Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Lucas
I didn’t really know her back when she lived here in Daringville, can’t say that I know her now, but I do remember her. My father always kept us away, shielding us from her for reasons unknown.
I saw her at the Hendrixes’ house like twice. I remember her hair, neatly divided into two matching pigtails, swaying as she walked with a lost look in her eyes. She smiled at me the first time we met, and I’ll never forget the way her smile brightened all the darkness that surrounded me. She brought hope into my life, but then vanished and was never mentioned again until she reemerged alongside Amirah. The desire to catch her and keep her by my side has consumed me completely.
With her head nestled in my crotch, her body trembling nonstop since our exit from the forest, I am determined to find a way to bring her comfort. To take her pain away and replace it with everything she desires. I have no idea what is happening between us, but there’s an irresistible magnetic force drawing me toward her that I’ve become fixated on, and after experiencing just a hint of it, I crave more. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of this girl. I want to spend every day unraveling every detail about her, like a never-ending puzzle. Peeling away each layer until there is nothing left. I’ve never fallen for a girl like this, so I’m in way too deep.
She pulls my hoodie over her shoulders, but the chill in the air still makes her shudder. Fuck. The moment she sliced the knife across his throat, her eyes burned with a deep, unsettling hatred that sent chills down my spine, but her subsequent rush of regret made me question everything. That cut me deep. That feeling—it’s like an old friend to me.
The echoes of my first kill continue to reverberate within me. Although the passage of years has made it somewhat more manageable, that initial encounter remains the most impactful. Over the years, I’ve become adept at burying those feelings of remorse deep within me. Our fathers pushed us through rigorous training designed to detach us from the emotional toll of ending another person’s life. Now that I can use it, it’s like a light switch that I can easily flick on and off. I want to give her that. So she doesn’t have to drown in the suffocating waves of pain. She wanted him gone; I saw it in her eyes. She hated him, but that doesn’t take away from what she’ll be feeling.
“Are we taking her back to her place?” Gage asks from the driver’s seat of his car, and I shake my head.
“She needs to be somewhere safe tonight and I don’t want to let her out of my sight,” I say, watching her intently. Her soft snores fill the car, and my shoulders drop.
“Father will want her there when we deliver the body,” Hazen says from the passenger seat.
“Do we have to do that tonight?” I sigh. “She needs to rest. ”
Gage catches my gaze in the mirror and frowns. “Oh fuck, Luca boy has caught feelings for the girl.”
I scoff. “She has a name, you know.”
With a laugh, Gage shakes his head but doesn’t respond. He reaches over to turn up the stereo, filling the car with music. Fucking asshole.
“Shut up, you’ll wake her,” I snap, and she stirs, pushing her head further back into my crotch. Fuck. My cock hardens and I pray it’s not digging into her head.
Gage ignores me as he pulls up to Hendrix’s manor. Guess we do have to do this tonight. Damn it.
With a gentle stroke of the backs of my fingers down her cheek, Freya lets out a soft groan. I lightly caress her bottom lip with my thumb, and in response, she sighs, her eyes flickering open. Sitting up quickly, she looks around the car with frantic eyes, but her tense shoulders gradually relax.
“This isn’t home?” She frowns.
“Nah, little thorn, it isn’t,” I say, and she yawns.
“Why are we back here? Isn’t the job done?” she asks, and Hazen turns around to face us.
“My father will want proof.”
She sucks in her bottom lip between her teeth, then nods. “Fine, let’s get this over with. Then I can find my brother.”
“We may have cleared the debt, but your brother still stole from us,” Gage snaps from the front seat, and Freya shoves open the door, scrambles out, and slams it.
I shoot Gage a look, and he rolls his eyes. “What? It’s true, and that shit doesn’t go unpaid for.”
Her brother’s been MIA for a few weeks now and that’s usually not a good sign around here, but I didn’t want to tear down her hope. She loves her brother and I get it. I feel the same about my little sister, and if anything happened to her, I’d destroy everything in my path. Yeah, she can be a pain, but she’s one of the rare good ones here.
Making our way inside, we pass by the staff members without a word and pause right outside Dominic’s office. Hazen knocks on the door, and the sound echoes through the quiet hallway.
“Come in,” Dominic barks out.
Hazen is the first one to enter, followed by Gage, then Freya, and finally me. She remains by my side, observing everything around her.
Dominic sits behind his wooden desk, the sound of his fingers tapping on the keyboard filling the room, before forcefully closing his laptop.
“Done already?” he asks, frowning.
Hazen approaches and shows him his phone with the transaction to his account, receiving a nod in response.
“Your brother’s debt is cleared, Freya, so you’re free to go,” he says, grabbing out a cigar from his top drawer. He lights it and leans back, puffing out smoke.
Freya moves closer, bracing her hands on his desk, and I widen my eyes. Fuck. What are you doing?
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where my brother is,” she growls out.
I’m torn between wanting to grab her and leave or staying to see how things unfold. No one ever challenged Dominic, they weren’t stupid.
The memories of my teenage years come flooding back, and I can still feel the physical pain from the scars on my back, remnants of my rebelliousness. I learned a long time ago that it’s best to follow his orders until he retires and hands over the reins of The Daring Brotherhood to us fully, ensuring our place in the hierarchy. We’re practically managing it ourselves, but he still holds the ultimate authority. The sooner he retires, the better, but the old bastard is reluctant to let go. My father retired years ago when he got sick, and it’s been the best thing for him as he recovers.
A hush falls over the room and Hazen fidgets next to me. Dominic fixates his gaze on her and then throws his head back in laughter.
“Damn, you remind me of your mother. I miss her.”
Her hands tremble as Freya tightly clutches the edge of the desk, her knuckles turning white. “We don’t talk about her. Just tell me where he is?”
Dominic blows out a ring of smoke, the pungent smell filling the air, but she stands her ground, unwavering. The tension in the room becomes palpable, and I struggle to resist the urge to grab her hand and walk away. It’s a risky game she’s playing, and the consequences will leave her scorched. The mere thought of that fills me with intense anger.
“I have no idea where your brother is or you wouldn’t be the one here paying off his debt, would you, stupid girl?” He shakes his head and butts out his cigar into a glass tray. “That brother of yours has created a few enemies, so he’s probably ten feet under by now, and if you don’t want to join him, I suggest you leave. Now.”
Freya doesn’t budge, staring him down, and my cock hardens—but she’s being reckless. Stupid. I take a step forward, encircling my arm around her waist and drawing her toward me. In a sudden motion, she twirls in my arms and forcefully pushes me away. She storms out of the room, with the door slamming behind her.
“If she makes any trouble, it’s on you three. Keep an eye on her,” Dominic says from behind me.
“Understood, Father,” Hazen replies, then we leave.
The hallway becomes a blur as I storm through it, the sound of Gage’s car engine filling the air as the front doors swing open. He sprints out, and I chase after him. Freya drives past, her face contorted with anger as she flips us off from the driver’s seat.
Oh fuck, no one drives Gage’s car. Ever.