“I didn’t come here for polite conversation over tea. It’s time to go home, and I’m your escort.”
Laughter bubbled inside my gut until it spilled over.
“Nothing has changed, I see. You still seem to think the world is supposed to bend for Keiran fucking Masters. Well, I’m not following blindly behind you anymore. I lead myself.”
“You sound like a female. Have you been talking to Lake?” He blew out a heavy breath and growled. “Fuck it. Here are your options—you can walk on your own two feet...” He paused and the next second, I was staring down the barrel of his gun as he aimed it directly at my head, “or I can make you.”
“So you really did kill her?” I asked, meeting his hard gaze dead on. If he was willing to kill me, what chance did my mother have with him, even at such a tender age? Sometimes I wondered if she ever begged and if he really didn’t know who she was when he killed her as Lake had claimed.
“Yes,” he answered without question, but the falter in his stare let me know that he wasn’t completely out of touch with his feelings.
Maybe Lake had softened him up. It was time to test that theory.
“And now you want to kill me?”
“Want is incorrect for what I’m feeling, little brother. I should kill you.” I watched his grip tighten and his eyes darken to nearly black orbs filled with rage.
“Go ahead. It’s not like I’m hanging around for anything in particular.”
“Yes, you are. You just don’t know it yet, and I refuse to let her do without any longer because you’re a coward.”
I shot out of my chair and stalked close until my chest was pressed against the barrel of the gun.
“Since when do you care so much?” I growled from deep within the very chest that was seconds—or one wrong word—from being blown away.
I assumed he could only be speaking of Sheldon. The girl who I gave my heart to all those years ago. She had finally decided to let me go after I stomped all over hers for the last time.
“Since I had to pick up after you. You have no idea what you left behind, but you’re about to find out.”
The threat hung in the air between us as we watched each other in silence, letting our eyes say what our mouths wouldn’t. Keiran had never been one to hold back so for him to do so now must have meant this was big.
I simply concentrated on trying not to care. Curiosity killed the cat, after all.
“What am I supposed to do about this mess? I have a client who will be here in less than an hour.” I changed the subject to avoid Keiran getting the look in his eyes again whenever his mood turned deadly. Despite having seen a dead body before, I still freaked out a little inside at the sight of the corpses lying at our feet. Keiran, however, barely batted an eyelash.
“We need to dump the bodies.”
“How? It’s broad fucking daylight.” Fortunately, nothing else was around due to the economy and the high price of office space.
“First, call and cancel all your appointments and lock this place down,” he ordered. “I’ll take the bodies to the back.”
* * * * *
It took the rest of the day to dispose of the bodies and clean up the shop. We waited for the cover of darkness before making our move. I thanked my lucky stars I had skipped breakfast that morning, because whatever I’d have eaten would have been lost when it was time to dump the bodies. Or rather, the body parts .
“You can go now,” I huffed when he continued to hang around after we returned to my apartment. Neither one of us had spoken since dumping the four men.
“You know that’s not going to happen.” He looked around the apartment with a scowl on his face. I was never really here outside of sleeping and showering so the place was clean. The upscale design was certainly nothing to frown on.
“Do you have a problem with my place?” I lowered to sit on the black leather couch where I kept a nine hidden under the cushions.
“Doesn’t matter. Are you ready to say goodbye to it?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I whipped the gun from under the cushion. Keiran looked from me to the gun without a hint of fear as if he had anticipated my move. The smirk on his face made me want to shoot first and ask questions later.
The problem was he actually believed I wouldn’t shoot.
“That was a bitch move. You’re better than that. I taught you better than that.”
“All you managed to teach me was how to get through life by fucking people over and using their weaknesses against them. Yeah, you taught me so much.”
Laughter bubbled inside my gut until it spilled over.
“Nothing has changed, I see. You still seem to think the world is supposed to bend for Keiran fucking Masters. Well, I’m not following blindly behind you anymore. I lead myself.”
“You sound like a female. Have you been talking to Lake?” He blew out a heavy breath and growled. “Fuck it. Here are your options—you can walk on your own two feet...” He paused and the next second, I was staring down the barrel of his gun as he aimed it directly at my head, “or I can make you.”
“So you really did kill her?” I asked, meeting his hard gaze dead on. If he was willing to kill me, what chance did my mother have with him, even at such a tender age? Sometimes I wondered if she ever begged and if he really didn’t know who she was when he killed her as Lake had claimed.
“Yes,” he answered without question, but the falter in his stare let me know that he wasn’t completely out of touch with his feelings.
Maybe Lake had softened him up. It was time to test that theory.
“And now you want to kill me?”
“Want is incorrect for what I’m feeling, little brother. I should kill you.” I watched his grip tighten and his eyes darken to nearly black orbs filled with rage.
“Go ahead. It’s not like I’m hanging around for anything in particular.”
“Yes, you are. You just don’t know it yet, and I refuse to let her do without any longer because you’re a coward.”
I shot out of my chair and stalked close until my chest was pressed against the barrel of the gun.
“Since when do you care so much?” I growled from deep within the very chest that was seconds—or one wrong word—from being blown away.
I assumed he could only be speaking of Sheldon. The girl who I gave my heart to all those years ago. She had finally decided to let me go after I stomped all over hers for the last time.
“Since I had to pick up after you. You have no idea what you left behind, but you’re about to find out.”
The threat hung in the air between us as we watched each other in silence, letting our eyes say what our mouths wouldn’t. Keiran had never been one to hold back so for him to do so now must have meant this was big.
I simply concentrated on trying not to care. Curiosity killed the cat, after all.
“What am I supposed to do about this mess? I have a client who will be here in less than an hour.” I changed the subject to avoid Keiran getting the look in his eyes again whenever his mood turned deadly. Despite having seen a dead body before, I still freaked out a little inside at the sight of the corpses lying at our feet. Keiran, however, barely batted an eyelash.
“We need to dump the bodies.”
“How? It’s broad fucking daylight.” Fortunately, nothing else was around due to the economy and the high price of office space.
“First, call and cancel all your appointments and lock this place down,” he ordered. “I’ll take the bodies to the back.”
* * * * *
It took the rest of the day to dispose of the bodies and clean up the shop. We waited for the cover of darkness before making our move. I thanked my lucky stars I had skipped breakfast that morning, because whatever I’d have eaten would have been lost when it was time to dump the bodies. Or rather, the body parts .
“You can go now,” I huffed when he continued to hang around after we returned to my apartment. Neither one of us had spoken since dumping the four men.
“You know that’s not going to happen.” He looked around the apartment with a scowl on his face. I was never really here outside of sleeping and showering so the place was clean. The upscale design was certainly nothing to frown on.
“Do you have a problem with my place?” I lowered to sit on the black leather couch where I kept a nine hidden under the cushions.
“Doesn’t matter. Are you ready to say goodbye to it?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I whipped the gun from under the cushion. Keiran looked from me to the gun without a hint of fear as if he had anticipated my move. The smirk on his face made me want to shoot first and ask questions later.
The problem was he actually believed I wouldn’t shoot.
“That was a bitch move. You’re better than that. I taught you better than that.”
“All you managed to teach me was how to get through life by fucking people over and using their weaknesses against them. Yeah, you taught me so much.”
