Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) (20 page)

They waited until well into the night before making their
move. Both girls had discussed all of the precautions Thomas would have taken
to keep them away from the recording, including babysitters, and how they’d get
around each of them. This was not going to be an easy task, but both girls felt
they would succeed in getting what they wanted.

Viola opened her bedroom door and, just as she’d expected,
Sage was sitting there waiting for her.

“What’s up?” he asked her, a knowing look on his face.

“I wanted to make sure Dominic got some food and get myself
a cup of hot chocolate. Is that alright with you?” Viola asked, sarcasm
dripping from her words.

“In answer to Dominic getting some food, I delivered it to
him myself so I know he got it. As for the hot chocolate, it’s kind of late for
that isn’t it?” Sage asked raising an eyebrow.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Viola said with a shrug. She knew she
had to play it cool otherwise Sage would be even more suspicious than he
already was. “Besides, since when do you sit outside of my room stalking me?”

“Since we know you’re going to try to pull something in
order to get your hands on that recording,” Sage said with no hesitation.

“If you say so. I’m going to get some hot chocolate right
now. Are you going to follow me to the kitchen or stay here and babysit my
room?” Viola asked, closing the door behind her and heading toward the stairs.

“What’s Cora up to in there?” Sage asked, torn between going
with Viola and watching for Cora to sneak out.

“She cried herself to sleep so she’s not going anywhere,”
Viola said, her voice soft with compassion for her twin’s pain.

“Why did she cry herself to sleep? She’s the one who decided
to stay with you instead of with Liam,” Sage asked, more suspicion in his
voice.

“She decided to stay with me because Liam sided with our
father and she felt that keeping something this important to us from her was a
betrayal, and I can’t say that I disagree with her. Now, I am going to get my
hot chocolate, coming or not?” Viola said as she turned her back on Sage and
started down the stairs. She knew without a doubt he would follow her so when
he jumped up and headed in her direction, the corners of her mouth lifted into
a small smile.

Keeping her pace casual, she made her way into the kitchen
and took her sweet time pulling out everything for the hot chocolate. Sage sat
down at the kitchen island and watched her with a careful eye.

“So, what are you up to Vi?” Sage asked her as she poured
milk into a saucepan to warm.

“Making hot chocolate. Want some?” Viola asked, pausing and
looking up at him with an innocent look on her face.

“Sure. Thanks,” Sage said and leaned forward, resting his
chin in his hands, continuing to watch her deliberate movements.

“No problem,” Viola said with a shrug as she added more milk
to the pan, then placed the pan on the stove before returning the milk to the
fridge.

“I have a question for you. If Anna didn’t keep much of
anything edible in the house, how did you and Cora learn how to cook?” Sage
asked, true curiosity in his voice and eyes. He was also remembering Cora
cooking that wonderful breakfast for him and Liam at their family’s cabin.

“We had cooking classes as an elective at our school. We
chose to take them so when we moved out of that place, we’d know how to take
care of ourselves,” Viola told him with a shrug as if it was no big deal.

“That was smart,” Sage said with a nod and admiration in his
voice. The twins’ wills to survive were strong enough that they planned on how
to take care of themselves once they were free of Anna’s torment.

“Thanks. It was a step towards freedom. Anna was furious
when she found out we were taking that class. She even contacted the school
trying to get our schedules changed so we couldn’t take it. We told the counselor
that our ambitions were to be professional chefs when we grew up and Anna
didn’t support that career choice, because it wasn’t what she’d planned for us,
and if she took us out of that class, we’d have no hopes of reaching our career
goals. The counselor told Anna there was nothing she could do to get us out of
the class to help us out,” Viola said with a grin and a shrug.

“Wow. That was pretty creative getting the counselor on your
sides so you could stay in the class,” Sage said, impressed.

“It was nothing new for us. We had to do stuff like that all
of the time. It was our way of fighting back,” Viola said, stirring the milk.

“That’s horrible Vi,” Sage said, sadness in his voice for
the crap the girls had dealt with growing up.

“You know what they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you
stronger,” Viola replied with another shrug of her shoulders. Her mind was
wondering if Cora had made it to the study yet or if she needed to keep Sage
busy for much longer. This topic of conversation was not one she wanted to be
having with him.

“Well, the two of you are strong. There’s no doubt about
that,” Sage nodded even though Viola’s back was to him and she couldn’t see it.

“Trust me, there’s not much we can’t handle,” Viola said in
a strong voice.

“It’s not that you can’t handle it Vi. It’s that you
shouldn’t have to handle it,” Sage said, picking up on her reference to the
recording.

“Yeah well, old habits die hard,” Viola said, mixing in the
chocolate with the warmed milk. She was making this as slowly as she could,
hoping Cora was doing her part in getting her hands on that recording.

“You’ll just have to get used to having people around you
who care about you and aren’t willing to let anyone hurt you. People who will
watch out for you and relieve you of that burden of always having to defend yourselves
without help,” Sage told her.

“Maybe we don’t want to depend on others to protect us,” she
told him, turning around and staring him straight in the eyes.

“Just because you don’t want to, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
It’s good to let other people in Viola. You can’t keep everyone at arm’s length
forever. Here you have a family who loves you, it’s not like at the Kilpatrick
house where you were on your own and terrorized. You will never be treated that
way here. If anyone tries, just let me know, I’ve always got your back,” Sage
said with a grin at the end.

“If you’ve always got my back, how about you help me get my
hands on that recording?” Viola twisted his words around.

“Be reasonable Vi. That is something I agree with your
parents on, you don’t need to hear the vileness spewed by that woman,” Sage
said with a grim, angry look on his face.

“Then at least tell me what’s on the recording. What is she
planning?” Viola persisted as she poured the hot chocolate into mugs and topped
it with whipped cream before handing Sage his cup.

Sage took his cup and took a sip of the hot mixture Viola
had concocted and closed his eyes. It was heaven in a cup. The only other
person to have made hot chocolate that heavenly was his mother, who he was
suddenly homesick for. Shutting down those thoughts and feelings, he turned his
attention back to Viola.

“Why are you pushing this so hard Viola?” Sage asked,
setting the mug down on the counter with both hands wrapped around it and
staring at her with an intense look.

“I just can’t sit back when I know she’s planning something
major to hurt the ones I love and myself. I can’t do it. You all seem to think
Cora and I can’t handle knowing what she’s planning. You think we’ll be too
scared to do what we need to do. What you all seem to forget is we’ve
experienced her depravity before, for years. We aren’t scared of her, we’re
angry. We need to know so we can stop her before anyone else gets hurt. It’s a
need to stand up to her for ourselves. If you can’t understand that and support
us, we’ll find out one way or another,” Viola met his stare and answered him
with the same bluntness that he’d come to expect from her.

Sage had to admit, he had a deep respect for both of the
girls, but it was deeper for Viola than Cora and that was because she didn’t
mince words. If she had something to say, she said it just the way she meant
it. Cora had a way of softening the blow when she spoke her mind that didn’t
have the same impact Viola’s blunt statements did. He found himself wishing he
was her mate, which almost knocked him off of the stool he was sitting in with
shock.

He took another sip of the hot chocolate and rolled her
words around in his head as he debated on what to do next, help her or follow
orders and stop the twins no matter what.

After Viola lured Sage away to the kitchen, Cora snuck her
way downstairs and to the door of Thomas’ study. First she tried the doorknob
and found it locked which didn’t surprise her in the least. She’d be more
shocked if the door had been left unlocked.

Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out the bobby pin
she’d stashed there just for this purpose and sank down onto her knees. Lock
picking had been a skill they’d been forced to learn when they figured out
Patrick was dirtier than they’d ever imagined and they wanted to know what he
was into, so if there was a chance they could get him arrested and out of their
lives, they were all over it. From early ages, they were looking to rescue
themselves from the clutches of Patrick and Anna.

It took her just a few seconds to pop the lock on the study
door and slip inside, closing the door behind herself with a soft click. She
pulled out the flashlight she’d brought with her and took a look around the
room to make sure Thomas wasn’t waiting inside to bust her for breaking and
entering.

She heaved a huge, silent sigh of relief when she found
herself alone in the room. Saying a silent prayer that Viola could keep Sage
busy long enough for her to find what she was looking for and that nobody came along
and caught her, she twisted the lock on the door and headed over to Thomas’
desk to begin her search.

After an hour of looking, she still hadn’t found the
recording and was getting more and more frustrated. She sank down into Thomas’
desk chair and leaned back, closing her eyes. Cora tried to put herself in her
father’s shoes and think of where she’d put the recording if she were trying to
keep it from two persistent teenage girls.

She’d been sitting there trying to think like their father
for about ten minutes when she heard a key in the lock. She was desperately
looking for a place to hide when the door cracked and she heard Viola’s voice
call out her name in a quiet whisper.

“Oh my gosh, you scared the crap outta me Vi!” Cora
exclaimed in a whisper. “I thought I was caught for sure. Where did you get a
key?”

“That would be me,” Sage whispered as he stepped in through
the doorway behind Viola and closed it behind him. He flipped the lock shut and
joined the girls.

“What is he doing here? Are you crazy?” Cora asked Viola in
disbelief.

“If you want that recording, you’re going to need my help,”
Sage replied. “If you don’t want it, I can leave.”

“Be smart Cora. You’ve been in here for over an hour and
since you’re still here, I’m going to feel safe in assuming you haven’t found
it yet. Sage can help us,” Viola told Cora.

“Why he’s suddenly willing to help us is what I don’t
understand. He’s always the one standing up and trying to block us from being
able to do anything,” Cora asked putting her hands on her hips and giving Sage
a questioning look.

“Let’s just say, we had a talk and he understands where we’re
coming from a bit better now,” Viola told Cora with a wink.

“Or maybe this is a set-up and we’re not going to get the
real recording,” Cora said, not willing to trust Sage’s change of heart so
quickly.

“Do you have so little trust in me Little Sis? When have I
ever betrayed you? When have I ever lied to you? I haven’t done a thing to
deserve your distrust,” Sage said, hurt and anger in his voice.

“I’m sorry Sage, but I know you’re one of our father’s men
and follow his orders. I don’t trust him not to put a plan like that into
effect,” Cora said, feeling guilty, but not changing her mind.

“Yeah well, I do have a mind of my own and use it when I
feel it’s necessary,” Sage said and moved away from the girls toward the wall
filled with books. “You’ll be apologizing soon enough.”

“Whatever. If you can help us and this isn’t a set-up, I’d
appreciate it, but we need to move quickly before we get caught. I’m sure
you’ll get into plenty of trouble if daddy dearest finds out you helped us,”
Cora said being sarcastic as she looked at her watch and back up at Sage and
Viola.

Viola rolled her eyes at Cora’s moodiness, chalking it up to
her being away from, and fighting with Liam, and followed Sage over to the
bookshelves. Careful not to get in his way, she watched as he removed a section
of books from the shelves and set them aside, revealing a safe tucked behind
where they’d been. He was careful to put the books in a specific order so he’d
remember to put them back properly so Thomas wouldn’t notice they’d been moved.

With ease, he blocked the combination lock with his body so
the girls couldn’t see the combination and twisted the dial until the lock
clicked open. He opened the safe soundlessly, reached in and brought out the
recording. Handing it to Cora, he closed the door to the safe, returned the
lock to its original position and replaced the books back on the shelf as they
were.

“Let’s go,” Sage said. “Thomas is an early riser and he
should be in here in just a little while.”

Both girls nodded and followed Sage out of the study. He
paused to relock the door and the three of them headed back up to Viola’s room
without saying a word.

Once in Viola’s room, they gathered in the sitting area and
looked around at each other. Cora was holding tight to the recording, as if it
were a lifeline, afraid Sage would change his mind and take it from her.

“Are we going to do this or what?” Viola asked Cora, tired
of waiting. She needed to know what it was that had Dominic so upset so she
could try to ease his pain.

“For the last time, are you one hundred percent positive
this is what you want to do? There is no going back once you listen to it,”
Sage warned them both.

Viola and Cora looked at each other with renewed
determination as Cora sat the recording device on the coffee table and Viola
plugged in the portable speakers she’d gone over and grabbed from the end table
next to the bed. Nodding to each other, Cora pushed play and their horror
began.