Chapter 32
ELIAS
We’re on the road a week later, heading west and leaving Graves County behind for now.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” I murmur to Jules.
She’s at my side, reading a book. Even though she has her own clothes now, she’s still borrowing mine. Seeing her in my boxers and T-shirts does things to me that probably aren’t recommended while driving a large vehicle.
Her eyes dart up to mine, then focus on the road. Where mine should be too, but fuck, she’s so beautiful I keep glancing her way.
“Yeah.” She sighs. “I’m sure. Not being around when it happens is safest for us.”
It being the impending deaths of her uncle and cousin, carefully arranged by my brothers and me to occur once we’re clear of the county.
“We’re always very hands-on with our revenge,” I state redundantly. She knows. “I’m still worried it won’t bring you the same sense of closure.”
Jules’s hand lands on my thigh, and my cock instantly takes notice.
“It might not make sense, but the real closure was seeing my parents after all these years. Seeing that they’re still assholes and deserve whatever’s coming to them because of my article.”
I click my tongue, struggling to keep my eyes on the road when her voice carries that note of vulnerability. Do I want to scoop her up and comfort her? Yes. Does the predator in me want to exploit it, make her cry as she surrenders to my dominance? Hell yeah.
“I understand, Little Sapphire,” I say instead of acting on my baser needs. I take her hand in mine, keeping one on the wheel. “Nature dictates parents should protect us from harm. Nurture us. Be our safe haven. When they do the opposite… it fucks with you.”
She chuckles wryly. “Well said. Aren’t we a pair? Do you…”
I glance at her to see her hesitating, her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Do I what, baby?”
“Do you know where your father is?” she finally asks.
A smile stretches my lips. It’s not one of the genuine grins I’ve gotten used to quickly since she came into my life. It’s the mask I’ve been putting on ever since I can remember.
“You’ll meet him soon, Jewel,” I hum. “Very soon.”
She twists and pokes my side, the book on her lap snapping closed.
“Is he next?” she asks with a mix of curiosity, apprehension, and relish.
“Just a couple of stops down the line,” I answer.
Anticipation hums in my veins. Silas and I have been planning on killing our father since we were kids. All these years, we’ve practiced, honed our skills, getting ready to get revenge on the Prophet that hurt us more than any other.
“Will you tell me about him?” Jules asks quietly after a moment.
I look at the cars passing by our convoy on the other side of the road. Normal people. Normal families.
“His name is Malachi Voss, and he was the leader of the commune we were born into.”
Jules gasps, her fingers clenching around mine. “I don’t remember seeing his name in the files.”
“Silas likes to keep them with him,” I explain. “He has a large bone to pick with that devil.”
“What did he do to him?” she breathes. A quick glance reveals wide brown eyes and a slightly parted mouth.
A bitter smile stretches my lips. “I’m sorry to disappoint my reporter, but that’s his story to tell, Jewel.”
“Alright. That’s fair,” she says. “How about your story here? Will you tell me that?”
I blow air out of my nose, gathering my thoughts. What do I tell her that won’t add to her nightmares?
“Our father always had the final word. Sure, there was a council, but I think that was just to appease egos and give Prophets something to strive to achieve.”
“A vanity position,” she supplies, and I nod.
“That’s right, Jewel.”
I bring her hand to my mouth and place a kiss on her fingers. The action grounds me in the present.
“If you think being the leader’s sons spared us from anything, you’re wrong,” I continue bitterly. “We were always the cult’s whipping boys. If there was an example to be made, we were volunteered.”
We’re quiet for a while, the engine and the road under our tires the only sound in the cabin. I never had to share my past with anyone before. The only people who mattered lived it with me.
“You said your mom died soon after you were born…” Jules says after a while. “But what about Silas’s mom? What happened to her?”
My fingers tighten around Jules’s until she makes a muffled noise of protest.
I wince. “Mm. Sorry, baby.”
“It’s alright,” she says cautiously. “You don’t have to tell me.”
I pull into the empty lot where we’ll set up camp for the next couple of weeks, leading the convoy behind me.
It takes us a day to set up shop—a perfect opportunity for what I have planned for my girl tonight.
Everyone but her knows about it, and it’s a miracle she hasn’t noticed the way the crew has been eyeing her all day.
As soon as I engage the handbrake, I turn to face her. Finally, I can pull her into my arms and take her mouth like I’ve been wanting to since we hit the road.
“That’s a part of Silas’s story,” I say belatedly. “You’ll have the opportunity to ask him once we start planning dear ole dad’s demise.”
“Alright,” she concedes with a soft smile. “Want to eat my pussy while the crew works around us?”
Growling, I pull her into my lap, my cock already half-mast from our kiss and my constant fantasies about her. I barely get my hands under her borrowed shirt when there’s an insistent knock on the driver’s side door.
“Hey! Fuck later. There’s work to do, slackers!”
Grumbling, I tear myself away from Jules’s lips, resting my forehead against hers. We’re both still breathing heavily, and I’m definitely going to have blue balls.
“I’m going to hit him with a stake mallet,” I mutter, picturing Cole’s eyes rolling into the back of his head while he slumps over, passed out. It barely soothes my temper.
Jules giggles. “Nah. You’d regret it.”
Debatable.
“To be continued, Little Sapphire,” I promise her.
Her eyes sparkle with lust. “I can’t wait.”
I can’t wait either. She has no idea the show she’s going to put on tonight.