Brandon grunts and runs his fingers through his hair. His eyes dart back and forth between Gabe and I as he searches for the right words. When his furious glare lands back on Gabe, he fists his hands and spats out words that have my already fragile psyche cracking. “Tony deserved it after what he did.”
My heart thunders in my chest and I shake my head in denial. What did my dad deserve? What did he do? “No.” The word is a whisper and I’m not sure either of them even heard it.
Gabe frowns and shakes his head in disproval. “Did you tell Baylee that you killed him? Surely she has ascertained as much by now.”
“No, you’re lying.” I swallow down my emotion and blink away the tears blurring my vision. “Tell me where my dad is, Brandon.”
Brandon grits his teeth and jerks his gaze to me. The fire in his eyes is burning bright and hate-filled. He’s lost. So lost. “That night,” he snarls, “that night when he fucking took you, I woke up with a broken nose and a broken heart.”
“Awwww,” Gabe taunts.
“Shut the fuck up,” Brandon snaps. “I went into their bedroom and woke up your dad. I told him what happened. Do you want to know what he did?”
My brows scrunch in confusion. I can imagine a million different scenarios. Dad hitting him. Dad freaking out with worry. Dad accusing him of doing something to me.
“He dragged me out of that room, so your mother wouldn’t wake, and he punched me in the stomach. Then he threatened me. He told me to shut the fuck up or he’d do it for me. To not tell a soul anything because as far as I was concerned, you ran away. It wasn’t until a few days later when I came back, after your mom had passed away, that I learned the truth. He told me that he did what he had to do for the money. To save your mother. End of story.”
“I don’t understand,” I murmur. None of this makes any sense.
Brandon huffs and lets out a cruel laugh. A laugh so similar to Gabe’s it sends goosebumps popping up all over my flesh. “Your dad was in on your abduction and sale, Baylee. It was all planned.”
Time stops as I consider his twisted words. There’s no way my father would sell his daughter for money. Absolutely not.
Sitting up on my knees, the hoodie hitting me mid-thigh, I point my finger at him angrily. “No, I don’t believe this.” Anger surges in my chest at his insinuations. “You’re a fucking liar, Brandon. Dad wouldn’t let Gabe abduct me, rape me, and then sell me. No!”
Gabe chooses that moment to pipe up. “It’s the truth,” he says and has the audacity to look regretful. “It was the only way to insure Lynn got moved up on the transplant list or considered for a private donor that could be paid off. It was business and you were a pawn, sweet girl.” Then, his eyes slide over my bare legs and he flashes me one of his wicked, psycho grins. “Besides, Tony didn’t give me his approval to sleep with his daughter. How was I supposed to know we were going to fall in love? That was just a bonus, beautiful.”
We are not in love.
He is fucking delusional.
“This was all for nothing…” I trail off, choking on my words. “What about those other girls? Did you love them too or were they just practice?”
Gabe runs his fingertips over the top of my foot and I shudder. “Sweetheart, believe me when I say it was not all for nothing. It was worth every second. And, yes, my little hobby of mine with the WCT opened the door for something bigger. It revealed to me a way to help your father save your mother and to give me you. Everyone wins. You were worth so much more than those broken girls though. You were meant to be mine, sweet girl. Forever.”
Tears roll down my cheeks as the betrayal sinks in at being used in their game. The black knight and the black rook taking out all the pieces in my world, including their attempt at taking my king. My father’s ultimate betrayal spins in my head, threatening to finish me off. Lifting my chin, I remember War’s words.
The rules state the pawn is the weakest piece.
But if the pawn makes it to the other side, it gets promoted.
The pawn can become queen.
And then it’s not weak at all.
“Mom knew?” My voice wobbles.
Gabe smiles, almost tenderly and shakes his head. “She didn’t. Your mother would have never agreed to that.”
Another tear streaks down my cheek and I cling to the fact that not everyone has betrayed me in this life. I almost believe that had they just asked me, I’d have gone willingly. I would have gone off to War to save my mom. Gabe didn’t have to terrorize me in the process. We could have found a way. I would have done that for her. I would have done anything for her.
But nobody asked me.
They just used me.
I was exactly like he said. A fucking pawn.
“Go on, Brandon,” Gabe urges. “Tell her how you killed him while she was with that freak. You probably beat him just like you beat me, you angry little shit. Tell her how you buried him in their own backyard.”
“How do you know this?” Brandon says with a growl. “Did you dig up his fucking body?”