Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
KNOX
Last night sucked for both Carter and I.
Neither of us were upset about her spending time with Killian, but fuck, we missed her.
While we still aren’t sure where things stand with our brother, we won’t stop her from exploring things with him, even though he used their bet as leverage.
She admitted to having feelings for him, so we know it wasn’t about that.
Heather willingly spent the night with Killian.
Carter places the orange juice on the table before grabbing the rest of the food. He’s spent the last two hours preparing everything, including the coffee she doesn’t start a single day without.
Finally, the two of them come out of the bedroom. Kill's arm is around her waist, and I can’t help but notice the radiant glow to her skin. She looks stunning until Carter announces his spread of food.
“Coffee, orange juice, eggs, bacon, fresh strawberries, bagels, and donuts.”
Her face goes from rosy and vibrant to pale in an instant as her breathing visibly accelerates. Much to my surprise, it’s Killian that tries to calm her.
“Get rid of the fucking donuts.” He growls at us, his voice coming out loud and booming before becoming quiet with Heather.
Carter and I share a glance, not understanding what’s happening, but he throws the donuts he made from scratch into the garbage.
“They’re gone, baby. I’m guessing they didn’t know, but none of us will make that mistake again.”
I figure out quickly that donuts are a trigger for her. I’m not sure why, but it doesn’t matter, I just wish we had known. One look at Carter tells me he’s berating himself for making the fucking donuts when he didn’t know either.
Fuck. I should’ve asked.
Given her past, I should have found out if she had triggers.
I exchange another glance with Carter as Heather wraps her arms around Killian and sobs into his chest uncontrollably while he rubs her back in gentle circles.
I shake my head at Carter, signaling for him to stay where he is when I spot him, nearly climbing out of his skin to get to her.
Something happened between them last night, and she’s seeking comfort from Killian.
If that’s what she needs, we cannot intervene.
I’m in a difficult situation because I can visibly see how much pain Carter is in because of hers.
I motion for him to come over to me. Once he’s close enough, I express my thoughts.
“She’s okay. Heather turned to him for comfort. That means he is what she needs right now.”
He nods his acceptance but says, “It fucking hurts seeing her like this. I want to take away her pain and fix whatever is wrong. You probably don’t get it.”
I fight back my laughter at the last part of his statement.
“Carter, that’s exactly what Kill, and I felt for years.
We wanted so badly to take the anguish you felt from you.
I know it was terrible to go through, but watching you deal with the aftermath was excruciating for us.
We can be there for her while she moves through things, but we can’t take it away. I fucking wish we could.”
Killian releases her, and she turns to us and walks over while wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Carter asks before I get a chance.
She places her hands behind her back and nods.
“I’m okay. We talked a lot last night about everything, including my past, and I think my emotions are still raw. When I saw the donuts-”
Heather laughs, but it’s not sincere, it's filled with shame I wish she didn’t have.
“I know. It’s the stupidest thing to send someone into a spiral.”
Carter leans down, kisses her softly, and reassures her.
“No, it’s not. Running water used to trigger me. How crazy is that? I’m guessing donuts are part of your past, like water torture was for me.”
Killian looks at me in shock, and I feel the same, but I try to hide it away.
This is the first time Carter has ever said anything in front of us about what he went through.
I know Killian sees what I do. She is so fucking good for him.
I think Heather is good for all of us, but her bond with Carter, the way she makes him feel safe in a way we never have been able to, is not a small thing.
“Can we eat? I’m starving.” Heather blurts out impatiently. I’m tempted to tease her and ask if she worked up an appetite, but decide against it. I don’t want her to feel ashamed when she did nothing wrong.
I motion to the table, and we all walk over and sit down.
Carter hands her a cup of coffee, and she takes it with an appreciative smile on her face.
I watch Killian make a plate with fresh fruit, a bagel and bacon, but no eggs.
I’m surprised because normally, especially with a fight coming up, he’d only eat eggs.
He hands the plate to Heather and I allow my smile to come through.
This is how I know he has feelings for her because he was obviously paying close attention to her to know what she would want and what she wouldn’t touch.
“I trust you had a good night, Tesoro?” I ask as I pile food onto my plate.
The blush on her cheeks is immediate.
“Yes, we talked a lot.”
I don’t point out that we know they didn’t just talk, considering we heard her cry out in pleasure more than once.
It wasn’t a problem, but we did wish it was us.
There is a camera in his room, but we turned it off to respect their privacy.
Well, I turned it off even though Carter wanted to watch.
He is a little more like Killian in that regard.
Heather eats her fruit, and Kill gets her more strawberries, her favorite.
“Butch called.” I say, and both Heather and Killian stare at me, waiting for me to say more.
“Your opponent has been chosen. I’ve never heard of him, but his name is Gabriel, but goes by the name Grave.”
Heather trembles as she speaks low to Kill.
“I know him. You can’t go through with this fight. Please, Killian. Don’t do this.”
He shrugs his shoulders and shoots her a stern look.
“I have to. I’m sorry, Killer.”