by Janie Marie
Maura smiled, squeezing her hand. “Oh, that makes sense now.”
“What makes sense?” Kylie led Maura down the hall, every step less painful with Maura by her side.
“Nothing,” Maura replied distractedly, her attention on a painting at the end of the hall.
Kylie glanced at it. Someone had painted the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Revelations must’ve been their nightmare.
Regardless of how terrifying the end of the world was, the painting was gorgeous. The four horsemen were on their famous steeds under a half moon. Perhaps it was an eclipse in progress. Only the side that was lit up was red, making it more chilling. Blood. It dripped down to the battlefield.
“You know,” Maura whispered as they passed the painting, “the Little Moon story is my favorite.”
“I know.” Kylie smiled down at her. She figured Ryder must’ve said something to her about the Little Moon. Hopefully, she didn’t think he was talking about her. Because Kylie knew now—they believed Janie represented the goddess.
“I think this really is a fairy tale, Kylie,” Maura said, “I think they made it for us.”
Kylie didn’t have the heart to tell her it wasn’t—that fairy tales were just stories, because maybe everyone was right. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to believe in something magical. So she let Maura have her magic. “Maybe they did.”
Fifteen
GODSON HOUSE
Logan chuckled as he collapsed on the bed with Janie. “Baby doll, you don’t get to take my ice cream after you declined my offer to buy you some.”
She ignored him, of course, and scooped another spoonful into her mouth.
“Janie,” he said, giving her a stern look and reaching for her bowl.
“Don’t.” She smacked his hand. “You won’t like what I did, anyway.”
He leaned over to see inside the bowl. “You think I won’t like the Whoppers, chocolate syrup, and bear cookies?”
“You won’t.” She laughed, kicking her leg out when he tried to grab the bowl again.
Logan snatched her calf. “Give me some.”
“Why?” She took another bite. “Go make your own.”
“Um, I would, but you put the entire carton of ice cream in here.”
“I didn’t get it all,” she said, tilting her head and making chocolate dribble down her chin.
“Yeah, bitch,” came Ryder’s voice as he waltzed in with his own bowl. He smirked, taking a big ass bite. “I told you already, all the food in my house is mine.”
Logan flipped him off as he made to get off the bed. He’d just go to the basement where Ryder kept his good desserts and take what he wanted.
“Don’t leave yet.” Ryder walked around, sitting beside Janie. He peeked at her bowl and tried to take her cookies. “Babe, I’ll give you some marshmallows, but you took all the cookies.”
“Where were the marshmallows?” She snatched the bag Ryder had. “Quit hiding ’em.”
Ryder laughed, wiping her chin.
Logan rolled his eyes when the fucker smirked at him and licked his fingers. “Keep smirking at me and I’m going to assume you’re imagining that was my chin.”
“Whatever, bitch.” Ryder then gave him a serious look. “They intercepted a letter at the center.”
Logan went on full alert, darting his eyes to Janie, who seemed just as surprised. It had been five months since he’d seen Kylie there. His dad kept him informed about the status of the guards and passed along that Kylie was doing better every day. Maura was too, just slower than Kylie was.
Ryder huffed, setting his empty bowl aside. “They addressed it to Kylie. It had this address for the return.”
Logan waited. “Well?”
“It was pictures.” Ryder pulled out his phone and tossed it to him. “Of you with Janie, of course.”
Logan rubbed his head as he flipped through them. There were pictures of them in Logan’s new car, of him picking her up from school. Then some of them at the grocery store, the park, and them swimming. “How did they get these?” He kept going, cringing when there was one of him riding Janie’s horse . . . with Janie in front of him. It was because he wasn’t good at riding, but she wanted to, and Ryder was even standing at the back gate with Luc discussing things. The last pictures were from the same day, them out in the pasture behind the mansion. She was asleep with her legs on Logan’s while she had her head on Ryder’s lap. Of course, Ryder wasn’t the focus. Logan’s hand on her leg was.
“Nick thinks they used drones.” Ryder put an arm around Janie as Logan handed her the phone.
“That’s not fair—we are never that alone. They cut out everyone else,” she whispered, swiping through them. “Holy shit! We’re having sex.”
“What?” Logan almost fell off the bed.
Ryder laughed. “She means with me, dumbfuck.” He kissed her head. “Babe, you just went on my camera roll; those are mine.”
Her face flushed, and Logan’s heartbeat slowed as he said, “I don’t even know why I thought that would be a current photo.”
“Because you’re a moron,” Ryder said, taking the phone. He stared at it, grinning as Janie hid her face.
“Focus.” Logan got off their bed. “Does Kylie know?”
“Finally calling her by her name?” Ryder let out a dark laugh.
“Shut up.” He paced back and forth. He’d been purposely not speaking her name around any of them because it still hurt to have her dismiss him when he’d gone to see her. It was for the best, but after seeing her in a different light—her protecting Maura and seeking out Lorelei—she was human. There was a glimpse of the girl he had thought she was—his Little Hood—and it was difficult to separate the image he’d developed of her as a liar, as Janie’s Big Bad Wolf. Part of the girl he’d attached to was real. “So does she know?” Logan asked.
“Yeah.” Ryder let out a deep breath. “She didn’t see the pictures, but she knows they were of you two. She’s angry they’d use this against her because she knows it’s to get Lorelei and Maura. She sees that they’re skilled enough to get in this close, and she doesn’t want anything happening to them.”
“So what are we doing?” he asked. “Increasing their guard?”
“Nope. They’re coming here.” Ryder checked the time on his phone. “In one hour.”
✦✦✦
Kylie glanced out the window, her erratic breathing the only sound filling the SUV. This was a mistake. Why did she agree to go live at Ryder’s? Janie and her pack of Wolves were there. The Godson brothers . . . and Logan.
“Are we going to stay together?” Maura asked quietly.
Damon King turned his head, smiling at her. “Yes, little one. Ryder has arranged his largest guest suite for you three. It’s more of a small apartment. There are two rooms, a shared bathroom, and a sitting room.”
Maura’s hand closed around Kylie’s. “So Kylie gets to stay with me?”
Kylie calmed, smiling at Maura. “I told you I won’t leave.”
Lorelei grabbed Kylie’s other hand, squeezing it gently. “We can make up an excuse to keep you in the room for however long you’d like.”
“I don’t want to go there and be a chicken,” she said, breathing in and out like Gabriel taught her. If she focused on ten deep breaths, she’d have time to think before saying or doing something stupid. “I’m going because it’s best for you and Maura to be there. I don’t want anyone to be Trevor’s or Kevin’s victims, or to be used to get any of us. Logan said he was training with Janie the last time we talked. I want to face her.”
Damon gave Kylie a questioning look, and she smiled at the bastard. “Not the way you think,” she said.
“She’s not your enemy,” he reminded her.
“I know she’s not.” Kylie closed her eyes as the letters in her bag flitted through her mind. She’d taken to reading them almost every night. They were comforting, in a way. Janie wrote about Logan a lot, but it was nice to finally understand all the depth to them. It helped ease her awa
y from the perfect image she had of Logan. It helped her see how being so wrapped up in the idea of Logan Grimm had blinded her from the truth, and had fueled both of them to further hide their pasts.
Yes, the past was the past, but it shaped you. When someone ran from their past, like she and Logan did, you eventually collided with the truth in the most disastrous way. And Janie was the part of Logan’s past that he was trying to cope with, trying to heal and salvage what was good—the parts worth all the pain. Just like she was with Maura and Lorelei.
Kylie focused on Damon again. “I want to prove to her she was right about me, but also that I changed. I don’t want to see her burn. Ryder once told me she’s meant to glow. I’m curious to see what the hell that’s all about.”
A smile ghosted Damon’s lips. “Very good. You’ve finally accepted your faults and realized what was not her fault. So what do you intend to say to her? What do you intend to say to Logan, as you will see he has become an even bigger presence in her life since you were together?”
Kylie swallowed the painful lump in her throat. It settled next to her heart, but she could breathe again when Maura and Lorelei squeezed her hands. “I think I need to see them together, actually. I need to see him find peace with the pain between them. If anything, I can offer support because they deserve to heal and see each other happy, however that might be. I wished for it. It would be cool to see it come true. She’s his peace.”
He let out a proud sort of chuckle. “My, you found your path after all.”
She laughed, letting go of Lorelei’s hand so she could rub away the tears trying to build. “I hope so. I don’t know if I’m actually on it yet, but I feel like it’s right there waiting for me.”
✦✦✦
Holy crap! Kylie had forgotten how massive the Godson estate was. They were still rolling along the long driveway that stretched all the way to a gate where two men and two enormous dogs waited. Guards. If that wasn’t crazy enough, the men freaked her out because they spoke in a foreign language to Damon, and they wore black masks, hiding all but their black eyes. They took a long look at Kylie, not saying anything, and Damon had harshly told them something which resulted in them using the dogs to sniff the vehicle. Even the dogs looked like wolves, gorgeous but frightening.
It made sense Ryder would be on higher alert, but she had no idea it was so intense around them. Then again, Janie had nearly died, so maybe it wasn’t so unexpected.
“We had the treatment center armed more heavily than this,” Damon murmured as they got closer to the house.
“But I didn’t see gigantic dogs or this many guards.” Kylie gestured to the men walking with guns around the yard.
“You still assume too much. They were there, unseen. Now we have the luxury of returning with most of those men to ease the demand here. We left some behind just to make sure the treatment center doesn’t receive any sort of attack.”
That was good, Kylie thought. Lorelei had become close to some of those women. Kylie and Maura never got on too serious with anyone else, but it wasn’t pleasant to think about any harm coming to them.
Maura sat up, practically pressing her face against the window. “It’s Ryder.”
Kylie pulled her back, though she peeked out too. Ryder was there, beside Logan and Lance Grimm. Janie wasn’t in sight, but maybe that was for the best. “Maura, remember he’s with Janie.”
She waved her off. “I know, but I still can’t let go. I feel something around him, and there’s just a need to be acknowledged.”
“Yeah, he’s hot as hell. I think everyone wants him to acknowledge them.” Kylie let out a nervous laugh when Lorelei shook her head, amused. It was still so weird to realize she’d always had a mom that loved her. “But he doesn’t care for anyone but her.” She didn’t want Maura feeling the way she felt about Janie.
“Yeah, I know. I want to thank him, though. I never said thank you.”
The vehicle stopped, and Kylie held her breath as Lance Grimm walked to Maura’s door. Since she was sitting between her and Lorelei, she’d slide out behind her. So at least she wasn’t the first one out.
Lance greeted Maura first, smiling as he took her hand to help her out. He was reaching for Kylie before she had time to process everything. “Take a breath, Kylie,” he said, patting her hand.
She didn’t reply, but she took his hand and allowed him to get her out. Oh, boy. Logan was standing like Ryder, their arms crossed, not inviting.
It didn’t deter Maura. She waved at Ryder like he was a rock star. “Hi, Ryder!”
Shocking the hell out of her, Ryder gave Maura a brief wave in return—and he smiled. Holy shit.
Logan chuckled, walking forward. First, he stopped to shake Maura’s hand and properly introduce himself. Then he was in front of Kylie, looking like chocolate cake to a girl on a diet. “Hey,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“Hey.” Kylie didn’t know what to do with her hands, so she clasped them in front of her.
At least he looked just as nervous. He couldn’t quite meet her eyes, and his tanned cheeks kept turning pink. “The teams are having lunch inside. We’ll take you to your room to settle in. But you’re welcome to come meet the Wolves.”
Kylie shook her head. “I’m all for getting settled and not crashing in on wolves when they’re eating.”
He grinned, stepping aside to grab two bags being handed to him by Damon and the driver. “They won’t bite.”
I’ll let you, though. Kylie had to look around to make sure she hadn’t blurted that out. Thankfully, no one was laughing at her, so she snatched Maura’s hand and dipped her head low as Lance, Ryder, and Damon grabbed all their belongings.
“Come on,” Ryder said, walking ahead of everyone.
“It’s like a fairytale castle,” Maura whispered as they reached the front door.
It really was. It was a mixture between a French château and different styles of castles. You could tell they had added here and there, but it was beautiful.
Ryder looked over his shoulder. “I wanted my girl to have her fairy tale. I made sure she got her castle. She just likes all different types. So I’m always remodeling. She found out she’s mainly Spanish, Native American, and French—a little Greek and Italian too. So I’m trying to get a piece of each to show her this is my castle for her—my queen of every land and realm. My goddess.”
Maura’s expression was laughable, which clearly amused Ryder as he chuckled before passing through the main entrance and headed for a curved staircase.
“It’s beautiful, Ryder,” Kylie said. “To give her everything like this. Does she glow yet?”
His eyes actually flashed emerald as he cast a glance over his shoulder. “She’s flickering.”
“Good,” she said, watching him nod and turn forward. Maura gaped at her too, but Kylie shrugged and peeked behind her, smiling when she saw Lance walking beside Lorelei. It was going to be weird as hell if her mother ended up with that man.
Once they reached the landing, Ryder nodded to the right. “My family, Lykos, and Logan stay in this wing.” He lifted his chin to a shorter hall. “You will be there with Damon and Lance on each side. Many of the Wolves and a few Knights stay in the far wing—so you’re surrounded. Protected.”
“We only get Damon and Mr. Grimm?” Maura asked.
Damon raised an eyebrow at them, but he said nothing.
Ryder passed them, taking them to their room. “Damon and Lance are among the best. You’ll also have shift guards outside your room, and if I feel you need extra guards, you’ll have them.” When he got to the second door, he dropped one bag and pulled out a key, unlocking the door. “Your keys are inside. You must lock the door when you enter and leave. Make it a habit. The guards share one key so there isn’t a chance of one getting lost.”
He shoved the door open and entered, scanning the space. “Don’t let your guard down, okay? The house is full of protection, but Kevin’s trained to infiltrate places like this.
And Trevor’s insane.”
Ryder watched Kylie hug Maura when she tensed at the name. He didn’t react when Lorelei joined their embrace, but he was observing everything.
“Thank you, Mr. Godson,” Lorelei said gratefully.
He nodded, walking to a sitting room and placing the bags he had on the floor. Damon, Logan, and Lance followed his lead.
“One room has two beds,” Ryder said, pointing behind him. “The other has a king-sized bed, and you share a bathroom.” He snatched up three keys from the table. They each had a red ribbon around them, like a necklace. “Keep these on you at all times and don’t forget what I said—lock the door. I have redone your balcony to keep anyone from entering, though you can escape from the inside, if needed.”
Kylie rubbed her finger across her key. It was vintage, like one you saw in old movies, and each had their own unique bow design.
“You can stay in your rooms as long as you like, or you’re welcome to explore the house. Just stay out of my wing unless you’re invited. But I have a gym, an indoor pool, horse stables, and a gun range. You’ll be escorted everywhere, especially outside, but your room is where we’ll leave you to yourselves. Oh, and Janie has a dance studio by the gym if any of you want to do that.”
Maura perked up. “What type of dancing does she do?”
“Ballet,” he said with a sad smile. “She stopped after the rapes. I knew she danced, so I made it for her. Tercero’s been helping her dance almost daily the past six months.”
“Kylie used to dance ballet,” Maura informed him, grinning. “I wanted to, but I—” she quieted, losing her smile.
Ryder stared at Maura, no reaction as usual, but he patted Maura’s head like she was a child. “Then maybe they can teach you when you’re not training.”
Kylie’s eyes widened. She stopped dancing when her dad died. She hated doing it, but he insisted she do something graceful. Now Kylie realized it was an excuse to get her and Lorelei out of the house so he could be alone with Maura.
