Page 206 of Endgame
His eyes send ice racing up my spine. My teeth chatter as shock strikes me.
I can almost feel it coming.
My lungs stop working.
He’s going to throw me into the basement. Locked up underground, the soundproofed walls and doors would mute my screams. I’d bang on the door anyway. On Everett’s door.
But…no. We aren’t headed out of the room. He’s taking me to the closet.
He’s going to lock me up. In there. Alone.
I can’t do it. I can’t.
“Put me down.”
My fists bang, bang, bang on his chest. When it doesn’t work, I yank at his hair.
I wish I could control myself, but I can’t. It’s nearly impossible when I’m drowning in panic.
I need help.
“Put me down!” I have to breathe through this. Have to try. “I don’t want to go in there.”
Everett stops in the middle of our bedroom. Shadows play over his sharp features, his clenched jaw. His love for me is there. Right beneath the surface.
He won’t let it out. He can’t.
Something or someone has sunk their claws into his damaged soul.
The wound he had managed to patch up has been cut open again.
He’s bleeding. In so much pain.
I get that now. “Everett. Your sister.”
“Your mother.” His hiss is quiet, yet it hits me like thunder cracking through the skies. “How’s that for honesty?”
My mother. There’s no question in his voice anymore.
My.
Mother.
“You sent our DNA to a lab.” I reach for his cheek. I go for a subtle touch.
Everett bats my hand away, staring at me through narrowed eyes.
“Then…” I start. Stop. It’s too much. The weight of this moment, of this revelation. Of Everett’s anger that’s sucking the air out of the room.
I won’t hide from it.
He needs me. “What happened?”
“Your father.” The venom in his voice is a dagger to my heart. Right between my ribs. “I have no doubt that he made her beg. That he ignored her cries.”
We’re walking again, crossing the room. Entering the closet.
“Everett.”
