Page 23 of Chaos Kills

“But he knows. Everything.”

“Let him.” Judah looks back at me. “You need to keep yourself and those around you safe. It’s vital, Torin. No one gets in or out.”

“Ozzy married her.”

“So, where does that leave you?”

I don’t know.

I can’t bring myself to make a decision, because the one I make will be final. I can’t undo it.

“I need you to tell me,” I hedge evenly, feeling a dull headache form at both of my temples. “How deep was she into all this?”

“Deep,” he confirms. “She killed me, didn’t she?”

My heart arrests in my chest at the confirmation, and all the blood drains from my face.

She couldn’t.

There has to be something wrong here.

“Why do you look so conflicted, brother?” Judah asks me. “You know she was running with Levi.”

“I was with her,” I admit, tucking my chin shamefully into my chest. “I saw the fear in her eyes with De Leon. How she would walk behind him so she could calculate his every move. She was scared of him.”

“Calculating would be accurate,” Judah claims. “And Matteo wasn’t the greatest. However, she stuck with him, didn’t she? When did she finally leave?”

I’m unaware of the full story behind that. I remember one day she was with him, and the next time I saw Matteo, she wasn’t.

I did my homework and found she was back home in South Shore, but it wasn’t as though I could waltz inside and check on her.

“I have no clue,” I reply. “I wasn’t around much then.”

“In the end, I guess it doesn’t matter. Wallace still plays a major role in her life, and he hates you and Matteo. And there’s one common denominator in all this.” I glance up at him. “Her.”

My teeth clamp down on each other because he’s right. She’s been in the middle of everything.

Always has been.

“What would she have gained with me?” I inquire, needing my brother’s input. “I don’t want The Landing’s seat.”

“To take out Emilio,” Judah states. “Maybe to allow Wallace what he’s always wanted.”

“Wallace would’ve had many opportunities to take me out,” I retort. Especially when I was deep inside her and unaware of anything around me.

“You come with backup. Reeve and Cairo would come back full force and cause a war.”

“So, take us all out, then? At the same time?” Judah nods then reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder. “You got this. You know what to do. It’s always been us. I’m just no longer able to stand at your side like I always wanted to.”

My eyebrows collapse together because neither one of us can undo what’s already been done. But I hate that he said it.

I loathe that he’s not here and I waited for him.

“You were supposed to come home,” I mutter. “I didn’t…I didn’t feel you gone.”

My brother gives me a weak grin. “You didn’t want me gone. You kept me alive.”

“This—I can’t do it. I love her.”

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