Broken Wings (Dark Legacy #1)(12)

Dante snorted from the back. “You’d kill yourself in heels.”

He wasn’t kidding.

Eddy was quiet, her face drawn. “Is this about Oscar?” she asked quietly.

I blinked at her. “Oscar?”

The name was not familiar to me at all.

“Oscar Deboise…” she trailed off.

“Is that my father?” I wondered. I had no clue what his name was, or if he actually existed. If I had to guess, I’d say Catherine had long ago diced him into small pieces and cemented him in her basement wall. Psycho.

Eddy went really pale then, reaching out to grasp my hand. “Holy shit, you don’t know. Okay, so Oscar is—was—your brother. He was killed a month ago.”

I had a brother? “How old was he?” I asked in a breathless whisper. Why the fuck a dead brother’s age was important, I’d never know, but for some reason I pictured him as a tiny child, and that made me feel even more ill.

“Twenty,” she said, surprising me. “Almost twenty-one. His birthday would have been in April.”

Something dark and painful slithered across my mind, adding to the layers of confusion about this new life I’d found myself in. “My birthday is in March,” I said softly. We’d been born almost in the same month, just three years apart. A brother.

“Why the hell did I get the boot when they kept him?”

I had no idea if this was something Eddy would know, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

She cleared her throat before swallowing hard. “Oscar was the planned successor for the Deboise fortune, and you—according to my parents anyway—were an accident. I seriously just remembered the story when you said it before. But here’s the thing… she said you died during the birth.”

It shouldn’t have hurt to hear her say that, because I didn’t give a single fuck about the Deboises, but for some reason, my chest was aching.

“Catherine isn’t really a ‘kid person,’ ” Eddy continued. “And maybe it was just easier to fake your death and then put you into foster care, rather than deal with another crying child? Even with nannies, my mom said she still struggled with Oscar.”

Her lame reasoning was a clear grasp at straws, but there wasn’t much she could say to justify Catherine pretending I was dead.

Dante made a rough, angry sound from the back, but didn’t interrupt.

Eddy grinned, and it was a little evil. “It’s not all bad news. You were a breeched birth, and you tore Catherine to pieces. She ended up having all of her shit ripped out to stop her from bleeding out,” Eddy finished, and I blinked at that unexpected ending. “So, she couldn’t have more kids, and that was the perfect karma. You got your own back.”

“Maybe that’s why she hates me so much?” I pondered.

Eddy shook her head. “Catherine hates everyone.”

I was distracted then by the gates opening. Catherine knew we were out here, and that was my signal to get my ass inside.

“How did Oscar die?” I asked as I opened my door.

Dante opened his as well, even though there was no reason for him to get out. Catherine Deboise would not let him within five feet of her house, that was for sure.

Eddy leaned over so she could see me, the interior light in her car illuminating her doll-like features. “No one really knows. He took off one night, on his own, and then his body was found in the lake behind town the next day. He was banged up pretty badly, but there had been a storm that night so the local police believe it was just an accident.”

“That’s a lot,” I whispered, not sure what else I could say. It didn’t sound like Eddy believed the police, and I was sure she had a lot more information, but there was no more time for questions tonight. I probably wasn’t in the right headspace for any more life changing revelations like that anyway. Switching subjects, I turned to Dante. “What are you going to do? Thanks to my fuck up, you don’t have a car?”

He shrugged, looking relaxed. “I have friends in town; I’ll crash there tonight. Don’t worry about it.” His eyes narrowed. “Still got your phone?”

I patted my pocket, having completely forgotten about the little device he’d given me. “Yep, still there,” I said, pulling it out and checking it for cracks. Everything looked good.

“Keep it on you at all times,” he warned me. “My number is speed dial one. If you get into any trouble, any at all, you call me immediately. Okay?”

I saluted him. “Whatever you say, Sir Dante, sir.”

He relaxed before winking at me. “That’s my girl. Okay, I’ll let you go now, but I’ll be around.”

He took off into the dark, Eddy and I watching him until he disappeared completely into the night.

Eddy let out a low whistle. “Holy fuck. My panties are seriously wet right now.” Her wide brown eyes met mine, and she looked a little flushed.

I grinned. “Dante has that effect on chicks. They’re always hanging off him.”

Eddy fanned her face. “Is he yours?” she asked. “Just say the word, and I will remove him from my vibrator spank bank.”

I was already shaking my head, laughter bubbling from me. “Nope, Dante and I are just friends. Best friends. There’s never been anything romantic between us.”