All of them gasp collectively.
“What are you saying?”Dante asks.
“I’m saying I’m going to go find her and bring her back here.She’s going to sleep in my bed tonight and every night for the rest of eternity.I’m done hiding from you and from her.Tomorrow, I’ll pack up her things and move her into my room for good.”
Silver’s eyes bug out.“You can’t be fucking serious.”
“Dead serious.I’m an asshole for dragging my feet.It wasn’t fair to you.But mostly it wasn’t fair to Briana.I put off revealing myself to her because I couldn’t fathom how to tell you she was my girl.Things got fucking complicated when I found out she was your sister, but that doesn’t change how I feel about her.Nor does it change how she feels about me.”
He smirks.“I doubt she’ll ever speak to you again.You fucking lied to her.”
“She will.She always knew I was lying to her.I’ve never let her see my face or hear my normal voice.She’s addicted to me, and she had no idea who I was.”
“Addicted?”he yells.“What the fuck have you done to her?”
I shake my head.“You don’t want to know, brother.And besides, my relationship with Briana is personal.It’s between me and her.”
“It’s between her and a fucking stranger,” he retorts.
“True.But she knows enough.She knows I’m devoted to her.She knows she’s the center of my universe.She knows she can’t live without me, and she never will.”
“No.”Silver shakes his head again.“You’ll fuck her up.Destroy her.”
“I already have.”
Silver lunges forward and takes another swing, this time, catching my nose.I hear it crunch right before blood spurts out.
Talon hands me a napkin.
I dab at the blood before grabbing the bridge of my nose and giving a quick yank to make sure it’s lined up.It hurts like a motherfucker, but it’s not the first time I’ve had to reset my nose.It happened several times in elementary school.I was the nerdiest, weirdest kid in every class.
Silver shakes out his hand.He hurt his knuckles with that punch.“You fucking asshole.”
“I am.I wish I could say I’m sorry, but I’m not.She fills a hole in me that I never expected to fill in my lifetime.She’s my everything.I will never let her go.”
Silver scowls.“What if she doesn’t want you?”
“She does.She can’t live without me either.We’re a perfect match.”
“She’s pure and innocent!”Silver bellows.“Or she was until you got your filthy paws on her.”
I nod.“It’s true.She was.In many ways, she still is.She’s a ray of sunshine.So sweet and perfect.But she also grew up in the system, Silver.She wasn’t raised in a perfect home with parents who loved her.She was raised in multiple houses where several foster kids also lived.She craves the kind of attention I give her.We fulfill a deep need in each other.”
Silver covers his ears.“Shut the fuck up.Stop it.I don’t want to hear this shit.”
I purse my lips and let him stew.After long seconds, I say, “I need to go find her.”
“No, you fucking do not get to go find her.I’ll go.She’s my blood relative.All you are is a fucking insane stalker who traumatized her for weeks.”
I shake my head.“I’m hereverything.Her world.Even if you forced her to, she would never recover from me.I made sure of it.I know you don’t want to hear that, but it’s the truth.You don’t have to like it, but you have to live with it.Iwill be the one to find her.I will bring her back here.I will comfort her and give her what she needs.Me.Alone.You’re just her brother.I’m her life.”
His breath hitches.He staggers backward.“You’re fucking serious.”
“I told you I am.”And I need to go.I need to find my girl before something bad happens to her because, Lord knows, there are worse people in the world who could do something to her while I’m not protecting her.
Silver runs his hand down his face.
“I know there are a million things that you still need to say to me, and I’ll let you get it all out of your system later.For now, you need to let me go find my girl.”