Page 110 of Vicious Deception

“Will Rhett . . . will he make me . . .” Benny trails off, dropping his gaze.

Oh. Oh my god.

I guess this whole time, there’s been a part of me that hoped Richard treated his other two sons better than he treated Rhett. Considering Benny wanted to run away, it’s completely naive. I just didn’t want to think about it.

“Rhett will never, ever make you beg for his forgiveness,” I say softly. “I promise.”

That seems to help Benny relax. He still looks a little nervous, though. “Will you help me find him?”

“Sure. I think he’s downstairs with the others.”

That makes him hesitate. “Could you . . .”

I smile. “You want me to ask if he can come up here?”

Benny nods.

“Sure. Just give me a couple minutes.”

Downstairs, I find the guys in the living room. Andrew disappeared a while ago, probably to hide out in his room like we thought Benny did. I don’t think he knows how to handle being around the guys after what he did to us.

“Hey.” I wrap my hand around Rhett’s bicep. “Can you come with me for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, of course.” He stands from the couch and takes my hand. “What’s going on?”

Before I answer, I tug him out of the room. Benny obviously wants privacy, and I don’t want to betray his trust. “I found Benny in my room. He wants to talk to you.”

A line appears in between Rhett’s eyebrows. “Is he okay?”

“I think so.”

In my room, Benny is anxiously pacing in front of my bookshelves. He stops when he sees us.

“Do you want me to go?” I ask.

“No, you can stay.” Wringing his hands, Benny risks a glance at Rhett. “I’m sorry for yelling. And—and for running away. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re allowed to be upset.” Rhett steps forward, still keeping enough space between them so Benny doesn’t feel crowded. “You’ve been through a lot in the past month.”

With a frown, Benny watches Rhett carefully. Based off what I know of Rhett’s childhood, this probably isn’t the reaction he was expecting. I’m sure there’s a part of him that’s waiting for Rhett to start yelling or to say cruel things. My guess is up until now, he’s neverbeenallowed to be upset.

“You mean that?” Benny asks.

“Yeah,” Rhett replies, and I almost miss the nervousness in his voice. This is all new to him, too. “I mean, it’s always best to not treat people poorly because of your feelings, but of course I forgive you.”

At that, Benny’s shoulders drop a couple inches, and relief fills his expression. He closes the distance between them and throws his arms around Rhett’s torso. As he squeezes his eyes shut, he holds onto his older brother tightly.

“Hey, you don’t—you don’t have to hug me if you don’t want to.” Rhett is holding his arms out like he’s afraid to touch Benny.

“Idowant to.” Benny says, looking up at Rhett. “Thank you.”

“For . . . for forgiving you?”

Benny nods.

The tears in Rhett’s eyes are unmistakable. He swallows while he tries to blink them back. “Benny . . . you don’t—you never have to thank me for that.”

My chest squeezes as I watch them. I wonder if this is something that Benny will look back on in ten or so years. If he’ll realize that Richard isn’t the standard—that there are people who’ll love him no matter what and actually treat him like it.

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