Present
The October wind howled outside, making the otherwise quiet house creak under the pressure. It had to be about three in the morning, but I wasn’t making any move to check my phone. Kai and I sat on the bed, me in between his legs and resting back into his chest as he sat propped up against the headboard. I fiddled with his fingers, threading mine in and out of his. Today was Halloween.
“Do you feel it?” I asked quietly.
“What?”
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs and closing my eyes. “It’s like everything is starting.”
An enormous weight had lifted off my shoulders when Damon walked out hours ago. I wondered where he went and if he was safe. I worried that he doubted how much I loved him.
But I didn’t realize how much I’d dreaded him, too.
At least part of me.
Not until he left the house, giving no indication he would come for us again, and the pain in my stomach I’d grown so used to over the years, that I barely noticed anymore, slowly started to fade away. He’d always held on so tightly. Too tightly.
But now it felt like my lungs could hold an ocean. I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do anymore, and the best part? I could do anything I wanted do now. Go to school, try on some heels, come home at dawn, travel, volunteer, go to a bar…
Have friends.
“If you want an annulment, I’ll give you one,” Kai said, his lips brushing my hair. “We can start over. Fresh. Maybe have a date. And a proper wedding after I ask you and if you say yes.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I’ll kiss you like I should’ve.”
I gave a half-smile. I could tell he felt guilty about our “wedding.”
“No.” I raised my hand, looking at my ring. “It’s part of our story, and I don’t want to change it. I like our story.”
His arm slid around my waist, tight and possessive.
“So, what’s next then?” he asked. “What do you want to do with your life now?”
“Everything.”
He breathed out a laugh. I definitely felt uncertain. And guilty. He’d already bought me clothes, but I wouldn’t let him support me. I’d have to figure out something soon. I wouldn’t be happy unless I contributed to our life.
And this house.
I mean our house, I guess.
Which reminded me…
“Why did you keep this house a secret?” I turned my head, looking up at him.
His eyes smiled back down at me. “For the same reason I liked the confessional.”
I pinched my eyebrows together, not sure I understood.
“I like my privacy, and I like my space,” he explained, “and this is the one place where I can be left quiet, hear myself think, and not be distracted. I have perspective here.” He pressed his lips to my temple. “I knew it wouldn’t be a secret forever, but I wanted to enjoy renovating it and living in it before my friends started coming and going.”
“Well, I think you’re going to be distracted with me here,” I pointed out. “I’m not that quiet.”
His chest shook with a laugh behind me. “I don’t mind your distractions.”
I hoped not, because Alex left the lingerie she bought for me for the party the other night, and I planned on closing the gate, locking the doors, and being hugely distracting really soon.
“Are there any other secret passages?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Tingles spread across my body. “Do they lead to fun things?”
“Yes.”
I smiled, my imagination running wild. I was still nervous about where my life would lead now, but I was excited, too.
I laid my head back on his shoulder, looking up into his eyes. “Will your parents hate me?”
He shook his head. “No,” he answered. “My father will hate me for about fifteen minutes, and then he’ll evolve to being just disappointed again.” He kissed my nose. “Just be who you already are. Loyal, honest, no-nonsense, blunt, and stubborn. He respects what he sees inside.”
“And your mom?”
“All my mom will care about is that you love me.” He smiled down at me. “And that we were married by a priest, of course.”
I narrowed my eyes. That’s right. It had occurred to me as odd that he’d arranged a church and a priest for a marriage he seemingly didn’t want. In researching him, I had never gotten the impression that he was particularly religious anymore, other than showing up for the rare family christening and such. He’d done it for his mom’s sake?
“She was why you—”
He nodded, his eyes softening as he held my gaze. “It was always for life, kid.”
Always for life. I couldn’t help but smile. I should’ve known. Kai didn’t make mistakes.
I kissed him, his warm mouth sending tingles spreading through my lips and down my neck. We just held each other, taking our time for once, the kisses getting deeper and more demanding.
Leaving my mouth, he kissed my forehead and then my hair again.
“Sun will be up in a couple hours.” He glanced toward the window near the bed. “So much for sleep.”
Climbing out from behind me, he pushed off the bed, and I watched him step over to his dresser. Pulling out a pair of lounge pants, he turned to me. “Shower with me?”
I laid down, resting my head on my hand. Man, that was tempting. I didn’t want to leave his side.
But something was still nagging at me. “You go ahead,” I told him, grabbing my phone. “I need to check some messages.”
He fixed me with a look that said he definitely wouldn’t be long. I watched him walk into the bathroom and waited until I heard the shower run and the glass door close shut.
Sitting up, I hurriedly scrolled through my contacts, finding who I was looking for.
Dialing, I waited as the line rang. It was the middle of the night. It might take a few tries before he woke up.
But to my surprise, the ringing stopped and a groggy voice growled at me over the line.
“Jesus, what?” Will barked.
I hopped off the bed and walked for the bedroom door. “Can you meet me? I need your help.”
Pulling Kai’s Jeep off the highway, I headed down a gravel road, the thin forest to my left the only thing between me and my father’s house. I spotted red tail lights ahead and made out Will’s SUV idling off to the right. He must’ve sped here. I’m sure he was aggravated as hell with me, getting him out of bed before dawn.
I drove past him and glanced in my rearview mirror, seeing him pull off the shoulder and follow me deeper down the road.
Finding the worn path Damon used to drive on when he’d come home too late and the gates were locked, I took the left and dipped down a small incline, rocking back and forth as I drove into the brush, coming in from the back of the property. It was the only way to get there without anyone noticing.
Possibly.
There were still motion sensors and cameras and there was always a guard walking the perimeter, but I knew from experience that by this time of the night he was probably holed up in the kitchen, eating leftovers and watching TV.
Once I saw the lights up ahead, I knew I was coming up on the back of the garages. Stopping, I parked and shut off the car. There were nine dogs, last I’d seen. Hopefully we could get them all to fit.
I climbed out of the car, taking the keys with me.
“Don’t you have a husband to slowly drain the life out of?” I heard Will complain as soon as I slammed the door. “What am I doing here?”
I held my finger over my lips. “Shh,” I told him. “I can’t do this on my own. Just stop whining.”
“Is there any reason you just didn’t bring Kai?”
“Yes!” I whisper-yelled. “He would never have let me come back here.”
I could’ve brought David and Lev, but they’d be shot on sight if they returned here.
And I wouldn’t dare bring Rika. I’d have all of them angry with me for risking putting her in any danger. Michael wouldn’t leave her alone anyway, not after what happened last night.
Besides, Will was…nice. He might bitch and moan, but he’d do anything to help someone out, I was pretty sure. I mean, he picked out my underwear. That must mean we’ve bonded enough to ask favors of each other, right?
Turning around, I led the way toward the house, creeping quickly through the wet leaves and zipping up my new leather jacket against the cold breeze. Halloween in Thunder Bay was just as much of a big deal as Devil’s Night, so the next several hours would be quite a handful for the town’s police force. I doubted my father would send them after me anyway, no matter how stretched their manpower was later on tonight.
He’d definitely know I was here, though.
Jogging around the first garage, I snuck up to the big shop and pulled my keys out of my pocket. Gabriel knew I wasn’t stupid, but he also probably figured I wasn’t a threat. Not yet, anyway. I doubted he’d changed the locks in the two days since I’d been here.
Flipping up the key pad, I punched in the code, and when the alarm deactivated, I inserted my silver key into the door, twisting the lock.
“What are we doing?” Will asked quietly.
But I ignored him, slipping inside and pulling him after me. I immediately heard chains rattle and shuffling coming from several of the kennels. Glancing around, I saw that there was no one here yet and noticed a couple emergency lights on giving me enough to see my way.
Grabbing a handful of leashes off the wall, I tossed three to Will. “We need to hurry.”
“Wha—”
I opened the first kennel.
“They’re going to fucking bark!” he blurted out.
“They will if you don’t do exactly what I say.”
If they started going nuts, the night guard would be out here in seconds. We needed to be stealth.
I approached the dog—an older pit bull—that had been here since he was a pup. He stood without barking. He, at least, knew me and was well-trained by now, but the others might get skittish, so that’s why I needed to be the one to grab them. Will could load them into the cars.
I gave him a rub behind his ear as I hooked his leash and gently pulled, leading him out of the cage.
“And if he just gets more dogs?” Will asked as I handed Brutus to him.
“Then we’ll be back, I guess.”
Hurrying, I pulled open all the gates to the cages and walked in, leashing the dogs and walking them out. The two Great Pyrenees came easily, but one was gaunt, her ribs showing through her coat, while the rottweiler, the two shepherds, and the two huskies all shuffled away, resisting. Reaching into the baggie in my pocket, I pulled out chunks of meat I’d brought with me, quickly offering it to them.
Will had the pit bull, and I handed off the two Pyrenees.
“Go put them in the backseat of your truck.” I told him. “And hurry!”
Heading into the last cage, I saw the beagle laying down, just watching us. I moved for him, and noticed he was shaking. My throat felt like it had needles in it.
I didn’t have time to assess the damage, although I did see some scabs, so I didn’t even try to motivate him. Scooping him up into my arms, I repositioned my hold on the other leashes and left the building, walking briskly.
Will and I made short of loading all the dogs into the cars, and I debated tying them up but decided against it. They’d been trained to be aggressive, but I didn’t want to risk one falling or jumping out of the bed and strangling itself. If they fought, I’d deal with it then.
Will jumped in his car, yelling at me through his open door. “Let’s go!”
I dug out my keys, but then I stopped.
And looked back toward the house.
I didn’t have everything.
Will started his engine, and I whipped around, waving my hand. “Stop, wait!”
A couple of low barks drifted from the cars as he shot his head out the window. “What are you doing?”
“Stay here,” I told him.
“Banks!” he whispered after me. “What the hell?”
I ran up to the house and tried the door handle to the kitchen. It slowly gave way. My stomach churned. The guard had unlocked it to come and go which meant he was around. Softly opening the door, I peered inside and saw the small TV on the granite counter in the far corner was turned on. There was also a plate of crumbs in front of it. He was probably in the bathroom.
Taking my chance while I had it, I dashed through the kitchen, down the hallway, and up the stairs. Opening the door to the tower room, I crept quickly inside and jogged up the stairs.
Damon could be here.
But when I opened the door, the room was dim, the only light coming from the moon outside, and it appeared still empty. A pang of disappointment hit me. I wasn’t looking for him, and this probably wasn’t the best place for him to be, anyway, but if he wasn’t here, where else would he go?
Walking over to the dresser, I dug in the cabinet for both of the faunariums and quickly loaded Volos and Kore II into separate containers. If Damon wasn’t coming home, then there was no one to take care of them.
God, Kai was going to kill me.
Giving the room one last glance, I left and didn’t bother locking the door at the bottom of the stairs.
Racing back down the stairs, I ran right into a dark figure coming up and halted. One of the men, Sergei, stopped and looked up at me abruptly.
“What the hell are you doing?” He glared at me.
But I didn’t answer. Quickly swinging around him, I pounded down the rest of the stairs. He immediately continued up to the next floor, his pace more urgent. He was getting my father.
I walked into the kitchen, spotting Marina at the sink. She turned her head, her eyes wide with surprise. “Hey.”
I walked to the back door, fumbling with the handle and the cages in my hands as I opened it.
“Let’s go,” I told her. “You’re coming with me.”
“What?”
I turned my head. “We don’t have time to debate. I’m not leaving you here.”
With my father or these men.
She wiped her hands on her apron, confusion etched all over her face. “I can’t leave.”
“You can,” I insisted. “You can come with me. This minute. Do you want to?”
Her mouth opened but no words came out. Her eyes darted down, then up, and I’d never seen her look more conflicted as she searched the room around her like it would give her the answer she needed.
But then she blinked and took a deep breath, ripping off her apron. I smiled.
We ran out of the house, leaving the door wide open, and I looked to make sure Will’s truck was still just past the tree line. He turned on his headlights.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” A bellow nailed me right in the back.
I stopped, squeezing my eyes shut. Fuck.
I heard a car door slam shut and opened my eyes to see Will out of his truck and making his way quickly over.
I looked at Marina. “Get in the Jeep.”
She nodded and walked ahead, not looking back.
I twisted around. My father stood in black pants and no shirt with about four men standing behind him. He was masking his snarl, but I could still make out a hint of it.
“Get a new cook,” I told him, clutching the faunariums. “And don’t get any more dogs. I’m extremely difficult to deal with.”
He laughed bitterly. And then he inched toward me, his men staying back.
“You’re not taking my shit,” he growled low.
I tipped my chin up. “Consider it my severance package,” I said. “And be thankful I don’t take more as payment for keeping my mouth shut about everything that goes on here.”
His gaze narrowed on me. He knew what he was capable of, and he knew I knew. But my father was a smart man, and he knew I wasn’t alone anymore. Was it worth the trouble?
A sick smirk curled his lips. “I heard about the episode at Kai’s house last night,” he said, biting out every word. “Tell your brother I want to see him. And if you fail to keep his behavior in check from here on out, I will have him hog-tied and dragged to Blackchurch. Without hesitation.”
I clenched my teeth together. Damon had come out of prison far more hateful and distanced from reality than he’d ever been growing up. The last threads of everything I loved about him were thinning. Blackchurch would make him an animal.
“He’s got one more chance,” my father threatened. And then he cocked his head at me. “But maybe that’s just what he needs. A year, or five, to think about that temper of his.”
Anger poured in and out of my lungs, and I glared at my father.
“And if that happens…” He stepped closer, dropping his voice. “It’s open season on you and your new little crew. Now get the fuck off my property.”
I backed away, not hesitating and not taking my eyes off any of them. It was unlike him to let me off the hook and just leave, having gotten the better of him, but he had enough problems. He had Damon to worry about.
Running into Will, I shoved my elbow at him, and we both moved, climbing in our cars and speeding off.
I kept my eye on the rearview mirror the entire way home.
“What the hell?”
I heard Kai bellow, and I winced.
Slamming the car door, I turned around to see him, David, and Lev barreling across the threshold of the house and across the gravel driveway toward us.
“You’re dead.” Kai pointed to Will.
“Come on, man. Damn.” Will opened the back of the Jeep. “She’s your chick. Not mine.”
Four of the nine dogs jumped out of the back of Kai’s Jeep, and I tried to shield the small faunariums behind me, but it was no use. Kai narrowed his eyes on the dogs and then he snapped his gaze to my right to where Marina was rounding the front of the car.
“What is this?” he blurted at me. Then his eyes fell to the snakes, turning even more alarmed.
“We went to Gabriel’s,” I told him. “And I, um…I got some dogs?”
“You went to Gabriel’s?” His tone sounded like I was in a lot of trouble. “You just snuck off after the conversation we just had about loyalty and honesty and…”
“And I needed to do this on my own,” I cut him off. “Not like ‘Hey, here’s my man, and he’s going to fight you if you hurt me, so back off!’ I needed to face him on my own. I’m fine. See?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. His biceps flexed, stretching his black T-shirt, and my stomach flipped.
I cleared my throat. “I won’t go back. I promise. I just needed to handle this.”
The wrinkles between his eyes grew deeper. I knew he wasn’t mad I faced my father. Kai didn’t treat me like a fragile flower. I think he was angry I went without him, though, and I understood that. I’d be mad, too.
But I also knew he would’ve taken the lead and stepped in for me if he didn’t like what Gabriel said to me or how he looked at me. I needed to do this alone.
I heard shuffles across the rocks and panting and turned my head to see Will come out from between the cars with the rest of the animals. Though, they were doing a better job of pulling him.
“Nine dogs?” Kai bit out, fixing me with a glare. “They’re not staying here.”
“Of course not,” I said, trying to sound innocent. “I’ll call the shelter when they open in an hour.”
“Or we could keep them,” Will suggested. “I mean, look at this shit. He’s shivering.”
And he bent down to scoop up the beagle, the little guy squirming, because he was so nervous.
Kai looked bemused. And then he gave me a warning look. “Baby, I like it quiet. You know that.”
“Totally.” I nodded, trying to keep the grin off my face. “I mean they’ve been in cages all their lives. I could keep them down at the other house for like a couple days, too? Maybe fatten ’em up? Before the shelter just throws them in more cages, right?”
“Yeah, they could do with a little spoiling,” Will added. “Let’s just keep them.”
“Oh, my God,” Kai grumbled, turning back toward the house and shaking his head. “Nine dogs….”
I folded my lips between my teeth to keep from laughing.
Quickly handing Marina the cages, I chased after Kai. “Oh, and I kind of brought Gabriel’s cook,” I said, stumbling up to him. “We could use her, right?”
“Yeah, fine, fuck, whatever.” He entered the house and started pounding up the stairs. “Bring everybody. Doors are open. Why the hell not?”
I snorted behind him, his sarcasm not lost on me. He was coming apart, and I loved it. This was our life, after all, and we may trip over each other for a while yet, but we weren’t people who were okay with failing, either. We’d figure it out.
“Oh, and one more thing.” I ran, catching up to him and jumping up on the stair above him.
He stopped in his tracks, letting out another sigh. “I think I might cry.”
I tried not to laugh. Poor guy had had enough for one morning.
I stared down at his lips and broad shoulders and perfect hair and leaned in, desire heating my skin.
Wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my body to his, I caressed his lips with mine, feeling him shudder.
And I whispered, “I still need that shower.”
Then I took his hand, catching the heated look in his eyes, and led him upstairs.
