Going back to London and picking up my old life isn’t going to be possible. The men will always be hunting me down. I will have a target on my back.
“I’ll think about it,” I tell her, but I know I may not have a choice.
The thing about it is, I can’t afford to tell them who I am. I don’t know if my father really did die in that explosion. He may be hiding out. If he is, I’m still in danger.
And if he is alive, he will come for me.
“Lia,” one of the other girls calls, “Are we heading to the city?”
The brunette walks up to us, her eyes never straying towards me. It’s as if she doesn’t notice I’m even here. I’ve become used to people trying to avoid me, but this is different. I’m out of my depth. These girls know each other, they’re all friends. I’m an outsider who should find her own way.
I hop off the stool and offer a smile at Callia. She’s been nice to me, and I don’t want to be rude. “I need fresh air.”
I leave her with her friend and make my way outside. The night is dark, with only the full moon offering illumination. The compound we’re on is large, but there isn’t a lot of lighting. I move away from the house, my mind focused on my future. The unknown is scary.
The music from the bar filters through to the outside where I’m standing. Closing my eyes, I listen to the lyrics from ‘How to Save a Life’ and wonder if I’ll be able to stay alive and leave here before Monster finds out who I really am. “I hope so,” I whisper to myself.
“You do?” A deep voice startles me, and I spin on my heel to find the man in question.
Monster’s tall. I’m only five four, and yet, I only reach his chest. His broad shoulders seem to strain against his white tee, and the cut he’s wearing completes the look of a dangerous villain.
“Sorry, I was just…” I don’t know what to say to him. There’s nothing I can say that won’t get me into trouble, nothing true anyway. I hate lying. My mother did it to me, for years, and I’ve never wanted to keep secrets from anyone. However, here I find myself doing it without flinching.
“Just?” He crosses his arms over his chest, which only makes him seem larger than life. The air between us is electric. As if he’s charged it with whatever is hidden inside him. He isn’t a man—he’s more monster than anything else. He belongs in the shadows, in the darkness.
“Thinking out loud.” I finally decide on my response, but it won’t appease the man before me. He doesn’t trust me, and I don’t trust him either. We’ve come to an impasse, and nothing is going to change that.
“Who are you, little girl?”
“I’m not a little girl for one,” I tell him. “I’m twenty-two.” I don’t know why I feel the need to defend myself to him, but I can’t stop myself.
The corner of his mouth tilts as he regards me.
“Why did Bragan want to question ye?” he asks as he pulls out a packet of smokes and taps one out. I watch as he presses it between his full lips and lights it up. The red cherry burns as Monster inhales a lungful of smoke.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t?” He arches a dark brow at me. In the silver light of the moon, he looms over me, his shadow cocooning me from the outside world. “I think ye’re lyin’ to me. Unless ye’re hidin’ somethin’ else. Maybe ye’re his kin…”
“I am nothing to him,” I spit out, and I’m surprised at how adamant I am at denouncing my father. Even though he’s evil, he’s still my blood.
“Fair enough.” Monster nods. “I take it ye don’t have any family?”
I don’t look at him; instead, I focus on the garden. It’s pretty out here. Not far from the city, but far enough that you don’t have traffic or people randomly walking by. It’s a nice piece of land. Somewhere I could have called home if I were staying.
“No,” I tell him finally. “I don’t.”
My heart thunders in my chest when Monster reaches for my chin, his index finger tipping my head towards him. “Then you’ll find a place here.”
“I’m not staying.”
This time, he steps in front of me, right up against me. He’s in my personal space, and yet I don’t fight him. This close, I truly take in the face before me. He’s handsome, annoyingly so. I don’t want to find him attractive, but I would be blind if I said he isn’t. He’s breathtakingly gorgeous. Which is a problem, and one of the reasons I can’t stay here. The other reason is that he would kill me the moment he learns who I really am.
“You’re not leaving. I promised Donahue I would keep you safe until he finds you a new home. A new job.”
“I can’t stay—”
“If ye walk out those gates, Bragan’s men will come for ye. They’ll kill ye,” Monster tells me quickly.