Paradise Found: Cain (Paradise #2)(81)

“You know what to do,” he stated, jostling my shoulder a little, then pushing me further toward the youthful man. “Make me proud.”

His face. It was burned in my memory as one of the happiest expressions I’d ever seen my father wear. I won that night. It was my first taste of the fight.

Shaking my head to rid the flashback, I realized this would be my final supper. No matter who won tonight, we all lost.

Abel staggered forward, his head lolling slightly to the side before he snapped it upward. I approached him with the frazzled concern I felt for everyone at the moment. For him, for Elma, for Sofie.

“What happened?” I bit under my breath, reaching out for Abel, who flinched back at the attempt to touch him.

“He’s going to kill one or the other of them,” Abel warned me, lowering his head and hunching his body again. “Women and children first,” he muttered, and the metaphor was not lost on me. My brother was suddenly a predator, ready to fight at all costs, despite the obvious appearance of his face and the imbalance of his body. I crouched as well, to bring us to an even stance, in hopes we could briefly talk without being overheard.

“What did he do?” I hissed, my eyes shifting sideways to imply my father.

“Not him,” Abel whispered. “He’d never touch me. He paid that traitor, Thor, to jump me at school.”

Theodore Thurston nicknamed himself Thor when he entered the underground near Preston University. The only details I ever bothered to know about him were that he came from money, a spoiled rich kid who cared for nothing. He was ready to sell out to Elma for a fight against me a few months ago. He wanted to raise his status outside the hidden depths of college cages, and his hope was a challenge with me would bring him fame. Silly little boy, I’d thought. He had no idea who he was pitting himself against. He was obviously strong, and Abel held his own, but the fight must have been something if Abel looked this bad.

“Back alley, coming out of the science building,” he clarified. Two thoughts flashed through my head: the death of Sofie’s parents and the fear that Sofie left the science building daily. This could have been her. She could have been the one beat so severely; she wouldn’t have recovered like Abel would.

“Quit being pussies, talking to each other like ya’re school girls,” Atom yelled, his voice full of hysteria and venom, and a hint of the Irish accent he had all those years ago, before he tried to rid himself of it. He didn’t want to be known as a dirty Irish fighter, but a skilled American champion.

“Cain!” Sofie yelled behind me. “Don’t do this.” Her voice full of fear, I sensed her physical struggle, despite not being able to see her.

“He’s never going to let it go,” Abel warned. “He’ll blame her, like he blamed Mom. He’ll drag her to hell if she stays with you, and make certain she breaks your heart.” He exhaled and winced with effort.

“You are him. Father’s son. He’s going to make certain your experience is the same as his. You can surpass him only in one area, student outdoing the master. That’s it,” Abel spoke, attempting to sound wise, but actually sounding tired, like a swift breeze would blow him over and he’d fall into the pleasurable abyss of a deep sleep. I couldn’t hit Abel in his condition. Additional flashes of Montana, Elma’s brother, came before me. I couldn’t raise a hand to my brother. This wasn’t anymore a fair fight than the first time we fought. My brother was in no condition to combat me.

It occurred to me instantly that this was my father’s plan. Keep Abel weak. With some doubt, Atom must have wanted assurance that Abel couldn’t fight back. But I wasn’t a coward, and I wasn’t so ruthless as to fight a helpless man, especially one that was my brother. I straightened upward, taking a deep breath and bracing myself for whatever might come next. The scream from Sofie wasn’t what I expected.

I spun quickly to see my father had her by the waist, a knife at her throat.

“I’ll sacrifice her blood right here in this field. Fight!” he yelled, his eyes crazed, his voice as if it was detached from his body. My eyes washed over Sofie, begging her to still love me, praying that I could somehow protect her with an invisible magical force field.

“Cain,” her voice strained as her head fell back, trapped by my father’s strength and the knife at her throat. “I’ll never forgive you,” she threatened. “Please, don’t do it.” The tremble in her voice proved she was scared, but her tone was firm. She was going to hate me if I fought my brother, even if her life depended on it.

I lowered again, fists raised, nostrils flaring, shutting off my mind to all thought. If she hated me, it would only heat the venom inside me. Her life was worth the fight.

“Hit me,” Abel begged, without a plea to his voice. “Get it over with.” My fist rose, and I braced for the cracking sound I’d hear the instant my knuckles connected with Abel’s face, when another car pulled up to our intimate display. I only briefly noticed the familiar baldhead and dark glasses, despite the darkening day when the hit took me by surprise. It was my bone that cracked and blood sprayed from my nose. My attention returned to my brother, just in time for another hit to take me square in the jaw. I’d had worse, but the sting was worth the effort Abel was putting forth. He wasn’t stupid. He wanted this over just like me, and he wasn’t willing to wait any longer.