fortress doesn’t have air conditioning because it would be an incredible expense to constantly cool twenty-five thousand square feet but beyond that, the breeze coming off the ocean keeps it comfortable inside the stone walls.

Our family has lived in Castillo de Hielo for four generations and the name, Castle of Ice, couldn’t be more appropriate despite the fact that it rarely dips below eighty here.

Luis jumps right in, making eye contact with my only open eye. “I know things you don’t and I have answers you want, but as you may remember, nothing in this family is given freely.”Maybe I’ve underestimated my younger brother.“Trust is something you and I don’t have, so why don’t we play tit-for-tat? You ask me a question, I ask you, and so on. The game ends when one of us lies to the other.” He pauses sizing me up. “I doubt you’ve lost your skill in lie detection.” He calmly takes a sip of his own drink and waits for my answer.

Seems fair enough.

I nod my agreement before tipping my drink back again.

The burn from the liquor is most welcome and I feel my tense muscles start to relax as I give myself a quick once over. My t-shirt is now hard from dried blood and bears a singed hole from the bullet I took earlier. My pants are dirty and the light streaming through the windows makes the blood stains shimmer even though they’ve turned black. Blood stains caused by Will and I, both. I still smell like smoke from the burning house and I can feel the grime and blood on my face, but a shower will have to wait.

“Mind if I go first?” I ask through swollen lips.

He inclines his head as if sayingbe my guest.

“How do our parents know Libby?”

He responds with a question of his own, “How much do you remember about Adriana?”

I grunt in frustration, “I can tell this is going nowhere fast.” I lean forward, using my bodyweight to rock out of the chair since I don’t have a good side to push up with, and try to stand. I’m surprised when it works but I pay the price and I’m unable to hide my wince.

Luis holds up his hands in mock surrender. “We’re getting there. You’ll get your answers but we need to start at the beginning in order for it to make sense. Now sit,” he says, gesturing to the chair, trying to put on an air of sophistication by crossing his legs and swirling his tumbler.

“I remember everything about Adriana,” I finally admit as I slowly sit back down, taking another hefty sip of liquor and holding my now-empty glass out for Luis to refill. “Her favorite way to wear her hair. Her favorite blue dress. How she was afraid of the dark but never wanted anyone to know so she’d wait until after my light went out to turn hers back on. I remember her first crush. I remember threatening him with a knife if he ever laid a hand on her.” I smile at the thought. I climbed right in that motherfucker’s bedroom window. Adriana was thirteen and her poor little crush was maybe fourteen or fifteen at the time. I scared the kid so bad he pissed himself. Smart kid.

My brother’s voice is beginning to grate on my nerves. “How much do you remember about herbeforethe age of three?”

My brows crease at his question but I wrack my brain trying to give him an answer, already not liking his line of questioning. “I remember her christening. Mateo and Catalina were there as witnesses.”

“What else?” Luis prompts.

“Truth be told, not much.” But I was only eight when Adriana was three. Before that, she was probably with one of the nannies. I didn’t know how to care for a toddler. She became my responsibility around the time I was ten. When she could tell me what she wanted to play, what she wanted to eat, and when her head or stomach hurt. Besides, our mom was pregnant with Luis by then so she was happy for me to take on more of a role with Adriana.

“Now tell me why you asked.” My heart is hammering in my chest. Something is off and I already know I’m not going to like his response.

“Brace yourself,” he says almost pityingly.This is going to be bad. “She wasn’t our biological sister.”

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