*Riding South spoilers below*
Trapped inside Tenney House and at the mercy of his father, Camilla and South are forced to face their greatest fears in order to bring down the Gentleman's Network--an organization that trades in secrets.
But in order...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"It's all my fault."
I watched my older brother slump down on the gazebo bench, hands over his face, silently crying. It felt so strange to see him act like this. Men in my family didn't cry in public—well, except for West.
"It's not your fault, East," I told him. "It's dad's. He manipulated you."
Easton shook his head, wiping his palms down his cheeks and then over the top of his thighs. "Luis tells me the same thing, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't change what happened."
I set my hand on his shoulder and sat beside him on the bench. Unsure what else to do. How were you supposed to comfort your older brother?
I knew what it was like to feel responsible for someone else's death.
That night came rushing back to me—our failed mission. I'd been the one covering the hostage. A task our Commander had given to me over Hernandez after much deliberation. When I got hit, so did she. We fell onto the sand together, landing in a graceless heap.
I wondered if Rico had been the one to cover her if things would be different.
I blinked to clear the bleariness in my eyes. Willing the tears back.
Later, doc would tell me the hostage had died before she hit the ground. That she didn't suffer. But, whether she suffered or not didn't make much difference to me. Her family was suffering. They'd been counting on us to get her home safe.
Everyone believed I was a hero because I was a Navy SEAL. The truth was I wasn't a hero at all. No cape. No special powers.
I was a failure.
The thought was enough to break me in half, and I heard my father's cold voice ringing in my ears.
How do you think got you on Team Six? Certainly not on merit. You're a passable marksman, and your swim time is slower than the rest of your teammates. It's probably the reason why you ended up with a bullet in your gut.
I thought I should tell Easton about the mission and the hostage. No one in my family had heard the story. Partly because I was too ashamed and partly because of the nightmares and the sleepless nights.
If I could explain to him that I wasn't invincible, it could help stitch together the bond Easton and I once had. Maybe we could heal together. Find peace underneath all this guilt we were carrying around. Only, every time I tried to speak, I couldn't make my mouth move. Warm sand coated my tongue and the sour tang of acid burned in the back of my throat.
Downtown traffic roared in the distance, the ocean beating against the dock. The wind had picked up, whipping the sea into foam.
I cast a long look at my brother. Even though we both felt responsible for someone else's death, Easton had known Lydie. She wasn't some hostage. She was his best friend.
