Page 62 of Hidden Heir

“But you do,” I point out. “You sell people into shit like this, don’t you?” Lifting my head, our eyes meet and it hits me that Leon’s face is so swollen that only one eye can look at me. “Paul keeps threatening to fuck me and I?—”

“You r-really wanna talk about my b-business decisions right now?” Leon wheezes softly, as if trying to laugh but it doesn’t come out right.

“No,” I admit weakly. “But you wanted to hear my voice.”

“Do you think about the cows and chickens you eat?” he asks as his brows pull together in pain.

“I… no.”

“I t-trained myself to look at my family’s work the same way,” he wheezes. “Not excusing anything just… trying to explain… now we are the chickens.”

My eyes droop, his words washing over me but barely settling in my mind. I collapse down until my head is in Leon’s lap and I curl myself in. “I’m s-sorry,” I whisper weakly. “I can’t save us.”

“I’ll save us,” Leon says and it’s the strongest his voice has sounded since I arrived. “I’ll save you, Brooke.”

I cling to that promise as darkness takes me and the pain fades away into nothing.

Darkness is bliss. Maybe it’s the closeness to Leon but for the first time in however long we’ve been here, I dream of Tiffany and the estate. I watch her run around the garden chasing the ladybug she loves. She’s laughing and giggling until she darts behind a bush and I lose sight of her. Suddenly, the garden grows cold and Paul melts out of the bush with a cold smirk on his face.

“Should have told me where the drugs are,” he sneers.

I jolt awake with a weak cry, and pain wracks my body. I’m no longer next to Leon. Instead, I’m between two men who are half carrying, half dragging me through a doorway into yet another cold room. They throw me to the ground and I land hard on the stone. My shoulders are too stiff to save me from impact.

“Brooke!” Leon’s voice brings me to full consciousness and I bite hard on my tongue against the pain as I pull myself up and glance around. Leon is to my left, staring at me as he takes a blow from the butt of an assault rifle.

“I’m okay,” I murmur, blinking sluggishly.

“Are you?” comes Paul’s voice, pulling my attention to the center of the room where he stands next to another man. My eyes widen in shock when my gaze meets the eyes of the other man, my stomach twisting with sickness.

“Ant?” I gasp. “What are you doing here?”

27

LEON

“Ant!” Brooke surges up with a surprising amount of energy when she locks eyes with her brother, and it’s admirable how, even under the circumstances, she still tries to do everything she can to try and protect her family.

But as she’s dragged back and subdued, it becomes clear that Ant isn’t a prisoner. He’s not restrained in any way, nor does he have any injuries. In fact, he stands near Paul like they’re buddies, and a cold burning sensation ripples through my gut.

They left the estate together. Ant and Brooke fled my home at the same time but when I arrived at Brooke’s apartment, Ant was nowhere to be seen. I’d presumed she’d sent him off somewhere safe with Tiffany but seeing him here now puts a damper on that idea.

“Calm down,” Paul says. “You’re acting like some kind of animal.”

Brooke relents her struggles, though it’s unclear if she’s doing that because of Paul’s words or exhaustion.

“Hey, Brooke,” Ant says, his eyes darting back and forth between us. I expect to see fear in them or hear something along the lines of shock in his tone seeing his sister endure suchtreatment, but he just stands there with his hands in his pockets. He looks as casual as if we were all meeting up for drinks.

“Are you high?” I ask, pulling all attention to me. The guard next to me raises his rifle and I brace for impact but it doesn’t come, halted by a raise of Paul’s hand.

“No,” Ant replies. “Do I look high?”

“Yes.” I glare at him as suspicion blares like a warning through my exhausted mind.

“I don’t understand,” Brooke says weakly, sinking to her knees as she’s unable to keep herself up. “Why are you here? Have you made some sort of deal?”

“A deal?” Ant’s brow lifts. “To get you out of here?”

Hope blooms in Brooke’s eyes.

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