Iniquity (Dahlia Saga Book 5)

by Natalie Bennett

  Seeing he was here alone, I wondered where Katie and Mason’s dog was. Usually they always brought Max with them.

  “Let’s go for a walk.” I stood and patted my leg. I took the long way out of the barn, weaving between the rows of stalls.

  Wandering the grounds was a lot like when I would walk the fields, only I chose to do this freely and not because I wanted to escape my home. The Dahlia was the one place I always felt safe, which is why I knew I had to tell Declan and Ethan about Ian.

  Hannibal released a soft whine and moved closer to my side. I followed his line of sight to the Dahlia’s secured entrance, not realizing we’d gone so far down the main drive.

  A car idled in the road with someone sitting in the passenger seat. Another person stood by the unopened gates.

  It was a woman with hair a shade darker than mine. She was studying the speaker-box, clearly unsure how to work it.

  Who were they? They couldn’t be the Agnelli’s. Those people wouldn’t be here until tomorrow evening. I wandered closer, thoughts of Ian floating to the forefront of my mind.

  “Hello,” I greeted once I knew that she could hear me.

  She turned away from the speaker-box rather quickly. Eyes the color of a muddy river focused on my person. Something about her was vaguely familiar.

  “Hi! Do you live here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great, you can help me then. I’m looking for a Helena Gardener.”

  I tilted my head to the side and studied her.

  This was the second person in a matter of days to show up and know my full name. I didn’t like it.

  “You found her.”

  She stared at me with her mouth open slightly for a moment. “Oh, my god! Are you her?” The woman twisted around and made a signal with her hands for the person in the car.

  When she faced me again there was a smile on her face. “Can we talk for a minute? I have so much to tell you. I didn’t know you were you. I would have said something when we were at that bake shop.”

  …Bake shop. This is what made her somewhat familiar. She and the girl in the car had been there that day Right before Ian. I didn’t like it.

  “Who are you?”

  If she was with the man I’d hidden in the woods, I would have to figure out something to do with her.

  I stroked Hannibal’s head, already plotting.

  “My names Clarice. I’m her—your--sister.”

  My body went completely still, all the thoughts in my brain coming to a momentary pause. We didn’t look anything like one another.

  “I don’t have a sister,” I replied, taking a step backward.

  She started to protest, but I turned away. I didn’t believe her. If what she was saying were true, why would she show up now?

  Part Two

  “Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”

  ―Mary W. Shelley

  Chapter Eight

  Ethan

  Neither of them came to eat.

  I honestly hadn’t expected Declan to. When he got in a mood, he isolated himself. His family had an affliction with showing emotion and letting people in.

  I couldn’t relate.

  My family was like the Brady Brunch. We were sophisticated red necks that had money and liked to occasionally get bloody. They were high paying contributors of the Dahlia, which is what put me and Declan in the same orbit in the first place. And it still took until our senior year for me to become a permanent staple in his life.

  As if I’d spoke them up. My text notification went off, another long text from my dad asking me to get in touch.

  I didn’t read the whole thing; it would be more of the same thing he’d been blowing my phone up about. I knew the evasive calls were part of what had Declan in such a bad moon. I’d planned to tell him about them after I broke the news I wasn’t going back.

  Any other time he would have asked outright. He’d never been shy about any damn thing. Something was going on with him that was deeper than me evading calls and text messages. The long work hours probably. I assumed Helena was part of the issue too.

  For someone as controlling as Declan it was probably driving him up the wall that he didn’t know how to handle this latest development. He still harbored regrets for the time he put tears on her face. But no one could blame him for that.

  It wasn’t everyday your girlfriend slaughtered a few people at a slumber party.

  Whatever was going on with him, he’d taken his frustration out on my ass the other night. I sighed and bit into my burger. We were three people with three different personalities. Things weren’t always going to be a walk in the park, but we were lucky to fit together so well. That made this whole situation even more ridiculous.

  If we sat our asses down and put everything out in the open, we could start figuring out some solutions and begin making plans for the future, not just talk about it. In fact, that’s exactly what I was going to propose we do.

  I grabbed my phone and scrolled to our latest message. I managed to get one letter out before the front door flew open and Helena came rushing in with Hannibal hot on her heels.

  “Ethan,” she breathed the moment she spotted me.

  What the hell? I stood immediately, taking note of her flushed cheeks and breathless state. I’d never seen her look like this unless she was in our bed. My text to Declan was momentarily forgotten as was my burger.

  I went to her, wrapping her up in my arms. “What happened?”

  “There’s a girl at the gates…”

  “Take your time.” I ran a massaged her hair, waiting patiently for her to keep going.

  “She said she’s Helena’s sister.”

  Ignoring that she just spoke in third person, I took a small step back so I could see her face more clearly.

  “And you said she’s down at the gates?”

  “Yes.”

  “Go sit on the couch, okay? I’ll be right back.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead and then nudged her in the direction of the sofa.

  Once outside, I unclenched my jaw and took a minute to calm myself. It took some big ass balls to come here and make that kind of claim. It took big ass balls to venture here at all if you weren’t invited. Someone had to be fucking with her.

  I didn’t have my cell but the keys to Tahoe were in my pocket. I drove it down to the gates, slowing when they came into view. Whoever had spoken to her was still there, leaning against the speaker box.

  Who was watching the damn fence? Better yet, where was Toby? He oversaw the gates and security cameras. Helena was home so I knew the old man was around somewhere. I put the truck in park and got it.

  The woman stepped away from the speaker, seemingly confused to see me. I checked the car idling in the road a few feet beyond her. There was another woman in the driver’s seat, this one a blonde.

  “Are you the person who claimed to be Helena’s sister?”

  “Claimed?” she wrapped her hands around two of bars that made up the gate. “I am her sister. I was sent here after trying to find my estranged uncle. He had her last.”

  This woman didn’t look anything like Helena. Her hair was darker, she had sun-tanned skin, and average brown eyes. She was more defined as well. I knew siblings didn’t always resemble each other, but there wasn’t a single thing about her that made me think she was speaking the truth.

  The mention of an estranged uncle is what caught my attention.

  “Who was your uncle?”

  “Heath,” she replied without missing a beat. “He was in a relationship with someone here in this town. I can’t think of her name.”

  Bridgette. That’s who Heath had been engaged to. We’d gutted her and then shoved her corpse in a barrel.

  “Who sent you up here?”

  “An older woman from the local bakery.”

  That didn’t sound right. Tonya would never give someone the green light to come all the way out here without speaking to on
e of us first. We’d certainly have gotten a heads up about Helena suddenly having a sister.

  “Look, I don’t know who you are. A boyfriend maybe? It doesn’t matter to me I just wanted to meet my sister.”

  This woman was either one helluva an actress, or she truly was Helena’s sister.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Clarice. Maynard. I have my mom’s maiden name.”

  “Uh huh. And who’s the girl in the car?”

  She glimpsed over her shoulder then back at me. “That’s Tessa, my roommate.”

  “You’re staying here in town?” I asked, committing their names to memory.

  “Yeah. We’ll be at the Waldroff another three nights.”

  “I’ll have her get in touch with you.”

  “Wait! How? I didn’t give you my number.”

  “I’ve got that covered,” I replied with a wink. I turned away and headed back to my truck, leaving Clarice standing at the fence.

  The entire short drive back to the house I re-thought every detail Declan and I had uncovered about Helena and her family. Nothing about a sister ever came up.

  I parked and went straight inside. Helena was waiting exactly where I’d told her to, on the couch with a fleece throw wrapped her body. She sat up when she saw me, sweeping her eyes over my body from head to toe.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  I kicked the door shut with my foot. “What did you think she would do to me?” I joked.

  I snagged my cell off the breakfast bar, and then went to sit with her. I eased myself down on the cushion right beside her, lifting her legs so they were lying across my lap.

  “Do you remember ever hearing you had a sister?”

  She shook her head no, not even taking a second to think the question over.

  “Do I?”

  I placed a hand on her knee, shooting a quick text Declan, not the one I originally wanted to send.

  “I don’t know, baby-girl. But I’m going to find out for you.”

  She scooted closer to me, causing my hand to move from her knee to her thigh.

  “Ethan…” she spread her legs ever so slightly.

  I knew what she wanted. I wasn’t sure if sex made her feel closer to us or she simply wanted our cocks all the time. It was probably a mixture of both.

  We never denied her either way.

  I wasn’t sure I could fuck her how she needed me to right then, but she could ride a cock like a seasoned porn star.

  “Come ere.” I pulled the throw blanket away from her and tossed it on the floor.

  With no help from me, she took her large shirt off and stood up. There hadn’t been anything underneath it. Her long hair was still wet from her shower, partially covering her perfectly rounded breast.

  I swallowed like an adolescent boy who had never seen a naked girl before, my cock turning to stone. She wasn’t wearing any pants. A cherry colored thong was the only thing covering her, which didn’t cover shit.

  “Helena,” I groaned. She truly was beautiful in a way completely all her own.

  She gave me a small smile and helped herself onto my lap, straddling me, leaving just enough space for her to reach down and free my cock.

  “Hey.” I stopped her, taking hold of both her hands. “You’re making me feel emasculated,” I joked in response to the way she looked at me.

  I maneuvered her arms, so they wrapped around my neck, then reached between us to undo my slacks. My cock sprang free, the tip meeting the wetness already coating her pussy. I lined myself up at her entrance and I felt her inhale a small breath more than I heard it.

  Keeping one hand on the base of my dick, I used the other to ease her down. I could feel every part of her stretching around me. Once I was all the way in, I grabbed both her hips.

  She kissed me, tentatively, her soft lips parting with a quiet moan when she rocked forward. My fingers flexed; a deep, pleasurable groan rumbling from my chest. She always felt fucking amazing.

  I pulled our mouths apart and brought a hand up to knot in her hair. “If you want to fuck me, fuck me good or I’m fucking you.”

  She began to move in earnest, riding me with a steady roll of her hips, bouncing on my cock hard and fast. She grew slicker around me, arousal making its way down to my balls. Her nails sunk into the back of my neck as I forced her to take me deeper. A moan, practically a sob of pleasure was muffled as she buried her face in my neck. Her pussy began to tighten around my dick.

  “Come for me, baby-girl,” I murmured in my ear, thrusting as deep as I could go from this position. Her body tensed, the walls of her pussy contracting so severely it felt like the circulation in my dick cut off.

  I pumped into her, taking control until I found my own release, coming inside her with a low groan. She clung to me, trembling for a few minutes before planting a soft kiss on my cheek.

  “Thanks,” she sighed, lifting off me slowly. She grabbed her blanket from the floor and flopped backward with a sigh, using the arm of the sectional to cradle her head. I looked over at her, laughing lightly. I wasn’t going to complain, but I was almost positive I’d just been used for my cock.

  When Declan finally arrived, I was seated at the breakfast bar again with my Mac in front of me. He walked in and looked around the room, coming towards me when he saw Helena was asleep on the couch.

  “She fell asleep fifteen minutes ago”.

  “Not surprised. She didn’t get much sleep last night. Though from the smell of sex in the air, I don’t think that’s why she’s passed out right now.”

  “What can I say? I’m a giver.”

  “I’m not, but when it comes to Helena, I think that’s mutual.”

  “True. I’m surprised you still have feeling in your face after eating her pussy for so long.”

  His lips twitched and a small smile broke through. “It’s a delicacy.”

  “I’m aware,” I replied, agreeing whole heartedly. “She didn’t say too much about any of this. I’m worried it might overwhelm her. We still don’t know what the deal is with her and the woods.”

  He bypassed me and went to the fridge, rolling back his cufflinks. “Have you found anything yet?”

  “So far? Only that she is who she claims to be, but not that she’s Helena’s sister.”

  “We don’t know anything about her real father other than he was a rapist junkie,” he pointed out.

  “It’s possible he had another kid. How old did she look?” He grabbed a bottle of apple juice and twisted the cap off.

  “Her social media puts her at twenty-three. She’d be almost four years older than our girl. I’m not entirely convinced she is or isn’t her sister. On one hand, why would she show up now? On the other, what does she have to gain by claiming to be related to her?”

  “Everyone has an ulterior motive. You’ll have to find out what Clarice’s is.”

  “And what exactly will you be doing in the midst of all this?”

  His mask lifted for a brief second when he grinned. “I’m going to make sure Helena’s okay and work behind the scenes.”

  I quirked a brow.

  “You’re better at charming women into getting what you want. I prefer a more hand on approach to make them tell me everything I want to know.”

  This was also true.

  We had very different methods on how we approached people. Declan gave zero fucks majority of the time. On the off chance this was Helena’s sister, it was probably best not to let him traumatize her. He chugged the rest of his apple juice, and then tossed the bottle in the trash can.

  “I just came for an update, and the juice since Mason keeps stealing all of mine at the chateau. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  “You’re leaving?” I couldn’t keep the surprise from my tone. I thought he’d want to stick around and figure this out.

  He gave me a quizzical look. “It’s the middle of the afternoon. I’ve still got a fuck ton of things to do.”

  “More important than us?”
I twirled a finger in the air to indicate all three people currently in the house.

  “Nothing is more important than that,” he replied with a bite to his tone.

  “I told Mason I would help him with something. I’ll be back in a few. We can talk then.” His voice had become dismissive.

  He gave Helena’s sleeping form a fleeting glance and left. I knew he’d lied. He wouldn’t be back to talk. He didn’t come back at all.

  Chapter Nine

  Declan

  It took me longer than I’d anticipated to finish piecing together what Mason needed. For someone so meticulous and anal about being organized, his data was a sloppy fucking mess.

  The sun had gone down hours ago.

  I sent a text to both Ethan and Helena. He replied almost immediately, she didn’t reply at all. I checked the time and scrubbed at my eyes. I’d been doing nothing but staring at screens for the past few days. My office door swung open and the devil himself strolled in.

  “Not even Helena does that,” I commented offhandedly.

  “We’re family, there’s nothing you need to hide from me.”

  “That isn’t where I was going with that, but okay. I’ll be sure to return the favor.” I wouldn’t. With my luck I’d walk in on him in the middle of fucking Katie. Family or not, I didn’t want to see my cousins dick buried inside a woman that had become like a sister to me.

  “I just emailed what you needed.”

  “Thank you,” he replied genuinely. “I owe you. I would’ve done it, but I wanted her to sleep for more than three hours. Morgana is a tyrant at night.”

  I smirked as an image of him trying to handle her popped in my head. I couldn’t wait to see how things went when the twins started walking.

  “You don’t owe me anything. I’m sure she needed it. Just stop drinking all of my goddamn apple juice.”

  He planted himself in one of the chairs across from my desk and scowled. “I only had one.”

  “Then who took the other four?”

  “That was me,” came from the open doorway.

  “I can never find that kind,” Dad said, strolling into the room and taking the other seat.