Page 100 of Rat

“And now I feel nothing, absolutely nothing.”

He hurt, he ached, his knuckles throbbed with fire, but he was emotionally dead. His heart still beat, but it had been poisoned with grief.

“You were doing so well with Sebastian Claw, and there was nothing you could’ve done for your sister.”

“Nothing I could have done?”

“She and her partner died instantly in the crash.”

“Danny, his name’s Danny.”

Hamish sighed. “It was a tragic accident, and she was placed in the morgue for when you got out.”

“Is that your idea of a welcome-back present?”

Hamish hung his head. “I really am sorry, Rory—”

“Sorry that she’s dead or sorry for not telling me?”

“Both. I didn’t know what to do.”

Rory leaned forward. “You can shove your apology up your arse. It’s not going to bring her back, is it?”

“No.”

“I love my sister. She’s all I’ve got in the world, and now she’s gone, and I’m alone.”

“You’re not alone. You’ve got me, Morris. You’ve got the whole police force. We’re your family.”

Rory shook his head. A bitter laugh escaped him. “You don’t keep massive secrets like that from people you care about.”

“You do when it’s for the best.”

“Best for who? Me? It wasn’t best for me, but you, you lied so I’d keep spying on Sebastian, see what he had planned for you, but you know what, I don’t care what he’s got planned for you anymore.”

“You don’t care that when he gets out, he might start making bombs or weapons? Selling them, killing people?”

“No. I don’t. All I care about is my sister, and she’s dead. There’s nothing else.”

“What about knowing you’re doing the right thing? That counts for something.”

“The right thing?” Rory snorted. “There’s no right thing.”

“Your career?”

“The one I cheated my way into, which you then used to blackmail me into this prison.”

“This was a good opportunity. I was helping you.”

“No, you weren’t. I thought the hardest thing would be the physical side, being hurt, stabbed, but that was a breeze compared to the emotional side of being here. The constant betrayal, the guilt, the self-loathing. I shouldn’t be here, I should never have been here, I should’ve been out there with Erica—”

“She still would’ve died.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’re in shock. When you’ve had some time to process, you’ll realize there was nothing you could’ve done for your sister.”

Rory grimaced. “She is what would’ve got me through this. She’s always been there for me, never judged me, and likethat…she’s gone. I…I want to see her.”

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