Chapter 3 #2
We had nothing compared to what I’d built with Silas. He wanted to bait me into conversation, but I wouldn’t give him that. Instead, I walked over, grabbed a pillow, pulled the top layer of his blankets off and made myself a bed on the floor.
Alec watched me, then let out a heavy sigh as he slid into his bed, muttering, “Not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”
I screwed my eyes shut, facing away from him as the hard floor bit into my hips. A very low time in my life had provided me with little options and a gaping hole I needed filled. I had never had sex with Alec, but he did hold me for one very lonely night.
He promised he’d never speak of it, and that was fine because in the end, I had.
“You don’t need to remind me. That was the worst night of my life.”
The silence in the room was a comfort. Tears burned the backs of my eyes as hope seemed to flatline in my chest. I was supposed to be home by now…if there even was a home left to return to. I wondered how Pen was doing, how baby Connor was…if he got hurt during the blasts. If Silas…
A hot tear leaked through my lashes as I inhaled a shuddery breath.
“Did you tell him…” Alec asked, breaking into the silence, “about that night…does he know that it was me?”
A smirk curled my lips as I turned over on my side and looked up at him in the bed. His arms were tucked behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.
“Yes, I did.”
Alec’s face quickly turned toward me. “Yet I’m still alive…explain that.”
“It was the only concession he’s ever made. He was the reason my heart broke…it was complicated, but he understood the reason I had done it. Besides, he knew I’d never let another man fuck me. If you had, you wouldn’t be alive.”
He laughed while letting his arm fall to the floor, dangerously close to my blanket.
“You assume he could kill me. You doubt my skills, Artie. I spent more time with my father than Silas did.”
“True but you’re forgetting Silas was also raised by Sasha and she’s a different breed of monster.”
Alec’s smirk slowly fell away as his arm returned to the bed, tucking back behind his head.
“That is true…I had no mother worth remembering, but neither did you, so we’re similar in that way.”
I turned on my back, staring at the ceiling wishing again that this bad dream would end.
“We’re not the same, Alec.”
The darkness came in and with it, a tiny bit of planning. Once Alec fell asleep, I had a chance to escape.
His chuckle invaded the dark like a nightmare.
“Why aren’t we the same, Artie?”
There was a light that shifted near the window, and it made me wonder if someone was keeping post outside. A tiny ping in my gut told me I should try to get close to Alec just to get information, but he was a record played and shattered years prior, and not anything I wanted to start up again.
There was also the vow I made to Silas that terrible night I had confessed what I had done.
That I had fallen asleep and was held by his brother.
I had never seen Silas broken until that night, and I vowed I would never again do that to him.
Not with anyone, no matter how long it took Silas to come back to me, or how isolated I became.
I turned on my side again, wincing at how hard the floor felt under me.
“She became my mother too. While I had them both, you only had the one monster.”
The blackness in the room amplified as did the sounds of Alec’s breathing until he was softly snoring. The light outside the window made another pass, and I timed it to every twenty-three minutes. Someone was keeping post. Likely several people.
My options were slim, but I felt like I had to fully investigate all of them if I were ever going to get out.
Slipping out of the soft blanket, I cursed Fable for taking my shoes and padded lightly to the door. The lock slid easily to the side and the door opened without a single sound.
Out in the hall was nothing but shadows and darkness, being illuminated by the random flashlight beam through a window.
I stepped into the hall and gently closed the door behind me.
I veered back toward the direction I had come from earlier.
The kitchen would likely be my best bet, as the space would have an exterior door for deliveries.
There were a few doors down the hall, all of which were closed, so I kept to the side of the wall while searching for any movement. I made my way toward the dining room, passing the table and chairs, and placed my hands against the swinging kitchen door right as a hand came over my mouth.
“I’m not going to hurt you, but we have to stay quiet.” The voice at my ear was feminine.
I nodded against her hand then felt it fall away.
I couldn’t see her in the dark, but I felt her hand on my elbow as she pushed ahead of me into the kitchen.
We walked until we were tucked away inside a pantry.
A click sounded overhead, and Rachel came into view.
She wore the same clothes she had on earlier, her hair still braided back and her eyes still alert… and oddly familiar.
“We don’t have much time before Fable is done with his women.”
I watched as Rachel moved around the small closet, pulling on the lid to a large white bucket.
“Here, these are where your boots are being kept. When the time comes, you’ll need to know where to go to get your things.
I’m leaving a backpack in here too; it will have water and food.
You’ll be on foot for at least three days. ”
“Wait, I don’t understand.” I moved with her, tucking my frizzy hair behind my ears. Hope inflating my chest so much I thought I might die.
Rachel paused for only a second, her green eyes assessing me heavily.
“You’re on the outskirts of Rockland, which is a few hours by car from Rose Ridge. There are five scouts outside during the day and only two during the night, which is why you’re going to have to wait to make your escape until we can be sure no one is watching.”
I turned with her, confused and elated all at the same time.
I had so many questions and I felt like she would just disappear the moment I asked one.
I wasn’t even sure which one to ask first. What was Fable’s plan, how come she was with him, what was Alec’s part in all this.
Why was he doing this now? What was his plan for me?
I settled on, “Why are you helping me?”
Rachel paused, and the way the small light illuminated her eyes nearly had me frozen in place.
I knew those eyes. I watched them come alive for the first time when Laura arrived at the club all those months ago.
I watched them as they adjusted to becoming president and mourned during Simon’s funeral.
“You’re…” My mouth opened and paused before realizing I had already asked her a question and she was about to answer.
“I’m who?”
I shook my head. “Why are you helping me?”
Rachel took a step closer. “What were you going to say?”
My voice was nearly a rasp as I glanced behind me at the door, knowing our time was limited, and if I was wrong, she might decide I wasn’t worth helping.
“Are you related to Killian Quinn? You have his eyes.”
She looked as though I’d slapped her. Her eyes flickered, her mouth gaped, and she backtracked into one of the shelves.
“Do you…” she started, but had to clear her throat. “Do you know him?”
“Very well actually…he’s the president of the Stone Riders. He’s also my friend.”
Tears tracked down her face as she tried to laugh, but it came out as a sob.
“He’s good then, like you’re good?”
My heart nearly broke in half as I realized this was Killian’s mother. His long-lost mother that he had loved so very much.
Stepping closer to her, I gently reached out for her hand and held it tight. “He’s very good. He found happiness and love. He’s happy.”
Rachel sobbed again and pulled me into a tight hug. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted for him. To be good and happy. To find love.”
I had no idea why she had decided to leave her son all those years ago. From what Laura had told me, she left him when he was just nine years old. Killian’s dad went to prison shortly after, so he was raised by Simon Stone.
There was a buzzing sound coming from her pocket. She pulled back, swiping at her face while inspecting her cell.
“It’s Fable. I need to get back. Listen to me, Natty.
” She pulled me by the shoulders and leveled me with her teary-eyed stare.
“You need to wait this out for a few days. Fable doesn’t have a plan for you; he just wants to keep you here until he’s ready to face off with Silas.
He knows it will mess with his head and force Silas to react rashly.
He’s likely going to take pictures of you with Alec and try to force Silas to act first. So, wait it out, see if you can get Alec to aid you. ”
I shook my head. “He won’t.”
“You have to try. Fable is leveraging his hold over the Sons of Speed. If he doesn’t have them then he’s not strong enough with just the Destroyers.
Especially if you say Killian is the president now of the Stone Riders.
Silas has the Death Raiders…Fable will be too outnumbered.
He has to take the Death Raiders from Silas, it’s his biggest play. ”
“But why?” I shook my head not understanding why he just popped up out of nowhere after all these years and suddenly wanted power.
Rachel’s phone buzzed again, and she clicked the light off, plunging us into darkness.
She whispered briskly, “Watch the patrols, lunch will be the safest, or early near six when they trade positions.”
“Come with me,” I whispered back, but she was already opening the door and slipping out.
I bit my lip, knowing I had to be quiet. Rachel slid out of the kitchen, leaving me behind. I grabbed a few cookies from the pantry and then snuck out behind her. I was nearly to Alec’s door when it suddenly swung open, and a pair of angry gray eyes greeted me.