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Noise filters in, Tyler’s clapping ruining this peaceful moment.
Phoenix and I separate with heavy breaths, and all eyes are on us.
A lump catches in my throat, promising to choke off my air, and I take a step closer to Phoenix.
Tyler whistles. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Well done, bro. Well done.” He moves his attention to the computer screen to stare at Phoenix’s dad. “Do you want totell him, or should I?” He waits for a moment while the older man continues to stare daggers at him, the tape still over his mouth. Tyler nods at the screen. “Okay, fine, have it your way. I’ll tell him.”
He faces Phoenix and opens his arms. “I’m your long-lost brother.”
There’s nothing but silence before Tyler cracks up, smacking his thigh repeatedly with his hand. “Just kidding. The long-lost part, I mean, not the brother.”
Oh my God.
No, that can’t be right. Tyler and Phoenix are brothers?
Holy shit.
I blink and gape at the two men. Phoenix is stiff as a board as he stares at Tyler, who only scoffs.
“I know, we look nothing alike. Well, mostly. But the DNA tests confirmed it. Thank goodness I take after my mother, or I couldn’t have pulled off half of this entertaining shit.”
A cold mask settles on Phoenix’s face, and he shrugs. “So all of this is some twisted revenge because my dad didn’t acknowledge you?”
Tyler’s nostrils flare, and he glowers at Phoenix. “Thiswas for two purposes. To showourfather he made the wrong choice when he turned me away, and becauseyou’rejust as big of a prick as he is and deserved to be taken down a notch.”
He paces. “You know, when my mom got sick and we were forced to move here, I didn’t know who my dad was. But then my aunt let something slip about when my mom was younger, and I started digging, all of my nerdy computerskills finally paying off. After I realized dear old Dad was a total schmuck, I wanted to give you a chance. I thought, hey, maybe he was treating you like shit too, and we could bond over it. Especially after I found out he forged your grandfather’s will to cheat you out of your inheritance. But thenyouweren’t any better than him, acting like I was some dog shit beneath your shoe.”
Phoenix is frowning but stays quiet, and Tyler continues.
“You were so aloof, acting like you were better than me, like you were the king of the castle and everyone else was just a peasant. Everyone . . . excepther.”
His finger points at me, and ice shoots through my veins.
He continues, “You had such a hard time keeping your eyes off her, so I began talking to her. When I saw how you glared at me, I took it as a challenge and became friends with her. And then I fucked her just because I could.”
Nausea rolls through my body at the scene Tyler paints. I knew he wasn’t right in the head, but this is really fucked up.
A humorless laugh escapes him. “And you know what this bitch did when I took her virginity? She saidyourfucking name before she passed out.”
He swings his ruthless stare in my direction. There isn’t an ounce left of the friendly, upbeat guy I thought I knew.
The corners of his mouth curl in a snarl. “Soshehad to pay too.”
To imagine that one small moment like that, a drunken mistake, set off such an avalanche of devastation and pain.
I press my lips together so hard they feel like they might burst.
And that’s when all hell breaks loose.
Phoenix launches himself at Tyler so fast, they smack to the floor with a loud thud. The chair goes flying, the laptop smashing into dozens of pieces on impact.
“Nooooo.” I move toward the two men, panic overtaking my body. “Phoenix, please, no.”
What the hell was he thinking? Tyler has a fucking gun.
They wrestle, fists flying, insults shouted, and then, the gun sails out of the heap. Tyler and Phoenix break apart, trying to get it. I run toward it too, but Ruby is faster. She grabs it, points toward where Tyler is still sprawled on the floor several feet away, and pulls the trigger.
The gunshot fills the air, and for a moment, I can’t hear anything but the loud ringing in my ears.