Accepting My Twin Mates by Unwise Owl

Accepting My Twin Mates Chapter 84

CHAPTER 81 – PASSWORDS?

Badru

With my bowl in hand of lamb fattah, a layered dish of toasted pitta bread, vegetable broth, rice, meat and garlic sauce, I sat at our childhood dining table that we had eaten at more times than I could ever count. There were so many happy memories with both my parents at this table and now I was planning on breaking into one of their computers to find proof that one had done the unthinkable or someone close had done the unthinkable to all of us.

In my other hand, I held my phone, ready to dial my father’s cell in hopes he had it on him, that he would take it out and leave it out and that he would leave it behind when Astennu caused the distraction. I chose my seat, right next to the one my dad habitually took, my family right behind me in taking up their seats. My father carried through the leftovers in a dish, knowing mine and Astennu’s appetites, and settled it in the middle of the table between my twin and me sitting opposite each other.

Any other time, I would have gone back for seconds, thirds, and sometimes fourths. On this occasion, my appetite for firsts would be a struggle.

‘You better find the stomach for it, unless you want a big neon sign flashing above our head saying something is wrong, please grill us on what,’ Baniti huffed under his breath.

‘I will!’ I snapped back that he would dare doubt my acting skills. ‘If you’re finished, I have to fake butt-dial dad.’

With my phone concealed at my side, I hit dial, waiting for the familiar ringtone. Just as I had hoped, our father made his apologies that his phone was ringing during dinner. As he was mid-rise from his seat to answer, he noticed the name, spinning the screen to show me.

“Sorry,” I casually pretended to slip my cell out from my pocket. “Must’ve forgotten to lock my screen.”

I cancelled the call and slid my phone onto the table’s surface, hoping the social cue would be repeated, and held in my fist pump to the air when it worked. Right there, next to me, my dad’s phone and all it had to do was remain there.

Our dinner passed quietly, neither of our parents saying much beyond a word or two of simple pleasantries. It wasn’t as though either of our parents could ask how we were or what we had been up to. They knew and, by habit at this point, stayed away from the subjects. Janet was never once discussed, so at least her current location remained a secret; provided Tamlyn wasn’t the mastermind and carving the she-wolf’s tongue out to prevent her from speaking.

As much as I felt sick eating a second helping, I choked it down. Astennu too. Our mother would only fuss and our father would back her up. And now I had to wonder if that was out of some form of guilt; I despised this way of thinking and the sooner we had our answers, the better.

“So, did I make it like your mom used to?” Our dad swirled the last of his red wine, downing it in a single swig and gazing at our mother as though she was the only woman in the world.

“Mum would have been impressed,” she returned the gaze, fondly. “No one can beat her garlic sauce, though.”

She cleared the plates and our father followed, leaving his phone behind, forgotten, on the table.

‘Aste, do your thing and keep them in there for as long as you can.’

He grabbed the empty wine glasses and took them through to the kitchen. I was finally alone to work my magic. I snatched up the phone and entered the PIN code that I remembered, praying to the moon goddess above it would work. She shone down on me with her good graces and the phone unlocked.

I hadn’t even had a chance to think of where to search for a scrawled-down password when my brother was mind-linking me that my time was up.

‘Stall them! I barely opened the phone,’ I blared at him. ‘You used to be able to throw up on command, do that.’

‘…When we were four! I can’t do it now, ahbil (i***t).’

care what you

of

dad,” Astennu called out, overselling his

but it’s working. So get to code cracking, or whatever this is,’

haste and that was where something caught my eye. Blocked numbers weren’t uncommon and nothing hugely odd, but it was the dates that stood out. Intermingled with them was a random unsaved number, called many times. If it was a business contact, why wasn’t it saved under a name? Why was it

and sank my stomach with a lump of stabbing ice was the dates. The date of the unsaved number… the day Evie was taken, and called early in the morning. The number had been phoned before and on the

I got glass in my cut. Can you take a look, dad?” Astennu laid it on thick,

on the number later. I wanted to maintain to myself that this was a

my father return, placing a dessert in the middle of the table and preparing to slice it up to serve. It took every minute thread of self-restraint not to pin my father to the wall and demand an explanation. But I wanted to find out for myself exactly what he had been doing, so he couldn’t talk his way out of it. And

I pushed away from the table abruptly. “I’m gonna catch up on some sleep. I’m

need to leave, now,’ I mind-linked Astennu, urging him

stomach anything

ahibbaa (darlings),” our mother tried to

my father as I spoke, trying to get a read on him, a reaction, but there

and two, and ended up

break into his computer,’ Baniti shook my head

you break

we were out of sight, I grabbed Astennu’s arm and

the panic that flooded our bond,’ he tried to rip free of my hold, which was cute at best. He

unfortunately, I didn’t find

door open, but I closed it behind us

is it?” Astennu’s hands landed on

and showed him the image.

“These dates…”

I looked over the screen, inspecting what I had found in a little more detail. “I didn’t have time to look over more and finding it was an accident, but we need to get in his computer now or I’m going back there, tying him to a chair and beating it out

he shook his head in denial, staggering over to the desk and dropping to the leather chair in a weightless sag. “This

interrupted, pulling a chair around and switching the computer on. “Like you said at the stables; we’re on our own from now on and

sick lump building in his throat that mirrored the one lodged firmly in mine. A heaviness clung between us and a shuddering sense of isolation crept slowly

pulse beating and growing louder, and my wolf pacing and growling lowly, not knowing what to say or how to reassure me. We had never been on our own like this, having no one we could

in this thing,” my brother mumbled in a small voice, flicking the desk lamp on to illuminate the dim and

had begun our Alpha training, we had never needed to use his space or his computer. We had never needed to know the password and hadn’t ever spared a single thought about it. If we needed a document, dad always handed it over or e-mailed it. I, now, had to wonder whether that was by design, that he gave us everything so we wouldn’t ask questions or find

moved, set instead where our father would look at it every day. The picture was from our 18th birthday, the day he gave us our very

into the space, tapping enter and, like magic, it

finding nothing of any relevance, nothing that matched the false invoices that Elan had sent us.

tapped the monitor. “If anything’s stored

open and up popped another f*****g