Jasmine glanced at my black and blue twin. Her eyes remained cool and standoffish, but her voice was warm enough. “You’ll find out soon.” Rolling backward, she graciously gave me some privacy as I slit the rope around V’s wrists and freed him.
The instant he could move, he hitched himself up and threw his arms around me. His muscular bulk wasn’t warm like normal—the ice from the room leeched everything from him, making it seem like I hugged marble.
He clutched me harder. “Fuck, Threads. What the hell is going on?”
I fell into him.
Vaughn was alive.
Jethro was alive.
Even Kes was alive.
A trifecta of happiness, yet all I wanted to do was burst into tears.
“It’s a long story.” I breathed in his familiar aftershave.
His body shuddered, his chin pressing on the top of my head. He didn’t let me go; if anything, he hugged me tighter. “God, I thought they’d killed you, too.” He shook his head. “Those gunshots. That fucking maniac. What the hell?”
I untangled myself. “Like I said, long story.”
Anger curled off him. “Where are the fucking cops in all of this! They came to get you. They brought you home. Yet, you touted that bullshit for that magazine and ruined everything. You cried wolf, Threads, and now we’re really fucked—”
“Stop it, alright? I know I’ve done a few things that don’t make sense. I know I made our family a laughingstock by denying everything you said and the police want nothing to do with us, but none of that matters.” Giving him a watery smile, I rubbed my eyes, doing my best to stay calm. “The main thing is you’re still alive. I’m still alive, and we’re going to fight back.”
His jaw worked. “Damn fucking right we’re going to fight back. I want every single Hawk dead.”
“Not every Hawk deserves to die.” Jasmine’s voice carried on a puff of frozen breath.
I turned to face her, sharing a kindred smile. “Only the rotten ones.”
He’s alive.
He’s alive.
Both our brothers are still in this world.
Vaughn growled. “They’re all rotten. Every last one of them.”
Jasmine scowled.
We didn’t have time to fight.
“We’ll talk about that later. For now, tell me if you’re alright. No broken bones or anything?”
V sighed, hugging me again. His strength hinted that apart from a few bruises, he wasn’t too damaged. “I’m stronger than I look, little sister.” He couldn’t stop touching me—tucking my hair behind my ears, tracing my cheeks and arms. It was tender, but it wasn’t because of love or the need to connect.
Ever since our mum became Hawk property, Vaughn had always patched me up. He’d find me sprawled at the bottom of the stairs from tripping with vertigo and plaster the scrapes on my hands. He’d somehow be there first if I fell and cut myself—always armed with bandages and painkillers for his delinquent sister.
He was so used to me hurting myself, he had a system. A process.
Words could lie about a fall—brush it off as if it were nothing. But touch couldn’t hide the truth. Touch could feel the heat of a new bruise or the bump of a broken bone.
Even hurt himself, he was still trying to fix and protect me.
I pushed him away. “I’m okay, V. Honest.”
“We need to get you out of here.” He swung his legs off the bed. “Now. Tonight.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Both our heads whipped up to face Jasmine. She’d rolled closer, sitting with her hands in her lap. I didn’t trust for a second she was as meek as she seemed. She probably had hundreds of weapons hidden in her blanket.
“I’ve given you time to say hello. I’ve given you time that I didn’t have to give. But now you have to come with me.”
Vaughn stiffened. “I don’t have to do anything.” Grabbing my hand, he squeezed. “I’m taking my sister, and we’re leaving.”
“No, you aren’t.” Jasmine’s face darkened. “You’ll do what I say.”
I froze. Once again, my loyalties split. I used to belong to Vaughn entirely. He was blood. He was the exact replica of me in every way. But my heart had replaced him with my chosen one.
The one I thought was dead.
We would never be as close because we would never need each other as much as we once had.
It was both sad and freeing at the same time.
“She’s right, V. We can’t leave. Not yet.”
Vaughn’s eyes popped wide. “What the fuck does that mean?” Raising a finger, he pointed at Jasmine. “Wait a minute…who are you?” His voice slipped into a hiss. “Are you one of them? Because if you are, so fucking help me I’ll wring your neck—girl or not.”
Jasmine didn’t back down. She didn’t even flinch. “If you’re asking if I’m a Hawk, the answer is yes. If you’re asking if I love my brothers as much as you love your sister, then the answer is yes. And if you’re asking if I’m on your side, the answer isn’t so simple.”
Vaughn let me go, pushing off the bed to tower over her. He stumbled a little, but it didn’t stop him from sucking in a breath and whipping the room with temper. “If what you say is true, then you know what I feel and I’ll do anything to protect my twin. I won’t put your needs before hers. Ever.”
Jasmine gritted her teeth. Her eyes flashed with frustration for Jethro and Kes. The longer we argued, the less time we had.
They need us. Now. Before it’s too late.
“Vaughn, listen to me—”
“No, Nila, you listen to me. I don’t know how she brainwashed you, but it’s over. They’re all noxious; therefore, they’ll all die.” He took a step closer to Jaz. “And if you don’t move out of my fucking way, you’ll be the first to go.”
Her eyes pinned him in place; her elegant throat poised with defiance. “I’ll tell you something you don’t know, Mr. Weaver. And then we’ll see if you’ll do what you’re told.”
V snorted but Jaz ignored him.
“Your sister has survived my family for almost six months. She’s the one who stood up to us. She’s the one who helped my brother all because she believed in him. She had the power to destroy him, but she didn’t. And if anyone deserves to kill those who deserve to die, it’s her.” She swallowed hard, forcing herself to continue. “Seeing you together is hard. You both look so similar. Twins in every sense. My brothers and I might not be the same age, but we share something in common. We share a desire for freedom. And I won’t let you take that away from us.”
Her eyes fell on me. “Have you told him, Nila? Have you told him who Jethro is to you? Or did you continue to let him slander his name in social media when you left us?”
I flinched.
She’s right.
While trapped at Hawksridge, I lived in truth far more than I ever did in London. I hadn’t had the guts to look my father or twin in their eyes and tell them that I was in love with a Hawk. That I belonged to him and him to me. That I was a traitor to my family name.
“What is she talking about, Threads?” Anger glazed V’s eyes along with a faint hint of fear. “Tell me.”
“V, I—”
How could I tell him that I loved Jethro as much as I loved him? How could I tell him that it was no longer simple between us?
“She took him from me, Vaughn,” Jaz said quietly. “She fell in love with my brother, and overnight, I became second in his life.” She gave me a twisted smile—half-accepting, half-unwilling. “He doesn’t belong to me anymore, just like she doesn’t belong to you.”
Vaughn shifted, running a hand through his dark hair. The beard he’d sported in London had been shorn, but a few day’s growth shadowed his jaw. “I don’t—I don’t understand.”
“One day, you’ll end up belonging to someone you love. But for now, you belong to me. I’m the one who’s come to rescue you. I’m the one who holds your life in my hands. And I’m the one who says you’ll do what I ask.”
My shoulders hunched. “Probably not the best way to make him help you.”
She glared at me.
I shrugged.
I’d been on the receiving end of Jasmine’s willpower—her perfect deception. She could spin any tale—give life to any lie. She’d completely fooled me at the meeting, and I’d never underestimate her again. I still couldn’t shake the hatred I’d felt. But she didn’t know my brother or how pig-headed he could be when told to do something.
V turned to me. “Threads…is that true? You fell in love with that bastard?” His face fell. “Is that why you slept with him?”
Jaz sucked in a breath, watching us like some soap opera.
I moved to stand in front of my brother. “What she says is true. I love him, V. And he doesn’t have much time. Jasmine needs your help.” Laying a hand on his chest, I murmured, “I want you to help her. For me. Please…”
His heart thundered under my touch; his eyes dove into mine. “This is for real? You love the bastard who’s going to kill you?” His face contorted. “Could you be any more stupid?”