“That was because Mom was afraid her people would harm Dad. So he moved us to the Glades. Mom could still run, and he was out from under the business. But of course it didn’t work that way. He owned too much and knew too much. He was slowly trying to get out from under the companies. Armando wasn’t going to let that happen. All the while I was out with my wonderful uncle, doing his little tasks for him because he let me run free. I was so stupid. I told Mom and Dad that Armando knew about me shifting, that I did it all the time in front of him. Mom had been so secretive and I wanted her to know it was okay, that he didn’t mind. They were both so upset, and they must have talked to him. Armando arranged to meet with Mom and Dad and he killed both of them.”

“And I saw it.” Rachael pulled away from him. “I’ll never forget his face when he turned and saw me standing there.”

“Do you think I liked doing the things I had to do? He held you hostage, Rachael. He never bothered to hide what he did from you. The more you knew, the more of a liability you were to him and the more I had to do to make it worth his while to keep you alive. He needed me. I was like Mom and a tremendous asset to him. And he knew that he couldn’t kill both of us and get away with it. As soon as possible, I made certain he knew there was proof, if something happened to either of us.”

“But Elijah, I saw you do things just like he did them. You’re not the same. You’ve grown distant and colder. I tried to talk to you about it and you brushed it off.”

“He was making another move against us. And I was planning to kill him. I didn’t want you involved.” He said it bluntly. “If you knew, you’d be as guilty as me. You couldn’t know the things I had to do. One of us had to be something Mom would be proud of.” He looked down at his hands. “If it makes you feel any better, I never killed an innocent. I never stooped that low.”

“You ran drugs, you smuggled weapons. You trained assassins.” She flung the accusations at him, stepping away, pain breathing in her lungs.