Chapter 20
KIERAN
Eleven months before Eden went missing…
J ude’s glare is boring into the side of my face. I can feel it, even if I refuse to lift my eyes to meet his in the mirror.
I’m too focused on Eden, anyway. Dressed in skintight black shorts and a matching tank top, there’s endless skin on display—and those fucking thigh sheaths. They are sexy as hell, and I can’t think straight when all I want is to fuck her in them.
I tug her closer to me, tempted to drag her into my lap. Especially when she’s staring at me with a hooded gaze, lust dancing in those golden depths. I’ve already tugged my gloves off, needing to feel her skin beneath my palm.
I didn’t let her come before we got in the car, thinking it would be more fun to tease her all the way back up the mountain. But now I’m the one dying to be inside my girl.
Dipping my head down to kiss her neck, Eden leans into me. It’s not a long drive up to the compound, but I don’t know how I’m going to last when her hand lands on my thigh and drags up?—
“Not in my car,” Jude growls.
I lift my head to find his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed on me. Beside me, Eden tries to scoot away, but I don’t let her get far.
Her laughter is soft as she whispers, “You got in trouble.”
“I’m the boss.” I still keep my voice low. “I don’t get in trouble.”
“You absolutely do.” So, Jude has super hearing. Good to know. “Keep your pants on. I can assure you that Rohan is waiting for you already.”
I lean my head back and groan. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to steal Eden’s challenge tonight after I told Rohan I’d stop. Especially when I didn’t even take Lochlan to the cages with me this time—mostly because he’s been stuck to my side whenever we go down to the city.
It’s not a slight at Eden, either. After they finally met, she quickly won them over. Lochlan loves her violent side, and she can even pull the occasional laugh out of Rohan. With the way she and Mika get along—which is all it takes to win over Jude—she’s more popular in my own home than I am.
Not that I mind.
No, they say that I’m thinking too much with my dick, and Jude can only rein me in so much. Why Lochlan is the one that they think will keep me on track—when he loves to drink and fuck more than I do and he’s worse about needing to spill a little blood—I have no clue.
“This is your fault,” I mutter to Eden like a child. But what can I say? She brings out a side of me I didn’t know existed.
I think I’ve done the same for her, too. Now that we are spending so much time together, I make her laugh constantly, and while we both still have a very twisted side we like to delve into together—the sex is incredible because of that—there’s something almost peaceful when I’m around her.
I’d dare say I’m actually happy for the first time in my life.
“ My fault?” She scoffs. “How?”
“You were the one who said you could end your match faster with just one blade.”
Eden looks so damn smug. “And I was right.”
I glare at her because I have no argument there. It started off as a taunt from her, so I stole her challenge. She sat and watched me from my seat—only for me to find out after that she had stolen the challenge at the neighboring cage. And she did end hers faster than I did.
“By a second,” I finally mutter.
“Still faster,” Jude calls from the front seat, and I swear I see his lips twitch.
I lean forward, my tone sharp. “Whose side are you on?”
“Eden’s,” he answers easily.
She giggles behind me, and I huff. “You work for me .”
“That may be the case, but Mika loves her.” His eyes flick up to meet mine in the mirror, and he’s clearly fighting back laughter at my outrage. “I will always choose my wife over you.”
“Which means I’ve knocked you down another peg,” Eden teases.
I slam back in my seat as Jude pulls into the garage. “That’s treasonous. I should punish you both.”
“Do it.” Eden’s lips brush the shell of my ear. “We both know I’ll like it.”
I bite back a groan.
“Pants on!” Jude shouts as the car comes to a stop. Maybe I didn’t keep that sound as quiet as I thought.
Eden is still laughing as we step out of the vehicle, and I’m tempted to throw her arse over my shoulder and spend all night reminding her why she shouldn’t provoke me. Knowing her, she’d take it as a reason to push me harder next time.
Jude heads for the door that leads outside. The path leads down the other side of the mountain from where we just came up, and I assume he’s slipping off to his home for the night.
“Jude.” He pauses, raising a brow at me. “Go tell Rohan to fuck off for me.”
He chuckles and shakes his head, continuing in the opposite direction. “No.”
“You can’t tell me no.” I try to sound angry, but with Eden pressing a hand to her mouth to hold in her laughter, I can’t even pretend to be serious.
“I just did,” he says as he steps outside and the door swings shut behind him.
Jude never gets between Rohan, Lochlan, and me. He knows better, and when we’re up at the compound—at least away from Miles or his stupid fucking lackey—he has no problem giving me shite. I don’t mind it.
I’m sure if anyone outside our small group saw the way those three treat me, it would come as a shock. I have a reputation of putting a bullet through the skull of anyone that even thinks about crossing me. It’s mostly true, but Rohan, Lochlan, and Jude make sure I stay humble.
And now, Eden.
I turn on her, narrowing my eyes as she bites her lip, though it’s not enough to hide her smile. “He’s learned to be disrespectful from you.”
Her eyes widen as I pounce, fully intending on grabbing her, but she’s fast. She darts toward the door, shoving into the entryway. I can hear the softest giggles as I chase her down the hallway, and I know that I’ll catch her before she gets too much farther?—
If fucking Rohan wasn’t waiting around the corner with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Lochlan stands a few feet behind him, staring in the opposite direction of us. Presumably where Eden went after they let her through. Bastards.
I groan as I come to a stop, and Rohan quirks a brow. “Chasing each other around like children?”
“Not all of us like boring sex, Ro.” I clap him on the shoulder, about to slip past him, but he elbows me in the side and shoves me back. I let out a grunt and glare at him.
“You were on the mat tonight.”
Jude would be laughing if he were here right now. He still might be in his own home, tucked away with his wife and knowing what he left me to endure.
I sigh. “Rohan…”
He holds up his hand. “I’m in no mood to argue with you like a petulant child, Kieran.” His jaw works, and I know that I’ve pissed him off. He’s been more tightly wound lately as the rebel attacks have spiked.
The small group used to be of little consequence to us. They wanted to live out in tents and breathe toxic air? It wasn’t our problem. But now that they’ve started attacking buildings and disrupting supply chains, it’s become a constant headache—especially with Miles worrying over it.
“Clearly, you are preoccupied. Try to leave some time in your busy schedule for us to talk tomorrow, yeah?” A muscle in his jaw jumps as he turns and stalks off.
Lochlan watches him go. I know I’ve been sticking him with too many problems lately, meetings with Miles and a wound-up Rohan.
I’ll need to fix that—and actually agree to staying out of the cages.
I understand that it’s not doing anyone much good to watch me kill someone on the live broadcast when they all already call me a murderer.
Not that I care, but it’s lending itself to the rebel cause.
I cross to Lochlan, bumping his shoulder with mine. It’s something he usually does to me, and I want to ease the tension I see lining his stiff muscles. I’ve definitely been a piece of shit when it comes to him.
I’m protective of Lochlan after everything he’s been through. He’s like my little brother, and while Rohan and I might butt heads—though that doesn’t change that I’d sacrifice my life for him—Lochlan is much more of a peacekeeper.
“I’m going to talk to him,” I assure him. “Tomorrow. When he’s less likely to break my jaw.”
Lochlan nods, and I’m surprised when he glances over at me with a smile. “Your fight was great.” The corner of my mouth pulls up. “But Eden’s was better.” And my face falls flat.
He chuckles, patting my shoulder. “He doesn’t like seeing everyone getting as riled up as they are. It reminds him too much of our dads.”
Pain flickers in my chest. My father wasn’t as cold as my mother—at least not toward me. Not to say that I was overly attached to the man, but his death is harder to think about than my mom’s.
His car was targeted with explosives one day in the city—an action that led Lochlan’s father to conduct a raid among the lower class.
He was targeted and killed that day. Rohan’s father, however, died in a car accident where a storm caused him to roll down the side of the mountain—something all of us believe was intentional.
Especially given they all three died within eighteen months of each other.
I should have realized that constantly leaving the compound—especially to challenge people on the mats—would remind him of that. Not that Rohan is particularly emotional, but as the most strategic of us, he likes to remind me that luck runs out. And we definitely don’t want to lose each other.
“Right.” I rub at my jaw. “I’ll fix it.”
“For what it’s worth, both of us are happy for you. Hope you know that.”
Well, fuck. Who knew I could feel so fucking much? I swear an echo of something just tried to pierce my cold heart.
I deflect. It’s all I know how to do. “Are you expecting a hug now? A fucking kiss?” I shove Lochlan, and he rolls his eyes. “Don’t be such a sap.”
He snorts. “Don’t be a fucking prick.” He nods toward the back of my house. “Go get your girl. We’ll talk in the morning.”