Damaged (Boys of Winter 2)

“People like Royston Carver.”

“Exactly,” he says with a firm nod. “If leadership was to fall into the hands of someone like that ... Christ be with us.”

“It’s really that bad?” I ask, looking up at him. “Dynasty really holds all that power?”

“It does. It wasn’t like this at first,” he tells me, ushering me back toward the door and locking it behind him. “Your grandfather, Gerald Ravenwood, built the foundations of Dynasty, but it was your father in his younger years who truly made it what it is today, and once he was satisfied with it, he took a step back to watch it flourish.”

“But that wasn’t enough for others,” I commented. “They wanted more.”

Tobias gives me a tight smile. “Sometimes perfect just isn’t enough.”

Damn. Why does that one little comment speak right to my soul?

We continue our tour and Tobias leads me to another room filled with filing cabinets. “This room is self-explanatory. Everything you will ever need to find is in here, filed in alphabetical order,” he tells me. “But don’t be fooled, it’s a lot bigger than you think. This room goes on for nearly a mile. What you’re seeing here is just the ‘A’s’. There’s a false wall between each letter just to make things a little easier.”

My mouth drops as I stare at the massive filing room. “Who the hell is responsible for doing the filing?” I ask, instantly wondering if I have the power to give the poor fucker a pay raise. I mean, what kind of bullshit crime would someone have to commit to be dumped with that job?

“Some of the children like to volunteer,” Tobias tells me. “It’s their way of earning a bit of pocket money, not that they really need it. For the most part, we like to play it smart and keep it for those who require a bit of … downtime.”

“In other words, it’s used as a punishment.”

Tobias gives me a weak smile. “I guess you could put it that way.”

I scoff. “I bet King, Cruz, Grayson, and Carver have spent many hours down here.”

A real belly laugh comes tearing out of Tobias as he steps back and pulls the door closed. “Oh, believe me, by now, those boys would know every little square inch of the filing rooms. I bet they could tell you exactly how many bricks make up each room.” I can’t help but laugh and find myself looking up at him as a fond smile settles across his face. “You know, your father and I used to spend a lot of time down here too.”

“Oh, really?” I smile.

“Sure did, we were known to get into a bit of mischief ourselves as young ones,” he tells me, the fondness in his tone unmistakable. “It’s a real shame he’s gone. I had many great years with him.”

“I bet. I’m just sad that I never got a chance to know him. I bet he would have made a great father,” I murmur, wondering why the hell I chose now to be so vulnerable. Yet the second I started, I couldn’t stop. “The life I could have had here … it would have been amazing. I would have grown up alongside the boys and I wouldn’t have felt lost like this. I would have had a real home … a real family.”

“Your parents would be proud of the young woman you’ve become,” he says, letting out a heavy sigh. “You know, I never suspected that fire was an accident,” he explains. “Your parents were vacationing up in the mountains when I received your father’s distress call. When I got there, I found that both of your parents had perished in the fire, but the fire and rescue team managed to get you out just in time. Of the sixteen remaining heads of Dynasty, I was the first to arrive on the scene, and when I saw the blood on your clothes, I knew instantly there had been foul play. I just couldn’t figure out who was responsible.”

My gaze drops to the marble tiles of the hallway as my voice lowers, too afraid that it will break. “What happened after that?”

“My wife and I hid you away for a few months. You were only a newborn, just a sweet, innocent little girl. Hunter was growing out of his bassinet, so you slept in there until we came to the decision to put you in foster care.”

I stop walking, staring up at the man who made the decision to abandon me to an awful life for the past eighteen years. “That was you?” I breathe. “You abandoned me to the system?”

A softness spreads over his face. “I’m sorry, Elodie. Not a day goes by that I haven’t hated myself for making that call. I watched you grow, watched you bounce from home to home, but you were not safe here. You were only three when the other members of Dynasty discovered your existence, and only three days later, the car you were in was driven off the road. Ever since then, we knew we had to keep on top of it and we’ve been one step ahead this whole time.”