Page 53 of Damaged & Deadly

“I wasn’t even there. When our mother died, we were put into separate foster homes. By the time I was old enough to find her and take care of her, she’d disappeared.” He shakes his head, guilt and anguish scoring deep lines in his face and making him appear older than his late twenties-early thirties. “It took me years to find her, and by the time I did, it was too late. The same rich fuckers running the child mercenary camp the kids were rescued from took her, and when she refused to let them turn her into a monster, they killed her.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat. I’ve heard my fair share of horror stories about kids in foster care. It’s the reason I ran with Luc and lived on the streets after our mother died. “That’s how you met Cain, then?”

He nods. “Yeah. I’d managed to get a job there as a guard to find out what happened to my sister. I found a girl who had been friends with her, and I was trying to help her escape.” A small smile graces his lips. “Turns out she didn’t need my help. Cain and his men stormed into that place like it was just another day and destroyed anyone who stood in their way. When I realized he wasn’t just there for her but that he had no intention of leaving a single kid behind, I knew I had to help him. I’d spent five years searching for my sister, and after discovering that I was too late, I couldn’t work out what I was supposed to do with my life. It all felt pointless without her in it, knowing I’d failed her. But Cain and the kids have given me a purpose, and for that, I’ll be eternally grateful.”

My phone rings, breaking the moment, and I apologize as I excuse myself to walk into the hall.

“Are you safe?”

“We are,” Enzo confirms. I dig the toe of my boot into the carpet of the living room, unsure what to say to him. This is all so messed up. “Was his sister really locked up in there all this time?”

“Yeah,” I sigh, pressing my fingers into my eyelids to try and relieve the pressure building behind my eyes. “It was so fucked up, Enzo. It was set up like a sex club and she was locked in a small room.”

I hate myself for even asking, but I need to know. “Did you—”

“Fuck no,” he snarls angrily. “The women in our sex clubs are all there of their own free will, and while I suspect the women aren’t aware of what they’re getting themselves in for at Paradiso—the exclusive club you were… you know—I’m pretty sure they aren’t being held against their will and forced intothat.” He blows out a frustrated breath. “What Santos was doing with her, it’s fucking sick. Dante and I wouldn’t have condoned it if we’d known, which is why I’m guessing they kept it a secret from us. They knew we didn’t participate in the sick shit they’d do to the girls at Paradiso.” He sighs heavily. “I may not like the guy, but I wouldn’t wish whatever she’s had to survive on anyone.”

“You’re definitely safe?” I ask, changing the subject. I have no idea what to say, and I’m relatively sure Cain would not want me discussing his sister with them.

“I promise you. We will be safe here for a few days.”

“Then what? What happens now?”

“I’m not sure, but none of us are safe so long as Giovanni lives and breathes.”

Chapter 21

My heart is in my throat as I slowly climb the stairs, unsure of what I will find when I reach the top. For some reason, I can’t stop picturing Evie as a little girl with her wide, toothless grin, wild black hair, and shining green eyes as she chased us around the block.

With every step I take closer to Cain’s old room, my heart slams harder against my chest, threatening to burst right through it before I even reach my destination. Cresting the top of the stairs, I turn left. Cain’s broad frame blocks the doorway, preventing me from seeing past him. He appears frozen in place until a soft, quiet, hoarse voice breaks the silence.

“Cain?”

At the sound of his name on her lips, he steps further into the room, allowing me to see past him to where a stick-thin girl in a threadbare nightgown is sitting against the headboard of the bed. Her gaunt face is framed with long black hair, making her skin appear almost translucent.

She looks nothing like the girl in my head. Her eyes don’t shine anymore. Instead, they look flat and listless, dulled from years of hopelessness. And there’s none of the color that used to glow on her skin from spending all day, every day, out in the sun. Her thin arms are wrapped around her knees and tears shine in her eyes as she gapes at Cain.

“Is it really you?” she hiccups.

Cain is a strong man. He keeps his emotions close to his chest and it takes a lot to rattle him, but as he takes in the waif of a girl in front of him, he falls to his knees beside the bed. His eyes scour every inch of her as if he can’t believe she’s real.

“It’s really me, Evie. It’s…” He shakes his head, and I’m sure he’s struggling just as much as she is. “I can’t believe you’re really here. I-I thought you were dead.”

Tears overflow down her face and her chin wobbles as she struggles to hold her composure. Her gaze flicks over Cain’s shoulder to where I’m standing in the doorway, and a broad yet teary grin breaks out. “Ollie.”

“Hey, Squirt.”

Hearing her nickname on my tongue—the one I’d call her in front of the others when I very much wanted to call her something else, but I knew the guys would make fun of me—breaks the dam. A heaving sob rips from her throat as she seems to cave in on herself. Her shoulders shake and her entire body trembles as she falls apart, head buried in the crook of her arm.

Like lumbering idiots, Cain and I just stand there and watch as she breaks apart at the seams. Once upon a time, neither of us would have hesitated to wrap her up in our arms, but neither of us know how to handle a broken, damaged girl. Especially when we have no idea what she’s suffered and we’re scared of doing more harm than good.

I move to sit on the end of the bed while Cain remains on his knees in front of her, both of us offering our silent support as her sobs ring out around the room, tearing at our heartstrings until they become gasping sniffles.

Even after she falls quiet, she keeps her face buried in her arm. Neither of us rushes her. Hell, we’ve got all the time in the world—more time than we could have ever dared hope for.

While I wait, I scan my eyes around Cain’s childhood room. He’s upgraded the sheets to plain navy ones, but the rest of his room is still the same with its dark blue walls, various photos of us all, and even a battered red fire engine that’s seen better days that he used to carry everywhere when we were kids. I smile softly at the memory, which feels like a lifetime ago, as though the memories belong to someone else. Were we really those kids who thought they were invincible? If we’d known then what the future held for us all, that we’d lose Evie and Beck would be forced to leave, would we have done anything differently?

Sorrow for the loss of the people we could have been, if the Antonellis hadn’tstormed into our lives with all the grace of a wrecking ball, wells up in my throat and blocks my airway. Would we be different people now? Would our lives look completely different? Or perhaps no matter what we did, we’d all have ended up here anyway.

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