by B. B. Reid
Sheldon tossed her hair over her shoulder and huffed. “Why do you care? You don’t want him, remember?”
“That’s not the point, Sheldon. You know he hates me. We can’t even be in the same room without getting into an argument.”
“So fuck him instead,” she retorted.
“Why do you want me with your brother so bad?”
“Because he deserves someone like you.”
Willow’s eyes lowered, and I thought to cut in when I heard the purr and rumble of multiple engines pull up followed by car doors slamming.
“Shit!” Sheldon exclaimed. “He promised!”
She ran over to the window to look outside and whatever she saw made her curse and dash out of the kitchen screaming obscenities. Willow and I looked at each other and shrugged before simultaneously rushing to the window to see what had Sheldon so worked up.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she yelled and shoved Dash sending him backward, allowing me to see the person standing behind him.
An eternity seemed to pass before I was able to breathe again.
He’s here.
He watched Sheldon push and scream at Dash with a bored expression, and when she turned her anger on him, he barely blinked. Dash looked on with an amused expression, which only made her angrier.
As hard as I fought, my gaze wandered to Keiran repeatedly. I looked him over carefully, but he was still the same. Had it really been almost a month since I last saw him? Not a hair out of place or even the slightest bit different, but I could tell by his stance he was getting impatient. He wanted near me. Considering the last time we were face to face, all I wanted to do was scratch his eyes out, dick-punch him and jump his bones all at once.
“Shit, I knew this was a bad idea,” Willow whined. “Should we go out there?”
There were a million valid reasons why I shouldn’t, but I reminded myself I wasn’t afraid of him any longer. When he turned his steely gaze on me, clearly seeing me through the window, I met his stare dead on. He was challenging me, but this time, I challenged him back. His mouth lifted in a smirk, and he nodded his head once in assent, accepting our silent standoff.
Never again, I vowed. So much had changed inside me in a matter of months. I felt like an entirely different person. Sure, I felt my moments of skepticism. No one really changed overnight, but I had the last ten years to build up immunity to him and it was just only starting to kick in.
The sound of the door slamming broke me out of the trance he had me caught in, and all I could hear was the sound of running footsteps traveling throughout the house.
What the?
When Sheldon reappeared, she looked out of sorts with a worried look in her eye. “Guys, I swear I didn’t know they would be here. Dash promised he would stay away, and he promised to keep Keiran away.”
“Wait… you knew Keiran was out?” I asked incredulously.
Sheldon bit her lip worriedly and nodded. “I didn’t know how to tell you. You were just starting to relax, and it’s crazy because he hasn’t said a word about you.” She lifted her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side.
“Well, are they still outside?”
“I think so.” She stalked over to the window and peeked outside. “Damn.”
“You think so?” My teeth were grinding against each other as I prayed for patience.
“I locked them out and told them to go away.”
“But doesn’t Dash have a key?”
“Yes. I did it to piss them off so it won’t be much help. I wonder what’s keeping them?”
“Maybe their male egos finally fried their brain and they forgot how to use a key?”
“One can hope.”
“We should just go.” Willow released a deep breath, and I suddenly heard her voice call out for me. “Lake?”
“Yes?” I answered absently, barely paying attention. I hadn’t realized I had turned back to the window. Keiran was sitting on the hood of his car now with a foot perched on the bumper, watching me with his eyebrow raised and his arms casually resting on his legs.
Fuck you. I stuck up my middle finger to piss him off, but he only blew a kiss before turning back to Dash, dismissing me.
“Should we go?”
“Yes, I think that would be best.” I took a deep breath and released it slowly before turning to face their curious expressions. “I have to tell you something.” I beat down the onslaught of panic and regret and forced the words from my chest. “I was the one to turn Keiran in.”
“What?”
“Come again?”
“Yeah, I uh—didn’t think I had a choice.”
“But… how do you know he killed them?” Sheldon asked.
“You guys know what happened at the fair. You were there. He was the last one with them.”
“Yes, but so were Dash and Keenan, but you didn’t turn them in.”
“Because they didn’t have anything to do with Trevor and Anya’s actual deaths. I overheard them talking the night we went out to play laser tag.
“It doesn’t make sense.” Sheldon shook her head. “Why would he kill them? He was bringing them back.” She looked at me in disbelief. “Lake, I think you were mistaken. He didn’t kill them.”
“What do you mean he was going back to get them?”
“Right before Keenan and I had our fight, he got a call from Keiran. I could only hear Keenan’s side, but he asked Keiran why he was going to help them. I didn’t know until he ended the call that Keiran was going to bring Trevor and Anya back. I just never found out why. Keenan was pretty tight lipped.”
“If Keiran didn’t kill them, then who did?” I challenged.
“I don’t know. Keiran was turned around before he could reach them. I guess that’s when he got the phone call from you.”
“He could have gone back to do it,” Willow argued.
“With his brother fighting for his life in the hospital? Keiran can be a cold bastard, but he isn’t that unattached to human emotion.”
“So where was he for the week he was gone?”
“I don’t know, but something tells me he didn’t do it. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t matter. Keiran is responsible for their deaths whether or not he lit the match.”
“Well, what are you going to do? He can’t find out you turned him in.”
“He already knows,” I admitted slowly. To them, things just went from bad to worse.
“How could he know?”
“I told him.” I shrugged noncommittally when I was anything but. I was a wreck, but no one had to know that but me. My battle with Keiran was mine alone. He’d already shown he wasn’t above using the people I loved and cared about against me. This time I wouldn’t make it so easy for him.
“Why did you tell him?” Sheldon gritted. Willow looked as if she wanted to strangle me as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
“I don’t know. He called a few days ago. I got really upset and it just came out. I know it was a dumb move, but I needed to show him I wasn’t afraid anymore.”
“So you do and say the one thing that would put you in deeper shit with him than you already are?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I snapped defensively. Sheldon released a curse and began pacing the tiled kitchen floor while shaking her head.
“Do you think he’s here for you?” Willow asked.
“I know he is,” I said, glancing back out the window, but this time, not catching sight of Keiran or Dash.
“How are you going to handle this?” Sheldon demanded. “I hope you have a plan of action because no way is Keiran letting this go. This is the second time Keiran landed in jail for what he thinks was your doing, only this time, it really is.”
“I don’t care. He murdered two people.”
“Let me know how explaining that to him will work out for you.”
“Where are the guys?’ Willow asked.
“I don’t know. They are awfu
lly quiet.”
Too quiet. I peeked back out the window but didn’t see them.
“Maybe I can get Dash to talk to him. If Keiran knows you turned him in, then Dash knows, too.”
“Do you know why he was released?” Willow looked back and forth between the two of us.
“No clue,” Sheldon answered before looking to me for answers.
“Detective Daniels and Detective Wilson said it came from over their heads.”
“Well, my dad didn’t get involved this time and neither did John. In fact, John reacted very little to Keiran being arrested. He’s barely been to the hospital to see his son.” Sheldon’s voice choked over her tears on the last part. I could tell Keenan’s condition bothered her, especially on the wake of their breakup.
“Did they ever take a paternity test?”
“No. John said he didn’t want to.”
The day I turned Keiran in, and Sheldon called to tell me Keenan’s only lung was failing, I’d thought a paternity test had been given. I later found that much hadn’t been done to determine paternity at all. Keenan was able to sustain a patch to his lung to buy him more time, but he wasn’t out of the woods. I made a mental note to visit him when the coast was clear. Being shot and finding out your father wasn’t your father and your cousin was your brother, and then losing his girlfriend, who he loves, had to be taking a toll on him.
“Did anyone else get the impression Keiran wasn’t too surprised that they are brothers?” Willow asked.
Sheldon cocked her head to the side before nodding slowly. “Yeah, I got that, too. Do you think—”
The sound of the front door opening drowned out whatever Sheldon had been about to ask. I could hear heavy footsteps heading toward the kitchen, but the blood rushing to my head made it impossible to hear clearly.
Was it one or two sets of footsteps?
We all stopped and waited for them to appear through the door, and when it finally opened, I felt my knees weaken.
No, don’t do this. You aren’t that girl anymore, Lake.
I willed my legs to straighten and plastered what I hoped was a brave look on my face.
Dash appeared through the door first as he took a quick glance around, and I could tell he was fighting not to laugh.
I kept my eyes glued to the door waiting for him to walk through next, but he never came.
“Damn, you chicks are all drama. Relax, princess,” he snapped, drawing my attention. “The big, bad wolf isn’t here to eat you up.” Dash rolled his eyes and snagged a bottle of water from the refrigerator and left, but not before sending Willow a nasty look that made her retreat a step.
I looked back out the window once Dash was gone and saw Keiran’s car gone. I blinked a few times and questioned if I imagined it. What game is he playing?
Chapter Six
Keiran
Ten Years Ago
I was blindfolded and told to keep quiet before I was driven away from the compound. When we arrived, they finally removed the smelly rag from my face, and as my eyes adjusted, they slowly took in the scary building ahead.
The big empty room they led me to was dark and had puddles of water everywhere. The smell of the building was horrendous. It was something I’d never smelt before. There was only one door leading in and out and no windows.
The screams of the man tied to the chair, drenched in the water the men were pouring on him, were terrifying. Some of the men they called ‘trainers’ were standing around with mixed expressions of awe, amusement, and anger.
I just wanted to run and hide.
After Frank had told me I would start training today, I didn’t know what to expect. I was confused and scared, but I knew better than to show it. They would beat me again if I did.
“Come on, you. Today you become a man.”
“Wha—what do I have to do?”
Frank pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a match. The smoke he blew in my face made me choke, and I almost didn’t notice when he handed me the match.
I eyed the burning sliver of wood he had stuck in my hand before he shoved me toward the hurt man. The sudden movement caused the flame to flicker, and my eyes widened out of fear that I would lose the flame. When it continued to burn, I relaxed a little and looked up at Frank.
“I want you to throw it on that piece of shit.”
They wanted me to throw it on him, but why? What would happen if I did? What would happen if I didn’t do it?
“I don’t want to do it. Please don’t make me.” Tears blurred my vision as I began to do the one thing that would mean pain.
“Do you want to be next, you little shit?” Frank spit at the ground next to me and pushed me down, causing the flame to burn out. “Stop your fucking whining and crying before I kill you right here.” He kicked my side so hard I flipped over on my stomach. I got a heavy boot on my back for the trouble. “I asked you a question! Do you want me to kill you?”
“N—no.”
“Then get on with it. I told you it’s time to earn your keep.” I heard the sound of another match being lit, and then I was snatched off the ground by the rags covering my upper body and placed on my feet.
“What’s going to happen to him? Will he be hurt?”
“He’s going to die. Now kill him.”
* * *
Present Day
I battled with myself over whether to leave or just snatch her out of the house and take her with me. The decision was made for me when Dash’s busy ass twin tore out of the house to curse us both out. I didn’t pretend to care about anything she had to say until she threatened to call the cops on us both, and unknowingly reminded me of the order to stay away from her.
Like that’s going to happen.
I found it amusing how anyone would think they could keep me from what’s mine with a sheet of paper they called protection. What the fuck was she supposed to do with it anyway? Play rock, paper, scissors when I got her alone?
Because I will get her alone.
As I drove, my eyes zoomed in on the exit up ahead leading me to my brother—I mean, Keenan. I didn’t know when I got onto the highway. I just hopped into my car and drove. Speaking of which, I had to get rid of it. I wasn’t too attached, so I shrugged it off. I wasn’t attached to too much at all. Everything was dispensable. Everything.
The last time I saw my—Keenan, he was fighting for his life and riddled with bullet holes. Now, he was still fighting for his life, but he carried much deeper scars. Scars I put there, and for the first time, I felt something I didn’t want to feel. I felt regret. So now that I finally felt it, what was I supposed to do with it?
The vibration of my phone saved me from the long dark road I didn’t want to travel. I quickly checked the screen before chucking it into the passenger seat. I didn’t have time for my uncle’s bullshit. If he were where he should be, he could dish out his shit soon enough.
When I pulled into the hospital parking lot, I admit, I actually felt nervous. This would be the first time I had seen Keenan conscious since he was nearly killed by my fuck of a sperm donor. I couldn’t forget the look in his eyes…
The sterile smell and cool air of the hospital greeted me as the automatic doors opened, and I strode through with purpose. By the time I had reached his room, the muscles and veins in my hands and arms were straining from my too tight fists. I stood at the door, listening for what felt like hours, but mere seconds had passed.
Quit being a fucking coward.
I steeled my jaw, pushed through the door, and stopped short at the sight of him sleeping. I gritted my teeth at the sight of his frailty. He looked so still and lifeless and every bit like the hell he’d just been through. It made me want to rip out the useless lump Mitch called a heart. But then… who was I to talk, right? I stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. There wasn’t any sign of John, but I wasn’t too surprised. The man was barely a father so it was just as well he wasn’t there.
I crossed the room to sit in one of the ugly
burgundy chairs and got comfortable. The least I could do was to wait for him to wake. As I sat there, my mind drifted back to Monroe. It was never hard to do because she was always there on the surface. I was supposed to stay away from her yet somehow, I knew I never would. She’s different. Different in a way I didn’t expect, but she was still my Monroe. Beautifully submissive although a little too weak. A smile spread on my lips when I thought of the ways her weakness benefitted me in the past. Those six weeks being my favorite. Whatever I had expected to gain out of taking her body, her passion wasn’t one of them. Never did I miss the way her eyes would light up when I issued a command, or the way her pussy gripped and flooded my dick when I took her hard.
She hated that she wanted me.
At least we have that in common.
Sometimes I believed I was as much her sexual prisoner as she was mine. Those would be the times I took her the hardest and unleashed my cruelty on her. It would excite her, no matter how much she cried and bitched about it. But it also confused her.
The occasional soft touch and whispered word and random acts of kindness. It was when I was the most sadistic, and she didn’t even know it. I manipulated her and bent her to my will without having to lift a finger.
If I were capable of feeling any type of remorse, I might have felt bad about it, but then it became necessary when she and that fucktard, Fitzgerald, started to dig into my past.
She actually admitted to wanting to use my past against me as revenge. It was the moment I started to actually respect her and isn’t that screwed up or what? Respect or not, she was playing a game I would never let her win.
When I started out, I had one purpose in mind and it was to break her, but at some point, my mission became fuddled and I didn’t know what I was after anymore. I just knew I wanted her, and when I started to want to keep her, I knew I was fucked.
I started to hatch ideas on how to distance myself away from my obsession when the door opened. I reached for the gun at my waist immediately before remembering I was in a fucking hospital.
Get a grip, man.
