Trust Me | MxM | BDSM

46. Brothers

Two corners later and up the stairs, Paul turns around towards me. His gaze is impassive while his hand pulls back his jacket, revealing a colt that he actually pulls on me. I've faced weapons often enough that I don't flinch, yet my heart still clenches afraid. I remember Gav telling me not to go, reasoning that he won't be able to help me should something happen.

"Dad says we need you, but I don't think so," he explains his action, pulling the safety trigger. The gun clicks, and I ease myself into that calm state of mind, forcing my heart to slow its rhythm.

I shrug. "Neither do I. I told him I'm not going to play his games anymore."

Paul's brow twitches, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly. "This isn't a game."

"Not for me, no - and apparently, you think the same," I admit quietly, hoping to built sort of a bridge. After all, I doubt he's threatening to blow my head off simply because I'm useless. "I don't know about our father, though."

The tension eases out of Paul's arm so he slightly lowers the weapon. At least, it's not pointing right between my eyes anymore. He glances around before he asks, "What do you mean?"

I actually wonder how much he knows, and there's only one way to know for sure. "Do you know who I am?"

"What's up with that question?" he shoots back, then cocks his head to the side, giving me a good look over.

"Just answer and you'll find out," I tell him without a hint of mockery, yet the gun is right back in my face. I sigh.

Paul's finger moves onto the trigger, making me feel nauseous. "I think you're the one playing games here."

"Fine, whatever. He's told you my name's Matthew Anders?" His eyes tell me that I guessed right, widening briefly. I wonder what my father thinks he's doing, sending us both off together like this when he's fed Paul half-truths, but I don't have the time to wonder right now. "Pull that trigger and you'll never find out the truth."

For a moment, Paul doesn't move. Then, he lowers the gun, and I exhale a deep breath. He still doesn't put the weapon away, though. "Dad said you're our inside man for Kemp."

I huff out a laugh, actually rolling my eyes before I shake my head. "Yeah, right. I kind of was if you want to put it that way."

"Then what are you?" Paul asks brusquely, seemingly losing his patience.

"I never took on the name Anders, and I wasn't born Matthew either. It's a name I chose about fifteen years ago," I tell him, deliberately leaving out details as well as the fact that I didn't even know my father's last name is Anders until recently. "I was sent to Gavrilo Kemp to gather intel, but when I figured out that my father has been lying to me about a lot of things, I quit."

"But you're still living with Kemp," Paul points out cleverly.

I shrug. "Long story."

"Well, I'm the one holding the gun right now, so how about you tell me?" He waves the gun around. For whatever reason he's pushing me, I can't have him believe that he's calling the shots. So, I do only sensible thing and close the distance between us before he can point the gun at me again.

Paul screams in surprise, trying to aim the weapon but failing miserably. A shot goes off nonetheless when I tackle him to the ground. His strength is no match for mine, which makes it easy to take control of his body and force the weapon out of his hand. He curses loudly when I roll him onto his stomach, then firmly hold his wrists behind his back.

"Get off me!"

"I'm not your enemy, Paul, but I won't let you blow my head off, either," I tell him nonchalantly, though my heart is racing. I gambled, and I won. It was a well-calculated risk, yet something could've gone wrong - and if it had, I wouldn't be able to go back to my master.

I shiver at the thought of him, my fingers clenching around Paul's wrists. There's no way I'm going to lose my life now that I've finally found a place to return to. I've been broken beyond recognition, and yet Gav claims to love me whole.

I narrow my eyes at Paul's head, then shove him into the floor before I step away, leisurely picking up the colt. I inspect it briefly while Paul gets back to his feet, straightening his clothes.

He looks composed again, though his gaze is glued to the weapon in my hands. "Why did you come back when you think he's been lying to you?"

"Well, he is my father," I tell him and sigh. "I guess just knowing hadn't been enough. I wanted to see that family that he never told me about."

"You didn't know about us?"

I startle because I'd been certain my addition to the family had been quite surprising for all involved. Paul smirks, probably noticing my reaction. "Dad tolds us a long time ago that he had to take care of you when your mother died."

I'm almost relieved that my father turned out to be incapable of sticking to the truth just once, especially because Paul doesn't need to know what happened to me. He seems very unlikable, though maybe we've started off on the wrong foot. I glance down at the weapon, then offer it Paul.

He narrows his eyes before carefully retrieving his weapon. To my relief, he tucks it away. "And what do you intend to do now that you've seen?"

"I don't know." I shrug, actually giving it some thought. "I've always been doing what our father wanted me to, so I guess I'll figure out what I want to do with my life now."

An image of Gav's face comes to mind, and I allow myself a soft smile.

"You don't want to take over his business?" Paul asks, finally revealing what's likely been bothering him. I shake my head, but he isn't buying it. "Why not?"

"I don't like killing people. It's not that I mind it if it has to be done, but I definitely don't like it enough to keep working with our father. Besides, believe it or not, but he's always had me believe I was working for the government."

Paul snorts. "What? Are you stupid?"

"Well, I guess everyone's likely to believe what their parents tell them?"

Paul regards me intensely for a moment, then cracks a grin. "Fine. But don't pull any stunts, or I'll really blow that head off your shoulders."

I sigh relieved when he walks past me, and we go back downstairs. This could've went so far downhill that I wouldn't have been able to climb back up anymore.