“I know,” she whispered. “But why does he hate you so much? He’s your brother, he should have protected you. He should have helped to defend you. You were a helpless child.”
Devon was silent for a long moment, his eyes dark and distant. “Robert was always twisted, like my father. I didn’t see it as a child because I couldn’t see anything past my father, but Robert was always cruel too. It was a long time later that I thought back on those days with a different eye and suddenly realized the things I had missed. The servants were afraid of Robert. At the time I thought it was because he was going to be the future master, but now I know that it was more than that. He terrorized them. He hit them when they messed up, beat them if he saw fit, took the women whenever he wanted, as my father did. But I never saw the joy, the absolute ecstasy that he took in it, not until after.
“My mother was also afraid of him. She tried to protect me, to shelter me from them, but I recall times when she would tremble in their presence. Tremble in the presence of her own child. She wanted nothing more than to get me out of that house and as far from them as possible. Unfortunately, once I was free I ran wild with it. I should have taken more time for her, should have opened my eyes sooner to what was going on in that house, but I could see nothing past my own pain and terror. It was a long time before I finally did, and by then it was too late for my mother. She withered swiftly away once I was gone; I think her fear just ate at her until she finally died.”
Cassie choked back a sob as she shook her head. “That’s not your fault. You couldn’t have stopped it, you couldn’t have stayed there. If you had…”
“They would have killed me,” he said when she could not finish. Cassie recoiled from his words, hating the truth in them, hating that he’d had to suffer so badly. No child should have to go through what he had. No wonder he had wanted to keep the truth about his brother hidden from her, no wonder he had tried to keep her as shut out of his past as possible.
“I’m glad that you did, but you didn’t have to show me,” she managed to choke out.
He played idly with a strand of her hair, twirling it around his finger. “Yes, I did. You need to know Cassie, that no matter what they say, we cannot trust them. Especially Robert.”
She was silent for a moment, her fingers lightly stroking his solid, bare chest. “I know.”
“If they had truly come in peace, and for the reasons they say, they would not have brought Robert with them.”
The thought of Devon’s brother was enough to make her blood boil. She wanted to kill him herself, and if she got the chance she knew that she would. Just as Robert would do the same to her. “The change, what is it like?”
Devon’s hand stilled on her hair. “Cassie…”
“It has to be done Devon, whether they force it or we chose it, it must be done. I think I should be prepared for it.”
He was silent for a moment before nodding. “The pain is very intense, but hopefully I will be able to take some of yours onto myself by keeping hold of a piece of your mind.” Cassie shook her head in protest, not wanting him to do any such thing. “Yes Cassie that is going to happen no matter what you say. It doesn’t last long; the longest I’ve seen is an hour. Mine was only twenty minutes.”
Cassie nodded; she could handle the pain, no matter what she would not allow Devon to take it on for her. “Ok, that’s not bad.”
She managed a wan smile for him. Though she was looking forward to joining him completely, to being with him forever, she did not relish the thought of dying. He was thoughtful as he watched her. “I will make it as painless as possible for you.”
“I’ll be fine,” she replied.
He simply nodded, though she knew that he was not giving into her wishes. He kissed her softly, drawing her closer against him once more.
CHAPTER 19
Cassie sat silently, trying to peak out from behind Devon, but he stood firmly in front of her and had no intention of moving even a little bit. She bit back a sigh of impatience. The testosterone level in the room was running high, tension was pulsating, and she was greatly afraid that one of the strong, super powerful men in this room was going to snap.
And she was afraid that it was going to be Devon, as Robert had already managed to nearly send him into a rage the minute that he had walked into the room. He had taken one look at Cassie and his eyes had lit with maliciousness. “Well don’t you smell interesting. Looks like someone is a woman now, does that finally make you a man Devon?” he had inquired softly.
Cassie’s face had flooded with color; her body had burned with the heat of embarrassment that had flooded it. She had been unable to meet any of the startled gazes directed her way. Julian had grabbed hold of Devon, holding him back when he had been about to pounce on his brother. Cassie was certain that Devon would have killed Robert if he had gotten his hands on him.
Devon had held back from destroying Robert all these years because Robert was his brother, and to Devon that still meant something, but Cassie realized that it didn’t matter anymore. Not if it meant her safety, and her life. Nothing mattered more to him than that. Robert was now fair game, and it seemed Robert had finally realized that fact as he had remained silent ever since those first few comments.
“How do we draw them out?” Zane inquired softly.
“They’ll come to us,” Devon answered, thrusting his arm behind him when Cassie tried to move to get a better view. She frowned fiercely at his back, but he didn’t bother to look at her in order to get the full force of her displeasure.
“They’ll lay a trap if we allow them too.”
“Outside will be better,” Luther said. “In the open where we can see them coming, and where they will have less of a chance to divide us.”
Zane was silent, his gaze moved slowly toward the boarded windows, then around the store. “Yes, perhaps you are right. There is no room for movement in here. We draw them out into the open and with all of us…”
“They will not be a part of this. There is no need for them to be,” Devon interrupted.
Anger spurted through her as Chris, Melissa, Dani, and Luther spun on him. “You can’t leave us behind again!” Cassie interjected sharply. Devon turned slowly toward her, his emerald eyes blazing with intensity and anger. His jaw was clenched tight, his nostrils flared slightly. “Not after last time, and you will need us.”