Page 8 of Vicious Deception
The doors to the dining room open, and a young boy darts in.
“Benny,” Andrew calls, his voice laced with irritation. “Get back here.”
The boy dashes toward the table, where there are still a couple empty place settings. When he sees us—when he seesme—he stops short.
“What happened to your face?” he asks just as Andrew strides into the room.
“Benny,” Andrew snaps, his pace brisk and his eyes set with annoyance. “Don’t be rude.”
I smile. It’s been a long time since I interacted with a kid. I forgot how unfiltered they can be.
“Got into a fight,” I say simply.
Benny’s eyes go wide. “Did you win?”
“I . . .” Dropping my gaze to the table, I lower my voice and add in just a hint of disappointment. “No, I didn’t.”
That seems to disappoint Benny. His mouth pulls down into a frown as he slides into the chair next to Axel. A box of cereal is already next to his bowl along with a pitcher of milk.
As Andrew moves toward his brother, Ludo looks between my bruised face and the healing cuts on Andrew’s knuckles. Just as I hoped, he puts the pieces together and smirks. I’ll have to fix things between me and Andrew at some point, but I don’t want Ludo to suspect that. If it looks like we’re fighting, Holloway won’t have any reason to think we’re working together.
Not that we are, of course, but I have to keep my options open.
Andrew sighs as he reaches for Benny. “Your shirt—”
“Stop,” Benny exclaims as he ducks away from Andrew. “I don’t need you to baby me.”
“Your shirt is on inside out,” Andrew replies flatly.
“Whatever.” Rolling his eyes, Benny shoves a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
Something tugs at my heart, making it hard for me to breathe. The boys are acting just like you’d expect two siblings to. As I watch them, it hits me, just how much of their lives I’ve missed out on. No one could ever replace Sammy, but I miss moments like these with her. She always got annoyed when I fussed over her—unless she wanted attention, that is.
God, I miss her.
Under the table, my hand curls into a fist. Ludo has no clue just how well his plan is already working. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t realize he’s the one who took Sammy away from me. He’s entirely unaware of the chain reaction he’s setting off in my head by putting me in the same room as my brothers. Not fully, anyway.
Andrew rounds the table and lowers himself into the seat next to me. He’s as stiff as I am as he wordlessly fills his plate. It doesn’t help that Axel is watching both of us, not even trying to hide the fact that he’s staring.
“Benny,” Ludo says once the kid has finished his cereal. “Do you remember I told you we have a guest?”
Nodding, Benny flicks his gaze to me.
“This is Rhett Brooks.”
“Hey, that’s my last name,” Benny says. He peers at me more closely, a question in his eyes that he doesn’t voice.
“Do you remember that fantasy book you were telling me about?” Andrew asks, and based on Ludo’s sharp glare, I don’t think he’s supposed to be talking right now.
Again, Benny rolls his eyes. “You think I’d forget?”
Andrew ignores the remark. “Remember how you were telling me that the main character—what was his name? Ryan? He—”
“Ryker,” Benny corrects.
“Yeah, so Ryker went on that adventure to—”
“It’s called aquest,Drew.”