Page 119 of Twisted Truths

The car falls silent, the only sound the rush of tyres on cracked bitumen.

“Why would he do that?” Hadley finally asks.

I look down at my sister’s son safely cradled in my arms and tears blur my vision. “I don’t know, but the compass belonged to my uncle. Levi was there. He killed them.”

“Fuck!” Gabriel shouts, slamming his fist on the steering wheel.

The sudden outburst startles Franklin, he flinches in my arms but doesn’t wake.

“Just call the cops,” Isaac says with a shrug. “Let them deal with it.”

“No,” I growl, rage building inside me. “He’s going to look me in the eye and tell me why.”

“Nash,” Hadley starts, squeezing my hand in hers. For once, it has the opposite effect. It doesn’t comfort me, it only makes me feel trapped.

I pull away from her.

“Take the next left,” I tell Gabriel.

“What?” Isaac says. “No. We’ve got to get as far away from Barrenridge as we can.”

“Take the next left.” My tone demands compliance.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Gabriel does as I ask, heading towards the middle of town. The only words I utter are the directions to Levi and Paige’s house, and no one else says a thing until we pull up out the front.

“This is bullshit,” Isaac says, checking over his shoulder as if he thinks someone is following us.

“He murdered his family,” Gabriel says quietly, and I know he gets it.

With another glance at my nephew, I press my lips to hiswarm head before passing him to Hadley. Her eyes shine with unshed tears, and her hands shake as she takes him from me.

“Take them to the safe house in Sydney,” I instruct Gabriel. “I’ll meet you when I can.”

He offers a clipped nod.

Hadley lets out a sob, reaching for me.

“No, Nash. Please. Don’t do this. Isaac’s right, we’ll go to the cops.”

The tortured look in her eyes almost makes me change my mind. Almost.

With a final, lingering stare, I push open the car door and climb out, closing it firmly behind me. I’m barely holding it together, and my fists clench by my sides as my gaze moves from the car to my half-brother’s house. He betrayed me in the worst possible way.

Gabriel drives off, and I exhale deeply before walking up the path to the front door. Pulling out my phone, I send a text then tap the screen a couple of times before sliding it back into my pocket.

I don’t bother knocking, and step straight into the front entrance. At the sound of the front door closing, Levi appears from the living room. His eyes are bloodshot, his hair a mess like he’s been tugging on it for hours. A half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s hangs from his fingers.

His shoulders slump when he sees me.

“Nash,” he chokes out. “I have to get her back. I can’t lose her.”

I remain rooted to the spot, staring at him.

How can he stand there in front of me, knowing what he did?

“You have to convince her that I did it for us,” he says, his voice rising. “To give us a better life.”

I say nothing.