"I'll check in with you soon," I say. She nods and disappears down the street while Kade and I stare after her.
"I'm going to fucking kill him," Kade finally says. "He's dead meat."
"I have to go back home," I mutter.
"You won't be alone with him, will you? I should come with you. I can protect—"
"No," I reply firmly. "I need to talk to Parker alone first."
"That's fucking stupid," Kade hisses. "He'll hurt you."
"Why are you so fucking convinced I can't take care of myself?" I demand. "I've done alright so far, haven't I?"
"June, I'm just trying to—"
"Well, don't," I cut him off, motioning to the limo that's just pulled up to the curb. "And don't think I've forgotten what you've done just because I need your help right now, Kade."
"June, please. I—"
"I'll see you," I mutter, absentmindedly waving him off as I reach the car. "I'll reach out. Bye."
My driver slams the door shut. My thoughts drift to Parker as I watch his twin's worried expression disappear out of sight.
Parker's still not up by the time I come home. With a start, I realize time's really gotten away from me. In a few days, it'll be the second anniversary of Kade and Parker's father's death—the moment that sent the rest of my life spiraling.
I knock on Parker's door, nervously biting my bottom lip. He emerges what feels like ages later, and I give him a tentative smile. I can't let him suspect something's off now.
"Hey," I mutter. "I just wanted to... apologize about last night."
He rubs his eyes. He's shirtless today, and his scars look angry and puckered in the bright light of day.
"That's fine," he finally says.
"Doesn't seem fine to me. Let me make it up to you," I offer.
"How?"
"You know it's the anniversary of Mark's passing in a few days?"
"So?" He crosses his arms defensively.
"I want to show you something," I say. "Come with me."
We take the golf cart across the property to where the family tomb is. Mom had it put in when Mark died, not expecting to be buried next to him a few months later.
Parker and I enter the stone building quietly. Despite everything he's told me, there's a certain kind of respect I have for this place. I lead him to our parents’ graves. They're resting together—the way they would have wanted.
"Why are we here?" Parker mutters.
"Look. Here." I point at the carved words on Mark's tombstone. He'd picked them himself—had written them down in his will. "Read them out loud to me."
"Familia ante omnia," Parker reads out.
"You know what it means?"
"Of course," he mutters. "Family over all. But what does it matter now?"
"He cared about you, Parker."
"Like fuck he did." My stepbrother laughs bitterly. "He wanted me to be someone I never wanted to be. Someone I can't be."
"But he loved you," I argue. "I know he did, Parker."
This time, he doesn't fight my words, and a part of me breaks for him. I reach out and gently squeeze his hand.
"I saw Dove today," I whisper next, and his eyes snap to mine. Trying to see how much I know? I wonder. "She... she didn't look good."
"Oh?"
"She's scarred, Parker—horribly scarred."
"Scarred?" He feigns surprise, but I've known my stepbrother for so long I can tell when he's faking it. "What happened?"
"Maybe I should ask you that," I continue. "Because she wouldn't tell me."
He pulls his hand free of my reach. "What the fuck are you insinuating, June?"
"Did you hurt my friend?" The accusation weighs heavy on me, but I need to know. "Did you do that to Dove?"
He laughs, shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair. I'm expecting a defense, something to convince me how wrong I have it all, but it doesn't come. Instead, Parker's steel-gray eyes—so much like his brother's, yet so very different—meet mine, and he smirks.
"What if I did?"
My hands shake as I tuck dark strands of hair behind my ears. "Parker, I..."
"What? You feel sorry for her? Don't." He laughs. "She deserved it. They all do."
"All?" I narrow my eyes at him. "How many people have you hurt, Parker?"
"I've been holding back," he mutters, stepping closer to the tombstone and gliding his fingertips over the engraved marble. "But that's over now."
"Parker..." I swallow thickly as another wave of sickness overwhelms me. "Let's go back to the house. Talk things over."
"No."
"No?"
"You're staying right here, little sis." The smile's back on his face. "I don't need you making trouble for me."
"I... I would never..."
"Save it." He approaches me again, and I shiver when he caresses my left cheek. The same one he left a gash in on Dove's pretty face. "Maybe I should give you one too. You and Dove could match. I bet she'd love that, your little copycat."
"Parker, I—"
"Shut up." His words make me quiet.
"Let's go back," I whisper.
"No."
"Please."
"No." He steps aside, shaking his head. "I thought we could work it out, June. I thought I could show you how wrong you were. How to make things right again. But I guess I was wrong."
"Let's just go back to the house and—"
"Oh, I'm leaving." He smirks. "But you aren't."
"Parker, I..."
"What?" he taunts. "You're sorry? You want to help? I don't need your help, little sis. I got this. And I'll come get you once I'm done. You be a good girl and wait for me."
"Huh?" I knit my brows together, following him to the doors leading outside. "Parker, let's just—"
"No." He pushes me back so roughly I stumble and nearly fall. "Nothing else to talk about. This is plan B. Wait for me here and think about what you've done wrong. Once you admit it to me—and yourself—I'll let you out."
"You can't possibly keep me in here!" I laugh nervously, my heart pounding as I reach for the door again. "Parker, you know I’m afraid of the dark…"
"I do,” he smirks. “That’s precisely why I’m leaving you here."
"Parker, please... I think I might be—"
He opens the door and steps outside. I rush to go after him, but the door slams in my face. There's nothing but darkness now and the sound of the retreating golf cart.
Pure terror engulfs me. The darkness. The darkness is overwhelming.
I always knew those nightmares from my childhood would catch up to me one day...
23
Kade
I haven't heard from June in a full day, and I'm worried out of my mind. I've blown up her phone with calls and texts. I've emailed. Facebook messaged. Instagram messaged. Nothing. Fucking nothing.
Standing in front of the gates to my former home that evening, I hope I'm lucky enough to see a friendly face on the other side of the door. Someone who knows me, remembers me, and will let me onto the property. Parker sure as hell won't. He's still stuck on his stupid fucking vendetta because I fucked June first.
I ring the video intercom, and a maid's face appears on the video screen. I don't recognize her, but her eyes light up when she sees me.
"Ah, Mr. Miller!" she exclaims. "Any luck in finding June?"
She thinks I'm Parker, and her words fill me with worry. Where the fuck is June if even Parker's looking for her?
"Not just yet," I reply. "Let me in, please."
Luckily, she doesn't ask how I got there or where the car is and just buzzes me through. I walk up the round driveway to the estate, admiring the beautiful house Dad and Rachel's hard-earned money paid for.
It seems like Parker's away today, and I'm grateful for that. I want to believe he's out looking for June just like I am, but I don't trust him anymore. Maybe I never fucking did.
I greet the enthusiastic maid who also seems concerned about June. With her help, I turn t
he house on its head. I look for June everywhere, even in the attic, where Parker's sheet-covered paintings are. I don't miss the spectacle in the main hall. Our family portrait is ruined, and I know Parker's the one who did this. After he left our apartment, I saw what he did to the painting he made of us. He creates beautiful things... but he loves to destroy them, too. I guess he's always been like that.
I remember the butterfly we'd kept in my mother's old jewelry box. The memory is so old, it feels fragile and fleeting in my mind. But some things are still so clear. Parker's idea to pin down the insect. To hurt it. Not to let it get away. It was all his idea. And I went along with it even though it made me fucking sick.
And then I remember Junebug, my sweet Junebug, going to save the butterfly in the middle of the night. The memory feels different now. I can still feel the butterfly's spindly legs in my palm as I crushed it. I didn't want to hurt it. I just wanted to relieve it of its misery. It wouldn't have lived, anyway. My sweet, idealistic June wanted to let it go, but it would never have recovered from what Parker and I had put it through. It would be eaten alive by something stronger than it. But I didn't have the heart to tell June that. Better to feed her some bullshit white lie and pretend I was the monster, not my brother. My brother, who learned how to hide his dirty, dark secrets better after that, hiding the animals he loved to hurt in places June couldn't find.
As the maid, Patty, and I turn the house on its head looking for my stepsister, I think of the beautiful raven-haired girl whose face my twin has ruined. She looked so much like June. Frighteningly so. And Parker had done that to her, carved her face up like a grotesque smile. Her life was ruined. Gone in an instant because she made a single mistake by trusting my brother.
I grit my teeth together, groaning in frustration and running my hands through my hair when we can't find June anywhere.
"Mr. Miller, do you think she's okay?" Even Patty looks nervous now, and I don't know what the fuck to tell her. My father's constant mantra rings out in my head—Familia ante omnia. He would want me to protect Parker at all costs. But after what June told me yesterday, I'm wondering just how twisted Dad was. And whether I should believe anything out of my twin's mouth...
"I'm going to keep looking," I mutter. "But if there's nothing in a few hours, I want you to call the cops. Understand?"
She nods, a grave expression on her face as she clutches a hand to her chest. "Miss Wildfox... Do you think she's okay, sir?"
I don't answer, and tears spring to her eyes as I reach out to comfort her awkwardly. "I'll make sure she's okay. I'll find her and bring her back."
Patty nods just as we hear the front door opening. Our eyes meet, and she knits her brows together.
"I'll go check," I say hurriedly. "Remember, Patty. If something's off, call the cops."
She nods and disappears down the hallway, her shoulders hunched. I take the grand marble staircase back into the main hall, and my whole body tenses when I come face-to-face with my twin.
Parker looks good. I don't know whether it's because of the smug smirk painted on his face, or the new haircut he got that mirrors mine.
"Well, well, well." He grins. "Look who snuck in. You're not welcome here, Kade."
"Where's June?" I bark.
"I don't know." He shrugs carelessly, and I know he's lying. He cares about June, too. If he really didn't know where she was, he'd be panicking as much as I am. I realize then I can't trust my brother. Not with June, not with any-fucking-thing. All he wants is to get rid of me... and get his way. "Around here somewhere, probably."
"Where've you been?" I demand next.
"Company. Working. I work with June now. It's great." He smirks at me. It fucking hurts to know he's working in the family company while I'm slaving away for minimal pay to make rent on my shitty apartment where I now live alone.
Besides, I know he's lying. He must've told the maid June was gone. But he's not telling me that.
"You know today's the anniversary of Dad's death?" I ask next.
"So?" Parker crosses his arms.
"We should go pay our respects," I mutter, thinking of the tomb Rachel had built on the property. If I can get Parker alone there, I can fucking beat the truth out of him.
"I don't have any respect for that man," Parker replies.
"What do you mean? He's our dad, for chrissakes."
"No, Kade." Parker is hissing now, approaching me, and pushing his pointer finger into my chest. "Maybe he was your father, but he was never mine. He didn't give a shit about me."
June's words from the previous day come up in my mind.
"What do you mean?" I ask even though I'm not entirely sure I want to know. I know when Parker's lying, and something tells me I won't like what he's about to tell me. The image of my father is still unmarred—for now. But my twin's pained expression speaks volumes. There's something else there, another part of the story that I never got to find out. "Tell me, Parker. I deserve to know the truth."
"The truth?" He laughs bitterly. "The truth is the man was a fucking pussy. Scared of the darkness. Scared of everything that wasn't picture fucking perfect. Just like you, Kade."
"I'm not scared of it." I glare at him. "I've lived with it my whole life, kid."
"Don't call me that." His voice is vicious. "Never call me that again."
I groan, running my hands through my hair, and he stares me down, a dark smile pulling on the corner of his lips. "But actually, you're right. Let's go to the tomb. We both need some fucking closure."
I nod wordlessly, following my brother outside where the golf cart we used for the property is waiting. Parker drives, and I sit next to him contemplating everything. We pull up in front of the tomb moments later. It's already dark outside, the dark crescent moon shining above us and guiding our path.
Parker stops the golf cart, and we get out. The atmosphere is oppressing, the tension in the air palpable. I want to ask him about June again, but something stops me from opening my mouth.
"We'll go in soon," Parker tells me. "But first we need to talk about something."
"What's that?"
"Junebug." I swallow thickly as he utters the name, fighting the urge to tell him never to call her that. He's going to ruin the nickname I gave her.
"What about her?"
"I know you're in love with her, Kade." He smirks at my crestfallen expression. "Oh, come on. It's never been a secret, has it? I've seen you pining after her for fucking years. Everyone knew."
"Who told you?" I demand.
"It was obvious." He shrugs carelessly. As he speaks, I hear a faint sound, but I write it off as a figment of my imagination, unable to quite make out the words. "To everyone, Kade. But it was wrong. Everyone knew it was wrong, including Rachel." My face falls, and he laughs at me. "Surprised I know about that, too? Rachel and I were close, remember? She trusted me. Maybe she shouldn't have."
"Maybe," I mutter. "What's your point, anyway?"
"You and June were never meant to be together," he goes on. "She belongs to me, not you."
"She's not property, Parker."
"Of course she is." He laughs easily, and I fight the urge to strangle him. Looking at him now, here, it feels like I never knew him at all. He's like a different person, making me wonder whether he's always been like this, hiding his true self from me all these years. "That's the fucking point, Kade. You need to step aside. You need to let us have our own love story."
"What love story?" I narrow my eyes at him. "She doesn't love you, Parker."
But then June's words ring out in my head. She said she fucked him. She said he was better than me. Is it possible that it's the truth? That Parker got his hands on my girl?
"She will," he goes on confidently. "Eventually, she will."
"That's sick." I shake my head in disbelief. "You can't force people to fall in love with you."
"That's what you think." He laughs. "Now come on. Let's go inside."
He unlocks the doors leading into the tomb. W
e take the stairs. It's dark inside, but Parker brought a lighter, and he lights some of the candles to guide us. We're almost all the way to the bottom of the tomb when I spot her. I nearly trip over her body, slumped at the bottom of the stairs, and my eyes widen, pupils dilating when I realize it's her.
"June?" I kneel next to her, heart pounding as I take her lifeless, tired body in my arms. "Oh my fucking God, June?"
"That's right," Parker says. "Here she is. You wanted to find her, didn't you?"
"You're a fucking monster," I spit out as I cradle my stepsister's unconscious body in my arms. "Are you crazy?"
"Of course I am." He laughs. "Did it take you this long to figure that out, you pathetic piece of shit?"
I gently lay June down and face my brother. The fact that his face is a mirror image of mine is fucking disturbing, and my hands form fists at my sides as we stare at one another. "You think you're going to get away with this?"
"No." He laughs. "That's why you're going to stay right here, and June and I will go back together."
"You can't keep me here," I snarl.
"Oh, but I can." He smirks, so fucking confident in his plan it only pisses me off more. "You're Parker now. And I'm Kade."
"What?" I spit out. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I'm leaving with June," he says. "You're dying in here. She won't even know who I am. Maybe I'll tell her... Once she's in love with me. Until then, though, she'll think I'm you."
"There's a fatal flaw in this little masterplan of yours," I grunt. "June could always tell us apart. Remember?"
His expression falls, but then he just shrugs. "Doesn't matter to me, as long as everyone else believes it. Now be a good boy and go into the tomb."
"How are you going to make me do that?"
"Easy." He smirks, pulling a carving knife from his pocket. He removes the safety on it, and it glints in the candlelight. There's dried blood on it. With a sick feeling settling in my stomach, I wonder if it's Dove's, from when he carved up her face. "You're going to listen because if you don't, I'll hurt you both."
"You'd hurt June? I thought you loved her," I growl.
"Love is for the weak," he says. "Obsession, on the other hand... Now obsession is a wonderful fucking thing, brother dearest."
Tyrant Twins: A Dark Twin Romance Page 17
