25
The more sense you try to make of the world, the more crazy it will make you.
He left her.
What kind of man gives a girl the best orgasm of her life and walks away after?
Takeshi went down to his knees and made her come apart more than any other man. She’d finally thought they hit a breakthrough.
But the only thing breaking was her ability to handle his bullshit.
She yanked her hair into a messy bun, roughly pulling on the strands until her scalp burned. Khalani had no idea how she was going to face him without every single person knowing what had happened last night.
What she’d practically begged him to do.
He was the one who’d come to her room and allowed himself to be vulnerable. Shared things he never would’ve if he truly considered her his enemy. But she was tired of him getting close, only to walk away whenever it suited him.
From that point on, she was going to give Takeshi Steele the same cold treatment.
Khalani took a deep breath, smoothing her hands down her tan garments, preparing to face the world. But as soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, she was tackled.
“Do you have any idea how hard it’s been not to break down that door and smack you for driving us crazy with worry?” Serene rasped, enveloping her in a crushing hug, squeezing her ribs to the point of pain.
Adan and Elise rounded the corner, sighing in relief as Khalani hugged Serene just as tightly.
“I looked for you when we got back, but the Chief said you went out searching for us. Why did you do that?” Khalani yelled.
“To save both of your crazy asses!” Serene threw her hands up in exasperation. “I was this close to banging your door down, but Brock carried me away like a Neanderthal, saying you needed to sleep. He freaking wouldn’t let me go until I promised not to go into your room.”
Khalani glanced at Brock, who stood against the doorway. It was strange how he looked at Serene. Half annoyed and half infatuated, like if he had a choice to change her personality—to make her more docile and sweet—he wouldn’t change a damn thing.
Brock turned just as Takeshi stepped out of the bathroom with wet hair and a white towel hanging low on his hips. Unable to help herself, her gaze roved down his sculpted chest. Drops of liquid dripped over his six pack as he shook his hair.
Words got stuck in her throat.
Everything they’d done came rushing back. How he’d made her feel…and how he’d walked away after.
His dark gaze locked with hers, jaw tightening when he noticed her glaring. For a second, he shifted closer, like he wanted to say something. But he stopped in the hallway, his lips set in a thin line.
“Can’t you put some clothes on?” she snapped.
“Why?” Takeshi leaned against the wall. “Am I distracting you?”
Yes.
“No! We just all need to have a group talk. And it’s a clothes on type of conversation.”
“Ugh, never mind all that.” Serene flicked her hands.
“I need you both to tell me right now everything that happened. They said the Sinners took you, but they didn’t even want us to go after you!
I’ve been worried sick and haven’t been able to eat anything.
But now you’re back! I’m so happy, but also so mad that I wasn’t there to help—”
“Take a breath, Terror, and let them speak.” Brock interrupted Serene’s chaotic speech, but the frayed lines under his eyes indicated how sleepless and desperate he’d been too.
Winnie and Derek joined them in the small hallway.
Doing her best to ignore Takeshi, she told them everything that’d happened from the moment they were kidnapped, to waking in the Sinners’ camp, to the deal Ansel made, and their eventual escape.
“You think Ansel was telling the truth?” Adan asked, rubbing his chin. “Are they keeping secrets from us?”
“I don’t see how.” Derek frowned. “I’ve lived with them, and they haven’t done anything strange. I keep telling you guys they’re good people.”
“It doesn’t matter. We can’t leave it up to chance. We need to find out for ourselves,” Brock said what Khalani had been too afraid to voice.
“And what?” Derek lifted his arms, voice rising. “We don’t tell the Chief about the Sinners’ attack tonight?”
“I never said that.”
“Sure sounds like you did.”
“But Khalani said the Sinners will attack either way,” Serene pointed out. “What are we going to do when that happens? Leave?”
“No,” Takeshi said in a cold voice. “We kill them.”
The air thickened.
When one of the men punched Khalani, a part of her knew he wouldn’t let that go unpunished. And truth be told, neither could she.
But Ansel’s disturbing words still reverberated in her head.
There was only one thing she could do to stop it.
“We need to go to the library,” she stated. “I’m not saying we abandon Desert Spring and leave them alone to suffer,” Khalani assuaged Derek before he could argue. “But we need to find out the truth.”
“Winnie’s with you, Khalani.” Winnie gave her a thumbs-up, and she couldn’t help but smile, even though her frayed nerves were on the edge of spilling over.
Serene, Adan, and Elise voiced their agreement. Takeshi stayed silent, but he gave her a single nod, his dark eyes gearing up for battle.
Derek sighed in resignation, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I guess I don’t see any other choice,” he admitted.
They quickly formed a plan.
“All right, so myself, Brock, Adan, and Elise will find the Chief and Patreus at the training camp. We’ll try and keep them occupied until you guys check out the library.” Serene tapped her chin. “How are we supposed to distract them again?”
“Just talk to her about anything, Terror.” Brock rolled his eyes. “You’re quite good at rambling.”
“Derek, do you know where the library is?” Khalani asked before Serene could argue.
“Yes,” he said, swallowing. “I’ve been to the Chief’s house, and one of the rooms looked like a library, but I didn’t go inside.”
“Perfect. You’ll go with me.”
“I’ll join too.” Takeshi moved past them like a turbulent storm.
“No.” Khalani shot him a harsh glare, stopping him in his tracks. “Derek and I can handle it.”
“I’m up for Takeshi joining,” Derek said, glancing between them. “If they find us snooping around, we might need to fight.”
Takeshi gave her a quiet look, daring her to argue.
She sighed, exasperated. “Fine.”
“Winnie, too,” Winnie added brightly.
She turned, frowning. “What?”
“Winnie won’t be a burden.”
“You’re never a burden,” Khalani emphasized. “But it’s too dangerous.”
“All the more reason for her to come.” Winnie’s lips quirked. “If there’s anyone who knows how to navigate a library, it’s good ole Winnie.”
Her shoulders drooped, unable to argue with that reasoning.
“Okay, the four of us will go.”
“Just like old times,” Winnie whispered, playfully bumping her shoulder.
But Khalani couldn’t bring herself to feel good about the situation. She just prayed Ansel was lying and her fears were nothing more than misguided paranoia.
She had no idea what they’d do otherwise.
* * *
The sun had barely crested over the horizon, casting a dim haze over the cool air. The road was still a little too quiet as Khalani walked side by side with Winnie along Pleasant Avenue. Derek took the lead in front, and Takeshi hung several feet back in his black athletic gear.
She kept her stubborn gaze forward, forcing herself not to confront him about last night. But she felt his dark gaze drilling into her spine.
Khalani rubbed her fingers down the sides of her arms, trying to ignore him and focus on their mission. She glanced at the wall, noticing more sentries posted than normal.
What if they saw the four of them sneaking into the Chief’s house?
What if Serene and the rest of the group weren’t able to distract the Chief and Patreus long enough?
“You okay, dear?” Winnie pointedly glanced at the big red welts on Khalani’s arms from scratching too hard.
“Yeah.” She immediately shoved her hands in her pockets. “Just a little nervous.”
“How did you sleep last night?”
“I slept just fine.” She cleared her throat. “You?”
“For the most part, yes.” Winnie tilted her head. “But Winnie did hear some rather strange noises coming from your bedroom.”
Blood rushed to her cheeks.
“Is that so? Maybe it was the…wind.”
“You don’t have to worry, Khalani dear.” Winnie patted her on the shoulder. “Winnie’s twirled and danced in the sheets with several men.”
“Oh, no. Please, Winnie. I can’t hear this.”
“But what’s important,” Winnie kept going, raising a finger, “is that you love each other, right?”
Khalani didn’t need to speak. The truth lived in her eyes.
She could be furious with Takeshi. Want to dump him off a cliff.
But she loved him.
And no matter what happened, she always would.
Winnie gently clasped her palm and wrapped both her hands around it, clutching it to her chest as they continued down the road.
“Love is the mightiest force. It should overwhelm you. Inspire awe. Bring calm to all your raging clouds. But even the calmest sky can turn into a hurricane. So you must be careful.”
Khalani had no idea what a hurricane was, but she asked, “For what?”
“To not lose yourself in nature’s fury. The devotion in his eyes rivals the earth itself, and that same intensity lives in you.
When those two pressures collide, wonderful things happen.
But in a single breath, they can also destroy the world.
” Winnie’s voice dropped in warning. “It’s up to you to decide which path they’ll take. ”
“I don’t understand, Winnie.” Khalani shook her head. “We’re just two people. We don’t have a say in what happens to the world.”
“We’re on the precipice of change, Khalani. Can’t you feel it?” Winnie emphasized, her eyes widening as she glanced at the rising sun. “That pressure in the air? The ache in your gut telling you to brace, because things will soon never be the same?”
Her mouth shut, Winnie’s voice taking root in her stomach. She’d been feeling that way for months but had been unable to put it into words.