Free Being Zolt by D. L. Raver Page B

and left the room.
    “Stand,” Zolt commanded.
    Without question, I did. He sat down in the chair I had just vacated, spreading his legs and making room for me to sit between them.
    “Sit.”
    I sat on the chair between Zolt’s legs and leaned back against his firm chest. He started the video again, and as Chris came to life in front of me, Zolt wrapped his arms around me, holding me, giving me the love and strength I so desperately needed.
    “Irelyn,” Chris said, letting out a long, agonized sigh. His beautiful green eyes were dark and as tortured as his sigh had been.
    I wanted to reach in and touch him—hold his hand and tell him that everything worked out. But it hadn’t. The situation couldn’t be more jacked up. He was dead. Ruthlessly murdered in cold blood by a monster of a man he’d called a friend.
    I started to shake as the memory of Chris lying dead in a pool of his own blood bombarded me. I couldn’t do this. I just couldn’t.
    Zolt stopped the video again.
    “You can do this, Irelyn,” he said, negating my thoughts with his reassuring words. “I know it will seem like an eternity, but it’s only a few minutes. That’s it, baby. Just a few minutes.”
    Swallowing hard, I nodded, and Zolt started the video once more.
    “If you’re seeing this, it means some major shit has gone down and I’ve either disappeared or am dead. It also probably means you’re with Marcus; though, I pray to God I’m wrong.” Chris’s gorgeous countenance twisted with hate as he growled Marcus’s name.
    “The first thing I’m going to tell you is to get away from Marcus. I just hope you’re seeing this before he’s convinced you to be with him or worse, marry him.” Chris sucked in a ragged breath and leaned closer to the screen. “He’s bad news, Irelyn. Get. The. Fuck. Away. From. Him!”
    My blood turned cold with my brother’s words and his message that had come too late to save me from everything I’d given to Marcus. But I had to hope Chris had more to tell us that would help Kenna.
    Chris’s demeanor relaxed some and he sat back in his chair. “I know things—incriminating things. I’ve kept them to myself because it indicts our father, as well. But I’m done protecting him. Fuck him! He deserves everything he gets and more. I will never forgive him for what he’s done or will do. If I am dead, make no mistake, my death is on his head as much as it will be on Marcus’s.”
    Quickly, I clicked the mouse and stopped the video.
    “Why didn’t he just leave?” I said through my tears, turning to look at Zolt. “If he knew he was in danger, why didn’t he just leave?”
    “I don’t know. Let’s watch the rest of the video.” I could tell from the shake in Zolt’s voice that this affected him as much as it did me.
    I restarted the video, vowing not to stop it again.
    “I’m sure you’re probably wondering why I didn’t leave if I’m worried about my safety?”
    I laughed. Even from beyond the grave, Chris read my mind; he always could. It used to freak me out. Now, it made me love and miss him even more.
    “I had to protect you, Irelyn. I’ve done everything in my power to do so. I can’t elaborate other than to say our father made some major mistakes and turned to Marcus for help. You paid the price to save his sorry ass.”
    Chris stopped again and scrubbed his hands over his face; stress lines marred his forehead. “This isn’t what I wanted. I never dreamed that Jacob could be such a spineless, cheating bastard and Marcus would turn the club into a BDSM sex den. It was supposed to be a harmless club with games of chance and the like. You know a place where rich fucks could come drink, screw around with beautiful women, play some poker — shit like that. When it turned into a place where we planned to auction girls against their consent for money, I put my foot down. But since you’re watching this, I guess my foot wasn’t big enough to stop Marcus.”
    “So,” Chris