Chapter Seventeen
Onyx
The party has been going for over two hours and Amelie is yet to turn up.
I would know; Slate and I have been keeping an eye on the only entry all night.
We need to apologise as soon as we see her.
Slate and I feel like crap; we cornered her, made her feel unsafe and after what she’s been through that is not okay.
We got too caught up in the moment, playing the same damn role we always do when we share some willing whore, that we forgot about her.
When we decided to make nice, use her to find out how to break her, I never actually thought I would end up liking her. It changes everything, but we still need her gone, just now it’s for a different reason: we need to protect her.
The party’s amazing - everyone keeps telling me - but I can’t relax and enjoy it.
I need to know she’s okay. I need to make things right.
So instead, I sulk in the corner, leaving Slate to make the rounds and socialise.
I just tip beer after beer back without even tasting them, eyes glued on the illuminated tunnel entrance that will announce her presence and make everything better.
I do a double take when I see her walk in. She takes my breath away. I was starting to worry that she wouldn’t show, that she’d be in her dorm crying and upset, but she’s dressed like she came to kill. She looks like she’s already started the party without us.
Watching her walk in with Elsie, my eyes rake over her body.
Her long dark curls are loose down her back and she’s wearing a short leather skirt with some killer boots and a form fitting top that plunges in the front.
She looks like sex on legs. My dick twitches.
I don’t know much about her encounter with Sawyer, but if she turned up dressed like this, no wonder he fell hard and is so fucked up about it.
Relieved to see her, I kick off from the wall where I was waiting and make my way over to her.
Across the room, I catch Slate’s eye and nod.
He sees her too and begins to head in her direction.
Only, we’re intercepted by Kalen making a bee-line for her, two drinks in hand.
For fuck’s sake! Her face lights up when she sees him in a way that it never does for me.
She takes the drink he offers her, downs it in one and chucks the cup away.
She throws her head back and laughs uproariously at something Kalen’s said. A bitter taste forms in my mouth.
“What do we do?” Slate asks, joining me.
His eyes are glued to Amelie too and I wonder if he feels more drawn to her now that he knows they have a shared history of pain.
The only thing worse than having to listen to Slate bare our secret to someone outside of the family, was having to listen to Amelie talk about what Laura did to her.
She even tried to make light of it by joking.
Thank fuck Slate has stayed glued to my side all night, otherwise I would have taken off to kill Laura for what she did.
I watch as Kalen and Amelie begin to dance.
I can’t take my eyes off her, the way she moves, it’s hypnotic.
I’ve never wanted to protect anyone outside of my family before.
Family means everything and as far as I’m concerned the rest of the world can be collateral damage in my bid to keep them safe.
She wraps her arms around Kalen’s neck and pulls him in close, kissing him. Kalen’s hands slide down to cup her ass, before sliding up under her short skirt. Fuck.
“We intervene. They shouldn’t be doing that in public,” I mutter. It’s jealousy talking, but I say it with enough confidence that Slate believes I’m looking out for them. “Let’s go.”
I walk over to the couple and when I get closer, I can see that Amelie is wasted.
Her and Kalen are practically having sex and quite a few people are enjoying the show.
I glare at the onlookers until they get the hint and turn away.
Then, I make sure to approach Amelie from the front, so as not to startle her or put her in a similar situation to earlier, and Slate does the same, remaining by my side as I close the distance between the four of us.
“Well, isn’t this quite the family reunion?
” I drawl, placing a hand heavily on Kalen’s shoulder.
Slate mirrors my movements and wordlessly we yank Kalen back and out of Amelie’s grasp.
She stumbles and I let go of Kalen to catch and steady her.
As soon as she’s safe on her feet, I drop my hold on her.
“Bro, what did you do that for?” Kalen grumbles.
“You were dry humping our sister like a damn dog.”
“Not your sister,” Amelie slurs.
“Shush,” I snap. “I’m talking to Kalen.” Damn it, I’m meant to be apologising to her, not making things worse. Thankfully, she’s too drunk to care. Normally she would have chewed my ass out for that.
“Give me a break, O! It’s a party. Everyone fucks at parties.”
“Whatever. Get lost for a bit, Kalen,” I tell him. “Slate and I have unfinished business with Amelie.”
He looks at her, torn. I can see it in his eyes, he really cares about her.
Might even love her. As the baby of the family, he’s always felt the need to protect someone, the way we all do to him.
But he’s also loyal to his family. Who does he stand by?
And is Amelie family? It’s a grey area. I can see the same questions play out across his face and he desperately tries to grow enough of a backbone to say no to us.
“It’s fine, Kalen,” Amelie breaks the tension by saying.
He nods once and leaves, the spring in his step from her arrival, gone.
“What?” she snaps, crossing her arms across her chest in a defiant pose.
It just highlights her breasts, but I try to keep my eyes on her face.
It wouldn’t do well to get distracted or piss her off right now.
“Can we go somewhere to talk?” I ask.
“Where could we go?” She smirks.
“We know somewhere. Will you come with us?”
“What? You’re not just going to drag me off against my will?”
“A. When did we ever do that? B. I don’t like making scenes unless I really have to. C. We will never do anything to you that you don’t want us to do. Ever. Remember that.”
To my relief she nods and agrees to follow us, so we head out of the only entrance into the party room bunker and into the dimly lit tunnel.
The tunnel twists and turns as it heads back up to the surface but there’s a few break off tunnels from the main one and this is where I lead Amelie, with Slate bringing up the rear.
It opens out into a small cave-like space.
“Slate,” I give the order and my twin pulls a lighter from his pocket. A moment later a dozen tea lights in jars are lit and the space comes alive.
“This is nice,” Amelie says, looking around. I try to see it through her eyes, with a pile of cushions and blankets on the floor, the dancing candlelight, the distant beat of the music… I guess it might be okay, for a cold, dank cave anyway.
“If you think this is nice, you have to get my brothers to take you on better dates,” I snort.
“We haven’t been on any,” she replies.
“Allow me to rectify that,” the words slip from my lips before I can form the thought.
“You didn’t bring me here to ask me out,” she points out.
“True, but I’m going to anyway,” I agree, then pause. Now that I’ve got her here, I don’t know what to say or do. “Amelie, we’re really sorry.” I’m as earnest as I can be.
“I-”
“No,” I interrupt her. “I know you must really hate us, but I want to promise you that it wasn’t our intention to hurt you. I, we, feel terrible.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she whispers.
“Maybe not. But knowing what you told us about that video, should have made us more cautious and careful,” Slate chimes in.
“We got caught up in the moment and we were idiots,” I tell her.
“I don’t want to be treated like a China doll.
I didn’t know I was going to react like that.
It’s...it’s not a situation I’ve ever been in before.
Willingly, anyway,” she adds at the end.
I don’t know why, but a burning rage, white-hot, consumes me at her words.
Why do I want to get on a plane, hunt those fuckers down and make them pay?
Why do I care?
“It doesn’t matter. We shouldn’t have put you in that situation in the first place,” Slate tells her exactly what I’m thinking.
“I liked it,” she admits. “Until my brain didn’t.”
“Well, I’m promising you now: it won’t happen again, okay?” I’m firm. And I mean it. I never want to freak her out like that. I tell myself that I’m imagining the flash of disappointment that I think I see in her eyes. I have to be.
She stares at me for a moment but when she sees that I’m not joking, she nods and sags with relief, like all the fight and bravado just left her. She sinks against me and I envelope her in my arms for an unexpected hug.
When she pulls away, she turns and hugs Slate too. He catches my eye over her head and grins.
“Right, can we get back to the party now?” I grumble.