My stomach churned, and I forced back the urge to throw up again.
“At first, we thought Dante was just one of us. He was a nice guy, and we had fun. But then he’d start disappearing for days at a time, and when he came back, he was… different. Happier but violent, like he was riding some sort of high. We’d ask him about it, and he’d blow us off. I couldn’t let it go, though, and I pushed him for answers.”
“What does this have to do with him taking Trent?” I asked.
“Everything,” Jax said, shaking his head as if he hated himself for whatever part he played in the situation all those years ago. “Eventually, Dante told us about Yolanda, but he made her sound wonderful. He said she was gorgeous and compassionate and that she could make all of our dreams come true. He said he told her all about us, and she was dying to meet us.”
“And?” I asked, my patience wearing thin.
Jax huffed. “She was the worst person I’d ever met in my life. She was forcing Dante to hunt men for her. He’d find guys down on their luck and bring them to her. In exchange, she’d look the other way while he did whatever he wanted, and he did some pretty heinous things to women.”
I thought of how he’d treated Vivienne, like she was his personal pet. And how he’d abused Karina and her gifts for his own personal gain. He must’ve learned that from Yolanda.
“As soon as she saw us, she wanted us to join her. Dante didn’t normally bring vampires home to her, so she was surprised. Trent and I were—are—still relatively young in vampire years, and she thought she could train us like she did Dante.” Jax resumed pacing, his agitation palpable.
“Obviously, you two didn’t stick around, right?”
Jax shook his head, and shock settled over me. They’d actually stayed with Yolanda. Why would they do that if she was as awful as he said?
“We stayed for a little while—she didn’t really give us a choice. At her request, I became Dante’s wingman. I hated every second of it, but Trent… He became her pet.” Jax scowled, his hands once again curling into fists. “She doted on him something fierce, talking about making him her king.” He rolled his eyes. “But Trent refused every single advance she made, and eventually, she got angry.”
I rubbed my temples, but even the slightest touch set off waves of piercing pain, so I dropped my hands back into my lap.
“The longer Trent refused her, the meaner she became, and the more we saw of how she operated, how she let her guys bring women home, drink from them, beat them. Kill them… We left and never looked back.”
“And she just left you alone?” I shrugged the blanket off and stood. “Dante made it sound like she’s been looking for Trent for years.”
“Maybe she has,” he said, dragging his hand through his hair. “I honestly don’t know, but if Dante really did take him back to her, he’s in some serious trouble. There’s no way she’s going to let him walk away again.”
My heart sank. I’d known the situation was bad, but I hadn’t realized it was this bad.
“People—men—don’t say no to Yolanda,” Jax said. “But Trent did, and I can only imagine how badly that bruised her ego. She obviously still wants him, and now she has something to prove.”
“Yeah, well, she can’t have him,” I snapped. I walked around the room in a daze, trying to figure out what to do next. My thoughts were still foggy, though, making it impossible to focus on anything.
“I know,” he said.
“What’re we supposed to do now, then?” I asked, desperation lacing my words.
“Get your stuff,” Jax said, his tone gentle. “I’m taking you home.”
“What?” I shouted. “No. We can’t go home. We need to find Trent.”
“I know, and we will,” he said. “But—”
I marched up to Jax, rage hot and thick in my veins. “No buts. We have to go find Trent. If I leave this room, it’s going to be because I’m out searching for my husband,” I said, curling my hands into fists so tight my fingernails bit into my palms.
Jax’s eyes darkened as he stared down at me. The vein in his temple throbbed, and his jaw ticked with anger and fear and a whole host of other emotions I couldn’t deal with right now. But I couldn’t ignore the familiarity of the moment, of how we’d faced off like this so many times before.
“We’re going home,” Jax repeated.
“You can go wherever you want. I’m going to find Trent,” I said.
He took a step closer, his towering presence only slightly intimidating. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am,” I said defiantly.
Jax didn’t so much as flinch, and I knew, if he really wanted to, he could haul me out of this room and straight back to Keene Valley, and there wouldn’t be a thing I could do to stop him. I hoped he wouldn’t do that, but the hard expression on his face gave me pause.
“I called you because I thought you’d help me.” I swallowed hard.
If I couldn’t get him to do what I wanted by being nice, then I’d have to push him—and I was good at that.
“Guess I should’ve called Isach or Whitney instead. Or maybe Colt,” I continued. “At least they’d be doing something right now other than demanding I go home.”
Slowly, Jax crossed his arms over his chest, the movement so methodical I momentarily second-guessed my plan. Still, he remained silent.
“You can’t just leave him with Dante and Yolanda.” My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. “They’ll torture and kill him. You have to find him. He’s your brother, Jax,” I shouted and shoved him.
Of course, he didn’t
