"Tough, you've got me holding it anyway," Jay returns, cool and calm in tone even if the look in his eyes is anything but. "I missed the signs once. I'm not making that mistake again."

Sure, it had nearly killed him, too, when their mother had tried to gas them both to death during the night, but he'd learned his lesson. Breaking his hand to escape the cuffs hadn't been fun, but if there's on thing both boys learned from their mother early on, it's to fight tooth and nail to survive.

And while he knows Rook would never hurt him, he knows the same courtesy might not always extend to the man himself. Losing Rook is not something Jay's willing to entertain.

"You're not working through this. At all. You know that's dangerous."