Chapter 23
Kat
Wren, bless her, chose that moment to swerve violently, sending us all lurching to the side. “Whoops! Sorry, folks. Thought I saw a pothole.”
I shot her a grateful look, knowing full well she’d done it on purpose to buy me time.
“Look,” I said, straightening up and meeting Declan’s eyes. “I promise I’ll explain everything later. And as much as I hate to admit it, Rory might be onto something with the Nevada plan.”
Connor leaned forward; his brow furrowed. “I don’t know, Kat. A biker bar in the middle of nowhere? Sounds like the perfect setup for a bloodbath if Volkov’s men find us.”
“Trust me,” I said grimly, memories of my past flooding back. “They won’t find us. And if they do... well, let’s just say they’ll be in for one hell of a surprise. ”
Rory’s eyebrows shot up, a mix of intrigue and concern on his face. “Darlin’, I think you’ve been holding out on us. What exactly are we walking into here?”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I was about to say. “You all know about my career. Only Rory knows why it ended. And for now, I like to keep it that way. But what happened is, why the bar... is a front. It’s a safehouse for domestic abuse and human trafficking survivors. Five years ago, my mother got sick. Derek was running the place up until my career ended. After I recovered, I took it over, and that’s when we turned the basement into a safe house.”
“We?” Connor asked, his voice coming out squeaky.
I let out a shaky breath. “Liam, my grandfather’s second in command. He helped me set it up.”
“Why would he do that?” Declan asked, his gaze never wavering from mine.
“Because of what my grandfather was involved in. He had no clue, and like me, he was sickened by it.”
The car fell silent as the weight of my words sank in. I didn’t miss the look that Rory and Declan exchanged, right before Declan spoke, his voice low and dangerous.
“Katrina George, you’ve got some serious explaining to do.”
I looked at Rory. “You know that my maternal grandfather was Knox Lachlan.”
There it was again, that look that Rory and Declan exchanged before Rory slowly nodded, “Uh, yeah.”
“Well, he was—”
“The Clan Captain for Salt Lake City,” they said in unison.
I looked between the two of them, wondering what the hell was going on between them. “Yeah, Salt Lake City.”
“Go on,” Declan said.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the flood of memories I’d tried so hard to bury. “That night... It was a wake-up call.”
The car fell silent, tension thick in the air as everyone’s eyes but Wren’s focused on me. I could feel Rory’s gaze burning into the side of my face, but I kept my eyes fixed on the road ahead, lost in the past.
“I was barely seventeen,” I continued, my voice just above a whisper. “I’d been training with my grandfather for years, learning the family business. But I had no idea how deep his darkness went until that night.”
I closed my eyes, the vivid images flooding back. The oppressive silence of the mansion. The flickering shadows cast by the fireplace. The sickening smell of whiskey and cigar smoke that always clung to my grandfather.
“He’d been drinking heavily, more so than usual. I found him in his study, surrounded by ledgers and stacks of cash. But it wasn’t the money that caught my eye. It was the photos.”
My hands clenched into fists, nails digging into my palms. “Young girls and boys. So many of them. Some couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen. And the look in their eyes... God, I’ll never forget it.”
I heard Wren’s sharp intake of breath, but I couldn’t stop now. The floodgates were open.
“I confronted him. Demanded to know what the hell was going on. And he... he laughed. Said it was just business. That they were assets, nothing more.”
My voice hardened, rage seeping through. “I lost it. Screaming at him that I could be those girls in the photos.” I felt a tear slip from my lashes as I looked at Rory. “Do you know what he said to me?”
He shook his head, as his hand draped around my shoulders, rubbed my upper arm.
I squeezed my eyes shut as my grandfather’s words echoed in my mind, and I repeated them aloud word for word. “That can be arranged, my dear.”
“Sick fuck,” Rory muttered, his hand tightening on my arm.
I nodded grimly. “Exactly. I don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was rage.”
“What did you do?” Declan asked, his voice gentle.
I took a shaky breath. “I killed him with the fire poker.”
“Stop the car little goose,” Declan said.
“What?” Wren looked at him. “Why?”
“Just do it,” he said.
She pulled the car over to the side of the road, and Declan shoved open his door and said, “Rory, a minute.”
Confused, I looked at Rory, “What’s going on?”
“Nothing to worry about. I’ll be right back,” he said, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.
All eyes were glued to them as they stood outside the car .
“What are they talking about?” Connor asked, peeking around me.
“No clue,” Wren shook her head. “I would open my window, but that would be obvious.”
I had a feeling they were discussing what to do with me. Because I had just admitted to killing a Clan Captain.
Rory
“Well, it’s safe to say she isn’t here for revenge. Should we tell her?” I asked, while Declan stared up at the night sky.
“Hear me out first,” he said, shoving his hand through his hair. “Did we kill a dead man?”
“Fuck Declan, I don’t know. We were so drunk, hell we could have gone to the wrong house and wouldn’t have known the difference.”
He shook his head. “No, it was the right house… I think.”
“Hang on.” I opened the back door and looked at Kat. “Your grandfather’s house. Was it a white colonial with pillars in the front?”
She looked at me, fear in her eyes as she nodded. “Yeah, why? ”
“No reason,” I sent her a wink before closing the door then looked at Declan. “Right house.”
“Okay, so when did she kill him?”
I shrugged. “Hang on.” I opened the door again and said, “What time did you kill him?”
She shook her head in confusion. “What is this about Rory?”
“Just humor me.”
“At first, I went to bed, but I couldn’t stop seeing those faces every time I closed my eyes.” I took a shaky breath. “I got up, groggy with sleep, and went into his library. He was sleeping in his chair, so I grabbed the fire poker and beat the hell out of him.”
I leaned an arm on the doorframe. “Was there a light on, or can you remember?”
“No, it was just the light from the fireplace. Why?”
“No reason,” I smiled and closed the door then turned back to Declan.
“She was the one that ‘killed’ an already dead man.”
Declan pulled his cellphone out of his pocket as it started to ring. He looked at the call display. “It’s the hospital. Let me answer this, you tell her she didn’t kill her grandfather that we did while I take this call.”
I sighed. As much as she hated her grandfather, I hated the idea of telling her that we killed him even more.
I opened the door again, feeling like I was on some twisted game show, constantly going back and forth with information. Kat’s eyes were wide, her face pale in the dim light of the car.
“So, here’s the thing,” I started, trying to keep my voice light. “Remember how you said you killed your grandfather?”
She nodded slowly, her fingers twisting in her lap.
“Well, funny story...” I trailed off, searching for the right words. “You didn’t exactly... kill him.”
“What?” Kat’s voice was barely above a whisper.
I cleared my throat. “Declan and me, we were sent to Salt Lake City because there was a hit on him. It was our first job together... We were inexperienced and drunk. Well, we might have gotten there first.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you saying Rory?”
“We killed him,” I blurted out. “Or at least, we think we did. It’s all a bit fuzzy, what with the drinking and all. But he wasn’t moving when we left. In fact, I remember he wasn’t breathing either.”
She opened her mouth then closed it again. She shook her head, auburn hair catching the light. “This isn’t funny Rory.”
I looked to see Wren and Connor both had their eyes glued to us, with their mouths hanging open. They were no help. I sighed.
“Trust me, I’m not laughing,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “Look, we were drunk, we went to the house—”
“My grandfather’s house,” she interrupted.
“Right, your grandfather’s house,” I nodded. “And things... happened.”
Kat’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Things happened? That’s all you’ve got?”
I held up my hands defensively. “Hey, Declan would have probably told you… on second thought he would have gotten me to do it anyway. But he’s on the phone with the hospital now, something must be wrong with Tomas.”
She leaned forward, her voice low and intense. “So let me get this straight. I thought I killed my grandfather, but it turns out you two idiots got there first and did the job for me?”
I chuckled. “That’s... one way of putting it, yeah. ”
Kat let out a laugh that was more like a strangled sob. “Jesus Christ, what kind of fucked up family did I get myself into?”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Welcome to the Clan love. It’s all uphill from here. I promise.”
“Get in the car Rory,” Declan said, walking around to the passenger side. He got in and slammed his door closed. “Change of plans, we are not going to Nevada.”
“Why not?” Wren asked.
“Because that was the hospital. Dad has escaped, and they have no idea where he is. Head home.”