Chapter 64
“Are your serious?” Torg was quite confused by her words.
“Well then this puts things a bit differently.” Torq frowned. “Your brother is missing. We’ve been monitoring your father, your brothers, your uncle, and several other higher–level individuals in your father’s company. We are everywhere in their business. We are listening to conversations, texts, emails, and the entire lot to be honest. We know Alfio and Falen are both looking for Mercurio because he’s gone radio silent. He didn’t go home to his wife last night, though we know she is guarded. He hasn’t reached out to anyone. We thought, perhaps erroneously, he might have been detained by your father and thrown into a cell for arguing with him in public. Your father is refusing to tell your brothers where he is but as of thirty minutes ago at my last update from Kylen, there is no word on your brother’s location.”
She sat back in shock. “If he were going to overthrow my father, he’d be calling in resources, not going dark. There isn’t any way on earth he’s hiding. Do you think my father realized he was contemplating taking the family from him and locked him up? She gave a sigh, “of course you It’s why you brought me up here. You wanted to know if 1 cared enough about my brother to ask you to intervene and rescue him if he’s in trouble.”
- do.
“I presumed your father would punish him for speaking out of turn yesterday but if he is holding him because he thinks he’s going to try to take the family, then your brother may be in greater danger than we thought.”
She dug her phone out of her pocket and set it on the desk after dialing out her brother’s number. The call didn’t connect and a message about the user being out of range made them exchange long looks.
“He hasn’t gotten word to his wife or anything?”
“Dad must have him locked up.”
“What do you want to do Alter!”
“Nothing.” She said quietly looking away from him.
“Nothing?”
She shook her head once unable to meet his eyes.
“Hey, look at me. Whatever you are feeling I am not going to judge you for. Talk to me.”
“Okay. When I was only twenty–one, my father threw me in a cell and tortured me. My brother is ten years older than me. He was thirty–one. He was never one to back down from a fight with my father, but he backed down on this. He argued a bit, but it took him a full week before he managed to get me out of the cells 1 recently argued with him over how Mom hasn’t even called me once in all this time and he said I made my choices, and I needed to live with them. He wanted to pick me up and turn me into you when you called him. He has no loyalty to me. Torq None. I might be his blood, but I am not his family. I owe him no allegiance.”
“And if your father kills him?” At her startled gaze he shrugged, “look, my father would kill me because I took the family from him. I would kill my father without a second thought. I let him live out of deference to my grandfather’s memory but the minute he came after me a second time, my benevolence disappeared. Blood is not always thicker than water. Your father could simply decide he’s going to kill your brother. If this happens and I sit by and let it unfold, will you be able to live with the fallout. It is your heart, I am concerned about here, Alree. I don’t give a fuck about either of these men. Their family came implode all around them and burn to the ground and I don’t give a fuck so long as my family is not dragged into the mud with them, You are my family. I do not want you feeling you were remiss somehow by sitting back, and if your brother is murdered as a result, feeling guilty over it.”
She gave a nod and then whispered, “am I a bad person, Torq?”
He gave a low laugh, “you are not a bad person, my love. You are an amazing person.”
told
“Mercurio was the one who dragged me from here and tossed me at my father’s feet when word gut out I was pregnant. He was the one who to me to get an abortion to save my life. He accompanied Dad when Dad threw me back in the cells for the three more days. Since the morning I came home with a broken hymen, he has never tried to protect me, or Antero and I don’t care what his reasonings are, be left us to the wolves. He made his bed with my father, and he can lie in it. I hold no allegiance to a family or a man who thought so little of me he stood by while my father threatened me and swore he’d kill my bastard,”
Torq frowned, “what?*
Chapter 4
“You saw the viden. Did you not notice Mercurio was in the room?
“The video was a crude angle shot from the phone of one of the soldiers. Are you saying your brother was there when this went down?”
“Yes. Every single time my father came to interrogate me, Mercurio was in the room. There is a very real, mean, spiteful, vindictive part of me which longs for Mercurio to be in a cell at my father’s merry because I want him to know what it feels like to be betrayed in such a way by people who value blood so much.”
“Then we do nothing
“We do nothing” Suddenly a whimper from Avalanche made them both look at her and she was making circles.
“She needs to go out. How do you feel about taking her for a little walk with me?”
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous to simply i
go for a walk?”
“Well, if someone can get to me on the rooftop, all the power to them.” He reached into the desk and pulled out a leash. “Let’s go get some fresh.
Chapter Comments
