Dani sat down on the fireplace hearth nearby. “It’s okay. Take your time.” “Sit, big guy, you’re scaring her.”
Choosing a big armchair, Ethan sat.
Not wanting to rush the woman, Dani gazed at her hands. She was shaking. Not wanting anyone to notice, she fiddled with a hangnail to keep busy.
“My biggest fear is you’ll ban me from Drover after I tell you what I know.” Mary lifted her chin. “I have no other home.”
“It depends on what you have to say.” He leaned back in his chair. “I’m a fair leader. I’ll listen.”
Mary nodded. “I’ve heard that about you.
Please, I ask that you hear me out, and I promise I’ll tell you everything.”
The damn tears welled up in Dani’s eyes again. She blinked the moisture away. Please, not now. Be strong. “I will.” Blood pounded in her ears. This could be the lead she’d searched for since the day Jordan was kidnapped. Who better to know what happened than Loren’s lover? Dammit. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Ethan and she had both disregarded the obvious, thinking that if Loren didn’t know who had stolen Jordan from him, his women wouldn’t either.
“You’ve probably guessed that Greggoire used Jimmy to enhance his abilities.” Mary’s legs trembled and she rubbed her knees.
Dani sat up. “Jimmy?”
“Sorry.” Mary shook her head. “I don’t know his real name. Jimmy is the name Greggoire gave him. I know he was your brother though.
That I’m positive of.”
Dani kneeled beside the couch. “Was? What do you mean? He’s okay. Where is he? What did he do to him?”
“Let her speak, little one. We promised her that. Don’t jump to conclusions.” Dani caught a sob in her throat. “P-please…g-go on.”
“Carolyn and I were in charge of taking care of him.” A small smile lit up her face for an instant and then disappeared. “Carolyn was also Greggoire’s lover. I didn’t like it, but…later, I was just happy to have someone to talk with who knew what I had to go through. I stopped worrying if she was going to steal my man from me. I even came to accept that Greggoire brought a human into our home.”
Mary reached into her pants pocket and removed a tissue. She quietly blew her nose. “We loved that little boy as if he were our own. He’s such a good baby. But the more treatments Greggoire had, the meaner he became. Carolyn and I would take shifts watching over Jimmy.
We’d never let him get hurt. You have to believe that.” She gazed at Dani.
Dani nodded. Hope filled her. She bit her tongue to let the woman finish her story.
“Carolyn received the worst of Greggoire’s treatment. He’d rape her, and when he was finished, he’d treat her like a piece of garbage.
Several times, I knew she should have gone to the hospital, because she had no way to heal herself. I was afraid he’d kill her.” She wiped her cheeks. “Carolyn…she started to retreat from me, and instead became almost obsessed at never letting Jimmy out of her arms. She’d carry him around the house singing to him, playing imaginary games. Of course, Jimmy ate up the attention, but…I worried that Carolyn was losing touch with reality.”
Dani couldn’t stand it anymore. Desperate to share some of Ethan’s strength, she sat on the edge of his armchair. Mary was talking about her little brother. Hope had her heart singing with this current news about Jordan, but inside, hearing about the abuse going on in the home, she feared the worst.
“Greggoire told us one night that he was going to make sure he was the strongest wolf who had ever lived.” Mary raised her brows at Ethan. “We were to ready the boy for the next phase.”
Dani tensed. Ethan laid his hand on her back.
“Greggoire left the house. I was so upset. I went upstairs to use the bathroom and try to figure out what to do. When I came back downstairs, Carolyn and Jimmy were gone.
Greggoire was livid when he found out.”
“Greggoire never found them?” Dani bit down on her lip. A slight salty taste filled her mouth.
“No, he didn’t.” Mary blew out her breath and glanced at Ethan. “That night your mate killed him.”
“Do you know where my brother is now? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.”
Ethan guided Dani off the chair and stood, approaching Mary. “You are safe in the Drover Pack. Under the circumstances, I think what you did was very brave. There is no need to banish you from your home. We would appreciate you telling us where we can find Dani’s brother, though. My mate has lived in hell the last two years not knowing. You do realize the boy belongs with Dani. She’s the only family he has.”