Pay the Price: A Dark New Adult Romance

8. Daisy

Istood under the hot spray of the shower until it turned cold, making a mental note to install the biggest hot water heater I could find when I tackled the house’s mechanical upgrades.

The thought stopped me cold. How could I work on the house with the Beasts now that I knew they’d killed Blake?

The answer was simple: I couldn’t.

I grabbed a towel and sighed as I pressed my face to the fluffy cotton. I would never take simple pleasures for granted again.

I dried off and used the blow-dryer on my hair, something I rarely did, because after ten days (turned out, that was how long I’d been missing), I just wanted to be warm and dry.

The hum of it together with the sound was a kind of white noise that allowed me to push the events of the past few hours to the back of my mind. There was a lot to unpack — about my kidnapping and my dad, about my betrayal of Blake by the three men who’d killed my brother — and I was more than happy to set it aside.

I didn’t know much about the rescue itself, only that the Beasts had gotten a tip, and the Kings — along with some guy named Rafe and a couple of his men — had agreed to help get me out.

Right now, it was all I had the bandwidth to know.

I finished my hair and walked to my room, then pulled on my favorite lavender tracksuit and a thick pair of socks.

I felt almost human, and I sat on the edge of my bed and considered my options.

First, what I wanted to do. That was easy, I wanted to lay down in my bed, pull the covers up to my chin, and sleep for a year.

Then, what I had to do: leave.

Because if I slept in my bed, if I acted like it was okay for me to be in the same house with Blake’s killers, it would be too easy to stay. And there was no way I could do that.

I was past the point of delusion. It had been okay when I didn’t have proof, when I’d been trying to figure out if the Beasts had really killed Blake.

But now I knew. Staying wasn’t an option for any reasonable person, and I was still reasonable enough to count myself as one.

I told myself I didn’t want to leave because I was tired — it was even partly true — but deep down I knew there was more to it. Knew it was because of the Beasts, three men who’d watched over me, rescued me from my dad’s henchmen.

As soon as Otis had burst through the door at the dam, I’d felt safe. I’d been pissed and still hurt by the knowledge that they’d killed Blake, but I’d known from that moment forward I would be okay.

And the truth was, I’d felt that way ever since they’d moved into the house. I’d felt unsafe in some ways too — mostly because of my traitorous body — but I’d felt physically safe, protected in a way I’d never felt behind the walls of my dad’s mansion.

Leaving felt wrong, especially after being kidnapped and held prisoner, but I couldn’t stay.

I forced myself to get up and move. I packed a bag with my toiletries and some clothes, then threw in my knitting for good measure. I doubted I still had a job at Cantwell, but I couldn’t think about that now. I filed it away with all the other things I couldn’t think about just yet, including how to deal with my dad.

When I’d packed all my stuff, I zipped up my bag, then stuffed my feet into the comfiest shoes Jace had left in my closet, a pair of black suede boots that did nothing for the lavender tracksuit but had an almost-flat heel.

The Beasts were in the kitchen when I got there, huddled around the old table and nursing cups of coffee, talking in low voices.

Wolf looked up when I stepped off the back stairs. “Hey there, sunshine. I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

His voice was laced with an uncertainty I’d never heard before. We hadn’t talked about the elephant in the room — Blake’s murder — when we’d raced through the woods, piled into Benji, and made our way back to the house.

We’d been too worried we might be followed, that some of my guards had survived the firefight and might come after us. And anyway, what could the Beasts say?

They’d killed Blake. They’d admitted it. Had gone to prison for it.

I was the one who’d been delusional enough to make excuses for them.

Stupid. I’d been so, so stupid.

Now Otis’ gaze dropped to my bag. “Where are you going?”

“To Cassie’s.”

Jace’s mouth was set in a hard line. “You can’t leave.”

“I can,” I said. “I am.”

“Don’t be stupid. We can’t protect you anywhere else.”

The insult wormed its way through the numbness that had started to settle like a heavy blanket over my psyche. “Stupid was inviting you to live here. Stupid was thinking I could I trust you.”

Stupid was thinking you hadn’t killed Blake.

The last sentence stuck in my throat. I couldn’t even get the words out. Saying it would make it more true.

Yeah, I know. I was all kinds of fucked up.

“We never lied to you,” Otis said.

“You didn’t tell the truth either.” I looked at Wolf. “And I guess when you said no more secrets you only meant me.” He didn’t respond, but I saw the pain in his eyes “Anyway, it’s not up for debate. I’m an adult. I’m leaving.”

“We’ll go.” Wolf’s voice was heavy with sadness, a match to my own. “This is your house.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want… I can’t be here.”

Here was where I’d gotten close to Wolf and Otis, where sparring with Jace had started to feel like fun.

Herehad started to feel like home, and nothing was more dangerous than that.

Jace stood. “We’re not letting you— ”

I was already glaring at him (letting me?) when Wolf spoke. “Let her go.”

Jace cursed. “Her dad fucking kidnapped her. Held her prisoner.” I’d managed to tell them that much — that my dad had sent Calvin to grab me at the end of the driveway. “We’re going to let her waltz out of here unprotected?”

“What do you care?” I threw the words at him, the only ones I knew would land since he’d made it clear he hated me. The nerve near his eye twitched, but he didn’t say anything. “Exactly.”

“At least let us drive you,” Wolf said. “Please.”

I didn’t want to give in to the desperation in his voice, but the thought of driving into town alone, knowing Calvin might already know I’d been rescued from the dam, wasn’t appealing.

“I need my car.”

“One of us will follow you in the Mustang,” Wolf said. “We’ll leave it at Cassie’s.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay. Otis can drive me.”

I saw the hurt flash in Wolf’s blue eyes before he tucked it away with a nod.

Otis stood and reached for his keys.