She will be missed by her people and all I intend to do is get her back to where she belongs.” He steps forward so that I can open the door, but I can’t seem to process his words. My mind has gone blank and I can’t get my head around eighty percent of what he just said.
“I apologise, Sebastian, but I really must be going.” Jack’s refined voice comes from my right, but it doesn’t seem to register. I still don’t move. Jack places his hand on my right shoulder and my body starts moving of its own accord. I try to fight his energy off, but it’s useless.
As soon as we’re out the door, he shuts it quietly behind him, then simply vanishes. I think that round went to Jack....
Chapter Thirty-Two
Gerry
Opening my eyes reluctantly, darkness greets me. My brain is still wired up and restless from knowing there’s a stranger in the house, and my anxiety is through the roof.
Glancing over at the clock, it reads just after one in the morning. I bury my head back into my pillow trying to find sleep, but it still eludes me. Grumbling, I haul myself out of bed thinking maybe a snack and a movie will help settle my mind.
Rubbing a hand over my face to rid my vision of blurriness, I skulk through the corridors and down the stairs toward the kitchen with sleep coating my eyes. Stopping at the bottom step, I turn my head toward Seb’s room. The house is quiet, allowing my senses to tune into their heartbeats, all of which are beating steadily. Then my ears pick up on another that sounds somewhat erratic. Focusing my energy through my ears to see where the heartbeat is coming from, I find it slows down to a steady beat, and then it becomes barely audible. Curious as to what’s causing the unusual rhythm, I tread toward the corridor that leads to Seb’s room and listen again.
Nothing. Just the steady heartbeats of three people sleeping. Frowning to myself, I turn and make my way to the kitchen. Movement catches in the corner of my left eye from the stairs, so I thrust my energy into my senses, picking up on a body and legs coming toward me - but I’m not fast enough.
Weight slams into my neck, grabbing hold of my head. Steadying my legs, I grab hold of the body that’s wrapped itself around my head as I feel the person force their weight on me to tip me back. Turning the momentum, I bring us down sideways slamming the body down with me. As I go to strike, I see a girl scrunching her face up in pain. The fraction of a second I take to slow down gives her the opportunity to retaliate and strike at my throat, cutting off the air supply to my windpipes - I falter again.
A shout comes from my right, but my focus remains on the girl as she begins to push my weight over. I make a grab for her throat as she gets a quick blow to my head, followed fast by a hit to my stomach. My weight tilts and I find myself on my back, so I reach for an arm, then feel a blade at my throat.
“STOP!!” Is yelled so loud, it nearly bursts my eardrums. The blade sinks lower but doesn’t pierce the skin where it’s held horizontally against my jugular.
“Kia. Don’t.” Rolland’s voice comes from my left.
My eyes fly open as I go to push her off, except the bottomless pits I find staring back at me pin me to the spot. Black hair falls on either side of her face, darkening her features, which are intensified as she bares her teeth like she wants to take a chunk out of me. Pure rage is all I can see within her eyes.
“Gerry, don’t move.” Rolland’s voice is beyond panic, which increases my heart rate.
Her eyes pulse and I can’t see where the pupil starts or ends. The smell of blood hits my nose and I don’t recognise it. I can’t smell any fear from her, just a lot of pain and adrenaline coursing through her blood. Her heartbeat is erratic and seems to falter a few times. The hand holding the knife quivers ever so slightly, but her eyes remain steady, keeping my body locked in a state of paralysis. The blade pushes deeper piercing my skin and I begin to fight the energy that’s keeping me held against my will.
“Kia, this is Gerry, he lives here. He means no harm to anyone,” Rolland placates, but panic laces his words and it sounds as though he’s trying to push against a wall.
A noise comes from somewhere in the girl’s throat.
“Shit,” Rolland says quietly. “It’s not how you think, Kia, he would never hurt Matt,” Rolland continues. My body moves in reaction to his words and the blade sinks deeper still.
“Gerry, what colour are her eyes?” Rolland’s urgent voice comes through.
“WHAT THE FUCK, ROLLAND? THEY’RE BLACK! WHAT COLOUR SHOULD THEY BE?” I roar back to him in his head. Silence comes back.
“Kia, I know you think he means me harm, but I promise he won’t hurt me or any of us here,” Matt’s gentle voice comes from behind Rolland to my left, sounding as though he’s speaking to a child.
More blood drips down my neck as I continue looking into the black pits of her eyes. There’s no life or feelings within them, but as I study them carefully, I see something toward the back of the pits. A single small star twinkles back as though it’s lost in the night sky. Her eyes begin to waver.
“KIA!! STOP fighting me!” Rolland grunts as though someone has hit him. Her eyes waver again before her body is whipped off me quicker than my eyes can track.
I jump to my feet ready to strike back, adrenaline pumping through me, except I find Rolland cradling her into his arm while he sits on the floor, holding her head up so he can look at her face. She's completely limp like she’s passed out.
“KIA!! Don’t you DARE do this to me! I can’t follow you in there!” Rolland shouts at her and I begin to think he’s gone mad.
I run my eyes over her body to see her whole torso is wrapped in bandages, which are coated in blood. Guilt slams into me for being so rough on such a frail body. Even though she had a blade to my throat, she wouldn’t have done any damage that Seb couldn’t fix.
“KIA!!” Rolland roars at her. She lurches in his arms scrambling forward and pulling herself closer to him. “You're fine, you’re fine. Just breathe.” His voice has gone from anger to sympathy in a fraction of a second, and I feel like I’ve walked into another house.
Flicking my eyes over to Seb and Matt, I find they’re looking down at them with a regard that makes my stomach turn. The girl seems to be struggling to breathe properly, with the rise and fall of her shoulders having no rhythm to them. But as Matt squats down next to Rolland, running his hand over the back of her head, she calms slightly. What the fuck is going on?
Seb stalks over to me, his focus remaining straight ahead as he pauses by my side. “I think the kitchen might be a better place to talk,” he says tightly. His heart is pounding as rapidly as my own still is as he continues to the kitchen.
I look over at Matt and stare daggers into the side of his head. “Matt? Do you want to join us for some late-night cookies and milk?” My voice drips with sarcasm.
He drops his head in defeat, pulling himself up reluctantly to make his way to the kitchen. I hear the door open and close behind me but pause feeling like I should say something.
Rolland is still stroking her head and whispering into her ear, but as he peers up at me, I find his eyes are filled with remorse and unshed tears that pull at my heart. How has a girl that he’s only known for just over twenty-four hours burrowed her way into his heart? Her black eyes flutter across my vision. And why did he ask what colour her eyes were? Remembering Brad’s words about her back being touched and her having more demons than me, a deep part of me recognises her behaviour. No rational thought occurs when you’re running on instinct, which is what drives my need to protect my Brothers. The question remains, why did she think I was going to hurt Matt?
“I’m sorry, Rolland, she came out of nowhere and I just reacted. I would never intentionally hurt her, you know that,” I try explaining. How can someone so small have taken down someone of my size? There's nothing to her. She’s tiny, and from the small amount of moonlight coming through the window above the stairs to my right, I can see so many bruises, cuts and other marks all the way up her trembling legs.
A faint smile tugs at Rolland’s lips, which appears to have a calming affect on the girl, as I notice her trembling frame relaxes a little within his arms. “Trust me when I say, I know how that feels.” The smile doesn’t last long as his features pull down, as though he’s concentrating on breathing. He dips his head into her right shoulder before continuing. “Go speak to Seb and Matt, tell them we’re going back to bed.” His voice is nothing like I’m used to hearing, it’s laced with tiredness of the wrong kind, and with worry.
I turn, not knowing what to say and make my way to the kitchen, still feeling confused and guilty from the force she took to her back; my mind plays over how fast she moved and how she kept so quiet.
Stepping into the kitchen, I find Matt and Seb talking in hushed tones, though they stop as I move further in before closing the door behind me with a solid click. Deciding a distraction from the intensity of the situation would be helpful to everyone, I begin making sandwiches from the cold meat leftover from dinner.
“So, that was fun,” I comment dryly. Matt tucks his head into his arms where he sits at the dinner table, but Seb remains standing at the breakfast bar, leaning his weight onto both hands looking as tired as I feel. “Rolland said they’re going back to bed and he’s right in doing so. He looks like shit,” I say, taking out the bread and buttering slices for everyone.
“He actually looks better than he did a few hours ago, but we can discuss that when everyone is fully awake in a few hours.” Seb takes a deep breath before continuing. “We don’t know what happens when Kia turns like that, but Jack told us she’s acting on instincts right now. So, most of what we are seeing isn’t even her, it’s a result of the months she’s spent chained up. Whoever she is underneath that, is buried deep down under so much pain a part of me wonders if we will ever see it.”
A small smile flitters across his lip. “Well maybe Rolland will, but the rest of us will have to be patient.” His brow pulls down, and fear oozes from him. He realises I’ve picked up on it and lets a breath out. “Gerry, I know how bad that looked out there, but it was pure defence. Not that you attacked her, but whatever bond she has with Rolland, Matt and even me, is at the root of her losing it like that. The rest of the time she’s either wrapping Rolland round her little finger, pulling at Matt’s heart, giving Brad the jumps, or making Jack look like he’s got emotions,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair.
I finish putting the sandwiches together before placing them onto plates, then take a glance up at Seb again, as I’m still confused. “Why did Kia think I was going to harm you, Matt?” I question, walking over to the table and pushing a plate across to him, then set the other one at the top of the table for Seb to take. Matt grumbles as he lifts his head. He hasn’t got his glasses on, and his grey eyes look red at the corners, no doubt from lack of sleep.
Feeling slightly bad, I give him a small playful smile. “What’s so bad that you’ve got a girl sticking up for you?” I mock, trying to ease some more of the tension.
He narrows his eyes before slumping his head back down into his arms again. “I got followed,” he finally admits through his arms, muffling his voice. My heart drops out, but I want him to open to me, not shut down.
“Did you get tagged?” I speak around a mouthful of food as Seb comes over to take a seat beside me and begins tucking into his sandwich. I flick my eyes at him and wink, to which he raises his eyebrows back, questioning my mood.
“Yes, but we removed it on our way home and destroyed it,” Matt continues, still speaking into his arms. A slight relief comes from his words, but I feel like I’m missing something.
“Anything else I should know that can’t wait until morning? I’m tired, and the boys are dropping by tomorrow lunch time to go over Intel.” I take another large bite as my mind finally calls for sleep now that I’ve met the stranger. Not that I would call her harmless but knowing her defensive behaviour is what triggered her, a small part of me has relaxed. Yet her black eyes that held no life in them churns my gut.
“No, but I got an address from Aaron for another human trafficking institute. He wouldn’t accept payment for the info as he’s unsure of how it will play out. Every time he’s gone to scope it out, he’s always come away feeling as though he was being watched,” he explains, his voice remaining neutral, not giving away his thoughts on the matter. He finally lifts his head up to look at me. “When I pulled up to meet him, he seemed more jittery than usual, and that’s where I picked my tail up.” He lets out a big sigh of relief, then grabs his sandwich before heading out of the kitchen saying, “Seb, I’m heading back to my room for a few hours, but I’ll come straight to you to help as soon as I’m awake.” He doesn’t look back as he leaves.
Having a tail isn’t unusual in our line of work, with some being more persistent than others, but with any luck it was scum following him, not the government.
Mulling Seb’s words over about Kia, a part of me wants to see this other side of her.
All I want is for the guys to be safe and if that’s what’s fuelling her temper, then maybe we’re not so different. As much as I want to tell myself she’s harmless, the cut on my neck says otherwise. I raise my hand to touch it and find blood is still dripping a little.
I see Seb pull his mouth in to stop a smile spreading. “You got taken down by a girl,” he taunts with a laugh. I smile back at him.
“Only because Rolland nearly blew my eardrums off,” I counter.
“Because you got taken by a girl and she had a knife to your neck.” He looks pointedly at me.
“Because I held back, BE-cause she’s a girl,” I emphasize. Seb laughs as he finishes his sandwich.
“She’s got her wings clipped just now, so you have a massive advantage. Give her a few days.” Seb winks before taking our plates over to the sink and rinsing them off.
“Her back looks-” I feel my gut twist as guilt runs through me again. Her small form is covered in blood and Seb says he’s been healing her? What was she like when they found her?
We both make our way to the kitchen door, trying to find the right words. While I understand her anxiety and the stress she’s gone through, my own instincts are to keep my Brothers safe from someone who could possibly turn on them.
“It’s bad, Gerry, but the memories that come from it being touched are worse than the pain itself. It’s a testament to her willpower that she really didn’t stab you,” Seb reveals from behind me. Seb’s the calmest out of all of us, never appearing to get ruffled by anything. Yet, emotions seem to be coming through with his words, just like with Rolland’s. There’s depth to them and an underlying meaning.
I turn back to him, perplexed by what he’s saying. “I’ve been on the receiving end of Kia turning like that and I was healing her at the time.” He doesn’t lift his head to talk to me as he looks down at the floor. My heart hurts for her, but concern for Rolland, Matt, and Seb overrides it, and I feel my temper rise.
“Seriously, Seb, why is she still here if she’s that much of a threat?” I ask not understanding any of this.
He finally lifts his gaze, running his brandy eyes over me, contemplating an idea. Then he nods, clearly coming to a decision. “Follow me but don’t make any noise. Mask us if need be. Just don’t talk, or react, okay?”
And just like that, his words cause my temper to fizzle, and is replaced by curiosity and a need for some answers. This should be interesting....
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sebastian
Hoping that I don’t regret this, I make my way back to my room with Gerry behind me. I feel his energy creeping slowly around my legs, curling up them with the warmth of summer heat, masking us both.
Rounding the corner to my room, I keep my steps light so as not to disturb Rolland and Kia - with any luck they’ve fallen back to sleep. The door is open wide, giving us a good view into the room and with the small amount of light from the lamp on the near side, I can see Rolland’s face. He appears to be sleeping, a
lthough the slight frown on his face would suggest otherwise.
They’re laying like they were earlier today, with Kia flat across his chest and her arms tucked under his. Rolland has one hand resting on her head, which she has burrowed into his neck and the other laying low down on her hip. He has a sheen of sweat on his head again and I can see where a tear has dried on the corner of his right eye. The bandages on Kia’s back are nearly covered entirely in her blood now, with only the sides and a few random patches remaining white. How are we ever going to take those off, without one of them passing out?
I turn to Gerry, but I can’t make out the look on his face. “He’s been slipping into her mind when I’ve been healing her, taking on her memories. She fights him for control of her pain and has woken him up when he’s passed out twice,” I explain.
Gerry pulls his gaze away, frowning at me heavily. “And you let this continue? Why don't you stop it if you know it's hurting Rolland?”
“You know how he is. He’s never listened in the past when I’ve told him to stop, so he’s certainly not going to now. Especially if it involves Kia.”
Gerry nods in understanding before giving Kia another questioning look. “She’s welcome to stay as long as she needs or wants, as long as she doesn't hurt anyone else.” And with that, he turns and walks away.
Relieved I managed to avoid laying any more on him, I enter my room and climb into bed next to the sleeping forms. Sleep finds me quickly and I soon drop off as though I haven’t slept in days.
A knocking stirs me from my sleep, proceeded by heavy footfalls thundering down the stairs.
“Shh, Kia, it’s just someone at the door,” Rolland mumbles, followed by a sharp intake of air. Shit, the cleaner.
Brad’s voice can just be heard speaking and I hope he tells her we don’t need her help today. The front door closes, and a few moments later a car starts. That could have gone very, very badly.
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