Page 107 of Deadly Obsession

“Stay here, Reine.”

“Sage is here?” I hear Noah say, her voice panicked.

Noah! She’s alive. I consider ignoring Elias’s order, then take in the appearance of the stairs again. Okay, maybe not. They’re not in good shape, and Elias, Noah, and Del still need to use them to get out. So I wait at the top, watching as Elias approaches his brother and holds out his hand.

“Give me the gun.” There’s a pause. I can’t see Del because Elias is now blocking my view of him and the rest of the basement. “I need to do it.”

“Pathetic,” a man says. “Have I taught you nothing, Elias? This is not how the QBM Don should lead. I hand my legacy over, and you share it with the enemy?”

Wait... is that their father? I thought he died.

I jump at the sound of a gunshot followed by a muffled thump. Elias moves out of the way revealing a big man—who looks like an older version of himself—on the ground with a bullet hole to the head.

Holy shit.

Elias just shot his father.

Chapter 26 – Elias

Istand over my father and watch as the life in his eyes slowly fades.

Closure.

It settles on my shoulders.

“Elias,” Lance whispers, and I hold up my hand.

“He doesn’t deserve our grief. Not after everything he’s done,” I say, still not looking away from the man who ruined my life.

“I don’t give a fuck about him. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. I know that wasn’t easy.”

Finally, I turn toward my brother. He stares back at me with concern and sympathy. Emotions I haven’t earned.

“He made my life miserable as a kid. Killing himwaseasy because I needed to do it for my own closure. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you that night twenty years ago.”

“I thought you always hated me for killing Mom. I thought you wished I had died instead.”

The tears I’ve been holding back pool in my eyes, threatening to fall.

“I never... Lance-a-lot... I hatedmyself.” I rub my hand over my face. “I hated that you were the one forced to do it. I was the big brother. I should have been there to protect you. It should have been me, not you.”

Lance walks to me, and I expect him to be mad that I pulled out his childhood nickname. Instead, he places his hand on my shoulder.

“It shouldn’t have been either of us.”

A lonely tear falls, and it tickles as it creeps down my cheek.

Crying is such a strange sensation. I rarely do it, but the relief of letting myselffeelafter all these years is welcoming.

“I’m sorry I let you believe... I’m sorry. I love you. I always have. I’ve been punishing myself for that night, and I dragged you into my suffering.”

Lance brings me into a hug, and I freeze, but only for a moment before I melt into his embrace.

My baby brother.

This might be the first time we’ve hugged since we were kids.

I know it won’t be the last time.