Page 47 of Ensnared By Silence
“What’s wrong? Where’s Aubrey?”
James plopped down into the chair and Devlin glanced at me, worried as we watched a quiet James. He looked at Devlin and tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. I sat down and clenched my fists, wanting to hurt someone but knowing these men did nothing to deserve my wrath. Finally, James spoke.
“Skid followed Aubrey into Missouri. She spotted him and gave him the keys back to the house. She asked him to keep her location secret.” He swung his hard gaze to me. “She’s afraid you’re looking for her.”
I gripped my hair and yelled, “I am looking for her! Did he let her get away?”
He rolled his eyes at me and explained, “He had a brother down the road visiting some friends and they got eyes on her almost immediately. They tailed her to a small hotel outside of Springfield. She’s safe and under surveillance, so calm the hell down, please.”
“What the fuck is going on, James?” Devlin asked, and James swung his penetrating gaze back to his brother.
“Maybe I should ask you that. Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Devlin asked with genuine confusion.
“Skid let me know Freddie sent Aubrey’s DNA test results to him.”
“And? What does that have to do with the attitude?” Devlin questioned him.
I watched these men going back and forth, and something told me there was a deeper issue brewing than I originally thought.
“The results found one living relative, a brother, who, I assume, she never knew existed.”
“Who?” I asked, and James turned to me with a sinister smile.
“Me. The DNA results show that I’m Aubrey’s half-brother.”
Devlin’s eyes grew wide, and he shook his head in disbelief before speaking. “And you thought I knew and didn’t tell you?”
“You were the one who killed her father, so what am I supposed to think?”
“WHAT?! You killed Aubrey’s father? I thought he and his girlfriend died in a house fire.”
Devlin cut his gaze to me, his lips pinched tight as he looked back at James. “I killed that fucker after what I saw at Elise’s adoptive parents’ house the night I rescued her.”
“Chuck and Blaire? What the hell do they have to do with this?”
James looked at Devlin for a minute and I could see the wheels turning in his head. Devlin shook his head and ran a hand through his beard. “Not Chuck and Blaire. Her first parents, Roger and Sally.”
I felt like I was on a carousel, twirling around faster and faster as the information kept coming. These two men were more connected to Aubrey than I could ever imagine, and we needed to get her home.
“You killed Aubrey’s father and his girlfriend because of something you saw at Elise’s adoptive parents’ house?” He nodded, and I looked between the two men. “What the fuck are you talking about? And don’t give me any bullshit about it’s not my fucking concern. Aubrey is mine and what affects her, affects me.”
Devlin sighed heavily and stood from the table. Grabbing a wooden box from the small kitchen, he placed three bottles of water on the table and sat down. Sparking a joint from the box, he inhaled and passed it to me before he spoke.
James was watching him with inquisitive eyes, his arms crossed over his chest and his posture rigid. I could feel the murderous rage coming from him. Aubrey was his sister, and he never knew. They lost years together because of all the lies and secrets that lived in the past.
Yes, I knew of Devlin’s reputation as the mysterious and murderous ruler of the Flats.
Yes, I knew James was a cold-blooded killer.
Did that mean they loved any less? No. In fact, it meant they loved deeper than themselves.
The way I loved Aubrey.
“Ten years ago, I still had a powerful hold over my territory, and I ruled with an iron fist. Killing was a necessity in my former life, and that’s why my family is so protected now. Even though I killed everyone who could harm them, I’ll never stop sheltering them from the monsters that exist.” His eyes locked on something behind me before he looked me directly in the eyes. James sat silently as Devlin continued. “The night I walked into Roger and Sally’s, I found Roger watching something on his computer that made killing him all the better. I told you he was into some sick shit, but I never gave you a full explanation.”
Devlin explained to James with clenched fists before he took the joint and inhaled off the stinky weed. “I found him watching a kiddie porn, and after what they tried with Elise, I was afraid he was hurting another kid. I took the computer and what I found was worse than I originally thought.”
