The Gilded Cage Read online

  “Goodness,” his mother gasped. “Who is this?” She stroked Coda’s head as the husky sniffed her knees and nuzzled her palms.

  “Her name is Coda,” Fenn explained. “She’s mine.” The dog sat next to Fenn’s leg, her keen eyes studying the rest of the room’s occupants.

  His mother smiled. “I can see that. She’s lovely.” She stroked the dog’s nose with a fingertip and Coda’s eyes closed momentarily in enjoyment, her tongue lolling out.

  “Emery tells me you ride…bulls?” Miranda watched her son curiously. Fenn hated that she still seemed hesitant, but at least she didn’t seem to have an issue with his life or his past.

  “Yes. I live on a ranch and work it with the owner and his daughter, but I have been bull riding since I was a teenager.”

  “Ranching?”

  His father scrutinized him and Fenn lifted his chin proudly, as he waited to see his father’s reaction.

  Elliot finally nodded, smiling a little. “That’s good, honest work. You always did like to work with the soil as a boy. Do you remember helping in the gardens when you were little?”

  Fenn threw himself mentally back through time, hoping he could find a memory. He wasn’t disappointed, even if it was more sensation than images. Laughter, small hands digging into cool soil, picking up bulbs and burying them deep.

  “I do.” He beamed at his father and a shimmer of tears misted the older man’s eyes.

  “Fenn, mind if I pull you away for a minute?” Emery asked, and Fenn sensed his twin’s regret at the intrusion.

  “Coda, stay,” he commanded. The husky planted her rump between Miranda and Hayden’s legs. Fenn stood and joined his brother as they left the large parlor.

  “I’m sorry. I just needed to speak to you away from everyone.” Emery’s eyes were serious. It was the most curious thing, facing one’s twin. Like a glimpse into a mirror of an alternate universe and whispering. “Is this what I might have become?” The hairs on the back of his neck rose and he gave a little shake.

  “You and Wes mentioned a man—the one who shot the tires out on the semi that drove you over the ledge and then set fire to the trailer.”

  The memories of those two incidents made his fists clench at his sides.

  “Yes, he made it clear to Hayden he was sending me a message and wanted to drive me back to Long Island on purpose.”

  Emery motioned for them to walk down the hall and into the library. Sun played with shadows from beautiful trees outside the tall windows and created a rippling of light over the high shelves full of books. Emery walked over to a table and leaned back against it.

  “I think it’s time I filled you in on everything. Do you remember Antonio?”

  The name was like a piercing scream inside him. He nodded.

  “That’s the man I shot a few days ago. He was the man who was trying to kill me and almost killed Sophie. He’s the one who kidnapped us and hired those other two men to help him.”

  Pain slithered into the base of Fenn’s skull and he focused on breathing. He didn’t want to think about Antonio…or the way he’d hurt them. His only solace now was knowing that Antonio was dead.

  “After I shot him, he said another would take his place. Sophie has been researching this and we both are fairly positive this means that he was hired by someone.”

  “Who?”

  “That’s what we need to find out,” Emery explained.

  “Do you have a plan?” Fenn asked quietly.

  Emery met his gaze. “Yes. Whoever hired our kidnappers really wanted us dead. The kidnapping was a ruse. We need to provoke this unseen enemy out into the open. I’m thinking we publicize your return, make a huge thing of it. Hell, we can throw a party, invite lots of people. He’ll come. He’ll want to see you and play his hand at finishing the job.”

  “How can you be sure he’ll come? He keeps sending hired men, so there’s no evidence he will do anything himself,” Fenn countered.

  “We’re going to make him angry enough to show himself. Whoever is behind this is making it personal, and it’s been this way since we were children. We need to know what threat we posed as boys. That will lead us to who is behind all of this.”

  For a long moment neither of them spoke as they thought.

  “Who would want to kill two children? Who hated us that badly?” There was nothing so horrifying or shocking than a child’s death, and Fenn couldn’t imagine who would want to kill them. He couldn’t remember anyone who’d not liked him as a boy.

  “I think it’s more a question of who stands to gain with us out of the way,” Emery added.

  “That’s true. I hadn’t thought of that.” Fenn raked a hand through his hair. “Where’s your woman?” He had expected her to be here, but then maybe her injuries had kept her at the hospital.

  “She’s upstairs. Do you want to meet her? I moved her here this morning with a full-time nurse. It was a risk to keep her at the hospital. Anyone could get to her unless I was there to watch her.”

  Fenn followed his brother up the grand staircase, pausing to get a good look at the massive portrait. It was eerie to see their two little faces watching them. Faces from the past, before the time of darkness and despair.

  “You’ll be staying here, by the way. Mom and Dad live a half-mile away.”

  Fenn halted in his tracks. “They don’t live here anymore? Why not?”

  Emery refused to meet his eyes. “After I was found, they couldn’t stay here. They made it until I was fifteen, but then they bought the Somerset House down the road. I lived there with them for three years until I went to college. They never sold this place and I was coming back here in my summers between college. When I graduated, I moved in permanently, with Hans, of course, to watch my back.”

  “Alone?” Fenn couldn’t imagine why his brother would do that. “Why didn’t you stay with our parents?”

  “I hoped…” Emery shook his head. “Prayed you’d come home. I knew I had to be here when you did. Mom and Dad were too pained by the memories, but I knew I had to be here and just pushed past the pain. I hoped that my gut was wrong, that you weren’t dead.”

  The idea of his brother being here all alone, living on a sliver of hope that even their parents hadn’t been able to hold onto—his heart splintered at the thought. He could sense his brother’s emotions, that sense of waiting, that expectation for a miracle. The wait was finally over.

  “I’m here now, Emery,” he whispered, hoping his brother would finally feel at peace.

  “Yes.” Emery’s eyes were overly bright with the ghosts of tears long held back. “You’re here.”

  Hans appeared at the end of the hallway. He waved a hand in greeting.

  “She’s awake and asking for you,” Hans said quietly when they reached him.

  “Good. Thank you, Hans.” Emery opened a door and he and Fenn stepped into a bedroom.

  Fenn’s attention immediately shifted to the woman lying on the bed. Several machines and an IV were posted nearby and screens blipped. A woman in scrubs smiled at them and quietly stepped outside.

  “Oh my God,” the woman on the bed whispered, putting her hands over her mouth.

  “What’s the matter?” Fenn glanced about in alarm, but Emery laughed.

  “It’s you. She’s been waiting for this moment for a while. Sophie, this is Fenn.”

  Sophie’s face was pale, but no less animated as she waved him over. Fenn walked up to the large bed and placed his hand in her waiting ones. She gave him a brilliant smile.

  “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you alive. Did Emery tell you what we went through to find you?” she asked.

  The brothers shared a look and Fenn realized there was still so much he did not know about Emery or this whole situation.

  “You didn’t tell him everything.” Sophie nudged Emery and frowned. He’d taken a seat next to her on the bed and placed a kiss on her forehead.

  “What didn’t you tell me?”

  Sophie was the
one who answered. “None of us knew you were alive until Cody got kidnapped. You met Cody, right?”

  “The surfer?” he asked, and his question made Sophie laugh.

  “Yes, that’s him. He was taken by Antonio and tortured for a few hours and then left to die in a warehouse that was rigged with explosives. Hans and Emery found him, and they all escaped. Barely. The place blew up, and I got there just in time to think I’d lost Emery. Scariest thing in my life.” She leaned her head against Emery’s shoulder as she spoke. “After we got Cody to the hospital, he gave me a flash drive. He’d managed to hack Antonio’s laptop and he showed me a file Antonio had been keeping on you. That’s when we discovered you were alive and where you were living. Walnut Springs.”

  “Why did he have a file on me?”

  “He’d collected information he needed to kill you. After he finished me off, his plan was to go after you. We just don’t know why he was supposed to kill us,” Emery answered, his tone cold enough that Fenn felt the chill from where he stood.

  “Thank God he’s dead,” Sophie whispered.

  “Yes.” Emery bent and pressed a kiss to the crown of her hair. “But his replacement is already on the job. Fenn has had two incidents. It’s why he’s here. We have to do this together, and we need your help.”

  “We do?” Fenn couldn’t fathom how Sophie could help, not when she was recovering from her run-in with Antonio.

  “Sophie’s an investigative journalist. She solves mysteries.”

  Sophie grinned at him before she turned to Fenn. “It’s my specialty. I like to get to the bottom of things, and we need to figure out who’d benefit from your death or disappearance the most. Do you remember anything at all strange or important that happened the year you were kidnapped?”

  “I can’t think of anything. I figured we could ask Dad and see if he has any ideas.”

  Fenn nodded. “We should do that because I can’t think of anything. It’s all still fuzzy in places.”

  “What if we have dinner tonight and we can bring it up then?” Emery suggested.

  Fenn had no objections to that. He watched Sophie with his brother and envied them their casual intimacy. It was exactly what he desired with Hayden, but he wasn’t sure they would ever have that. Away from his bed, so much seemed to separate them. She was home now where she belonged, but him?

  Where do I belong? Born in one world, raised in another? Neither really felt like his.

  There was still so much he didn’t remember. Pieces of puzzles that didn’t seem to fit. Until he put all the memories together, he wouldn’t fit in anywhere.

  “Emery, can you take me to…” He had to close his throat. “The place where he held us? I want to see it.”

  His brother and Sophie exchanged worried looks.

  Fenn braced his hands on his hips. “I need to see it.” There were ghosts he could not banish, not until he could face them.

  “Okay. We can go. Hans will come with us. I’ll go make the preparations.” Emery left the room and Sophie gazed up at Fenn, her focus on him intense. A thousand thoughts seemed to flash across her face before she spoke.

  “He was dying inside, Fenn. Until he found you, he was barely living. When I came here, he was locked away in a world frozen in time. Finding you…” She brushed away a stray tear. “He’s alive again. I hope you can start living, too.”

  It was as if Sophie could see into his head and read his fears.

  “This is the beginning, not the end.” She captured one of his hands and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. He couldn’t put to words everything else he was feeling.

  She smiled. “Go on, you’d better catch up to him.”

  He stared at her a moment longer. “My brother chose well,” he said softly and did something he hadn’t meant to do. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. The compulsion to protect her was strong, but in a different way than he felt with Hayden. Sophie mattered to him because she mattered to Emery. He didn’t have to know anything else about her, except that his twin loved her. It was enough for him to care about her. He couldn’t help but wonder: Would Emery feel the same toward any woman Fenn loved? Would he feel that way about Hayden?

  When he caught up with his brother, he was with Hans by the front door.

  “Mom is arranging dinner. Dad is staying with her. Wes and Hayden left, so we can go see the house.”

  Hayden was gone? He had wanted to say good-bye before she left. Disappointment filled his stomach like dead weight and his shoulders slumped. He and Wes had talked about her having to leave, but it didn’t make him any less disappointed that he couldn’t have seen her before she left. It wouldn’t be wise to see her again until all of this was over.

  “You ready?” Hans asked as he pointed to the black SUV still parked outside.

  Fenn and Emery followed him to it. Hans got into the front seat and drove down a familiar service road only two miles from their house. Hans spun the wheel to the right and left the service road to go down a gravel and dirt strewn path that looked barely wide enough to fit a small car, let alone an SUV. In the distance, mostly hidden by the trees and early evening shadows, an old red brick mansion that looked like a large farmhouse loomed out at them. A place he’d thought he’d never see again. The place of his darkest nightmares.

  Chapter 20

  Hans parked the vehicle in front of the structure and all three of them climbed out. Fenn’s skin prickled and a breeze tickled the back of his neck like invisible fingertips as he scanned the crumbling edifice.

  Twenty-five years ago the structure had been dominated by nature, and barely recognizable. He’d expected it to be more of a skeleton, but the stone and bricks had held their own against the creeping vines and stalwart trees that erupted through the cracked floors. The bright flash of yellow police tape was jarring and unsettling against the wild background.

  “The police are keeping an eye on the place because Antonio was killed here,” Emery explained.

  “Are we allowed to go inside?” Fenn asked, eyeing the police tape.

  “Yeah. Hans called in a favor with the local police. Since the shooting has been labeled self-defense and they’ve collected the evidence and taken photos already, I think we’re safe to go in. The tape is mainly to keep kids out.”

  Fenn didn’t wait for his brother to follow as he approached the house. He ducked under the yellow police strips and through the open doorway to the house. The scents of death, decay, and musty earth packed a hell of a punch as he moved farther in to the house. The walls inside had begun to soften and crumble. The doors from other rooms had been torn from their hinges and lay scattered over the floor. Plaster and damp fragments of decaying carpets were open to the elements since most of the roof had collapsed.

  A grand staircase rose up on teetering stilt-like wooden beams with no second floor to greet it. Fenn’s blood ran cold as he saw the door that led to the cramped confines of the closet he and Emery had shared beneath those stairs. He walked up to the closet door and gripped the brass handle, surprised vandals hadn’t made off with it yet. The doorknob creaked but finally gave under the pressure and the door eased open. The space was incredibly small—he would have had to stoop and bend himself nearly in half just to get inside.

  Something dark and frightening unfurled its black wings inside his chest and howled its rage. Had he and Emery really been small enough to fit inside this closet? How could those men have forced him and Emery to stay in here for nearly three months? This was where they had slept, where they had clung to each other, and fought off rats and insects. A place of darkness and terror in between their brief times outside, when they were only allowed to wash with a bucket of water and go to the bathroom.

  Suddenly Fenn couldn’t breathe. The weight of those awful memories pressed down on his chest like an anvil. A hand settled on his shoulder and his eyes blurred. He wiped at his face, shocked to see his hands come back wet with tears. With a violent mo
ve, he kicked at the closet door, slamming it shut. His boot crunched right through the rotted wood. Fenn struck out again, a bellow of rage ripping out of his lungs. He screamed and shouted until it felt as if his throat was bleeding and he couldn’t hear anything above the roar of the blood in his ears. The vicious sound reverberated off the walls and the glass from a fallen chandelier tinkled softly, disturbing the veil of cobwebs wrapped around it. He pounded with his bare fists at the crumbling remains of the doorway and then spun, seeing a wide mirror hanging on a tarnished gold frame. He knelt, gripped a rock and hurled it at his reflection, and the tortured boy staring back at him shattered in a deafening crash as glittering shards rained down to the floor. Panting, he turned back to the small dark closet, the space that had locked his innocence away until it had shriveled up and died.

  “Fenn?” Emery sounded worried.

  “It’s just…so small,” Fenn gasped, trying to catch his breath. “How can it be so goddamned small and still terrify me?” he demanded, finally meeting his brother’s gaze.

  Emery was at his side, still touching his shoulder and looking grim.

  “Places imprint themselves on you during highly emotional times in a person’s life. Whether you are happy, frightened, or sad, a place leaves its mark. This house marked us because of what those men did to us.”

  Fenn sucked in breaths through his mouth as flashes of that final night fluttered through him on dark wings.

  “Fenn, how did you get away? After all these years, I still don’t know.”

  His brother waited patiently, but the anxiety in his eyes tore out Fenn’s heart.

  “You remember Lewis and the other man, Abrams? They fought about killing us. Lewis didn’t want to. I remember convincing you to leave, but you didn’t want to. I had to push you to get you to run.”

  Emery glanced away, his eyes swiftly darting across the crumbling ruins of their shared nightmare. “I didn’t want to leave you, but I believed you’d be right behind me. Only you weren’t. I got about a hundred yards away when I heard the gunshot. I thought…” He left the thought unspoken.