Page 21 of Shadow

Irritated, I went and knelt in front of her.

“You need to get your shit together, Claws.”

She dragged her attention away from the window and stared me down with bloodshot eyes.

“Sirena killed Adam. She stabbed him to death for what he did,” I continued.

Her bottom lip wobbled, and her eyes misted over. She knew he was dead. She just didn’t know how. I figured she thought we’d done it.

“Does that make you mad?” My voice was soft.

“Yes,” she answered, her voice trembling. “But not for the reasons you think. I should have done it, but I was an idiot, and now…” A tear slipped down her cheek, and she looked away to the window again.

“He was my brother,” I said.

She looked back at me, her eyes wide.

I nodded. “I only just found out. My father fucked his mother and created this nightmare. So my only brother is now dead.”

“Do you blame me?” She sniffled.

“No.” I sighed. “I don’t. I blame my father. He’s the heart of every fucking problem I have, not you.”

She wiped at her tears but didn’t say anything.

“Why don’t you come downstairs?”

“Because I can’t face Sirena. She’ll hate me.”

“Why would she hate you?” I waited, hoping she’d tell me what happened that night. She’d not been forthcoming at all in regard to her and Sin’s nakedness.

More tears streamed down her cheeks.

“This is all my fault. I was such an idiot. I thought Adam could change. He told me he would. He said he didn’t want Sirena, and I was jealous. He promised me things would be better. I was so desperate to have someone that I fucked it all up. I should have listened to Sirena. I knew better. That’s the worst part.I fucking knew, and I did it anyway. And now…” Her voice trailed off.

“And now what?” I studied her as she cried softly.

“Sin,” she finally choked out. “Adam.”

“Did you fuck Sin?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

She wept a little louder, her small body shaking. I leaned forward and grasped her face, forcing her to look at me.

“Answer me, Cadence. Did you fuck Sinclair?”

She nodded miserably, her tears rolling down her cheeks faster.

“I didn’t want to. I love Sirena. I would-would never do that to her. Adam said if we did it, he’d leave her alone. He wouldn’t kill her. He would never bother her again. She’d be safe from him. I believed him,” she choked out. “Sin believed him, too. He begged Adam. Made promises to give him anything he wanted if he swore to leave Rina alone. Adam told us if we didn’t do it, he’d make us watch him hurt her. K-Kill her. He-He drugged us. My head felt so weird.”

She wiped at her eyes again. It did nothing to help the flood of tears.

“Adam promised. He said to let him watch, and Rina would be safe. I’d do anything for her. This is fucking killing me. It’s killing me!” Her blue eyes locked on mine. “Dante,please.”

“Please, what?” I whispered, my stomach rolling with nausea at her confession. I knew Sin. He hated cheaters. He hated liars. Bells did a number on him, and we almost lost him to that madness. Knowing how deeply he’d fallen in love with Sirena made my chest clench with the fear of what this new shit could do to him. He had already beaten himself up over everything that happened to her in the facility. And now this?

FUCK.

“Kill me,” she finished softly.

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