2. Cain
CAIN
We stop at the edge of the woods, where the forest floor turns to gravel and asphalt, and watch as the white shape with the pale, flowing hair vanishes through one of the side doors of the building.
I stare at the spot where she was a moment ago, wondering if she was an apparition after all.
It’s like seeing a ghost, in more ways than one.
I’d recognized her instantly. Even though she’s taller, scarred, and clearly a woman now instead of a girl, I’d known it was her. How many other girls have her dual-colored eyes—one pale blue and the other darker—and her white-blonde hair?
Roman clucks his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “We can’t chase her inside the building.”
“No,” Malachi agrees, straightening the collar of his long leather coat. “It’ll get reported back to the dean, and I don’t think hunting the new girl will go down well.”
I wasn’t damn well hunting her, but I let his words go.
I need to talk to her. What the hell is she doing here?
I wonder how much her friend knows. We’d left the others behind, including the girl who’d been meant to be looking after Ophelia.
She’d tried to keep up, but we lost her.
She’s probably still wandering around the woods somewhere.
I turn my attention back to where Ophelia disappeared inside the building. Why had she run?
I’d never done anything to hurt her. Never given her any reason to fear me.
Admittedly, I look a little different now.
Ophelia Sinclair.
What a blast from the past.
She’d gone missing when she was only twelve years old, while on vacation with her family to Texas.
I’d been heartbroken when I’d heard, though a part of me had also been disbelieving.
I’d always thought it had all been one big mistake and I’d just wake up one day to learn that she’d come home, and things would go back to normal.
Our families hadn’t known of our secret friendship.
Families like ours tend to be more self-contained than most. We can hardly be regulars at the neighborhood barbecues with what we do for a living.
Most people have an inkling, and you find invites tend to be few and far between But somehow, Ophelia and I found each other.
I’d come across her one day, trying to build a small dam in the stream that separated our properties. She’d been kicking at some tree branches and cursing like a sailor at only ten years old. She’d had mud up to her knees and scratches all over her arms and legs.
“What are you doing?” I’d asked her.
She’d jerked up and blinked in surprise. “What does it look like?”
“Building a dam?” I’d guessed.
“Yeah, but it won’t work. Every time I put something in to stop the water, it just gets washed away.”
I’d let my gaze trail up the bank. “You’re in the wrong spot. The water flows too fast here. You need to check for the place where the water dumps all the twigs and leaves naturally and work your way out from there.”
She’d straightened and put her hands on her hips.
I’d noted how her gaze had landed on the bruises on my arms, but she hadn’t asked how I’d gotten them.
The sun had caught on her hair, and it had been so pale in the sunlight, it had almost looked white.
I remembered thinking that she looked like she should be in a movie about elves or some other supernatural creature.
She was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.
Though she was pretty, she also didn’t seem to mind getting wet and muddy. We’d spent the rest of the day working on the dam, and when that was done, we decided our next project was going to be a rope swing, and we’d arranged to meet back in the same spot the following day.
I found myself going home that evening with a big smile on my face.
I hadn’t even cared when my father had been angry that I’d been absent all day.
It was like those hours spent with the white-haired girl by the stream was a precious stone I’d tucked away in my pocket, and every time something bad happened that tried to drag me down, I just reached inside me for the memory, and it made me smile all over again.
That had been the start of a perfect summer, and the start of our friendship.
We’d been firm friends right up until the day I’d learned she’d gone missing.
I was devastated; she’d been my sanctuary.
I’d often found myself sneaking into her room, where I’d sleep curled up on the floor.
It felt safe in her house. Her family was warm, inviting, always full of smiles.
The exact opposite of the dour, oppressive air in my home.
Ophelia had seemed like an angel to me, sent from heaven as a safe haven. She even looked angelic.
Now, by some miracle, it seems my angel is back in my life again.
I think of her face when she saw me, and my heart sinks.
She was terrified of me, and that isn’t right.
Did her fear have something to do with the scar on her beautiful face?
She hadn’t had that scar when she’d gone missing, and I can’t help but wonder what had happened.
It hurts my heart that someone so perfect has been hurt.
Had someone seen her beauty and decided to take it away? She’s still perfect to me, though.
I’d given chase on instinct, needing to look at her face, take her in, tell her that it was okay. It’s only me. Cain.
I have no idea what she’s gone through during all these years she’s been missing, but the terrified waif of a girl who ran from me now seems nothing like the mud-covered, cursing spitfire I’d met by the stream all those years ago.
Then again, I’m not the same person I was either. I’m big enough and mean enough now that no one fucks with me. So maybe her running shouldn’t be surprising.
My frustration boils inside me, and I blow out a breath as if I can release it like steam. I didn’t want her to run. I wanted her to stop. To explain to me where the hell she’s been.
To tell me that she had missed me as much as I’ve missed her.
Maybe she’s pissed because she found me gone when she returned from wherever she’s been? I hadn’t left any kind of forwarding number or an address for her to find me again. That wasn’t my fault, though.
Our families weren’t friendly, and so when we moved, we didn’t keep in touch. Even though the acres of land our properties stood upon shared boundaries, there were far bigger boundaries than that between two crime families who weren’t exactly on the same side.
“What the fuck is going on, Cain?” Malachi folds in two, his hands planted on his thighs as he regains his breath.
“I know her,” I tell him.
“Yeah, we figured out that much,” my other fellow Preacher, Roman, says with a literalness that make me want to smack him upside the head. “But where from? And why is she running away from you?”
“We knew each other as children. She vanished one day. This is the first time I’ve seen her in almost eight years. “
I still can’t believe this is happening.
Roman cocks his blond head. “That still doesn’t explain why she ran away from you. She’s obviously not pleased to see you again.”
His words strike pain into my heart. No, she’s not happy to see me.
It brings me back around to wondering just what the hell happened to her.
Could her parents have told her something about me or my family that has made her never want to speak to me again?
The thought makes me sick to my stomach.
I wouldn’t expect that of them—they were always so nice to me—but really, our families were enemies of sorts. Perhaps they did.
My mind doesn’t want to explore the other possibilities too closely. That something truly awful might have happened to her while she was missing.
Malachi rakes his hand through his dark hair. “We could probably find out what room she’s in. We could go to Mrs. Tarnowski at student reception and see if she’ll take a bribe.”
I shoot him a disbelieving look. “For one, Mrs. Tarnowski is not going to be there at this time of night, and for two, I don’t know how Ophelia will react if I just show up at her door.”
Mal shrugs. “If you guys were friends, why would she mind?”
I shake my head. “She seems different now.” I remember how much I’ve grown and changed over the years. “I guess we’re both different now.”
“Are you sure she even recognized you?” Roman asks, arching an eyebrow. “I mean, you were wearing a mask.”
“She recognized me. I know she did.”
Malachi snorts. “And that’s why she ran? Doesn’t sound like she wants to be friends anymore.”
His words shouldn’t hurt as much as they do. “She’s practically a stranger to me now,” I say, “as I am to her. Maybe it should stay that way.”
Roman agrees. “Yeah, we don’t need to get involved with some damaged girl from your past. We’ve got enough going on without worrying about her.”
Roman calling her damaged stirs anger inside me, but I force it back down.
I glance back in the direction of the Vipers’ lair. Roman has his cross back now, and the Vipers seem to be settled with the biker chick with the tattoos. “I don’t think the Vipers will be causing us any more trouble.”
“Now they’ve had their balls cut off,” Mal says with a smirk.
I think he’s underestimating the Vipers. They’re always going to be our enemies. But as long as they stay in their wing, and we stay in ours, we’ll keep the peace.
Voices come through the undergrowth behind us and two of the Devils burst into the open. Great, just what I need.
“What the hell?” Dom growls. “Why were you chasing that girl?”
He thinks he’s his father, the head of the college these days. Stupid fucker. I shake my head, not wanting to deal with him right now.
The trees sway, and another figure races into the clearing. I recognize the girl, Camile.
“Is the entire party coming?” Malachi drawls.
Camile’s brows draw together, and she shoots him daggers. “It’s not funny. Where is Ophelia? Why the hell did you chase after her?” She sucks in a shaky breath and turns her attention to me. “What did you do to her? She took one look at you and ran.”
Ouch. That hurts because it’s true and I don’t know why. I pinch the bridge of my nose, really not needing any of this.
“I know her, from when we were kids,” I say. “I have no idea why she ran, and I just wanted to talk to her.” I glare at Dom and Tino. “She’s gone inside, she’s safe, and I wish her no harm. I suggest you get back to your Duchess and the party. There’s nothing for you to do here.”
“We had to make sure she was okay,” Tino says. Out of the Devils, I hate him the least. He’s more laid-back than Dom, and less crazy than Kirill.
“Well, she is.” Malachi rolls his eyes. “And we’re turning in for the night, so you can fuck back off to the sad party.” He smirks. “Didn’t have you guys down as sucking the Vipers’ cocks.”
Tino doesn’t take the bait, he merely smirks. “You were there too, Mal.” He uses the shortened version of Malachi’s name with sarcastic emphasis. Tugging on Dom’s sleeve, he turns away from us. “Come on, D, let’s fucking go.”
He takes a few steps. “You coming, Camile?”
She shakes her head, her dark hair shining in the lights of the college grounds. “I’m going to check on Ophelia. Can you tell Mackenzie I’ll catch up with her later?”
“Sure,” Tino says, and he and Dom turn and walk back into the woods.
The minute they’re gone, Camile turns to me, all righteous indignation. To my utter shock, she pokes me in the chest.
“Leave her alone, Cain. I don’t know what your deal is with her, but you clearly terrified the poor girl, and she doesn’t need that.”
I watch Camile with something akin to respect stirring in me.
I didn’t think she had it in her. “I’ll be sure to take that into consideration, Camile.
” I don’t want to fight with her now, and I’d like it if she would go and check on Ophelia, so she’s not alone.
I could go, but she’ll freak out, and I need time to think before we speak. Time to gather my thoughts.
Camile nods once then strides toward the college.
“She’s got some balls on her,” Malachi says, obviously as surprised as I am.
I turn back to face the looming walls of the college again, my thoughts still on Ophelia, and wonder what the hell happened to my childhood friend.
Maybe one day, I’ll get her to talk to me, and I’ll find out.