by Krane, Kasey
So technically, I should have been rejoicing with my newfound freedom.
But who was I kidding? Being back in that house—in my stepfather’s house—was no freedom at all.
In fact, for some reason, Aldo had amped up security around me and the men who watched me were given strict orders to keep me in my room.
It had been three days since my return to this place and I hadn’t been able to step out of the house once. If I left the room, two men followed my every move. I couldn’t even eat in peace. Every last shred of freedom and independence had been stripped from me.
I spent each night since my return—sobbing into my pillow. This wasn’t where I wanted to be.
If Killian thought he did me some favor by returning me to Aldo, he was mistaken. How could he have been so gravely mistaken? Didn’t I make it clear enough to him that I didn’t want to come back here? That I wanted to be free, pursue my dream of being a nurse and have my own life?
I would never be able to do those things now.
The worst part was I still had feelings for Killian. After everything that happened, and despite the fact that he had returned me to Aldo—I couldn’t get him out of my mind. I couldn’t forget about the way he made me feel when he touched me. How he looked at me like he’d never seen a woman before.
For a while back there, I actually thought he cared about me. But maybe I was mistaken.
Maybe he was just like every other man I knew and all he actually gave a fuck about was my body.
I had been wrong about so many damn things in my life that I wasn’t even surprised that Killian didn’t care.
I should have known from the start that it was all just an illusion.
He was now free to continue living his life without me.
I didn’t know what I was going to do but I sure as hell didn’t plan on staying in this house. Whatever happened, I wasn’t going to die here.
* * *
I thought Aldo was keeping his distance from me. I would have preferred it that way.
But then he showed up in my bedroom in the evening of my third day back in the house. Just when I’d stepped out of the shower in nothing but a bathrobe and a towel wrapped around my hair.
I gasped when I saw him sitting on my bed. He looked me up and down. I felt the urgency to tighten my robe around me. I hated when he looked at me like that. Like he was acknowledging I was a woman now and not a teenager anymore.
I didn’t want to think about what else he could be thinking.
“So what did you do to fuck this up for me?” he asked.
I could hear the venom and hatred in his voice. It made my stomach flip.
He’d already decided he was going to blame me for everything. There was no point in me trying to fight it.
“I don’t know what you want me to say. I did nothing,” I whimpered.
The only thing I could hope for was that Killian had held up his end of the bargain and kept the death of Connor a mystery from Aldo and his mafia.
“You can’t even make a simple marriage work.”
“Connor was old. His death was out of my hands.”
“You are like a fuckin’ curse!” he growled. When he jumped off the bed, I took a few steps back.
I was startled and a little frightened, but also aware that I couldn’t do anything. I just had to stand there and take it.
He stood in front of me with his shoulders squared and his eyes bloodshot red. Like a wild animal preparing to pounce. There were tears in my eyes but I wasn’t going to let them fall. Not this time.
“You just had to do one thing. You had to be a good wife to Connor Doherty, follow his commands, give him a few kids and secure the connection between our families. Instead, you cursed him, you little witch!”
He came at me and this time I was sure he was going to hit me, but surprisingly, he didn’t. He stopped just a foot away from me. So close I could smell the alcohol on his breath. His shoulders rose and fell with rage.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
I had to.
He would continue with this if I didn’t. It would probably get worse if I didn’t try and put an end to it. The only thing I could do was accept the blame for it and pretend that he was right about everything.
I hung my head low. I didn’t want to look at him while he breathed heavily over me.
“You better fuckin’ be sorry, you ungrateful whore.” Spittle flew out of his mouth and landed in flecks on my hands. The tears were fat and heavy in my eyes. I thought I would get sick and throw up if I held it in any longer.
But then he stormed past me, rushing to the door.
“You need to find a way to prove your usefulness to me. Right now, I’m beginning to think you’re nothing but a waste of space and money.”
What was he saying? That he would kill me if he couldn’t think of a way to put me to use? Was I spoiled goods now?
He banged the door shut behind him when he went out.
Finally, it felt like I could breathe, but it was more than that—I realized that I couldn’t waste any more time moping around.
* * *
I couldn’t sleep that night.
Not like I could sleep most nights. Not since I met Killian.
And now, he was the only thing on my mind.
I hated how we left things. I hated myself for not speaking to him on the last night we had together. I wished I told him how I felt.
I knew there were things that held him back from giving in to his true emotions. Whatever they were.
If he did have feelings for me, it would take him a long time to admit it.
However, he was the one who had shown me I was worthy of admiration. He made me feel special. He made me feel like I could be a nurse if I really wanted to. I could actually live my dream.
Despite the unusual circumstances we found ourselves in, he opened up to me. He opened up his family to me. By allowing me to help Isabelle, he gave me self worth. Something I’d lacked for so many years.
While Aldo had spent so much time tearing me down and taking away everything that was important to me—Killian, just in a few short days, had reminded me of them.
I needed to be strong.
I had to find a way out of here.
Even if I didn’t make it back to him. Even if he didn’t want me for himself. I had to get out. I had to escape.
I didn’t want to be a pawn in Aldo’s hands anymore. I didn’t want to sit and wait for him to trade me over to somebody else.
I would rather have died than been a sitting duck.
I had to come up with a plan, even though I didn’t have one right then. Killian was the one who gave me the courage to find myself again. He didn’t know he did. Maybe I would never get a chance to tell him about it, but I was glad I met him.
I was glad I got to fall in love with him.
Finally, I was able to trust myself again and willing to take risks for my own sake.
Now, all I had to do was come up with an escape plan.
Spending time in Killian’s basement had given me a few ideas.
Twenty-Nine
Killian
Aiden drove up to the cabin early on Saturday morning. I’d been waiting eagerly to hear from him. It took him way longer to get back to me with the information I was looking for.
It had been exactly a week since I last saw Reese and I hadn’t heard anything from her.
My brother walked into my house now and from the look on his face, I knew he had bad news.
After Reese left, even though my father didn’t ask me to—I told my brothers everything. They were starting to ask questions. Everyone had heard that Aldo picked Reese up from my cabin. They knew I’d been harboring her for all those days since the night Connor was shot.
I had to come clean before they started piecing the story together themselves. I didn’t want to keep lying to them anymore.
Besides, I needed my brothers on my side if I wanted the truth under covers—about how Connor
really died.
I didn’t want anyone outside the family to find out Reese killed him. I didn’t want her to have to face those consequences.
Aiden was the one who suggested he would try and dig up as much as he could on Aldo. He could sense I actually gave a fuck about her.
Maybe they saw I wasn’t the same guy anymore. Not since I met Reese.
For whatever reason, he wanted to help me—even though I knew I didn’t deserve his help.
“He killed her boyfriend,” Aiden said now, without wasting any time.
“What?”
“Aldo killed the guy she was supposed to run away with. They were teenagers. She was going to run away with him because she didn’t want to live with Aldo anymore.”
“Fuck.”
I ran a hand through my hair. Now, I better understood what Reese meant when she said she empathized with me. I could see how she probably blamed herself for her boyfriend’s death.
“He staged a car accident, but it wasn’t an accident at all.”
“And she knows this?” I growled.
Aiden nodded.
“Aldo has been using it against her for years. To manipulate her. To keep her under his control. Basically, he has made sure she knows that if she disobeys him or angers him at all, he is capable of killing to get his way. The poor girl is a prisoner in that home.”
I felt the rage rush into my veins.
More than anything else, I was angry with myself.
I thought I was freeing her. Instead, I sent her off to a fresh hell.
“Is she at the house? Is she okay?”
Aiden shrugged.
“Nobody knows much. Aldo is being very secretive about what he’s doing to her now. Maybe he’s planning something else. All I know is he’s blaming her for Connor’s death, even though he doesn’t know she actually shot him. If he finds out…”
“He’ll kill her,” I said.
There was a prolonged silence between us while my brother stared at me.
“So, what are you going to do?” he asked.
“I’m going to get her back.”
* * *
My brothers all showed up even though I didn’t expect them to.
Aiden must have given them the heads up.
“What’s the plan?” Colin asked me as we rode together to Aldo’s house.
“I don’t have one. I’m just going to do what needs to be done to get her out of there.”
“This could get ugly,” Brendan added.
Didn’t I know it?
This could get very ugly.
Especially since our father had no idea what I was about to do.
I didn’t know for sure what he would say if he found out. Maybe he would approve, but I didn’t want to take the chance of him putting a stop to it.
We parked up at the gate of the Baron household.
Because he wasn’t expecting a siege, there was no added security. They weren’t going to be prepared.
“And what happens after this?” Tristan asked.
I figured—none of my brothers actually knew what my next steps would be. None of us had ever rescued a girl from her own family before. Hell, none of us had ever rescued a girl before.
“It doesn’t matter. If Mom was here, she’d be cheering us on. After everything I’ve heard about the bastard, the girl needs to be taken out of there.” It was Aiden.
I turned to look at him with gratitude, and he gave me a nod.
I needed to hear that. I needed someone to remind me I was doing this for all the right reasons.
I’d let Reese go once already. Even though she had tried her best to make me see it was a bad idea.
Maybe she would never forgive me for betraying her after I promised I would keep her safe. Maybe she wouldn’t come back to me, but I didn’t care about that now.
My brothers and I walked up to the house together.
There were some guys up front who stared at us curiously. Maybe they knew exactly who we were. Nobody was expecting a fight tonight. Especially not since our two families were embarking on new business opportunities together.
However, I knew that if I had to get Reese out of there, it wouldn’t be a peaceful exchange. I wasn’t taking any chances.
“You guys have a meeting with the boss?” A beefy guy at the door stopped us.
Aiden and Tristan exchanged smiling looks.
“Sure, yeah, I have a meeting,” I replied.
The guy didn’t see it coming.
I pulled my weapon out of my pants and shot his arm. He fell to the ground with a howl. Before the other men could charge towards us we were already through the door.
“Up the stairs!” Aiden shouted when we were inside.
He had found out the layout of the house, so he knew where Reese would most likely be.
“Go. Get her. We’ll handle it here.” Colin added, firing shots at the bastards who came into the house with guns blazing.
I knew this was just the start of the war.
* * *
The top floor was deserted, except for the one guy standing guard at a door at the end of the hallway.
We both fired our weapons at the same time. But I ran towards him and I had a better aim.
It was a clean shot. Straight through his chest. He fell to the ground with a thump and when I got to the door, I had to push him out of the way.
“Reese!” I yelled before I even went into the room.
“Killian?” she squeaked from behind her bed. She was clearly hiding from the sound of the guns going off in the house. “I didn’t think you would come.”
I went to her before she could step towards me. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her little mouth.
She sank into me and I weaved my fingers in her hair.
Nothing had ever felt this good before.
I dreamed about this moment since that morning she left.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I’m sorry I sent you back here.”
She shook her head and kissed me again.
“It doesn’t matter, Killian. None of it matters anymore. You’re here now.”
I held her face in my hands. We could still hear shots being fired downstairs.
Reese’s hazel eyes widened with fear.
“What is going on? Will we make it out of here?”
“My brothers are here. We came to get you, so yeah, you’re getting out of here if it’s the last thing I do.”
I grabbed her hand and started leading her to the door.
“Killian!” she hissed, making me stop in my tracks.
I turned to her. Her long honey brown hair was strewn messily around her face. She was in her pajamas. She still looked amazing.
The most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?”
“I want to be with you.”
She had no idea how happy I was to hear those words. How much joy they brought me.
After everything I had put her through, I wasn’t expecting her to even want to kiss me, let alone want to come away with me.
“I promise you, Reese, I will always do everything I can to give you exactly what you want.”
“Always?” she asked, with a soft smile curling her lips now.
“Always.”
A loud shot rang out and from somewhere downstairs, I heard Colin’s voice calling for me.
Reese nodded her head—telling me she was ready to go.
I pulled her to me and with an arm around her shoulder and my other hand clutching my gun, ready to shoot—we ran down the stairs.
Aiden, Tristan and Nolan waited at the bottom, barricading us from the shots that were being fired in our direction.
Only a few guys from the Baron mafia remained. I could already see that my brothers had significantly reduced numbers. Where was Aldo?
We didn’t stop to ask any questions.
I ran with Reese until we were at my bike.
She was out of breath when I helped her on. But the smile remained on her face.
“You’re my hero,” she said, laughing.
Even though I smiled, I knew it was just the adrenaline.
None of this was funny.
Thirty
Reese
Killian rode us directly back to the cabin, and even though I had only spent a few days here—a lot of which were spent as a prisoner in the basement—this was the place that actually felt like home. I couldn’t remember why I tried to run away so many times.
I walked into the house with Killian coming after me. He locked the door, checked the windows and went around to double check the security of the rest of the house.
I stood in the living room, shaking. Half from the shock of everything that had happened, and half from the happiness of being with Killian.
When he was done inspecting the house, he returned to the living room.
I realized I was out of breath when I tried to speak.
“I…I thought I would have to plan my own escape,” I admitted.
Killian smiled and drew in a big breath.
“And we both know how skilled you are at that.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I can’t believe you’re ribbing me over it. At a time like this!”
“Are you sure this is where you want to be?” he asked. All of a sudden, his voice became very serious.
I nodded.
“Definitely. As long as I’m not going to be in your basement this time.”
He took a few steps towards me and that alone was enough to set my body on fire.
“You’re never going to be in anyone’s basement again, Reese. You deserve to be treated like the queen you are.”
I felt myself shudder.
I couldn’t believe the words leaving Killian’s mouth.
Had he ever spoken to anyone like this before? Any woman? I didn’t know he was even capable of it.
He came so close to me, towering over me with his big muscular body.
When I looked into his eyes I could sense he had something he wanted to say.
