Page 28 of Javier

“Yes. Why was that evening kept a secret from me and the rest of our community here in the Narrows?”

He looked at his plate, at a loss for words, and pressed his thumb into the biscuit crumbs, thinking, coming up with nothing, and contemplated her.

“You were young adults filled with righteousness and a bloodthirst for justice. Did you get it that night?”

He glanced away and lost himself in the gentle movement of the trees. It was pleasant and soothing compared to the nighttime scene from more than thirty years earlier looping in his mind.

“Javi?”

“No,” he said quietly. “We already talked about this. Let’s drop it.”

“I don’t think so. The cat is out of the bag. I need to talk about it and so do you.”

“It didn’t go the way we planned.”

“Ah, yes … the castration. Who came up with that idea?”

“Ransom. Said he could do it without blood.”

“Mm-mm. And everyone agreed because he had hands-on experience castrating livestock from working at Pittman’s farm.”

“Yes, after a lot of discussion. We weren’t monsters.”

“Situations can spin out of control when emotions run high, especially if a large number of people are involved. How many of you were there that night?”

“Dozens.”

“And your brother of the heart, among the more fragile in spirit, was tasked by all of you, elected by a vote to do the job. He was proud to do it, for Rose.”

“We weren’t thinking about that. Only the fact that Ransom had experience.”

“Ransom snapped when she was beaten, raped, and left for dead. He and Rose had a special bond. He took it the hardest.” Daphne grasped his hand. “Whereas you all wanted and agreed to justice, he truly wanted revenge.”

“I see that now.”

“Good. That’s why we’re talking. Yes, he chose the most humane way, but castrating Rose’s culprit was not enough for him. He wanted the bastard to live with what he had done. Every day. For the rest of his life. So, he cut him, permanently scarring his crime into his torso. I’ve lived here my whole life. I know who the man is. He’s a sick, twisted excuse of a human. I’m confident that bastard grows more bitter with each passing year because every day he sees RAPIST in raised scars on his belly. He is reminded, as Ransom intended, of just one of the evils he has perpetrated on others during his lifetime in our town. He can’t hide.”

“As it should be,” Javier said bitterly.

“He might have died, honey.”

“We would never have let that happen.”

“It could have, but you took him to the hospital afterward.”

His brows shot up.

“Uh-huh. I knew.”

He frowned. Where in the hell had she gotten all of the accurate information? “Ransom took it too far. He should have stopped.”

“I agree. Ransom did take it too far. I understood why, although I didn’t agree with it. His love for a sister drove him to act without considering the fallout. And for that, he was banished. His brothers, sisters, and friends turned their backs on him.Abandonedhim. He wasrejected. Youknewhow that felt. Did you ever consider that?”

She kept her tone even and never raised her voice, but Daphne’s questions and on-point summaries cut deep, making him relive all of it and feel fucking terrible. Abandonment. Rejection. They were two of the issues that he had dealt with his entire life because he had been discarded and placed in the system.Fuck.

He bowed his head. His words cracked with raw emotion. “I didn’t. I’m sorry, Mom. I wish I could tell him I’m sorry for abandoning him. Collectively, we were of the mindset that it would have come back on Rose. Or you. On us. I loved him, but at the time, well believed he had to leave.”

“What happened to Rose was beyond vile, but the banishment was harsh. You and Stone have always been who everyone else looks up to.” She fixed him with her frank expression.

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