Retribution: The Lost Children World Book 1

by Krista Street

  He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know.” He strode away from the entryway into the living room and paced it a few times, never once meeting my gaze.

  I stepped closer to him and stood directly in his path, which forced him to stop. I tentatively balled my hands in his shirt. Try as I might, I couldn’t get my heart rate under control. It felt like it was galloping in my chest.

  In a shaking voice, I said, “Flint. I know I messed up. I know that. But please understand I had to do it. I knew you wouldn’t agree with my plan, and I knew you wouldn’t let me go. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

  Agony filled his dark eyes. “You could have died!”

  I swallowed tightly. “But I didn’t, and if I hadn’t confronted him, he never would have been caught. He would have continued hurting women for who knows how long.” Tears spilled onto my cheeks. “Please understand that’s why I did it.”

  “You should have told me.” He pulled back, which forced me to let him go.

  Frustration rose inside me. I seethed inwardly at how incredibly stubborn he could be. “And if I had told you, what would you have done?”

  His dark eyes narrowed before he looked away.

  I threw my hands up. “You know what you would have done! You would have tied me down to keep me from getting hurt, but I’m not that fragile, Flint! Don’t you see that? You can’t always protect me! Sometimes, you’re going to have to let me go and understand that I’m an adult who can make my own decisions.”

  “Impulsive decisions?”

  “That’s not fair. It wasn’t an impulsive decision. I actually thought it through and decided not telling you was the best decision.”

  “Even if that decision almost got you killed?”

  “But it didn’t!”

  His eyes glittered in the morning sun. “You should have come to me, Lena. What you did was wrong.”

  I tilted my chin up as my cheeks flushed. “Maybe I should have, but you also need to not be so protective.”

  His brow furrowed. “I’m not that protective.”

  I snorted. “Seriously?”

  He took a deep breath and said gruffly, “Okay. Maybe I am, but you would be too if you were in my position. You constantly do things that put you in danger.”

  “I’m not constantly doing things. Just sometimes doing things.”

  An aggrieved sigh escaped him. “Are you really not going to take any responsibility for this, babe?”

  My shoulders fell, and I looked down. “Okay. Yeah. You’re right. What I did was stupid and reckless. It wasn’t fair to you or anyone in our family. I shouldn’t have done it.”

  “But you’d do it again in a heartbeat, wouldn’t you? If you had to do it all over again?”

  I snapped my gaze up when I heard the hurt in his words.

  Pain swam in his irises.

  “Flint . . .” I stepped closer to him and tentatively laid my hands on his waist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  He looked away, breaking eye contact, but the pain stayed in his eyes, making my heart rip in pieces. “I know, Lena. I know you’re sorry.”

  I placed my hand on his jaw and forced his gaze back to mine. “I know your protectiveness stems from everything we’ve been through. But right now, I need you to understand that I did what I needed to do.” I stepped even closer to him until our bodies brushed. “And it kills me that it hurt you so much, but please meet me halfway on this. If you weren’t so protective of me, I would have told you what I planned to do. I would have gone to you, not Mica, but I couldn’t because of how you always try to take control of the situation for me.”

  With a groan, he pulled me tightly to him. “The thought of losing you scares me so damned much! It’s the only thing that will bring me to my knees.”

  I clung to him, and his scent washed over me. My heart rate slowed at the feel of his arms around me and the absolute belief that everything would be okay between us. “I know, and I love you just as much as you love me, and you’re right. I lied to you. I shouldn’t have done that. It’s horrible that I did that.” I paused as those words sank in—really sank in. “I won’t do that again. Next time, I’ll come to you. I won’t lie, but can you try to listen and not fly off the handle? Can we both work on this?”

  A heavy breath filled his chest. “Yeah. I’ll try to, but it’s not easy for me.”

  I squeezed him tightly. “I know, just like it’s not easy for me to not rush headfirst into things.”

  “I guess we both have stuff to work on.”

  I muffled a laugh. “We probably always will. It’s hard to fight instinct. And my instinct was to rush after Aaron before he could leave town.”

  “And mine was to tie you to the bed.”

  I laughed then, a real laugh. Pulling back just enough to place my hands on his chest, I asked, “So what do we do from here?”

  He sighed heavily. “If you promise to come to me first if anything dangerous like this happens again, I promise to listen to you and try to work with you. Deal?”

  Tears filled my eyes. I loved this man so damned much. “Deal.”

  He leaned down and nuzzled my neck.

  I trembled when his hands gripped me around the waist. “Thank you for loving me like you do,” I said breathlessly. His tongue was doing amazing things just below my ear, making all coherent thought threaten to vanish.

  He nipped my skin lightly. “Maybe in fifty years, we’ll have all of our issues sorted out, and then we’ll never fight again.”

  “If we’re lucky, maybe it will only be twenty years.”

  He laughed before scooping me into his arms. In a blurred move, he raced us to our bedroom. Laying me gently on the covers, he tenderly pushed a lock of hair from my face. “Does it hurt anywhere?”

  I shrugged. “The skin around my wrists and ankles is raw, and my shoulders are still a bit sore from our excursion on Abigail’s roof, but this is nothing compared to being trapped in Marcus’s mansion.”

  His jaw clenched as the sun grew brighter outside. “We’re never going to lead truly normal lives, are we?”

  I shrugged. “Probably not, but you know what? This life is pretty damn good. And it certainly isn’t boring.”

  He smiled and tilted my chin up. “No, it certainly isn’t.”

  And then he kissed me.

  EPILOGUE

  Grace sat across from me in the smoothie shop. I was bone tired, but she didn’t know that. I’d skipped class again after the attack with Aaron, but I was back to school today. Despite all that had happened, I had made myself get up and come to class. We were at the end of the semester, after all, and finals were right around the corner.

  However, my best friend still wouldn’t meet my gaze. My shoulders slumped. Her anger was understandable. I had hardly been a good friend to her lately.

  Keeping her eyes averted, she sucked her drink and picked up the newspaper. Her eyes shifted across the words as she read the front page.

  “Did you see this article?” Grace twirled her straw and pointed at the daily newspaper that somebody had left on the table. Outside, the sun beat down.

  I struggled to keep my eyes open as I glanced at it. “What article?”

  Grace rolled her eyes and pointed at the front headline. Serial Attacker and Accomplice Caught—University Stunned That It’s One of Their Own.

  “This one,” she said.

  I ducked my head and took a huge slurp from my smoothie so she wouldn’t see my satisfied smile. “Oh. Yeah. I saw that. I’m glad they’ve been arrested.”

  She swiveled the paper back her way and bit her lip before saying quietly, “You were right about him—Professor Dillinger. I should have listened to you.”

  I shrugged and did my best to ease the guilty look on her face. “It’s fine. I know you always assume everyone is as good as you, but they’re not.”

  Her brow furrowed more. “They said a woman, who police said preferred to remain unnamed, had been tied up in his
trunk when they caught him and that guy.” She shuddered.

  Under the table, I fingered the raw skin around my wrists. Since I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, it wasn’t visible for anyone to see.

  “I’m sure glad she’s okay,” Grace added. “Whoever she is.” My best friend took another sip of her drink and then pushed the drink away. “Are you ready to get going? We better head to the library since our final’s tomorrow morning.”

  She stood before I could reply. The haste with which she moved made her chair squeak against the floor.

  The guilt inside me grew. Grace had, once again, forgiven my erratic behavior willingly and without question, but I could tell that she was still hurt by how I’d been treating her lately.

  Outside, Grace walked at my side, but her usual smile was absent.

  I squinted in the bright sun and took a deep breath of the fresh springtime air. Wringing my hands, I once again debated if I should come clean with Grace and tell her who I really was. She’d been my best friend for over a year and had proven she was loyal and trustworthy time and time again. Yet the rules Father had instilled in us since childhood were hard to overcome. He was so terrified of us being exposed.

  But Grace isn’t like that. She would never tell anyone.

  Taking a deep breath, I grabbed her hand and stopped her mid-stride.

  Her long blond hair swung over her shoulders from the abrupt stop, and she almost tripped. “Jeez, Lena. What the heck?” The familiar annoyance flashed in her eyes, but when she got a look at my expression, it vanished.

  “What’s wrong?” Her eyebrows drew together.

  A few other people passed us on the sidewalk, some muttering under their breaths when they bumped into us. I pulled her closer to a storefront.

  “Can we go back to my apartment to study?” I still gripped her hand tightly.

  The worried look on her face grew. “Um . . . yeah. Okay.” She gripped my hand back. “Are you all right? Because remember, Lena, you can tell me if something’s wrong. I’m always here for you.”

  I chewed my lip before closing my eyes. She’s your best friend, Lena. She’s been nothing but supportive and kind to you since you met her, and her cloud is pure white. You can trust her. Of all the people you’ve met, Grace is someone you can trust with your life.

  “Lena?” Her tone grew even more concerned.

  Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. “I want to tell you something about me, Grace. I should have told you a long time ago, but I can’t do it here, not out in public. Will you come back to my apartment with me?”

  She gripped my hand again. “Of course. Wherever you want to talk, and whatever you want to tell me, I’ll listen. I’ll always listen. You know that.”

  Tears threatened to fill my eyes at how lucky I was to have a friend like her. “I know, and that’s why you deserve to know the truth.”

  “The truth?” She cocked her head.

  I lifted the sleeves on my shirt to expose the red skin on my wrists.

  Her breath sucked in. “Oh my gosh, Lena! What happened?”

  I nodded in the direction of the smoothie shop. “Remember that article about the girl in the trunk?”

  Her mouth parted as her eyes widened in shock. She looked down at my wrists again. Understanding dawned in her eyes. “What . . . How . . . You were that girl?”

  I nodded tightly.

  “But . . . how did you get away?”

  I smiled, the first real smile I’d had all day, as a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. “Come on. I have a lot to tell you.”

  THE LOST CHILDREN WORLD

  Creation, book 2 in The Lost Children World

  Messing with Mother Nature can have dire consequences...

  Download Creation now!

  Thank you for reading Retribution in The Lost Children World!

  If you enjoy Krista Street’s writing, make sure you join her newsletter at https://www.kristastreet.com/contact to stay up-to-date on new releases, book deals, and all of the writing stuff she’s up to.

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  THE MAKANZA SERIES

  Do you enjoy Krista Street’s Writing?

  Make sure you check out The Makanza Series, a complete Sci-Fi Dystopian Romance series.

  Your next binge read awaits!

  He thought the danger was past. But it was only the beginning…

  Two years ago, the Makanza virus was eradicated from the public. Now, everyone thinks they’re safe—including Davin. As the oldest among his siblings, Davin plans to leave for college after a short visit with his divorced father on the Cheyenne River Reservation.

  But then the Makanza sirens go off, and everything changes.

  The warning alarm splits the soft April skies over the vast South Dakota prairie. Against all odds, the virus has returned, and the outbreak is only a few miles from his father’s ramshackle home.

  Davin watches helplessly as his family succumbs to the virus, and when coughs rattle his chest, he figures death is inevitable.

  But a different fate awaits Davin. As his body fights the virus, it isn’t dying. It’s becoming something different. Something that will leave him with strange new powers… and make him a hunted man.

  The Second Wave is the first installment in a complete series where fantasy powers collide with modern science. Dive into this imaginative and romantic series today!

  Download The Second Wave now!

  ALSO BY KRISTA STREET

  The Lost Children Trilogy – a YA Science Fantasy Romance trilogy

  AWAKENED (the prequel, FREE if you sign up for Krista’s newsletter)

  FORGOTTEN – book 1

  REMEMBERED – book 2

  REBORN – book 3

  The Lost Children World – a spin-off series from The Lost Children Trilogy

  RETRIBUTION – book 1

  CREATION – book 2

  The Makanza Series – a complete Sci-Fi Dystopian Romance series

  THE SECOND WAVE – book 0

  COMPOUND 26 – book 1

  RESERVATION 1 – book 2

  SECTION 12 – book 3

  DIVISION 5 – book 4

  Other Works

  SITERON – a YA Sci-Fi short story