Page 133 of Atone

He turns, and Alex comes into view. But he’s not looking at me. His dark gaze is set on his father. His hands tucked in his pockets. Nothing about it is casual. More like that’s the only thing holding him back.

“Alex.” Gideon stares at his son, confused. “You’re talking?”

“Answer the question, Dad.” Alex takes a step forward. “What was the plan when you let Torin torture me?”

42

WHAT MATTERS NOW?

ALEX

After Kole texted,interrupting the business I was handling for Declan, I dropped everything to get back to Sigma House as fast as possible.

My father is the one who has been sending threatening texts to Mila. And as I walk in and overhear him talking to her, I realize it goes much deeper than that. He’s the one who almost got me killed.

My father glances back at Mila. “I guess you did one thing right if my son is speaking again.”

“You don’t talk to her.” I take another step forward. “You talk to me.”

His gaze glimmers with amusement as his attention returns to me. He sees this like he sees everything else—like a game. One where he’s usually three steps ahead. Except tonight, he fucked up. He thought I was still dropping off a package while he sorted out business in the basement, and he slipped.

Now I know the truth.

He’s always been ruthless. Merciless to a fault. Hedoesn’t care for much more than the power and fortune he accumulates. I’ve never considered those flaws because he trained me not to. And when anything happened, he protected me. He helped me find my path when the darkness became too much. When it demanded to get out. He created an outlet and directed my course.

I respected him.

More than that, I trusted him.

Never did I think my father would take it this far to teach me a lesson.

I almost died.

Part of me did.

“This is a misunderstanding.” Dad mirrors my stance by tucking his hands into his pockets. “Let’s go talk.”

“We can talk here.”

His gaze cuts to Mila. “Privately.”

“She’s entitled to anything you have to say to me.” I clench my teeth. “So go ahead. Answer her question. It wasn’t Teal’s father who let Torin torture me during my trial, was it? It was you.”

Dad’s eyes narrow fractionally. He’s irritated, but he also cares about appearances, so he’s trying to swallow it down.

“You were losing focus,” Dad says. “After you passed the first two trials, you were getting more distant. Disappearing into Sigma House with your friends. They were becoming a distraction from your real purpose.”

“You mean your purpose,” I toss back, remembering that time more clearly now than I did during my years at Montgomery.

Before pledging the House, Dad had full control of me. He covered up when I murdered the minister, and he used that to gain leverage over me. He directed my focus,made me think I could trust him because he wantedto help.

But after I moved into Sigma House, the fraternity came first. And while I thought he understood, as a legacy himself, he saw it as a problem because I was less willing to go against the rulebook to help clean up his messes.

“You were getting soft.” My father’s jaw ticks. “It all started with you breaking the rules for your sister. Killing a member of the House when you know that’s the one thing that will burn a pledge before you even step through these doors. And then it continued with her.” He tips his head to Mila. “You had one job to do in Oregon, and you let yourself get distracted. You know how this works. We don’t leave loose ends, and that’s what you did.”

“So the trial was a lesson?”

“You were getting sloppy. Weak. You needed a reminder that even you aren’t invulnerable, Alex. Torin was more than happy to be the one to teach it to you after you killed his brother. You needed to learn you’re not untouchable, and he was a means to do that.”