Page 108 of Carbon

The way he said the words sent a shiver down my spine. What did he plan to do?

Three sofas were arranged around the coffee table in a U shape, and Black settled onto the one opposite us. I expected Emmy to sit next to him, but she squashed next to Sofia instead and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Gideon leaned against the wall, more interested in his phone.

“So,” Black said to Ben. “Now your immediate survival isn’t at stake, I’m curious about your history. What made you join the legion?”

“Why does that matter?”

“The lifestyle? The discipline? A burning desire to learn French? Or were you running from something?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Again, Black ignored him. “For me, it was the last option, except I joined the Navy. It was either that or go and live with an aunt who hated me. Sooner or later, I’d have ended up in prison for murder. Come on, which one was it for you?”

“Yeah, I was running. Happy?”

“From what? A girl? A guy? You get into trouble?”

“My parents. Well, my mother. Look, how is any of this relevant?”

I understood where Black was heading, and my hand involuntarily tightened around Ben’s. Out of the corner of my eye, Sofia looked so tense a single touch would shatter her.

“Just humour me. What was bad enough that you’d sign up for hell?”

Ben chewed at a piece of skin on his bottom lip. Would he refuse to answer? I only knew his mother lied to him, not what about, and Mrs. Durham had been nothing but kind to me as a little girl. Whatever she’d done to upset Ben, it must have been serious.

A minute ticked past, then two, and finally, he came to a decision.

“If you want to know that badly, I’ll tell you on one condition.”

“Which is?” Black asked.

“You help me look for my sister.”

Shit. He knew. He bloody knew! Sofia looked like she was about to cry while Black’s lips curved slightly in satisfaction. The manipulative bastard understood exactly what he was doing—arranging his pieces on the board and waiting for Ben to walk blindly into a checkmate.

“Agreed. Now, satisfy our curiosity.”

I leaned into Ben to show some support, and his arm tightened around my waist. Please, let this turn out well.

“It happened on my eighteenth birthday. My father was on a business trip, and my mother had gone with him like she usually did. I’d stayed at home, but I didn’t plan on being there for much longer. I’d spent two years waiting tables to save up some cash, and I wanted to go back to Sandlebury, convince Gus we were meant to be together, and take her somewhere nice.” He glanced at me. “France, ironically. I’d seen the French Riviera on one of those travel programmes.”

“I’d have gone,” I whispered, and got rewarded with a smile.

“Only when I looked for my passport, I couldn’t find it. Turned the damn house upside down, and that’s when I found the birth certificates, one for me and one for my sister, although I didn’t realise it at the time.”

“What were the names?” Black asked.

“Benjamin and Sofia Darke.”

Bloody hell! The fourth name Logan had referred to. Another set of BD initials.

“Did you ask your mother about it?”

“When she got back that evening. At first she was shocked, then she got defensive. Told me she’d taken me away from my real father so we could have a better life. Apparently, he used to hit her, and when I asked about Sofia, she said she couldn’t cope with two kids, so she’d left her behind because she was his favourite. A daddy’s girl, she said. That bitch left my sister behind with a violent asshole and didn’t tell me about it for sixteen fucking years.”

“What did you do? Did you look for her?”

“Of course I did. First I went for Gus, only I thought she knocked me back. Turns outhermother had a problem with telling the truth as well. And when I packed to leave home, I found my damn passport in my sock drawer, so I flew to America. The address Mum gave me for our old house didn’t exist anymore. The whole street’s disappeared under a shopping mall, and nobody in the area remembered me or Sofia or our parents. I spent every penny I had on searching, and when the money ran out, I didn’t want to go home. I needed a new start.”

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