Chapter Twenty-five
S he lays still, not a single muscle twitching; her lashes don’t flutter, her brows don’t move. If I couldn’t see her chest rising and falling, I’d think she was dead.
She’s been like that for a few minutes now, lying on the couch after passing out because she wasn’t breathing.
“Hold it to her head,” Savannah demands, directing me with the cool washcloth as I press it to her forehead, “Let her breathe.”
“Fuck, Savannah,” I grumble, “Just give it a minute.”
I have questions. So many fucking questions. The response to my abrupt entrance was instantaneous. I saw it play across her face, fear, panic, which resulted in her anxiety attack that led to this. If I hadn’t been quick enough, she’d have face planted the floor.
“What happened to her?” I demand from Savannah.
“That is not my story to tell,” Her spine stiffens, “You don’t get to demand it from me.”
“Does Killian know?” I ask.
“No,” She swallows. “No, he does not.”
A secret to take to the grave.
“What happened, Dean?” Savannah asks, “Why’d you come in like that?”
“You know,” I remove the cool cloth from her brow and push away the damp strands of her hair, “What we are. Who we are.”
“Yes,” She breathes. “I know.”
“Well, that life and this life have just crossed paths.”
“Is she in danger?” Savannah demands.
“Yes,” I answer honestly.
My front door opens suddenly, and Killian barrels in, Sebastian and Malakai behind him. They look between me and her, passed out on the couch.
“Did you tell her?” Bast asks.
“No,” I sigh, “This is something else.”
I see Killian pass a look to Savannah, but she diverts her attention to my daughter in her arms, giving her, her finger to play with. Whatever this is, is big enough that Sav is keeping it from my brother. Her loyalty is admirable, even if it frustrates the shit out of me.
“What do we need to know?” Malakai asks Sav with a bite to his tone, earning a scathing look from Killian.
That’s the thing about us as a group. We will go to war for the people we care about, that we love, even if it is against the very people we call family.
“Do not,” Savannah snaps at him, “You may command your council meetings, but you do not command me. I am not your subject.”
Killian steps up next to her.
“Richard fucking Taylor is trying to take us down, he’s targeting our own. This is no time for secrets.” Malakai says.
Savannah simply shrugs like what he just said isn’t a big deal at all. “Sloane isn’t part of your circle.”
“Yes, she is.” It’s me who snaps back, unable to hold my tongue.
Her blue eyes whip to me, “What?”
“She is,” I repeat.
Savannah blinks, struggling to understand.
“Like you are,” I explain, “Like Olivia and Willow. She is. She is because she is mine .”
“Does she know that?” It’s my brother who asks.
“Not yet,” I sigh, stroking back her hair, “But she will.”
“Need I remind you that Dean was shot only a few days ago,” Malakai continues, “This will keep happening. We all heard what Kurtis had to say. Richard has a mark on her and if she’s hiding something, it’ll only come back to bite us all.”
“She has a mark on her!?” Savannah gasps.
“I need you all to fuck off,” I growl from between gritted teeth, “I’ll handle it.”
“You need to tell her,” Killian grips my shoulder, “Maybe if you give her your story, she’ll give you hers.”
I laugh silently. Un -fucking-likely.
I don’t see any of them out, not that they expect me to.
What can they expect from a man who has chosen solitude as their main way of living?
But since Sloane, since she’s been in my house, looking after my daughter, sealing her presence into the walls and into the fabric that binds my soul, I have found the isolation far too cold.
I’m craving the warmth, but only if it is from her touch.
I continue to stroke her hair as she remains sleeping on the couch until Lily begins to fuss in the swing chair Sav set her in. Leaving Sloane, I go to my daughter, touching her gently on the cheek before I head to the kitchen to ready her bottle and wash my hands.
In all of the chaos, I haven’t once thought of Seline or where she might be. She is of no importance anymore, and there is no way she’ll ever have access to Lily again. I’m not against second chances until the choices that are made put my daughter at risk.
With her bottle ready, I head back to the lounge, but Lily isn’t where I left her. Sloane holds her, cradled in her arms, as she sings a lullaby to her to help soothe her.
“You’re awake,” I stop short.
But she just shrugs simply and looks to the bottle in my hand, “Can I take her to bed tonight?”
She’s still pale, her eyes bloodshot, and I can see the tremor in her body, the very slight quake that belies her fear. “Of course. Are you staying again?”
“You need help.” She turns back to my daughter, so I cross over to her and hand her the bottle. I watch her, trying to figure her out, but the puzzle just isn’t coming together. She sits on the couch and positions Lily, guiding the bottle to her mouth.
“Sloane,” I lower onto the couch beside her, “I need to talk to you.”
“You have questions,” She sighs, “I see them all over your face.”
“I do,” I admit.
“How do I know I can trust you?” She flicks her eyes to me, the color of them so intense right now they look almost neon.
“You don’t,” I force myself to remain still, curling my fingers into my palm so I don’t reach for her. “A truth for a truth.”
“My secrets keep me safe,” She replies.
“I will keep you safe,” I vow to her.
“Too many people have said that to me, and they’ve always let me down.”
“That’s because they aren’t me, Butterfly.”
Her lips tip up at the sides in some kind of soft smile. “A truth for a truth, then.”
There’s a resigned tone to her voice, like she’s exhausted and every word is a physical exertion, tugging her down.
“I’ve never claimed to be a good man, Sloane.
” Her eyes lift to mine, a knot forming between her brows.
“I’ve done bad things, criminal things that would frighten you if you knew them.
” As if the blood is still there, her eyes drop to my hand, where the splatter of blood was.
“I continue to do bad things because that is who I am. But I would never do bad to you.”
“Who are you really, Dean?”
“I work for an organization that hires mercenaries out to the rich. We own killers, Sloane, release them to the world for money. I have hacked government databases and wiped entire records clean. I can get into anywhere, can be anyone online, and I do that for the men I call family. The basement, it is my base, where I live and breathe.”
“Did you look me up?” She swallows, her voice shaking.
“I tried,” I admit, “I found nothing.”
“Have you killed people, Dean?”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill someone today?”
“I did.”
Her eyes bounce between mine, and her throat bobs as she swallows hard. “Who?”
“The man who shot at us on the street.”
She nods slowly, “A part of me knows I should be afraid of you. I’m afraid of everyone else, but you?” She laughs, but it holds no amusement. “You’ve never scared me, and I think that only scares me more.”
“Why are you afraid?”
“Someone tried to kill me.” My body’s reaction is instantaneous, my blood goes white hot, and everything quietens until nothing is left but the roaring inside my ears. “Before I came here, back in my hometown… I didn’t know until it was too late.”
“Didn’t know what?” I somehow manage to keep my voice level, the rage pumping through me hidden just beneath the surface.
“I was being stalked.”