Shackled (The Lord Series) by Amy T

223. Rueben - Doubts IV

I never saw Ansel this angry. Not to mention that he broke a sturdy oak dining table. How strong is he? Mose and Jasper are just as shocked as I am.

"Fine, no Elders then," I give in, wanting Ansel to calm down. "How are you dealing with it? What do you know that we don't?" Ansel rubs the back of his neck. "I'm having a meeting with Cirro in a few days. He's been digging into some stuff for me." This irks me more than I like to admit it. "Are you going behind our backs now?"

"I'm just doing my duty," Ansel replies.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I try to make him speak.

Ansel runs his fingers through his hair. "I don't think you'll understand even if I tell you." He looks at me, his brown eyes a little strange. "But they had Indy and I had no other choice." Who is Indy? It's the first time I heard this name. "In the beginning, I tried to resist, but... the fucking pain....." Ansel suddenly seems to snap out of some sort of a dark hole. What the hell was that about? "I'll go buy a new table."

"At this hour?" Jasper asks.

"Yeah. Do you want to come with me? This way, we can buy something nice for Olivia to let her know we are sorry for how big of an asshole we have been." Looking at me, Ansel adds, "And not from a fucking thrift store."

a good idea. I'm also coming," Mose says. After grabbing his

Right.

to leave before I go over to Tyson's office. Even if he has a room, he barely spends any time there. Besides, Isak and Steven are staying in his room for

the office, I start pacing around, trying to sort out the

here to walk around, you can go ahead and patrol the

a ton of bricks. She fears me. Tyson might have done some really messed up shit to her, but

I

going on, but you are too stubborn to

had been moments when

my arms over my chest. "Why are

"Because I'm tired, man. So fucking tired. Of the hate, of the fucking drama. I just need this to be over." He kissed the top of Olivia's head. "I don't like the person I turned into." His arms come around her and she whimpers. "I thought that by breaking her, it would make me feel better." He leans his head on the sofa. "But it only made me into a monster." He makes Olivia look into his eyes. "I needed a fucking reality check and Levi gave it to me. He forced me to look at what I did to you earlier in the kitchen. And then he showed Rueben and me another video of you and...." For the first time in years, I see Tyson tear up. "What have I done, Olivia? What have

him. Looking into his eyes, she says three words that cut deep even into my

way she fucking cries shatters me. Tyson holds her tight while I

and I stand there looking at her while I feel all her pain. And it breaks me.