WITSEC

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

The party was in full swing. A bunch of Keelan’s friends, some employees who worked at the gym, and Ethan and Isabelle had all shown up. People were in the pool, including the twins and Ethan. Isabelle was sitting by the steps with her feet in the water, laughing at Ethan’s antics. Some people were sitting around the firepit, which wasn’t lit because it was hotter than Hades out. Keelan was standing next to the pool with a small group of friends, talking, smiling, and drinking beer. Knox and I were working next to each other in the outdoor kitchen while Micah supervised us from where he sat on one of the four bar stools that bordered one side of the kitchen, drinking a beer.

“You don’t like melon,” Knox said as he flipped burgers on the grill.

“I know,” I said as I continued to cut up a melon for the fruit salad I was making.

“Then why are you adding it?” he asked.

“Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean other people don’t like it. I know you and your brothers do,” I said, holding out a piece of honeydew.

He eyed it with a frown, then took it from my wet fingers and plopped the whole thing in his mouth.

I returned to cutting. “Plus, it adds a pop of color to the fruit salad.”

“And why is that important?” Knox asked.

“When something is appealing to the eye, people are more inclined to eat it,” I explained.

“I couldn’t agree more, gorgeous,” Micah said, taking a sip of his beer with a sly grin.

Knox shot Micah a look, the corner of his mouth tugged upward.

Did he…he wasn’t talking about food. “I swear, you Stone boys really love to make things dirty.”

Micah’s pretty eyes flicked to me and he gave me this smirk that was purely male. “That’s because we Stone boys know a good time is better spent being dirty. Hell, the dirtier the better, in my opinion.”

The way he said that made my heart race a little.

“But you probably already knew that, seeing how you’re dating one,” he said with a wink.

Heat traveled up my neck to my cheeks. Micah went to take another drink from his beer, but paused as he took in my reaction.

I tucked a wisp of hair behind my ear and went back to cutting.

“Or maybe you don’t know,” Micah mumbled.

“That’s enough,” Knox said, his tone full of warning.

Micah put his hands up.

I had two more slivers of melon to cut left. Laughter caught my attention and I glanced over at Keelan. He and his friends were laughing. Two in his group were a couple. The guy was standing behind his girlfriend with his arms around her.

“It’s so hot out, we should just jump in,” I heard him say to her.

“I need to change into my suit first,” his girlfriend said.

I focused back on cutting.

“They’ll dry,” I heard him say.

I was slicing the rind off from the last sliver when an ear-piercing scream came out of nowhere. Fear surged through me like lightning and penetrated my soul. I jumped and pain ripped across my palm. I looked down. Blood leaked from my hand onto the cutting board. I looked at the chef’s knife clutched in my other hand. The blade had blood smeared along the tip. With fear already overwhelming me, I couldn’t stop myself from being pulled to the dark corner of my mind—the place I tried to avoid with all my might.

I could see them.

I could see their bodies.

There had been so much blood. I could still smell it. Pennies. Dirty pennies. Each inhale I took, my lungs constricted, refusing to take in the tainted air.

Wanting to escape, I took a step back, then another.

“Shiloh?” I heard Knox say.

“What’s wrong with her?” I heard Micah say next.

I couldn’t see them.

I couldn’t tell what was real.

“Shiloh?” Knox said again.

I sensed someone stepping closer. My entire body shook, thinking it was Mr. X. I tried to suck in just a little bit of air and ended up gasping. “It’s not real,” I forced out. Tears leaked from my wide eyes. I couldn’t close them. I hated what I was seeing but was too scared to blink.

“That’s right. It’s not real. You’re standing right here with me.” Knox’s voice was so close to my ear.

Then I felt a presence behind me. An arm wrapped around my middle and a hand grasped me around my wrist. I startled and struggled to get away.

“It’s me. I have you, Shiloh.” Knox’s voice pulled at me like a tether to home.

“Knox,” I whimpered.

“I’m right here with you,” he said against my ear. I could feel him. I could feel his chest against my back, his breath tickling my neck.

I’m safe. Taking a leap of faith, I closed my eyes. Even with them closed, I could still see my family. My mother’s eyes were open and staring right at me. It’s not real.

Hands cupped my cheeks. “Breathe, baby girl. You gotta breathe.”

Keelan.

My tight lungs relaxed, allowing me to suck in delicious air, and I opened my eyes. Keelan was right there, staring down at me. “That’s it,” he said.

As I continued to pull air in and out of my lungs, my gaze traveled past Keelan. Micah was standing behind him, watching me—watching us—with wide, worried eyes. I looked to the hand that held my wrist tightly. I wondered why Knox’s grasp was downright bruising, but I got my answer when I saw that I still had the chef’s knife clutched in my hand.

Keelan’s eyes followed where I was staring. He dropped a hand from my face and put it around my fist. “Give me the knife.”

I uncurled my stiff fingers, and the moment the knife was gone from my hand, my knees gave out. “I’m sorry.”

Knox’s grip around my middle tightened and he held me. “It’s alright.” His voice was gentle.

A sob ripped from my chest. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know. It’s alright,” Knox said as he moved his arm behind my legs and scooped me up in his arms. “I’m going to get her cleaned up. Take the food off the grill and get Colt or Creed to help clean up,” Knox said in a low voice.

“I’ll help him,” Micah said.

Knox didn’t protest. He moved, carrying me toward the back door. I rested my head against his shoulder, numb or in shock. I couldn’t really tell.

“Shi?!” I heard Creed yell, followed by splashing in the pool.

“She’s fine! Both of you come over here and help me!” Keelan shouted.

Once inside, we passed Stephanie. She watched us walk by with a scowl. Knox carried me down the hall that led to his and Keelan’s rooms. We passed a few closed doors until we came to the end of the hall, where one last door was. Knox opened it and we went inside. It was obviously his bedroom. It was large and full of light. I only got a quick glance, but from what I saw, there was an espresso bedroom set and white linens on the bed.

Knox took me into a connected bathroom and set me on the counter. He flicked the light on and ripped a towel off the rack next to the shower. He grabbed my hand gently and turned it palm-side up. My entire hand was pretty much covered with drying blood. I sniffled as I wiped at my wet cheeks with my other hand.

His gaze shot up to meet mine. “Does it hurt?”

“I’ve been cut worse than this.”

“That’s not what I asked,” he grumbled.

“No. It doesn’t hurt.” I could barely feel it compared to everything else I was feeling.

He wet the towel in the sink and began wiping away the blood around my cut.

“I could have hurt you,” I said.

“I was more worried you’d hurt yourself.”

“Better me than you.”

“Don’t say shit like that,” he snapped and threw the towel in the sink.

More tears slipped from my eyes. “I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you.”

He stared at me with a pained expression. His hand lifted from his side and cupped my cheek. With my good hand, I touched the back of his as his thumb brushed away a tear rolling down my cheek. I leaned into his palm, desperate for comfort. He must have sensed it because his hand moved behind my neck and he pulled me to him. I laid my forehead against his chest and closed my eyes as his fingers began to knead up the back of my neck to the base of my skull.

It felt so good, I couldn’t hold back from groaning. I hadn’t realized how tense my entire body had been until I slowly started to relax against him. My eyes felt heavy. It would have been so easy to drift off, but panic began to build inside.

I pulled away from him, sitting up straight. He gave me a pensive look as I gently pushed his hand away from my neck. “I’ll fall asleep if you keep doing that.”

“You could use some sleep.”

“It’s Keelan’s birthday?—”

“He would understand.”

I stared down at the cut on my hand. It went straight across my lifeline. “Do you think it will scar?”

He sighed through his nose. He knew I was changing the subject, but for once he didn’t call me out. He shook his head. “I don’t think it will.” He moved toward the door. “Keelan has a first aid kit in his bathroom. I’ll be right back,” he told me before leaving.

I looked around. He had a nice, modern bathroom. The vanity had a white marble counter and the cabinet beneath was espresso. The glass shower had black subway tiling and shiny silver fixtures. The only con to his beautiful bathroom was the lack of a tub.

I rubbed my forehead, feeling embarrassed. I hoped I hadn’t ruined Keelan’s birthday. I was trying not to let my insecurities win. I tried not to listen to them or think about how much of a crazy mess Knox probably thought I was.

Feeling a headache coming on, I slid off the counter and left the bathroom to search for my purse. I was pretty sure I had a small bottle of painkillers in it.

As I walked into the living room, heading toward Colt’s room on the opposite end of the house, Stephanie stepped in my way.

Just by the sneer on her face, I knew I wasn’t going to like what was coming.

“You’ve been playing the ‘little broken girl’ act well,” she said.

I frowned. “What?”

“I think it’s really pathetic, but when you’ve got nothing else to entice with, I guess desperate measures are needed.” She sighed dramatically. “I can’t believe you’ve got Knox fooled. He’s pretty good at sniffing out bullshit. I guess jailbait pussy can make even a man like Knox overlook shit.”

The bigger person would have walked away. I had been good and let her get away with treating me poorly multiple times. Kill with kindness , as my mother would have said. For a split second, I’d debated taking the moral high ground, but then she’d brought Knox into it. “I thought I had nothing else to entice with?” There was nothing I could do about the irritation in my voice. My patience with her had tapped out. “So which is it? Am I pretending to be a little broken girl or am I only holding their attention with my jailbait pussy?”

Her face tightened up with anger.

“I get that you have a thing for Knox, but you’re a grown-ass woman,” I snapped. “Get control of your jealousy and stop trying to tear me down because of it.”

“You’re right. I am a woman,” she seethed, stepping closer. “And Knox is a man. You’re just a girl still in high school.”

Well, that added to the list of crap I shouldn’t have been insecure about. I’d told myself I wouldn’t compare myself to her when it came to her flawless beauty. I didn’t, despite all my nasty scars. However, I’d never thought I would have to worry about age. Knox had said he didn’t see me as a child, but that didn’t change the fact that Stephanie was closer to Knox in age. I hated how much that bothered me.

“Shiloh,” Knox’s grumbly voice sounded from behind me.

Stephanie looked past my shoulder and took a step back with a megawatt smile. “Knox, I didn’t see you there. I was just checking on your friend.”

I glanced over my shoulder, finding Knox standing a few feet behind me. He had bandages clutched in his hand. His schooled expression made him appear calm. The fury burning in his eyes told me differently.

“Checking on her?” he said, giving her a puzzled look that was almost genuine.

Stephanie flicked her pretty blonde hair off her shoulder. “Yeah.”

“What did she say?” he asked her.

Her smile dimmed a little. “What?”

Knox moved closer, stopping to stand next to me, his gaze never leaving Stephanie. “You said you were checking on her. I assume she told you how she was doing. What did she say?”

“Oh—uh,” she stammered, her smile completely gone. “She said she was fine.”

Knox looked at me. The way his searing gaze bored into my eyes made me feel exposed—like he was reading everything I was feeling like a book. “She doesn’t look fine.”

Stephanie briefly glanced at me. “I suppose she doesn’t.”

Knox’s signature frown surfaced as he looked back at her. “Maybe she’s putting on a bullshit act?”

I watched the blood drain from Stephanie’s face.

“Not that it matters to me,” he said, his tone turning cold. “Apparently all I care about is what’s between her legs.”

Panic filled her wide eyes. “Knox?—”

“Don’t bother,” he snapped at her. “I heard everything.”

“I—” she started to say.

“You should leave,” he cut her off again.

Hurt molded her features and a tiny part of me actually felt bad for her. She barreled past us, storming toward the door. She barely slowed to scoop up her purse that was on the table next to the couch. We both stood there, in silence, watching her exit until the front door slammed behind her.

“Where were you going?” Knox asked, the icy rage still lingering in his voice.

“I feel a headache coming on and was going to see if I had medicine in my purse.”

“I have medicine in my bathroom. You should have stayed put,” he snapped.

I turned to face him fully. “Are you mad at me for not being psychic?”

Keelan chose that moment to come inside from the backyard. He looked from me to Knox, reading the tension, and wisely stayed quiet.

Knox ignored Keelan and glared down at me. “No. I’m mad about what just happened. How long has that been going on?”

I sighed and walked away into the kitchen.

“Shiloh?” Knox pushed, following me. “How long has Stephanie been treating you like that?”

“Stephanie?” Keelan said.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Knox said to him.

I grabbed a glass from one of the kitchen cabinets. “A while,” I answered as I filled my glass with water from the fridge.

Knox cursed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

I took a small sip. “I sort of tried. When you confronted her, she lied to you. You believed her. So I let it go.”

“Damn it, Shiloh. Now who’s wanting who to be psychic?” Knox snapped.

Touché.

He pointed to his side of the house. “Get your ass back in the bathroom,” he said, anger straining his voice. “While I bandage your hand, I want you to tell me everything that has happened with Stephanie.”

My hackles rose at being ordered around.

He seemed to notice. “Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder.”

I was tempted to see him try.

“One of these days we should have you two spar,” Keelan said, reminding me that he was there and breaking the tension. “You may have Shiloh beat on strength and size, but she’s quick-thinking and has a lot of stamina.”

“Well, you know what they say.” I smirked at Knox. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Taking my water with me, I walked past them and went back to Knox’s bathroom.