Page 28 of Vito

"Ohith," I grit, even though I know it's pointless to argue.

He makes a tsk sound. "I understand Edna and Peter know you're back."

"Son of a bitch—"

"Language, daughter," he snaps.

I roll my eyes but am still peeved. "Does Axin have to tattle back to you for every little thing?"

"Like me, he wants what's best for you."

"Edna and Peter…" I pinch the bridge of my nose. "It won't be a problem."

"It will always be a problem when you refuse to face the effects of their sins on you, Eden," Ohith says sharply.

I sigh, tilting my head back and staring at the kitchen ceiling. "Don't kill them."

"Killing them—while that would be exceptionally gratifying—will not do for you what is needed. What is needed is for you to talk and face what they did to you."

"Enough," I snap.

This—my history with my parents and refusing to acknowledge and deal with my trauma—is the only thing we ever fight about.

He tries to push me toward healing and coming to terms with it, but I steadfastly resist because that would mean I'd have to put my horror into words. I'd have to relive every horrific thing that happened.

"There's going to be something that cracks you, Eden," he warns gravely. "Something you'll never see coming will force you to finally face what you were forced to lose. And if it comes about that way… I fear it may break you, daughter."

"Please." My voice and hands shake as the repressed memories try to push to the surface. "Just let this go."

"Eden—"

"Vito talked to me tonight." I desperately and awkwardly change the subject. If Ohith hasn't mentioned Vito giving me a ride home and warning me away from behavior like that, I'm guessing Axin doesn't know about it, so I leave that detail out. "About Aiken's murder. Aiken called him. Did you know that?"

"That… I wasn't aware of."

"Aiken told him to call Ed. To call me."

Ohith sucks in a breath. "I know the other details, Eden. It sounds like a professional job."

And Ohith would know, given his past career, as well as his current.

"And it sounds like an inside one."

I bite my thumbnail as I process everything. "They knew how to get around the security system, and Aiken took his security systems to the next level. How they got in or out is unknown because the place was locked up tight."

I've considered that the secret back entrance was a possibility. However, even if someone had a key they also needed the code, and Aiken stressed in his email that only he knew it and he regularly changed it. The underground passageway into Aiken's office isn't an option either because that is a well-guarded secret for Gilly's owner-operators, of which, I'm the only living member.

"Killing Aiken at Gilly's means something." Ohith hisses out a tense breath. "I need you to watch your back and trust no one."

Ohith and Axin are the only two I trust; that's how I've lived the past nine years.

"Axin is there for whatever you need, Eden; he'll watch over you."

"I need to go to sleep." I rub my forehead, but a sudden thought slams through my fatigue. "What are the chances that Aiken had hidden cameras someplace?"

"What do you think are the chances?" He puts the question back on me.

"I… I don't really know my brother." That's the harsh truth. "Not anymore."

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