Page 67 of Blood Claims
“Have I though? Because what happens next time, Tal? What happens the next time you both think I don’t need to know something? The next time you take it upon yourselves to control my life? That’s not how a relationship works, don’t you see… it’s a dictatorship and I can’t… I can’t be with either of you if that’s the way you want it to be,” I said, making him suck back aquick breath when I finished. Then I turned, ready to walk away, when suddenly I was grabbed from behind. Victor’s hands at my shoulders, squeezing them as he dipped his lips to my ear.
“You don’t get to walk away from this.”
“So, I’m back to being your prisoner then?” I asked, my tone hard and disappointed. Which was when I heard him sigh against my neck.
“What do you want from us?” he asked, his tone deflating as his forehead rested at my shoulder, one that slipped away as I turned to face him.
“I want what most relationships require, I want honesty, I want the truth, no matter how much it hurts me. Because had you only told me, I know I would have gotten through it. I would have been upset yes, but I would have been okay in the end because I had you both there,” I said, stopping long enough to shake my head.
“That’s the mistake you made. You underestimated yourselves, the power you both have in the strength you give me… but with this one act alone, you ripped it away from me,” I said, tears now running down my face… which the brothers watched fall with nothing but regret in their eyes. But it was Victor who framed my face and took them away with his thumbs. All traces of his anger quickly replaced by tenderness.
“We made a mistake,” he admitted, making me tear my face away and tell him,
“It’s too late.”
Which was when he took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned me back to face him, his dark brown eyes now pained.
“Redemption is never too late.”
Tal stepped closer so he could turn me to face him as he added,
“Neither is forgiveness.”
I shook my head and pointed out,
“Usually, the word sorry is used before asking for forgiveness.” Which was when Victor took a step closer and lowered his head to mine, at the same time tilting mine up to look at him.
“We are sorry, baby.”
I closed my eyes, swallowing hard at the mix of emotions that crashed through me.
“Do you promise me she is alright?” I asked before opening my eyes.
“Yes, she is safe. Andras saved her from being taken. She is currently in a safe house of ours,” Victor told me.
“Will you take me to her?” I asked, and this time his flinch contradicted his answer.
“If that is what you wish.”
“It is,” I stated firmly. “But first, I still need to use the restroom,” I pointed out, making Victor scoff a chuckle before kissing my forehead.
“Alright, sweetheart, we will have the car brought around. Don’t be long.”
I nodded, unwilling to say more. I knew I needed them to take me to Stacey so I could check for myself they were telling me the truth this time. That she was alright. Because technically, they may not have lied, but not telling me in the first place was just as bad.
Tal walked me to the restrooms, before telling me,
“We will wait for you just outside, down the hall.”
I nodded, watching Victor pull out his cell to make the call. But when I walked inside, my mind was still spinning from our argument. One that had turned hot, to boiling, and back to a simmer in minutes. But it had ended with an apology the moment they thought they would lose me, so that had to account for something, right?
Or at least I thought so, until I walked inside the restroom. Because moments after using the toilet, I was at the sinks when I saw it. An envelope with my name on it.
“What the hell?” I asked myself aloud, looking around the bathroom to find that I was alone like I thought I was. So, with no explanation of how it got there, I peeled back the envelope and pulled out the picture inside. And the second I saw it, I gasped, crying out in anguish as right there, in my now shaking hand, was a picture of my friend. Stacey tied to a chair with a gag in her mouth, blood trickling from her nose and lip, with a distinct bruise on her cheek.
“No, no, no!” I cried as I gripped the picture tighter. But then I noticed something in the reflection in the mirror, making me turn the picture around, only to find two terrifying words written on the back.
Two words that now haunted me.
