I knew there must have been staff working here with the type of food that’s constantly presented at the table and how each bedroom looks pristine, but I didn’t expect this. Apart from the boys, I never hear a damn thing. The castle is like a ghost town, and a part of me had wondered if the staff came and went during the middle of the night, but that couldn’t be right. That’s when the monsters come out to play.

The staff watch me with caution and it takes them no time at all to realize that I’m not exactly a willing guest here, just as I assume they’re not either. Pitying looks are thrown my way and I stumble as I attempt to put one foot in front of another.

“MOVE,” Roman’s fierce growl cuts through the heavy silence.

My stare immediately falls to the ground as I hurry after the brothers, trying my best not to think the worst. We cut through the opposite end of the kitchen and wind our way down a steep spiral staircase. Trying to keep up with them has my breath coming in sharp, pained gasps. “Please tell me those people are staff and are not held here against their will?” I question, not really caring where the answer comes from as long as I get one.

“They’re staff,” Levi mutters, irritation in his deep tone. “They work a rotating shift and are paid accordingly. Most of them have been with us since we were kids. The fear you hold for them is offensive.”

I attempt to wipe the horror off my face, but as we descend into a dark cellar and the boys lay their attention on an old bookcase, I realize that there’s no need to even try. It’s pushed aside and my brow arches as a narrow tunnel appears behind the shelving. “Come on,” Marcus says, grabbing my wrist and giving me a tug to get moving. “Watch your step. The further we go through the tunnel, the darker it gets.”

I try to look up ahead, but it’s impossible to see where it leads. “What’s wrong with the front door?” I mutter, realizing that I’m in for a long walk.

Marcus sighs. “I’m sure you noticed the electronic keypad on the door?” he questions as Roman sighs, realizing I’m about to get even more answers to the question he deems to be none of my damn business.

“Hard not to,” I tell him.

“Put it this way,” he says. “You’re not the only one who’s been locked away in this prison.”

I quickly glance at Roman. He’d touched on this while I sobbed in the shower, but there are too many holes in his story, too many hard truths being held captive. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, wondering just how much I can push for information.

“We’re our father’s weapons,” Levi cuts in, a strange darkness lacing his deep tone. “Trained to kill, pushed over our limits to ensure that nothing could break us.”

Roman continues for him. “We’re soldiers in an army of three and he’s our leader, only this leader has lost his touch, and controlling his army isn’t as easy as it once was.”

I swallow hard, realizing just how far gone they are if not even their mafia boss father can keep them grounded. “Is that why you plan to overthrow him? You want your freedom back?”

Marcus grunts, that same darkness reflected in his own tone. “Freedom isn’t the issue where our father is concerned,” he says, leaving the topic hanging in the air and my curiosity brimming so high that it might just push me over the edge. “We have many scores to settle with that bastard.”

We make our way through the rest of the tunnel until we’re stepping out into a small private garage surrounded by thick woods.

“What the ever-loving hell is this?” I mutter as Marcus leads me toward the black Escalade that sits in the center of the garage. “I’m assuming that your father doesn’t know about this little escape route?”

“Oh, he knows,” Levi murmurs, climbing in the front passenger seat as Roman takes prime position behind the wheel. “The bastard just can’t figure out where the fuck it is.”

An image of their father attempting to discipline them and get answers filters through my mind and has a wicked grin pulling at my lips, not only surprising myself, but Marcus as well. “And you think we’re fucked in the head,” he murmurs, opening the back passenger door and practically throwing me across the backseat. “What are you picturing? The old man beating the shit out of us, trying to get an answer?”

My grin only widens as I straighten in my seat and keep my gaze locked out the window. “Something like that,” I mutter under my breath, realizing that he’s more than likely speaking one of his hard truths.

Tags: Sheridan Anne Depraved Sinners Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net