“Was it very dangerous? Growing up with him?”
I want to laugh, but I don’t. “It makes what happened to us look like a walk in the park,” I answer truthfully without details.
“H-How did you ever survive?” Skye’s voice cracks, and her expression is tight. She’s trying her hardest not to fall apart but is failing.
I lean forward and place my lips on hers. “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
“And you had the will.” I can feel her smile against my lips.
“I did.” Pulling back, I let out a yawn.
“You need to rest.”
“I rested all night.”
“Rest some more.” Usually, I would call her bossy, but she’s right. I need rest, especially with everything coming next with Felix.
With that, I feel Skye take my hand, and my eyes close.
39
Skye
Tobias fell back asleep. As much as he thinks he’s above needing to recoup from a gunshot, he’s not. His body is obviously exhausted, and he’s too much of a tough guy to admit it, but alas, it didn’t matter.
He’s now lying in bed, breathing softly with a peaceful look on his face. His usually hard and focused features look rested and relaxed for the first time since I’ve met him for the second time. Even when we were kids and he held me in that storage closet.
My brain is on overload, trying to remember everything that has passed between us since we’ve been reacquainted.
At any point did I know? A part of me thinks I did, even if it was subconsciously. There was always a gravitational pull to him. And ever since he re-entered my life, my thoughts of the older boy from the closet were always close by.
Somewhere inside me, I knew.
Standing from where I’m perched on the bed, I peer around the room.
What am I supposed to do now? Do I just sit here, or am I supposed to be doing something?
With the quiet of the room, I can’t help how my mind wanders. There is so much we don’t know. The first thing is Felix. We know he’s involved, that much is clear, but the whys are still out there, hovering above us where we can’t see.
Then there is the matter of Tobias. Glancing back at the bed, I part my mouth into a smile. He’s resting peacefully, his chest rising and falling with every inhale and exhale, but then my lips thin.
I was told a lie, and I need to find out why.
Why didn’t you tell me the truth, Dad?
About anything.
It’s not just that he lied about Tobias, but he still hasn’t told me that he’s ill.
No matter how often I call to check in, and I call often, he doesn’t utter anything about his health.
At first, I felt disappointed that he wouldn’t confide in me, then hurt, but now, I’m just plain angry with him.
I don’t know what to think. I need to ask him why he lied. Why he told me that Tobias died.
I start to pace the room, but finally, I can’t handle it anymore. I need to call him. But first, I need to make sure I can. I don’t know the protocol.
Where’s Gideon when I need him?
I check on Tobias one more time before I leave, and yep, he’s still out for the count. Then I’m opening the door slowly so as not to wake him, and I slip outside to go in search of Gideon.
Despite the fact that it’s early in the morning, the halls are dark. This place is also confusing as all hell.
If this were a children’s book, I’d find a piece of bread and leave crumbs for myself. This place is huge. It reminds me of a British manor. I bet the security is intense.
Not that it matters in the long run.
The security in his building was crazy, yet Felix could still hit him. I shudder at the thought, at how lucky we were, because many of his men were not.
Hell, we were almost killed. I almost lost Tobias before I found him.
It takes me over five minutes before I see a light a few feet up the long dark hall, and when I make my approach, it looks like an office.
Gideon must hear me because he’s speaking before I even step inside. “Can I help you, or are you just sulking out there?”
Taking a step to enter, I lift my gaze to see Gideon staring right at me. I’m at the threshold of the room. “Can I come in? Am I disturbing you?”
“You don’t need to ask, Skye.”
With that settled, I step inside despite the anxious feeling that’s beginning to work its way inside me.
The first thing I notice is that this room is not at all like the office building where Tobias resides. Although I have never been in his residence, from what I gathered from the rest of the building, this is the opposite.
Where the building was cold and modern, this home feels warm and lived in.
It’s not traditional as one would think when they look at the façade of the manor, but it’s not sterile.
It’s the perfect transitional home. Wood paneling that’s been painted gray.
A black suede couch sits on the opposite wall of the Lucite desk. A clear swivel chair behind the desk.
Spotting a couch, I head over to it and then sit. My hands rest on the soft material.
“Am I allowed to call someone?” I ask him.
“It depends. Who will you be calling?”
“I wanted to call my office and—” I sigh. “I need to speak to my father.”
“About?”
My first instinct is to glare at Gideon, but then I realize that he’s just being careful, and after what we’ve just been through, I realize he has no choice but to ask this question. I temper my attitude and answer his question, regardless of if I want to.
“My father told me—” I stop. How much does Gideon know about Tobias’s and my shared past?
I narrow my eyes. “Do you know?” I keep it vague.
“That Tobias and you met before?” he answers.
“Yeah, but do you know how and when?” His eyes soften as he nods at my question. Compassion and pain are there.
“I know.”
“See, the thing is . . . I didn’t know Tobias was alive. My father told me he had died. I asked about the kid in the closet. What had happened to him? He told me.” I bite my lip, trying to stop myself from getting emotional.
Gideon lets out a giant breath, and I know his answer before he even speaks.
I can’t call.
It’s written all over his features. From the way his brows furrowed, forming elevens to age his face, to the way his body has stiffened. Shoulders tight.
“Skye,” he starts, and I lift my hand up to stop him.
“I know. I can’t contact him. Not after what just happened.”
“It isn’t safe. Not for you. Not for him and not for Tobias. Give it a few days.”
“Okay.”
With that out of the way, I stand from the couch and head back out the door.
For the next thirty minutes, I walk around the house aimlessly, eventually finding my way back to Tobias’s room. I crack the door open and let myself in. He’s still asleep. Still peaceful. I sit beside him and watch him breathe.
Thankful for the opportunity.
Hours pass. I kept myself busy after I was told I couldn’t call my father yet by reading a book next to Tobias while he rested. Eventually, my stomach told me it was time to eat with an angry growl, which brings me to the here and now. I’m going to make myself lunch. I’m not much of a chef, but I’ll have to do.