Page 31 of Quiet Confessions: Part Two

“Nate, can you grab the clothes from the trunk of the car and the first aid-kit? Let’s see what we can do with the worst of this before we go,” his brother says.

Kian lifts me into his arms as he looks around the room in disgust. “I’m so glad I put those assholes down like the animals that they are. There’s human meat in the freezer,” he says, his lips twisting. “I just want to light the whole thing on fire.”

If I wasn’t so traumatized and weak, his words would be really hot. Instead, I drop my head on his shoulder. I’m sure I’m getting his suit dirty, but neither of us care.

“Do it,” Rooke says, wincing as he holds a cloth to one of the deeper cuts on his legs. No one pays attention to the fact that we’re naked other than sending Nate upstairs to bring us clothes. “I think it’ll make me feel better.”

“Anything you want,” Cal promises, and surprisingly Kian agrees. No one fights; they’re actually getting along, maybe this is all a dream.

“I’m back,” Nate calls out as he peeks his head around the corner.

“I’m not going to shoot you,” Ki groans. “I promise the gun is put away.”

“Listen, I’m not taking any chances. I also checked and they really are dead,” he says. Nate is wearing black gloves, and it takes me a second to see that all three of them are. They put some thought into this.

Cal quickly cleans the worst of Rooke’s wounds and uses surgical glue to close them up.

“We’ll wait to get you completely cleaned up,” Kian explains as he carefully sits me down on the edge of the table. The care he takes to pull up my panties, drop a sweater over my head to help me dress, and slip joggers up my legs is sweet. There’s an intensity in his eyes that wasn’t there before I was taken. I think things are going to be different now, but I don’t know how.

“Do you need help with Rooke?” Nate asks as I’m lifted back into Kian’s arms.

“I got him, but walk behind us just in case? I want to make sure neither of us slip,” Cal says.

As we walk out, I catch a glimpse of the three cannibals that wanted to harvest our organs lying dead on the ground.

“Don’t look, Pay,” Rooke says urgently. Hiding my face in Ki’s neck, I breath in his scent, grounding myself in the here and now. I listen to the rumble of Ki’s voice as he talks to me.

They leave Rooke and I to cuddle on a huge tree stump as they hunt down gasoline and matches. Thankfully the barn on the property has both, and the guys are back inside of the house to get the pyrotechnics started.

“You doing okay, doll?” Rooke murmurs, his hand smoothing my tangled hair. The sharp scent of gasoline is soothing as it permeates the air.

“I am now,” I sigh, looking up at him. Dipping his head, his soft lips brush against mine. Cal brought him a pair of sweats and tennis shoes for the ride home, and I dig my fingers into the soft material.

“I’m so sorry for everything I had to do, baby. I’m pretty sure it’ll give me nightmares for years to come,” he says.

Shaking my head, I lay my hand on his face. “Don’t apologize for what we had to do to survive, baby boy. We are free, sitting together while Ki, Cal, and Nate burn down the reminders of our nightmares. Well, some of them,” I amend. “We’ll get through this together. Somehow.”

As the fires are lit and the guys walk quickly out of the house toward us, Rooke and I grin. Fuck, the shadows made by the light are beautiful, beating back the night.

I take in some deep breaths and shake myself from all the horrors I've been through lately. I have always been strong and independent. I am not going to let this define me and break me down.

Nixen Reynolds will not win.

ROOKE

The ride home is quiet. Cal holds me tightly, and Nate snuggles Patience in his lap as Kian drives to his house. I’m not sure why we’re going there, but I’m relieved that we’re not going back to the twins' house. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep there again after Pay and I were both taken from there.

Ki’s gaze keeps checking the back seat repeatedly, making sure we’re alright. He’s especially concerned about Patience, but I think the only thing that’ll help her is time and space from our nightmare.

“We’ve been able to piece together some of what happened, but how did you get taken?” Ki asks gently.

He doesn’t have to be this careful with me, I barely know him, but I appreciate the kindness.

“I went into the twins’ house after taking a shower with Pay and Cal, and Nixen was in the room I was staying in,” I begin, struggling to remember the details of the past four months. “He saw me having sex with his son and was screaming at me. He told me to get into the car and grab my stuff because I couldn’t stay there, but he was so mad he started to hit me. Everything started to go dark, but I remember that he was packing all of my shit with someone else, and then I passed out.”

“He acted as if you left on your own,” Cal whispers, holding my hand tightly. “It felt so weird after we had such a great night, I kept calling you over and over.”

“I didn’t leave because I wanted to,” I reassure him. “I was so happy when I went up to my room. Things were clicking into place, but apparently I was a liability for your father, and when I woke up I was in the sex club.”

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