This Blood that Bonds Us (This Blood that Binds Us #4)

12. Twelve

Twelve

Kimberly

“I should talk to him.” Aaron eyed the door Presley left through.

We’d settled on the couch in Vera’s cabin, which was covered in various patchwork quilts. The heat from roaring fire radiated through the room.

“Give him space.”

“I don’t like him talking to you like that.” The black crowded Aaron’s irises again, so I reached for his hand.

“He can’t help it. It’s the blood making him . . . different.”

“Well, I’m not mean to you.”

“No, but more than occasionally, you are in danger of killing innocent people.”

He nodded, finally softening. “Right.”

“It’s hard on you both. The blood confuses you on top of your own grief. Try to give him grace.”

“I’m terrible at this.” He squeezed my hand. “I’m so thankful you’re here.”

“You just started. Give it some time.” Aaron kissed my cheek, then my neck. I forfeited a breath. Something tightened in my stomach, and I fought to refocus at the sudden warmth in my belly. “Don’t thank me yet. We need to figure out how to find The Legion, and I don’t have any ideas yet.”

Aaron looked down for a moment while tracing over my knuckles with his fingers. His eyes lit up a few seconds later. “We do know how they found us last time. You went to the hospital.”

“For an animal bite.”

“Exactly. They had to be looking for specific things in police reports. Kilian must have connections to get that kind of information. You know, my mom works at the hospital . . . maybe we could stage something that would get their attention.” Aaron glowed with enthusiasm at his new idea.

“Okay, so they find us, and then what? We have to make sure we’re prepared. Give ourselves an out, in case . . . they aren’t friendly.” I didn’t blame Presley for not believing in the plan. There was a good chance it could be a disaster, but it wasn’t just the best option because of resources, it was the fastest one. Every day the twins spent in that place, worried me more. I’d been there for Luke’s panic attacks, and I’d seen the look of silent desperation and fear in both of their eyes when Akira showed up to take them.

“What if we went to the city to do it?”

“Do you think your mom would be able to help us with something like that? Maybe go with and make sure we can actually get out of the hospital once we go in. She could make the police report.”

“Only one way to find out.” Aaron’s smile grew wider. It was good to see him smile again.

We were scheming once again. We’d started long ago in the parking lot of a grocery store in Blackheart. Only now, the stakes were much higher than before and we had no safety net. No one would bail us out and burst through the church doors to save us. It was the three of us—and one of us wasn’t on board with the plan.

Presley never mentioned it, but I think, like Aaron, he had a lot of guilt surrounding Thane. I’d assured them both more than once there was no way we could have known. Will didn’t even know, and he’d known him the longest. We all wished things had gone differently, but we had to move forward, and I was confident finding The Legion was our only way to find their brothers.

Everything was blue. It was on the accents of the porcelain dishes as I set the table, the linen napkins, and even the little numbers on the cabin doors of the village. That color was a poised ink stain on our bright canvas turning everything that had once been bright yellow, muted and murky. Even the sunrise was mostly gray and covered in clouds.

“Kimberly, do you want to start chopping the vegetables for the salad while I cut up the meat?” Vera asked beside me.

“Yeah, of course.” I’d offered to help in the kitchen because I wanted to get to know Vera better. Plus, Aaron needed some time alone to talk to Presley. He wanted to try to get him on board with our new plan. We would ask for Vera’s help tonight, and it would be easier if Presley agreed.

Vera clearly knew what she was doing as she pulled the meat from the butcher’s paper and plopped it down on the cutting board. I watched intently as she cut away at the fat with quick, clean precision.

She noticed me watching and smiled. “We’ll use it all. I’ll show you. If you want to get started, you can chop the onion and julienne the carrots.”

“Right.” I grabbed the carrots and rinsed them thoroughly under the water. I didn’t know the first thing about how to cut carrots. The only cooking I’d ever done was in my dorm room microwave. Though I once had a foster mom who liked to bake, it wasn’t my thing.

I grabbed the knife and carrot with determination and only a little intimidation. Julienne must be a special kind of cut . Suddenly, I’d wished I’d watched more cooking shows so I knew what that meant. I brought the knife down to cut. Did I need to peel them first?

“Are you okay, hun?”

I must have been staring at the cutting board for longer than I thought.

“I-I just don’t really know how to cook. No one ever taught me growing up.”

“Oh. Don’t worry. I can show you. My mom is the one that taught me everything.”

“Were you close?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. Not when I was younger, though. I moved away at eighteen and lived in Texas. Which is where my mom was from, but she moved to Brooklyn for a job and loved the city. When she got sick, I moved back. We put down our grudges, and I, of course, got pregnant. We moved in together. She helped me at first when she could, but her health declined quickly. I ended up taking care of her and my boys. Their father wasn’t much help. She died before Presley and Aaron were really old enough to remember her. And Luke and Zach, they didn’t know the real her . . .” She bit her lip and paused cutting the meat. “I’m sorry. I’m talking your ear off.”

I smiled because I could see where Presley got his enchanting stories from. Presley could make anything into an elaborate story, and I loved being his listening ear.

“No, I want to know.” There were a lot of things I wanted to say. One being, she’d created the most important people in my life. I needed to know more about their family. “Their . . . dad, what was he like?”

“He was very charming. But his mouth got him in trouble. He drank too much. He’d spend all our money. I thought I was in love, so I kept giving him more chances, and he wasn’t worth any of them.” The corners of her lips tugged upward. “My mom begged me to have the boys keep our last name. She never married either. It was her father’s name, and she was so proud of it. I was stubborn. I almost didn’t listen, but when the day came in the hospital, I signed their birth certificates and gave them the Calem name. Their dad protested, but I never regretted it. Now I really don’t.”

I couldn’t imagine him. I wondered if he was tall like Luke or dark haired like Zach. How he’d been able to give up his family over and over again, especially this one, I’d never understand.

“What about you . . . Does your mom know about all this? You don’t have to answer if that’s too personal. I just wondered if she’s out there worried about you. It sounds like my boys are the main culprit that pulled you into this, so I can’t help but feel a little responsible.”

“I don’t have a mom. I was put in foster care when I was four years old. She abandoned me. I just say I don’t have one. I aged out at eighteen.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You don’t have to worry. If you need anything, you have me. But I won’t try to mom you. Don’t worry. I’ll try not to, anyway.”

“I don’t mind,” I said with a smile. The boys had her smile, and I couldn’t help but stare. I was in awe of her and her warmth. She had an aura about her that made me want to sit with her a little longer, like I wanted her to teach me things.

She dried her hands after scrubbing them with soap and water. “Okay. So, you julienne carrots for things like salads or spring rolls. What you want to do first is clean them—you did a lovely job, then we’ll peel and cut them into little strips.”

I nodded while watching her work. Every cut was confident and sure.

“Luke must have learned everything from you.”

Her jaw feathered. “Yes, he was my little chef. Luke loved to soak up all the knowledge I could give him. He even did the dishes after.”

“You must miss them.”

“Oh, so much. All I want is for them to be home and safe in my arms again,” she said with a tight-lipped smile.

I followed her lead, cutting the carrots as she’d instructed.

“You don’t have to be perfect here. Lord knows I’m far from it. I’m not a perfect nurse, and I’m not a perfect mother.”

“The boys talked about you a lot. They missed you . . .”

“When I first arrived, I was afraid I talked all my neighbors into hating me. I talked about them so much. I never imagined they were partying in some frat house in California. Honestly, it’s better than I imagined. That’s where you grew up?”

“Yeah, I was fortunate to stay in the area and continue college there. I loved it.”

“What do you want to do?” she asked.

“Oh, I haven’t thought about it for a while . . . I just wanted to graduate.” It all seemed so far away. I’d hardly allowed myself to think about it since the fire. The fact all my credits were null and void since I was technically dead to the world, I’d have to start over if I went to college again, but I’d just be happy to be alive this time next year. “I couldn’t decide on a major that felt right.”

“Well, think hard, what do you want to do? If you could do anything.”

“I like to hike . . . I miss hiking.”

“There you go! You could be a park ranger. Won’t have to worry about your age with that. We have parks here, but you could move around.”

“That’s what Aaron said.”

“He’s smart sometimes.” She winked at me. “I already told him I thought he’d be great running a dog daycare or even as a dog sitter. He always loved animals. But maybe now he’ll want to find something else to do with his time. He’s grown up a lot.”

I smiled at that thought. It was something I hadn’t let myself contemplate. What happens when we’re finally free? I’d gone through the odds. Getting Luke and Zach back wouldn’t be easy. And even if we did, that battle Kilian talked about was imminent. This would end in blood either way, and as much as I wanted to believe my side would win and come out unscathed . . . our odds weren’t great. If they were, Kilian would have attacked long ago.

Maybe that’s why the absence of them filled us all with so much grief. We may not know what went on in The Family, but we knew they were powerful and would not let the twins go easily.

What if we won? Then what would we do with all that free time? I smiled thinking of it, deciding that was the thought I wanted to focus on the most, and hope fluttered in my chest.

“Here, let’s pull your hair back so it doesn’t get in the food.” Vera handed me a clip from her hair.

“You don’t have to. I can go fix it in the bathroom.” I tried pushing the pieces framing my face behind my ear.

“Nonsense. What’s mine is yours.” Vera smiled.