See No Evil (Brotherhood Trilogy #1)(29)

No, my biggest threat will always be the devil.

He’ll want to find me without my father knowing, make me disappear.

Mom will be too afraid to speak out.

I’ll become a ghost.

Tears burn again, warning me that I’m not going to sleep tonight. My mind is too busy. Too scattered, jumping from death to kisses. My emotions ping like a pinball, hitting each nerve as it travels down my body.

Scrubbing my cheeks, I sit up and fling the covers aside. I’m cold and restless.

I need to yell at Rybeck.

It’s stupid, but I shove my freezing toes into my clompy boots and grab a sweater. Pulling it over my head, I creep out of the room. Without my flashlight, I stumble three times on the stairs and nearly turn the wrong way when I’m exiting the building.

The wind stings my cheeks, making me shiver. My teeth start to chatter as I dash across the open space, then disappear into the shadows. Shuffling along the path, I wind my way to the darkness until that ripe smell hits me and I know I’m nearly there.

I wrestle the rusty lock open and squeeze into the shed. I have to grope around for a few minutes to unearth the phone, but finally I yank it free, drop it, and then have to pat the dusty floor until I have it back in my grasp. The screen lights up and I start punching in numbers.

“Rybeck.” His voice is groggy, but it’s enough to spark my anger.

“You knew, you son of a bitch. No wonder you want to imprison me over Thanksgiving! Every man and his dog is probably looking for me now!”

Rybeck sighs, his voice heavy. “Are you alone?”

“Yes!” I snap. “I’m in the shed and no one can see or hear me, okay?”

He sighs again. “I’m sorry to tell you this, kid, but between your uncle and the Candellas, every man and his dog is already looking for you. Why do you think I’m grounding you for Thanksgiving? You’re in one of the most isolated places I could find. I want to keep you as far from society as possible. We can’t afford to let them find you. The Candellas are a formidable family. I wouldn’t put it past them to take matters into their own hands.”

My eyes bulge. They’ve been doing that a lot today. I don’t like it.

“Are you kidding me right now? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He sighs. “Look, I don’t know if you’re aware of this but your family isn’t exactly squeaky clean, okay?”

I press my lips together and swallow.

“The Candellas aren’t either. There’s a lot of bad blood running between the two families.”

“Why?”

“It’s never been clearly established but there’s…” He sighs. “About twenty years ago there was a gun fight. Candella was shot in the chest and according to the reports I read, there was more blood at the crime scene, suggesting a second victim. The police questioned Candella but he never said a word. There wasn’t enough evidence to build a case, so it went cold.”

“What are you trying to tell me right now? Are you saying Marco was involved somehow?”

“There’s speculation that your family and the Candellas were feuding over something. Candella probably stayed quiet because he didn’t want to admit to killing anybody, but I’m wondering if Robbie’s murder was a crime of revenge. Your family settling an old score.”

It’s getting really hard to breathe. I rub my chest with the heel of my hand. What old score?

“Listen, don’t think about any of that stuff. All I want you to focus on is staying safe and remembering exactly what you saw. I’m not going to let the Candellas find you, okay? And Marco’s in jail right now. He can’t touch you anyway.”

“Oh, please. You don’t think he has connections on the outside? Don’t try reassuring me with bullshit!”

I can almost see Rybeck wincing at the phone, his square face scrunching into wrinkles.

“I know you’re scared right now. But please trust me, no one is going to find you at Eton. We chose that school for a reason. We screened the staff, studied their prospectus. We thoroughly scoped out the grounds. Their strict policies on screen time and phone usage is just one of the key reasons we chose the school. The students barely have access to the outside world. Which brings me to the point, how did you find out about this?”

I roll my eyes. “Because I go to school with a bunch of teenagers. Do you honestly think rules are going to stop them from accessing screen time?”

Another heavy sigh from the beefy agent.

“I don’t think I can do this.” My voice quivers. “I want out.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but you can’t have it. You come out of the woodwork now, you’ll be a lamb led to the slaughter. Let us protect you until your uncle is convicted and the Candellas know the truth.”

“You don’t think he can reach me after this is over?” I’m skeptical. “If he can kill a kid in cold blood, I doubt he’s going to forgive his niece for landing him in prison.”

“We’re going to start you over. We’re going to keep you safe. I promise. It’ll be a new life for you.”

I scoff. “With no family. Nothing.”

“Family doesn’t have to be blood to be family. You’ll find a new home, new people to love you…and you’ll have that beating heart I was talking about.”