“I don’t know. She wanted to know why TJ was wearing some patch, and then when Briar walked up, she noticed his. She was really confused. She demanded an explanation.” She nods her head as if her explanation will be enough for me. “I’m sure that’s what they were talking about.”
False.
I shake my head, forcing my hands to release the edge of the table.
“Do they have something going on?”
Confused, her eyes dart between mine. “Have you not listened to a fucking word I just said?”
My lip twitches, but I catch it before it turns into a full-blown smile. She doesn’t have a damn clue about this place and the power I yield. I haven’t decided if it’s refreshing or not.
“I told you,” her voice slows to half of the cadence it was previously. “I didn’t know she knew anyone here. Are you following?”
She pauses, and my fucking lip twitches twice as hard this time.
“I don’t know a damn thing. Nothing.”
“You know why she’s here and not in school,” I challenge.
Her jaw snaps shut, and a little piece of pride floats up. She’s loyal to my little sister, and that fucking means the world to me. On the other hand, this is my fucking world. I’ll be damned if a pretty little devil walks in here, clad in a tight tank top and shorts small enough that I could see the outline of her pussy lips the second she stepped in the room earlier and dictates how things are going to go.
“Tell me,” I demand.
“It’s not my story to tell.”
A cold shudder runs up my spine at her insistence. I’m a breath away from rushing out of the chapel and tracking my sister down, but watching the girl grow up, I know she’s beyond talking right now. It may be days before I can get to the bottom of her recent appearance on my doorstep.
“Is she okay?”
Candi nods immediately.
“Is she pregnant?” Her snort catches me by surprise. “Answer me.”
“Why is that exactly where a man’s mind goes?” I refuse to answer her. The way we were raised, it wouldn’t be unheard of for an eighteen-year-old girl to get knocked up. My knuckles pop just thinking of a man putting their filthy, greedy hands on my baby sister. “She isn’t pregnant.”
My relieved breath rushes out. “Thank fuck.”
“I want to leave,” Candi whispers.
“I can’t let that happen.” Coming around the table to stand beside her, I hate that she flinches away from me when I reach for her arm.
“Molly may be safe here because she’s family, but I don’t feel comfortable here.”
“You’re safe,” I assure her as I gently grip her arm and pull her out of the chair.
“Says the man shoving me toward the door,” she mutters.
“Such a sassy fucking mouth for a woman with such a sweet pussy,” I whisper in her ear and redirect her when she tries to walk toward the door that leads to the front room. “This way.”
The kitchen is more crowded than I anticipate, but I ignore everyone in there and escort Candi out the back door through the kitchen.
“Oh shit,” Piper hisses as we pass through. “What the hell did she do to end up out there?”
My eyes narrow at the implication, but I don’t turn around to explain myself. I also don’t look at the locked door to the basement as I lead Candi into the darkness.Chapter 6Candi
“Where are you taking me?” My voice cracks as Lynch’s grip on my arm tightens. “Please don’t.”
He spins me around so fast, I yelp in surprise. “Did you not hear me when I told you, you were safe here?”
“S-sorry if the way you’re treating me doesn’t allow me much faith in your words.” I’m shaking by this point, my teeth rattling audibly in the crisp night air.
“Jesus.” He’s clearly agitated, but his grip loosens. I’m floored when his arms circle around my back, and he lifts me so I’m face to face with him and able to see the bright green of his eyes in the moonlight. He’s massive, a wall of solid muscle against my chest. His breath skims over my lips, warming them. Unbidden, my tongue snakes out in an attempt to taste the gusts. He groans before pulling his head back a few inches. It isn’t until then that I realize I’ve leaned in closer to him.
So much for being terrified. Arthur Miller’s quote from The Crucible flashes in my mind, and for once in my life, I realize the significance my father repeatedly tried to drill in my head. “Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.”
“You’re safe here,” he repeats the words from inside, only this time I believe him. “No one will hurt you.”
I nod, mesmerized by the movement of his lips with every single word. Long before I’m ready, he lowers me back to my feet, turning me back in the direction we were heading before I freaked out.