Hidden River Five: Book 5 in the Hidden River Academy Series

by Strange, KT

  “You’ll see,” he said smoothly, patting the leather seat close to him, in lieu of being able to touch me as I remained just out of reach. “It’s good to be a Barron.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The Barron house was even emptier when I arrived back, and Bernard told me that Sarah had taken ill and gone to France for the weather, leaving the two of us alone together. He gave me a significant look.

  I slept under my bed later, where he might not think to look for me if he came in during the middle of the night. The next morning, the maids arrived, aloof and distant as if I’d never disappeared in the first place. This time, they brought my school uniform.

  “You are to return to classes, Miss,” said the woman bearing my breakfast on a tray. I tried not to show how shocked I was.

  I guess now that he had DNA evidence that I was his daughter, I couldn’t escape him anymore.

  It was a spark of freedom I didn’t expect to have.

  I showered, dressed, and was sitting in an SUV, being driven to school, my stomach buzzing with electricity.

  I’d be able to see them.

  I’d be able to see my uncle.

  I trembled. And no matter what the truth of that DNA test was… I needed to see Buck. My heart wasn’t listening to logic, and all I could do was just see him again, search his face for any similarities to mine. I still couldn’t see it.

  It didn’t feel real.

  The SUV pulled into the drop-off circle at HRA, and I stepped out. People stared at me, and I wondered what they were thinking. They hadn’t seen me at the party. Nobody had recognized me. A lot of them looked like they were hung over still.

  I walked into the school, feeling like it was my first day again. The guys weren’t anywhere. As I walked past my locker, and opened it, I saw the flyer stuck to the locker next to mine. Pep rally, first thing, on the football field. Of course, they’d be there, hollowed out and shaken after the events of the weekend… but they’d be there.

  It was like nothing had changed, even though everything had.

  I left my bag and ran, feet floating over the ground, and skidded to halt in the wet grass. The cheer team was out, Shiv on the field, and the guys were clustered off to the side, the football team in their uniform. Colt hovered nearby, hand angrily shoved into his hoodie pocket, looking murderous.

  “Hey,” I said, bumping into him from the side. He jerked and scowled, then realized it was me.

  “Holy shit,” he said, and then wrapped me up in a bear hug. “Holy fucking shit.” He kissed the side of my face and I realized he’d thought he was never going to see me again after Barron took me from Cael’s.

  He was trembling.

  “I’m here,” I said.

  “Is this real?”

  “About as real as that DNA test,” I said, sounding hollow. I couldn’t hide my distress.

  Some of the team were looking toward us. That’s when I locked eyes with him. Buck’s jaw tensed, and he blinked rapidly before looking away.

  It’s alright, I wanted to tell him. I get it.

  How were we supposed to turn off our feelings? Just like that? Because some idiot in a lab said so? Did that make me sick?

  Reid jogged over to us, shifting his weight, staying back like he didn’t want to touch me in case I vanished.

  “So he let you out of your cage?” He asked. I nodded, blinking back sudden tears.

  “I hope it sticks,” I whispered.

  “You might wanna…” Reid jerked his head toward Buck. “Take off. He’s… not coping well.”

  I nodded.

  “Yeah… would you tell him…” I closed my eyes. “That I love him.”

  “Yeah,” Reid said, voice husky. “I’ll tell him.”

  * * *

  My classmates made space around me like I was oil and they were water, and I wondered if anyone knew… no way. It wasn’t possible.

  And it wasn’t until I showed up for my 2PM class three days later that I ran face to face with Buck as we both arrived at the same time.

  I stared up at him and then he smiled, lips tight, eyes tired.

  “Go on,” he said, words rough, gesturing to the door. “After you.”

  I took a step inside and I heard him exhale. I glanced back over my shoulder, thinking that he’d be hovering there, watching me, but instead he was staring down the hall.

  The principal was headed toward him, two police officers flanking him.

  “What the hell?” Buck asked under this breath. The teacher pushed past me hurriedly from inside the classroom.

  “Buck,” she said, wringing her hands, “I think you had better—”

  “My office, Barron,” the principal said, shooting a look at me that was… uncomfortable.

  Like he knew.

  I felt sick.

  “What’d I do? What’s with the cops?” Buck demanded, and it felt like a spotlight was on us, students staring from all angles, teachers coming out of classrooms.

  “It’s over,” the principal said.

  “What the hell is going on?” My uncle’s voice rose over the sudden chatter, and I looked up. He was frowning, coming down the hall, when he saw me. He stopped short, the ache in his heart plain and obvious on his face.

  Buck took one look at him, and glanced at me.

  “Fine,” Buck said, and then moved toward the principal. “Let’s go… talk. Or whatever.”

  The four of them moved down the hall, and my uncle looked torn between going to Buck and coming to me. I shook my head frantically as Buck disappeared around the corner and waved my hand at my uncle.

  “Go,” I hissed, “go!”

  He nodded, mind made up, and went, leaving me to stand there, shell-shocked.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  My knees jiggled as I waited. I’d texted the guys, and they’d come, showing up in silent solidarity with Buck. I trembled. My gut felt sick. I knew exactly what was happening.

  Barron was cutting Buck off. He’d be a Barron in name only. He was kicking him out of the school. And then he’d be lost, alone in the world, with nobody to help him.

  Nobody except us.

  It didn’t matter… if he was… my brother. I had to make peace with that and slowly, however I could, tamp down on my feelings for him and what we’d shared. But this mattered more, him being safe. I had to put aside the confusion and fucked up situation we were in together to make sure he was safe.

  “I hate this shit,” Colt said, eyes dark. “If they kick him out, I say we all fucking walk. They’d choke on cock to keep half the football team together.” His eyes flicked from me to the other guys. Shawn and Garrett, like red-headed bookends, were leaning against one wall. The secretary to the principal was sitting at her desk, politely ignoring us. I can’t imagine what drama she’d seen over her career at HRA. This couldn’t have been the worst of it.

  “I’ll fix it,” Cael promised. “We’ll… he’s not going to be abandoned, not by any of us.”

  Reid nodded and shifted his weight, moving to stand beside my chair as I sat. He put a heavy hand on my shoulder.

  “We’re not gonna wait until you turn eighteen,” he said quietly, “Cael says the law firm has some ideas.”

  Because it wasn’t just a matter of me being old enough to choose where I wanted to live. I could’ve walked then and told Barron to shove it.

  No, he had too many weapons to use against me. My mother, who I still hadn’t spoken with. My uncle who I didn’t dare talk to yet. And Buck.

  We needed time. But Buck didn’t have time.

  “Excuse me?” A lightly accented voice interrupted us, and I looked up. A tall, thin woman stood there, her long brown hair sleek and swept behind one shoulder. She wore a matte green raincoat over a black turtleneck that looked so soft I wanted to pet it, and a pair of denim jeans disappeared into brown knee-high boots. “Is this the principal’s office?” The secretary looked up as the guys gawked at her.

  I didn’t blame them.

&nbs
p; She was beautiful.

  She was—

  My heart stopped for a second.

  “I’m sorry, he’s in a meeting,” the secretary said.

  “I know, but I’m afraid I’ve just flown in from London,” the woman said, “and he’s meeting with my father right now, and I’d rather think they’d want me to be a part of their conversation.”

  My heart kick-started again.

  The woman looked at me, her eyes creasing at the corners as she smiled.

  “You must be Mia,” she said, holding out a hand. I stood, knowing exactly who she was and not knowing how, or why, or— “This might be a bit shocking, and I’m very sorry for that. I’m Delilah, your half-sister.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I looked over at Cael. He raised an eyebrow and smiled.

  Bastard.

  He shrugged as if to say, I told you I’d fix it.

  “We have a lot to catch up on, I’m sure,” she said, “but first, I need to go speak to our father,” her tone went dry and acidic before it warmed again, “And see to my step-brother. I haven’t seen him in almost thirteen years.”

  I froze. What?

  I stared up at her, and it was all I could do to nod mutely.

  “We’ll right this,” she said to me in a conspiratorial whisper. “I promise.”

  And with that, she swept into the principal’s office, ignoring the secretary’s shocked noise of protest. I thudded down in my chair like a sack of potatoes.

  * * *

  Sometimes it’s as simple as the questions you don’t ask. Or a DNA test for the wrong person. Yes, I was a Barron by blood, but I’d never take the last name. And Buck was a Barron by marriage. Not actually my brother. At best my step-brother, if his parents were still going to be married by the end of the year. Odds were out on that one.

  I’m still not sure what Delilah said to Bernard or the principal when she went inside, but she emerged, a shaky and pale Buck barely contained under her arm, since she nearly matched him in height.

  “Come on,” she said, “I remember there’s a nice diner in town, why don’t we all go get a bite to eat?” She glanced around at the six guys, and then me, a bright smile on her face. “Sound good?”

  And like that, this woman I had never known, had barely known from her portrait and her diary, whipped into my life and as Cael had promised… fixed things.

  Fixed the broken parts of the floor that threatened to swallow me whole.

  She couldn’t do anything about my heart, or the trauma I’d been through, but my uncle showed up at the diner later that evening, eyes watery, and wrapped me in the biggest bear hug of my life.

  He had custody of me.

  I was going home.

  My real home.

  And Buck, and Shawn were going with me.

  “I can’t stay, I hope you’ll understand,” Delilah said, outside the diner, as the guys waited inside for us to finish talking. She’d cornered Buck for a good hour, and we’d closed down the diner, waiting for them to get done catching up. “I’ve got my own family now, and a daughter, and I know we don’t know each other, but if you like, you can write me an email.” She wrinkled her nose, like she wanted to laugh. “And when you turn eighteen, we need to talk about your trust fund.”

  “My what?” I stared up at her, my mind going blank. She patted me on the shoulder.

  “It’s a lot to take in. I just want you to know, he is never going to hurt you again. Ever. Or anyone else.” There was iron in her eyes, and even though he seemed so powerful, I believed her.

  I swallowed and nodded.

  “Thank you, for just showing up like a fairy godmother and… I don’t even know you.”

  “You will. And it’s alright. That’s what family does.” She leaned in and gave me a hug, before walking off into the misty night, rain starting to come down as she got into a black sedan.

  I waved at the tinted windows as it pulled away.

  Was it really that easy? I had to trust. I closed my eyes.

  The door behind me opened with a jingle.

  “So,” Buck said, voice raw. I looked up at him.

  “So,” I said, my cheeks flushing a bit. “This has been fucked up.”

  “Yeah,” he murmured. “You okay?”

  I shook my head.

  “No,” I said, lacing my fingers with his. “But I think I will be.”

  “Me too,” he said, and then bent down. “Can I…”

  I turned my head up to him and he kissed me softly, hesitantly.

  “Step-sister,” he said, “That’s kinda….” He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

  “Probably soon to be ex-step-sister,” I said. “I feel like Sarah was only sticking around for money and for you.”

  “Ex-step-sister. I can deal with that. Deviant, but not gross,” he mused.

  “What about my other five boyfriends?” I asked. “Not too gross either?”

  “Five?” He asked. “When did you add on another three?”

  I smiled and shrugged.

  “It’s not official. But I feel like after all of that… I kinda deserve it.” I grinned out at the night sky, the rain streaming down. “At this point, the universe fucking owes me.”

  * * *

  The story continues in a bonus steamy, epilogue available for FREE right here:

  ktstrange.com/hr5bonus

  Acknowledgments

  The only person I really have to thank is you.

  Thank you for reading this series, this passion project of mine, and making it your own.

  I hope you enjoyed it, and you find your own strapping harem of men to see to your every whim.

  And if that isn’t your fancy, I hope you find a tasty dessert to eat.

  - Kit

  (KT Strange)

  Stay in touch!

  KT’s Newsletter

  Be the first to know about my new releases, deleted scenes and other exclusive content, deals and my personal recommendations? Sign up for my newsletter here:

  http://pxlme.me/QPIZW4Ju

  KT’s Facebook Group

  Come hang out with us in the KT’s Beauties Facebook Group! We play games, we share hot gifs, and talk about books, books, and more books!

  http://pxlme.me/rvGrrf8X

  About the Author

  KT Strange is an internationally best-selling and Top 100 Amazon author from the Great White North. After spending a decade in the music scene babysitting drunk rock-stars, she’s finally ready to settle down and write books inspired by her life on the road with bands and her love of everything paranormal.

  Also she is rather fond of cats.

  ktstrange.com