Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THE HEATHEN
Iwalk into the bedroom where Carter and Knox sit talking, and they abruptly stop when they notice my presence.
“That’s not suspicious at all.”
They both glance at each other, and I can see it. A decision has been made, and they aren’t going to tell me what they were talking about.
“If I’m here for my safety, then tell me what’s going on. No secrets. I’m a big girl, and I can handle it.”
“Heather,” Carter warns, but I know they’re keeping something from me.
“Carter,” I say in response.
“No secrets. I don’t need to be protected. I need the truth.”
Knox clears his throat, looking at his brother nervously.
“Who is Noah?” he asks, and I stumble back, his question feeling like a punch in the stomach.
“My brother.”
I drop my eyes to the floor, unable to look either of them in the eye. It’s bad enough for them to know about my father. Now they’re seconds away from finding out my brother had sex with me. I already know Knox’s next question before he opens his mouth to speak.
“Did he-“
“Yes. Why are you bringing him up?”
Knox gets up and goes to the door, opens it and yells.
“Killian.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I sigh audibly when he comes into the bedroom. As it is, I’m apparently spending the night with him. I just got away from him, and here he is again. Killian is the last person I want to discuss this with.
Carter notices my tension and attempts to calm me down.
“Heather, we are all involved. Kill needs all the information as well.”
I know Killian is in charge of pretty much everything, and I trust there’s a valid reason for it.
“Fine. But he used my past against me before, so you can’t expect me to be comfortable around him.”
Killian swallows hard and averts his gaze, his expression drenched in guilt.
“You’re right, but I won’t ever again. All decisions will be made together. Knox and Carter have burner phones. I do not. The reason is that you aren’t the only one who doesn’t trust me—rightfully so.”
I look at Knox and ask, “What do you want to know?”
He motions for me to come sit on the bed between him and Carter. I walk over and sit between them, and Knox takes both of my hands in his.
“Eyes on me, Tesoro. Pretend it’s just us here. Who is Noah?”
Digging my nails into his palm, I breathe out a shuttered breath. The mention of his name alone is painful.
“My brother. Why are you asking me about him?”
I glance over his shoulder and spot Carter’s clenched jaw. I’m not sure why, but I like it when he’s like this. Having someone angry about what they did to me is validating.
“We are in constant contact with Butch. He works for us and is the person who found out you were in the asylum. Noah has been on our property. He said he was worried about you, but he told Butch he was your boyfriend.”
A gasp escapes my throat as my heart races, and it’s difficult to breathe. This is the effect Noah always has on me—sheer terror.
“Tesoro?”
My eyes snap back to Knox.
“Well, he isn’t my boyfriend. He is the Prophet's favorite, especially as he has gotten older. Noah does the heavy lifting, so-to-speak.”
Killian stares at me, and I turn to him and see his pained expression.
“What do you mean by heavy lifting, Killer?”
I clutch onto Knox as if I’m dangling from a cliff and he’s the only thing keeping me from plummeting to the earth.
“A lot of different things. Noah is a skilled fighter and killer. He can handle anything. If someone crosses Jedediah, Noah handles it. If a girl won’t cooperate, he will hold her down for the Prophet or punish her himself.
Anything Jedediah can’t physically handle, Noah takes care of, including burying the ‘ungodly.’ Noah and John Steve are the ones hiding him. I’m sure of it.”
Killian stands just inside the room and drags his hand down his face, his eyes filled with worry. It’s interesting to see him so concerned because he always seems so calm and collected.
“Are you sure they can’t find us h-here? If Butch is threatened, he might tell them. They will kill not only me but all of y-you.” I stammer as it becomes harder to breathe, making me feel like I might pass out.
Killian steps closer and gazes at me with an expression I can’t read.
“They won’t find us. Butch will die before giving them any information.”
I shake my head in disagreement because I’m not sure that’s true.
“What about that other guy? Snake? You killed him because he betrayed you. People you trust can do the unimaginable. How can you know Butch won’t do the same?”
Killian moves in front of me and kneels on the tile. He presses a hand to my cheek and stares at me with so much pain in his gaze.
“You are safe, Killer. I will not allow anyone to harm you. I can’t explain how I know we can trust Butch—we just do.
He has never given us a reason not to. If he betrayed us, you’d still be safe.
I cannot take back what I did before, but I can tell you that won’t ever happen again. I will gladly die to protect you.”
I raise my gaze to his and stare at him, his words causing utter confusion in my mind. This is not the Killian I know.
“Did you have a personality transplant?”
His lips pull up into a lopsided grin, and it’s far sexier than I care to admit.
“No, Killer. I’m just done pretending that I don’t want you. That I don’t care about you.”
With a wink, he says, “I have some things to do, and then I’ll be counting down the hours for our date.”
He rises to his feet, and I blush as his brothers stare at me with matching shocked expressions.
“Date?” Carter asks, sounding surprised but not angry.
“Remember the pool bet? Well, this is him cashing in on my debt.”
Knox arches a brow before shaking his head.
“Is this consensual? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
I shrug my shoulders and glance at him, and then Carter.
“It’s one night. I don’t think it’ll change things between us like he does, but I’ll be fine. Are you both okay with it?”
Carter chuckles softly.
“Always so worried about other people. We are fine with it if you are. You know the rules. There are none as long as it’s one of us.”