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“She was three years younger than me. A newborn when we came to town. It was at my mother’s request that we left our home, some place northeast of here that I cannot remember the name of now. Who even knows if it is still there. I never knew why we left, and there is no one to ask any longer.”

Leaning back against the wall behind him, he crossed his arms and ankles.

“Mother fell sick, so naturally, Father fell to the drink. He was gone almost every night after she passed. He grew angrier by the day, yelled about how if your father had come earlier to town, she’d be alive.”

Bryn’s eyes grew wide at that.

“For a while, I blamed you both too. Until I realized there wasn’t a damn thing to be done to save her. Even if you’d showed up before, she was too sick. Went too quick.”

“Still, I am so sorry, Kess,” she whispered, the man giving her a small nod of thanks in return.

“My sister, Ariana, started to take to looking like Mom more and more as she got older. Dad grew in his anger and drink, and soon he was coming home to throw some punches at anything with a heartbeat. I watched Ariana go from a fun-loving and curious girl to fearful of everyone’s touch.” His eyes focused on her now, and she sensed she knew where he was going by telling her this.

“I was older, so I stepped in to take most of it. Thought it was just me he went after. One night in his rage, he yelled how he should have killed me the moment he found out I wasn’t his. I was angry he would say anything about my mother like that, that she’d cheat, so we went head-to-head, and I lost.”

Bryn’s mind went back to a time when Kessler wasn’t at school for a month, her father had been going to see him a lot, so she figured he’d been sick.

“I was too beat up for him to really enjoy his time hurting me without killing me...”

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, steadying himself.

“I found her.”

That was all he could say. Shaking his head, he turned away from Bryn.

“Oh, Kessler.” Bryn’s lips trembled, but she couldn’t say anything more than that. There were no words one could say to undo such horrid ties to the past.

“I heard nothing. She never made a noise. The whole time. Her broken body...” Pinching his nose, Bryn took a chance and moved around the counter. She had not gone into a fit from touching him earlier; even so, he needed comfort. Wrapping her arms around the big man, she let him tuck her into him like she was a beloved teddy bear. A sob left him, and she hugged harder.

“He’d beat her so bad, Brynnie...”

Closing her eyes, tears slipped from them as she wished his father were still alive soshecould kill him.

“I held her as she slipped away from me. Promised her I wouldn’t let him ever hurt another. You remind me so much of her, and the thought of this town... I know your aunt is evil too. I see it in her when she looks at you.”

Bryn froze, but Kessler tightened his grip.

“Promise you won’t let it go further? If... I am here, all right?”

Her lungs were stripped of air. So many people knew her secrets, and yet she thought she’d been doing so well at hiding them.

How many others did? Embarrassment flooded her, and she spun out from underneath his arms, her heart beating too fast to be healthy.

“I am sorry, Bryn,” he whispered, his voice broken.

Folding her arms across her chest, she turned to him, unable to meet his eyes.

“Your father?” she asked.

“Met an unfortunate accident.”

That was all she needed to know. Nodding, she took a deep breath, trying to stretch her lungs so she could breathe easy again.

“Please take the dagger. You remind me so much of her, and I can’t fail her twice.”

The dagger was suddenly in front of her, his hands shaking as he held it out for her to take.

Placing her hands under his, she took it, finally meeting the eyes of a man living in his own hell.