by Amo Jones
“I do,” I answer truthfully. “But not in that way. I want to know him because I feel connected to him.” I know the reason now, because we have known each other since I was born. Our souls recognized each other when my memories did not. Maybe that’s why it’s called soulmates, because they see each other even when the human eye cannot.
“Before you go any further with this,” Val adds, just as Delila’s house comes into view at the end of the road. “You need to know that Killian isn’t a man you should have feelings for. Not deep feelings. I’ve known him all of my life, Sass.” She pulls up to stop around a stone display fountain outside of the house. “And he isn’t someone that you can rely on to have feelings for.”
“Thanks.” I smile at her, because she’s only being my friend. Someone who I need on my side and who will tell me point blank if I’m not seeing something that is right in front of me. “I know, and that’s not what I meant when I said that I want to know him. I just mean—”
“—You want to know what’s beneath the surface.” Kenan rolls his eyes. “Seriously, do all girls talk like this during their girl time? You literally did a full circle.”
I ignore my annoying best friend and slide out of the cart, reaching for my suitcase from Kenan.
“Sass.” Val touches my arm, dragging her sunglasses over her head. “Just please remember what I said.”
We make our way through Delila’s house until we come out the other side through the sliding doors. Her home reminds me of the old Victorian mansions. You know the ones that have manicured hedges and statues in the backyard. The large patio stretches out onto the lawn, where a human-sized chessboard sits in the middle.
“Oh good! You’re here!” Delila claps her hands. “The vehicles will be here any second.”
I lean against one of the walls as Val and Kenan argue about a new song Halsey just released. I had already heard it and loved it, but the song reminded me of the flight back to the US from Kiznitch.
Arms wrapped around me from behind, and I didn’t have to turn to know who it was. Smirking, I sink into his chest, turning around in his embrace. “Hey.”
He kisses me against my lips. “You wanna ride with me?”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “What, as in your RV?”
“Nah, as in on my dick.”
I shove him and he laughs, his white teeth a complete contrast to his tanned, smooth skin. Two dimples sink into each cheek as he leans down and bites my bottom lip between his teeth. “I’m not joking,” he growls over my mouth, but only loud enough for us both to hear.
“I know you’re not.”
He pulls back slightly as Delila starts talking in the background. Spinning around but remaining in his arms, I rest my head against his chest as we listen to Delila’s plans.
Killian’s mouth comes down to the back of my ear. “Are you going to make me wait for your answer?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
He exhales. “Perse doesn’t want you near Callan until she figures out her next move, Callan is on the side that we don’t really trust right now.”
Makes sense now. It’s not that he wants me in his bus, it’s that Perse doesn’t want Callan in mine.
“What do you mean you guys don’t trust Callan?” I whisper, needing more of an answer.
“Don’t know yet. There’s just some shit that has been happening, and we need to find out where it’s coming from. In the meantime, you’re riding with me.”
Just as I ponder over what he’s offering, Delila yaps about our schedule, which starts in San Antonio.
“Saskia, it’s a seven to eight-hour drive. It won’t kill you.”
I sigh, biting the inside of my cheek. “Fine.”
He sucks on my neck, enough to leave a bruise. “Good girl.”
“Did you just give me a fucking hickey?” I reach for his dick and squeeze it in the palm of my hand, keeping a smile on my face. Anyone in front of us can’t see because I’m blocking the view.
“Babe,” Killian coughs, pushing my hand away.
I release him with a smirk. He grabs me roughly, squeezing me into his chest. “You’ll regret that,” he whispers into my ear, biting down on my lobe.
“God, can you both not?” Val jokes, shoving me backward and farther into Killian. He feels good behind me. Even if he did just literally mark me. Twice. But, I feel safe. Protected. For the seconds that I’m in his arms, the minutes don’t matter.
“If we can all move to the front of the house so we can ensure this goes smoothly.”
We do. The whole time Killian refuses to let me go. It’s confusing for the most part, but I go with it. I’ve not seen Callan since we’ve been here.
“Why are you stealing my best friend?” Kenan scolds Killian just as I’m about to step inside The Brothers’ infamous RV.
“Ken,” I hush sadly.
“Listen, if that bitch murders me, it’s your guys’ fault,” Kenan declares.
Killian groans.
I look up at Killian.
“Nope. No, fuck you.” He shoves past me and heads into the RV.
“I tried.” I shrug at Kenan.
His eyes turn to slits. “Tried what?”
“To get him to agree to you coming with us in here.”
He looks confused for a brief second. “You both had a conversation without having a conversation? Yeah, you’re both fucked. I’ll see you in eight hours!” Kenan turns, leaving me with my thoughts.
Was he right? Did that just happen?
I climb the steps until I’ve landed on the final one and I’m looking at all of The Brothers—except King—who are watching me carefully.
“Okay, I get it,” I say, stepping farther into the bus, just as Killian is walking down the stairs. “You don’t want me here.”
“No one said anything about that…” Keaton doesn’t bring his eyes to mine.
Kyrin glares at me.
I shuffle uncomfortably as another person stumbles up the stairs.
“Sorry I’m late, didn’t want to fucking come!”
I turn around to see who the voice belongs to when I’m stopped in my tracks.
His eyes turn weak. “Wow, we meet again, and I see my cousin is making it comfortable with you now.”
I turn slightly over my shoulder as Killian yanks me into his chest from behind. He may as well throw me over his shoulder too since he wants to be a fucking caveman all of a sudden.
“Hey, Kaizer, right?”
He smirks at me. “Right, and you’re Saskia? The girl who slays dragons.”
“She is the dragon, Kaiz. Go to the driver’s seat where you need to be.” Kyrin sounds bored as Kaizer shuffles past us and heads to the front of the bus, dropping his bags beside him. I take it in quickly. Though I’ve been in here before, I’ve never had the chance to really see inside. Take it all in.
The interior is executive style, with black sleek fittings and fixtures, and opaque painted walls. There are silver lights that hang down from the ceiling over the dining table that’s large enough to fit six people, and bar stools tucked beneath the kitchen island. Turning to the left, there’s the stairs that lead up to the second level where all of the bedrooms are, with the exception of the back room on the first floor, i.e., Perse’s old room.
I look up at Killian. “Where am I sleeping?”
Killian rolls his eyes, releasing me and tugging his shirt over his head. “Your shit is already upstairs.”
I stare.
“In my room.”
“Wait—”
“Saskia, it’s only for seven hours or until Perse has sorted out the dynamic of your group. She has to do this as the leader.”
I sigh, taking a seat opposite Kyrin but beside Keaton at the table. “I know.”
Killian heads to the fridge as the bus pulls away. “Want a drink?”
I nod. “Thanks.”
Kyrin studies me carefully. “What’s been happening since the last time I saw you, which
would have been with this asshole’s fist in my face.”
I flush. It doesn’t feel like that was just last night considering everything else that has happened from then to now.
“Well, let’s see…” I pick up the glass Killian puts in front of me, smelling the whiskey right away. I put it back down. “Not much.”
“Hmmm,” Ky murmurs, watching me carefully with his sharp eyes. “Interesting how good of a liar you are.”
I take a sip of my drink anyway, suddenly feeling like I’m way out of my element in this RV and we have approximately six hours and fifty-three minutes remaining in our journey.
Keaton hasn’t breathed a word, yet his eyes have remained on me. Watching. Always watching. Examining. Psychoanalyzing probably.
Kyrin gestures to the two of us. “This looks a lot more serious than a ‘we’re just fucking around’.” He leans back in his chair, his glass dangling from his two fingers. Kyrin is interesting. Words leave his mouth, but his eyes are cold. He is where death would go to be comforted.
Killian slides out from his chair and takes my hand. “Let’s go.”
I don’t hesitate, following him up the stairs and down the hallway until he’s opening the door into his room.
I pause for a few seconds, taking in the style. I didn’t expect it. I figured he’d have blank walls and lifeless décor. He didn’t. The walls are black, his bed sheets black silk. There’s no tacky art hanging on the walls. A TV hangs on the wall across from his bed, and on the opposite wall near the door is a large abstract art piece.
“This is amazing.” I touch the canvas, lost in the intricate swirls and colors. It starts light and fresh, with vibrant colors. Greens, orange, red, yellow, purple before it begins to merge together in the middle, forming a darker tint, and finally to the core where it’s black. I tilt my head as I continue to study it, entranced within the meaning. People express themselves with not just creating art, but with the art that they own. Listen to it. It doesn’t lie.
“Who did this?”
“Kohen,” he answers.
“As in King’s brother?”
He nods his head. “The very same.”
Killian grips my hips and turns me around to face him. He grins against my mouth. “Stop overanalyzing my art. Don’t you know that it’s a window into my soul?”
I reach up and press my lips to his. “I want to know more.”
“You know too much already.” He picks me up and tosses me onto the bed. Crawling up my body, he stops when his head is above mine, his eyes searching mine carefully. “What is it with you, Little Dragon.”
He caresses my cheek softly before his thumb moves across my mouth and slips between my lips. I suck him softly, flicking my tongue over the cushion of his thumb. “Absolutely nothing.”
His lips drop to mine and my legs open farther, allowing him to sink into me.
He bites down on my neck, chuckling. “Oh, these seven hours are going to be fun…”
I no longer care about the exact number of hours or minutes.
After throwing on Killian’s “Trickster” Brothers of Kiznitch shirt, I’m walking down the stairs, well, waddling down the stairs after Killian’s onslaught of pleasure. Kyrin is sitting at the table, flicking through his phone.
“Hey,” I call out, and his eyes drag up to mine. With Kyrin it’s black and white. I’ve felt his hostility grow the more time I spend with Killian, but I don’t know where it comes from. Maybe he thought I was using Killian too.
Grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, I take a seat opposite him.
His eyes stay on mine. “I don’t trust you.”
I pause, water still in my mouth. Swallowing, I tilt my head. “Why?”
Kyrin shrugs, tossing his phone onto the table. “Have my reasons.”
I place the water bottle onto the marble top, leaning back in my chair. “Is it because I’m hanging around with Killian?”
He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Nah, more than that.”
“Wait.” I shake my head, attempting to clear my thoughts. “So it’s not because I’m sleeping with Killian, you don’t trust me overall?”
Kyrin blinks a couple of times and then finally opens his mouth. “Truth. I don’t. I couldn’t give a fuck who Killian gets his dick wet with, considering the fucking thing is never dry for longer than twenty-four hours. I don’t trust you as a person. I know about who you are, and I don’t believe for one second that you don’t remember your life, and if you truly don’t, then I even more so don’t trust you.”
I study him as he flicks a switchblade around his fingers, just as Keaton takes a seat beside him. Keaton is dripping in tattoos. Including on his face. It’s hard to imagine him without them, but with or without them he’s hot. With blond hair shaved close to the scalp on the sides to see his tattoos, wide prominent jaw, and thick lashes, he’s every bit as pretty as the rest of them. But there’s something else about Keaton. He’s not someone you would want to be left alone with.
Kyrin is dark in a different way. There’s rhyme to his reason. He’s smart. Too smart.
Keaton I feel would just straight up kill people for the fun of it.
“I can’t stop you from feeling the way that you feel, but just so you know, Perse and Kenan are my best friends and I’d rather die than see them be hurt.”
“Wish I could say I believed you.”
“Wish I could say I cared.” I rolled my eyes and slid out of my chair.
He chuckles to himself, going back to flicking the blade between his fingers. I’ve noticed he always has that blade. I’m not sure I want to know what it’s really for.
“Little Dragon! Come talk to me. You’re fucking my cousin, which makes us family,” Kaizer calls out from the front.
I drop down on the passenger seat, watching the passing trees and farmland. “Well if that’s the case, you have a very big family.”
Kaizer laughs, rubbing his hand over his chin. “True, true, though it’s in our DNA to be big fat sluts. I’m truly sorry you’re bedding one.”
I snort, shaking my head. “You look similar.”
“Does that mean I get to fuck you too?” He winks at me.
“Fuck off, Kaiz!” Killian shuts one of the cupboards in the kitchen as he reaches for a bottle of alcohol. He ignores me, taking a seat opposite Keaton where I was seated not long before. Worry burns in my veins at what they might talk about. What if Kyrin tells him what he just told me? This is all too stressful. I need to be back in my RV and away from these brothers.
“You’re worried he’s going to tell Kill what he just said?” Kaizer asks quietly, so only him and I can hear.
I swallow, nodding my head. “Yeah, and I don’t know why I suddenly care so much.”
“Because you like him.” Kaizer shrugs. “I get it, you’re not the first one to fall for the Trickster with no heart.” He pauses, watching me carefully. “And that’s what he is, the Trickster with no heart, so make sure you don’t give him yours.”
I freeze. “What? No!” Shaking my head, I reach inside my brain to bring up something else. “That’s not…”
“Listen,” Kaizer mutters. “Guys like Killian, the ones who don’t have hearts, they don’t know what to do when they’re given someone else’s, so they break it. They hurt you bad. Whether they want to or not, they will.”
I groan. “I don’t like him like that, but I do feel protective over him, over what we have. Which, by the way.” I glare at Kaizer. “Is just a friendship thing right now.”
Kaizer throws his head back as a deep laugh erupts from him.
I whack him with the back of my hand. “Shut up!” Smirking, I go back to watching the road. “I can’t give too much of myself, because there’s not much left of me to give.” The words were a soft whisper when they left my lips.
Kaizer doesn’t answer for a few seconds before he finally does. “Be careful.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Killian leans again
st the frame behind me, his muscles tensing as he folds his arms in front of himself.
“I was warning her off you, obviously.” Kaizer ignores his cousin’s presence.
“Yo!” Keaton calls out from the table. “Who wants to play a game?”
I lean over to look at him. He’s shuffling cards between his fingers, a grin on his face.
“If you say Sixers, I’m going to pass.”
Killian comes back to me, licking his bottom lip. “Scared?”
“Never,” I reply instantly.
“Then let’s fucking play.”
I groan, standing and following him, as he walks back to the dining table. Kyrin is still there, flicking his knife between his fingers.
“Ky, put the fucking knife away.” Killian snatches it off him, flipping it shut and shoving it into his pocket.
“I don’t want to play.”
Kyrin grabs the bottle of whiskey and twists off the lid. “Liquid courage.”
“I’m not playing Sixers,” I answer, wrapping my lips around the rim, my focus remaining on Kyrin.
“Why?” he asks. His features morph into something of confusion as he quickly glares at Killian before coming back to me.
I shrug, unfazed. “I don’t want to. We can play something else.”
Hours later, we’re pulling into the bright lights of San Antonio and parking at our destination. I left The Brothers’ RV with my bag and the rest of my belongings but still wearing Killian’s hoodie. He tried to fight me and get me to stay, but honestly, I needed to put distance between us. Between Kyrin because he’s scary as fuck and Keaton who I sense can see every single thing that goes on in my head.
I shut the door to my RV and let out a loud breath, just as Kenan comes down the stairs. “You’re back and you smell of sex.”
Stomping up the stairs, I dump my bag on the kitchen bench and go straight for the fridge to eat my feelings. “I don’t want to talk about it. Where’s Callan?”
Kenan pauses on the bottom stair, slowly making his way to me. “She’s out.”