She looks at me. “Why would he want to hurt you because of Lilly?”
Deke runs a hand through his hair and answers. “Because Lilly is Bruce’s daughter.”
AUSTIN
I stare at Deke utterly confused. Lilly is Bruce’s daughter? My father is Lilly’s father? My eyes go to Cole. He sits there on the couch, blue eyes still bloodshot, skin pale. He looks like he’s half dead.
I swallow the knot that forms in my throat. “Your mom and my dad had an affair?” Lilly is six. My dad and Celeste have been married for ten years now.
He fists his hands and his jaw sharpens. “No.”
“Then how do you explain …?”
“Bruce fucking raped her,” he interrupts me.
“What?” I breathe.
Becky sniffs beside me, but I can’t look away from Cole. His eyes look at me with disgust. My father, being the bastard that he is, fucking raped his mother? She had a baby. A baby his dad didn’t want. And Cole takes care of her. He’s raising her.
Tears start to burn my eyes.
“Austin?” Deke gets my attention.
His blue eyes are the softest I’ve ever seen them. It makes me more nervous than I’ve ever been around Deke because he actually looks worried about something. “We now know that Bruce, Jeff, and Jerrold were working together. You need to get out of that house. It’s not safe there.”
“I have nowhere to go—”
“You’ll stay with me,” Becky interrupts me.
“I’m not eighteen yet. I can’t just leave. They’ll know something is up …”
“You don’t have an option,” Deke growls. “We can’t chance Jerrold coming over and seeing you there. If he does, it will only take him seconds to put two and two together, and then once he tells Bruce …”
His voice trails off, and I understand completely. My father would kill me if he found out that I know he paid another man to try to kill Cole.
Becky reaches out and rubs my back gently. I avoid looking at Cole due to the shame. This whole time, he knew that Lilly was my half-sister, and he never once told me. But why would he? Why tell the girl who he only wanted to use?
“I’ll get my stuff,” I say and spin around, running up the stairs.
Tears run down my face as I change into my clothes from earlier and shove my shit back in my backpack. I cry for what happened to Cole’s mom. For my half-sister’s mom. Did my father have something to do with her death? The thought makes me sick to my stomach.
I pick up my bag, throwing it over my shoulder, and turn around. I come to a stop when I see Cole standing at the top of the stairs with his hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans. His face has that usual mask. God forbid the man show any emotion.
His eyes trace the marks around my neck, and I swallow the lump in my throat but say nothing. There’s nothing to say to him.
Then, without a word, I walk around him, down the steps, and out the front door.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
COLE
I WAKE HEARING loud voices. I make my way down to the office and crack the door open. My father stands behind his desk.
My mom sits in one of his black leather chairs. Tears run down her cheeks.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispers.
He runs a hand down his face. “Is it even mine?”
She sniffs. “I don’t know …”
“How long have you been fucking him?” he growls.
“I didn’t ….”
He slams his fists down on the table. “You’re fucking pregnant, Betty!”
“He raped me,” she cries.
“Because you let him.” He slaps her across the face.
I go running in. “Mom!”
“Get the fuck out of here, Cole!” my father growls.
“Go, Cole.” She shoves me out of the room and shuts the door. I place my ear against it and listen.
“Fuck! How could you let this happen?” he demands. “Now, you’re just another broken bitch. Like all the rest.”
“I’m leaving, and I’m taking Cole with me,” she says, ignoring his words.
“You’re not going anywhere. And you sure as hell aren’t taking my son with you.”
“You’re not gonna put your hands on me,” she snaps.
“I’ll do whatever I damn well please.” I hear him slap her again, and I try to open the door, but it’s locked. She cries out.
“Mom!” I say, pounding my fist on the door. “Mom, open the door.”
“You think I’m gonna let you leave me? You think I’m gonna let this town think you fucked another man who didn’t fucking want you or his child?” His voice rises. “You and Cole will stay where you belong. Under my roof. Under my fucking control.”
“I don’t need you,” she shouts angrily. “We don’t need you.”
I hear books crashing to the floor and her strangled cry. “You’re right,” he growls. “You don’t. But if you walk out that door, I will take Cole from you and this baby as well. I will dump you out in the mud with nothing but the clothes on your back. You may have come from money, but I hold all the power in this house.”
I stand in the loft, facing the bed. The front door slamming pulls me out of my memory. The sound of Austin leaving me. She deserves better. Someone who isn’t so fucked up. A man who treats her better than every other fucking bastard in her family.
I run a hand through my hair. My head pounding.
I hurt her. And the worst part is that I liked it. My body physically craved her to a point it was unhealthy. Her cries. Her tears. I fucking took and took. And she didn’t stop me. Why would she? I told her what I wanted to do to her, and she willingly challenged me. She was testing me. And I failed her.
I’ve become my father. The man I despise.
He destroyed my mother. He quit loving her and gave up on her, but I never did. I loved her so much. It didn’t matter that he thought she was broken. To me, that made her special. She was a fighter. Just like Austin is.
Reaching down, I grab the empty bottle of Jack and throw it at the far wall with a shout. It shatters into a million fucking pieces.
My heart pounds in my chest, and I’m gasping for air. The pounding in my head intensifies, making my ears ring. I charge into the bathroom and open the cabinet. Grabbing a couple of Advil, I turn the sink on, cup my hand, and swallow some water to take them. Hoping they will dull the pain enough for me to think straight. To figure out what to do.
Deke was right, once again. Bastard! She’s not safe at her dad’s house. She’s not safe with me either. And she can’t go back to her mom’s.
What are you gonna do about it?
I should protect her. I can protect her. That’s what a man does.
She looked at me as if I planned all of this. My sick game. That I had a vendetta against her from day one due to what her father did to my mother. It wasn’t about that. It wasn’t her fault. Just like it was never Lilly’s fault.
My phone rings in the other room, and I make my way to it. Deke lights up my screen.
“What?” I bark. I’m pissed at him even if he was right. She deserved to know her life is in danger.