Unraveling Fayth (Devil's Knights Book 8)

by Winter Travers

  “She’s not healthy enough to travel. She was shot two months ago.”

  Leo raised the hem of his shirt and pointed to a three-inch angry, red mark on his side. “I was grazed by a bullet two weeks ago and you didn’t even know. Fayth is a fighter and more than healthy enough for a three-hour car ride. Try another excuse.”

  “You’re making a mistake.”

  Leo smiled evilly. “A man like me does not make mistakes, Slider. We’re done talking about this.” He grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his chair and slid his arms into the sleeves. “You leave in the morning. I know you haven’t slept. I would rather you not drive my nephew and sister in a sleepless stupor.”

  “She isn’t going to like this. She hated living in Rockton.”

  Leo shook his head. “No, my sister actually enjoyed living in Rockton but was confused because she felt like she was leaving her family by being there. I’m doing this for her, as much as I’m doing it to keep her safe.”

  “She always told me she hated it.”

  “Because you were another reason why she was confused.”

  “You’re speaking in riddles again.”

  “No, I’m not.” Leo glanced at his watch and shook his head. “As much as I would love to continue this conversation with you, Slider. I need to be on a plane in half an hour.”

  “You’re leaving now?” Panic climbed up my throat.

  “Yes. As I said, I have something to take care of. Trust yourself and don’t let Fayth run you over.” Leo picked up a duffel bag he had sitting by the side of his desk. “I hope to be back soon, but I don’t know for sure.” He headed out the door and looked over his shoulder at me. “Will you die for her, Slider?”

  “Ten times over.” I didn’t hesitate. I knew if it ever came down to Fayth or me, I would sacrifice myself every time.

  Leo nodded. “Good. I’ll say goodbye to Fayth and Marco, and then I’ll be gone. Take care of my family, Slider. They are all I have.”

  I nodded, unable to talk. I was pleased Leo had enough faith in me to take care of Fayth and Marco, but I was also terrified he had made a horrible mistake.

  There was only one thing for sure. I would die before anything ever happened to Fayth again. Nothing would touch her.

  *******

  Chapter 12

  Fayth

  Do you think we could stop? I held the paper up to Slider and prayed he wasn’t like a typical male who hated to stop during a trip.

  He nodded once, and I sighed. Thank God. I had told Marco ten times to make sure to go to the bathroom before we had left this morning, but I hadn’t taken my own advice.

  “I see someone didn’t go to the bathroom before we left,” Marco teased.

  I rolled my eyes and elbowed him in the side. Slider was driving, and I was wedged between him and Marco as we made our way back to Rockton.

  “Yeah, I do remember her yelling at you to pee,” Slider said while he chuckled.

  Now, I elbowed him in the side. Ass, I wrote.

  Slider shook his head and pointed down the road. “Two miles back I saw a sign for a big ol’ truck stop. We can do a pit stop there and hopefully pick up some breakfast.”

  Breakfast was another reason why Slider was an ass. He had insisted I didn’t need to make anything because we could just grab something on the way. Except, I didn’t want to stop and grab something. I wanted actual sustenance. Not some half-warm breakfast sandwich from a warming table at a seedy truck stop.

  “Uncurl your lip, Fayth. I promise to feed you something delicious.”

  I tossed my notepad on the dash and crossed my arms over my chest. I really doubted we were going to find anything good to eat at a gas station.

  “Mom is a food snob. I bet you won’t be able to find anything that she’ll eat at a gas station.”

  “Yeah, I’ve kind of picked up on that.” Slider laughed and ran his fingers through his hair.

  I glared at Marco and grabbed the pad of paper. Way to take your mother’s side.

  Marco shrugged and put his headphones on.

  Slider took the exit to the gas station, and I was surprised at the size of the building. This thing is huge, I wrote.

  “That’s what she said.” Slider winked at me and grabbed my hand while he slid out of the truck.

  I rolled my eyes and whacked him with my notepad.

  “I’m gonna run to the bathroom,” Marco called and headed into the gas station.

  I moved to follow Marco, but Slider tugged me back and shook his head. “You don’t leave my sight, Fayth.”

  I motioned to where Marco had disappeared into the building. What the hell was the difference from Marco to me?

  “We’re right behind him.” Slider tugged me to the door. “I told Leo nothing would happen to you, and I intend to keep that promise.”

  As nice as that sounded, there was no way Slider could be with me all of the time.

  I looked around once we strode through the door, and I was again taken aback by the sheer size of the gas station. The sweet smell of cinnamon hit my nose and I spotted the Cinnabon to the right of the door. My stomach rumbled and I knew that a cinnamon roll would be leaving with me.

  Slider pulled me past the counter filled with those fluffy pillows of sweet dough and headed down a short hallway that led to the bathrooms. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall as I walked in the bathroom, and he was in the same spot when I walked out.

  “I gave Marco some money to get some cinnamon rolls.” Slider grabbed my hand and tugged me further down the hallway. Silently, I was jumping up and down, happy as hell Slider had read my mind. “I told him to meet us at the restaurant.”

  I shook my head no and grabbed Slider’s arm. I didn’t want to eat at some fast food place. Marco was somewhat right when he had said I was a food snob.

  “Just trust me, Firecracker.”

  We headed back the way we came, past the gas station cashier and then down another corridor where there were video games and those machines where you stuck a quarter in and got a toy or candy out. The smell of bacon wafted around us, and the hallway opened up to a restaurant with red booths and white tables.

  “Just two?” a waitress asked while walking past with a tray overflowing with food.

  “Make it three,” Slider replied, holding up three fingers.

  “Sit anywhere on the left. Lola called in sick and we’re shorthanded,” the waitress called.

  Slider pulled me over to a booth in the corner, and I slid all the way in. Slider sat next to me and threw his arm over the back of the booth. “Eat up, Firecracker. I’m pretty sure you’ll be eating your words soon.”

  I rolled my eyes and grabbed a menu. Anything you could possibly think of was listed, and my stomach growled reading all the different way they did waffles.

  “Holy hell, this place could have its own zip code. I accidentally wandered down the wrong hallway and saw a Ping-Pong table, foosball, and a laundromat.” Marco scooted into the booth across from us and set a plastic bag next to him.

  “We’re in the biggest truck stop in Illinois. It’s right on the border to Wisconsin. I try to stop here whenever I’m nearby.”

  Marco grabbed a menu and opened it up. “Did you stop on the way down?”

  “No. I just filled up the tank and headed straight down.” Slider flipped over both of our cups for coffee and signaled for the waitress.

  “All right, what can I get for you guys?” The waitress flipped open her notepad and clicked her pen.

  “I’ll have four eggs, sunny-side up, hash browns loaded, sausage, and sourdough toast,” Marco said before setting down his menu.

  He had looked at the menu for all of ten seconds. How in the hell had he decided that quickly?

  “And you, ma’am?” The waitress looked down at me, her pen poised to write down my order.

  “Slider.”

  “Sorry, Firecracker,” he whispered in my ear and leaned over. “Point at what you want, Fay
, and I’ll tell her.”

  I pointed at the buttermilk waffles with strawberries. I held up one finger, letting him know I only wanted one. Lord knew my ass didn’t need more than that.

  “She’ll have the strawberry waffles, full order, with a side of bacon,” he told the waitress.

  My jaw dropped, and I shook my head no.

  Slider ignored me. “And I’ll have the butter pecan waffles with a side of sausage and bacon. Coffee for both of us, too.”

  “I’ll be right back with the coffee,” the waitress said before she flounced off to the kitchen.

  I can’t eat all of that, I wrote and thrust it in Slider’s face.

  “Calm down, Firecracker. Whatever you can’t eat, I’ll finish.”

  That’s not the point.

  “Then, what is the point?” He grabbed my cup and put it next to his. The waitress came back to fill our coffee cups and set down three glasses of water.

  I know what I want.

  “I never said you didn’t know what you want. I just figured I was hungry, but not enough for a double order of waffles. Eat what you can, and I’ll finish off what you can’t.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. Well, I guess that was okay, although I still didn’t like it. Next time tell me that.

  Slider laughed and took a sip of his coffee. “Run everything by you, got it, Firecracker.” He set down his cup and laughed, turning his attention to Marco. “Was your mom always this feisty?”

  “Yeah, except you never really saw it. She’s used to getting her way.”

  I balled up my napkin and tossed it at Marco. Where the hell was the loyalty to his mother?

  “Hey,” Marco protested. “I’m just telling the truth.”

  I rolled my eyes and grabbed Marco’s napkin. He could use the one I had thrown at him.

  “Are we staying in the same house?” Marco asked.

  I nodded, but Slider shook his head no. What? I scribbled. Where in the hell were we staying then?

  “I’ve got a place just outside of town. Not many people know about it.” Slider pushed back his coffee cup and handed me mine. I hadn’t even taken a drink of it yet.

  “I thought maybe we were going to stay at the clubhouse. That would have been cool.”

  “Nah, there isn’t enough room for all of us there. I have my room, but there aren’t any extra rooms.”

  Wait. What happened to the house we were staying in?

  Slider shook his head. “Leo let the lease go after he moved you back to Chicago. With such short notice, he wasn’t able to find a new house.”

  But what about all of my stuff I left there? I had bought all new furniture when Marco and I had moved to Rockton. Furniture I was absolutely in love with.

  “Leo had everything put into storage.”

  Well, that was relief, but I was still hesitant moving in with Slider. Why can’t we just stay in a hotel?

  “Because Leo doesn’t know how long he’ll be gone, and I can’t keep you safe in a hotel. My house is better.”

  The waitress returned with a full tray, and I didn’t have time to argue. I set my notepad on the seat next to me and watched all of the delicious-looking food she set down. Marco had a huge platter in front of him. He bugged his eyes out at it and immediately dug in.

  Three huge waffles smothered with bright red berries were set in front of me, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to eat them all, but I would sure try.

  “Try not to drool, Fay,” Slider said as he laughed.

  I elbowed him in the side and picked up my knife and fork. I wanted to tell him to shut it, but I didn’t want to have to pick up my notebook. Having to write everything down was a pain in the ass sometimes. I was going to have to figure out another way to communicate. I sliced off a huge bite of waffles and moaned as I chewed. Holy hell, that was the best waffle I had ever eaten.

  “I’ll be expecting your apology after you’re done eating,” Slider replied, chuckling.

  I rolled my eyes and spotted his plate of bacon and sausage when I looked over at him. I stealthy stabbed one of the links and moved it over to my plate. At least, I thought it was stealthy.

  “Didn’t you know you shouldn’t touch a man’s sausage without permission?” Slider asked, lowering his voice.

  I choked on my waffle.

  “Dude,” Marco said, laughing. “I don’t want to hear anything about your sausage and my mom.”

  “Then, she better ask next time,” Slider said, smirking.

  Oh Jesus. How in the hell did we get here? I took another bite, hoping if I just ignored Slider, he would shut up.

  “I don’t know, dude. If some chick wants to grab my sausage, I don’t think she’ll need to ask before.”

  I slammed my fork down and glared at Marco.

  “There really is an advantage to you only being able to say one word,” Marco said, laughing. “Thank God that word is Slider, and not no.”

  I picked up my butter knife and pointed it at him.

  “Easy, Marco,” Slider scolded. Thank God Slider was being an adult for two seconds. “You never know what your mom could do with that butter knife. You might not have a sausage left after she’s done with it.”

  Marco busted out laughing.

  “Slider.”

  “Oh, I know that tone,” Marco said, shaking his head. “You’re in trouble.”

  “I’ll just take her notebook away.”

  I grabbed my notebook, shoved it under my butt and sat on it. He was not about to take my only way to communicate.

  “You can’t sit down forever, Firecracker.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. There were other ways to communicate, but I didn’t think giving Slider the bird in front of Marco was the most responsible thing to do.

  Slider took pity on me and nodded at Marco. “Eat so we can get back on the road. We still have two hours of being crammed into my truck.”

  Marco ate, smirking and chuckling the whole time.

  I needed to get my voice back sooner rather than later. How in the hell was I going to manage that?

  ********

  Chapter 13

  Slider

  “This is it? This is where you live?” Marco asked, amazement in his voice.

  Fayth’s jaw was dropped and her eyes were bugged out taking in my house.

  We were sitting in the truck, the motor off, while Fayth and Marco stared out the windshield. “Yeah. This is it.”

  “When you said you lived outside of town, this wasn’t exactly what I had pictured. I was thinking more of a rundown trailer down by the river.”

  Fayth elbowed Marco and shrugged at me. She probably thought the same thing. “It was a foreclosure that I was able to snap up for cheap.”

  “Dude, it’s like a brand new house.”

  “It’s a year old.”

  Fayth grabbed her paper. WOW!

  I chuckled and opened my door, then held out my hand out to Fayth and pulled her across the seat. “Can you get the bags, Marco?”

  Marco grabbed the four bags I had loaded into the back of the truck, and we headed up the walkway. I wasn’t sure why Fayth and Marco were in awe of my house. Where they lived was three times as big. This was just a three-bedroom ranch with four-car garage. The attached garage was what made the house seem so big.

  “I don’t have a lot of furniture, but there is enough to get by.” I unlocked the side door and reached in to open the garage door.

  It slowly lifted and Marco dropped the bags when he saw the cars I had inside.

  “Is that a Mustang?”

  “Yup. ‘68.”

  “Wait. Hold up. How the hell do you have a Mustang, and a brand new fucking Corvette?” Marco sauntered over to the pitch black Corvette and trailed his fingers up the fender.

  “Your uncle doesn’t have nice cars?” I asked, avoiding the question about where I got mine. I wasn’t exactly legal in everything I did.

  “Yeah, but it’s not like he’ll let me touch
them. Can I drive it?” he asked eagerly.

  Fayth shook her head and stood in between Marco and me. She pretended she was driving a car with her hands out in front of her, then acted like she crashed and shook her whole body.

  “One time!” Marco shouted.

  “Huh?” What in the hell?

  Fayth pointed at Marco and shook her head.

  “One time I crashed Uncle Leo’s car, and now Mom won’t let me live it down.”

  “Wait, didn’t you turn sixteen like a month ago?”

  “Yeah,” Marco replied sheepishly.

  “So, how the hell did you crash your uncle’s car if you just turned sixteen?”

  Fayth smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Because I might have borrowed it to go to the movies, and I might have hit the curb.” Fayth grunted and held up her hand. “And a mailbox,” Marco added. Fayth shook her head again. “And then the ditch,” Marco finished. Or at least, I thought he finished. “Then a chicken coop.” Fayth nodded and turned her eyes on me, then acted like she was driving again.

  “Dude, how the hell do you hit the ditch and a chicken coop?” I laughed.

  “Very carefully?” Marco shrugged.

  “Yeah, you ain’t touching my cars.” I grabbed two of the bags Marco had dropped and headed to the door that led to the house. “Maybe when you are forty,” I added over my shoulder.

  “Forty, really? That’s like twenty-four years. These things will be rusted-out and sitting in a junk yard by then.”

  Not if I had anything to do with it. These cars were in pristine condition now, and I planned on them staying that way.

  “Why’d you have to tell him about the chicken coop?” Marco complained as he followed. “I was so close to him letting me drive his car.”

  I set the bags next to the kitchen island, and Fayth wandered around. The kitchen and living room were that open concept shit, where if you were in one, you could still see what was going on in other.

  Marco stood in the middle of the living room. “Dude, you have no furniture.”