Page 25 of Sinful Secrets

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It’s been two days since I left the cabin. I haven’t seen or heard anything from Khan. I know I promised to tell everything to Rip, and he's waited patiently… Well, I think it was more Rose forcing him to wait patiently.

Today I feel a little better, and I will keep my promise and tell them whatever it is they want to know, although I'm not sure what use I am to them. I walk into the kitchen where Rose, Rip and Caden sit, eating breakfast.

“I'm ready to answer your questions,” I state. Rip looks up and nods his head.

“Thank you, darlin’. I will call Golem to come pick you up in the truck,” he states, picking up his cell and walking out of the room.

“Pick me up?” I ask Rose.

She nods. “Yeah, honey, they will ask you at the club. Don’t worry, they will look after you.” She smiles.

Rip walks back in. “He will be here in ten, and Dreads said he will come by if he can.”

“Dreads? Dreads is going? Oh well, I better get dressed, Talitha will need me there with her,” Rose breathes, jumping up from her chair.

“Sweetheart,” Rip growls.

“What?” she asks.

“Don’t what me, woman. One, you're already fuckin’ dressed, and two, you ain’t coming to the club just so you can flutter your damn eyelashes at Dreads,” he snaps.

Rose rolls her eyes. “Ugh, fine. You ruin all my fun.”

“No, sweetheart, you’re forgetting one thing… you're mine. Those looks you give Dreads, they’re mine. That smile, all of it is mine. Do I need to remind you? Because I've got ten minutes,” he states, his ice blue eyes burning into hers.

Rose spins around. “Um, Caden, why don’t you go show Talitha our garden and while you're there feed the chickens… Rip is going to show me, err, something,” she rushes out.

Caden rolls his eyes and stands. “Come on, let’s go outside, Rip likes to show her things lots, and they can get loud.”

“Oh really? He must have important things if he does it a lot,” I add. Caden just stops and stares at me. “What?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I'm nearly eleven, I've done sex-ed at school, even I know he's not showing her anything, they are having S-E-X. It’s gross, but I have decent noise-cancelling headphones so I can block it out. Anyway, if Mum knew I heard them, she would know that I am staying up way past my bedtime, watching movies. They think I'm asleep, it’s the price I pay, but it’s no big deal.” He shrugs.

I stand there, a little stunned at his mature response. “That’s a mature way of looking at it.” I smile.

“Well, I'm a mature eleven-year-old. I mainly play computer games now, no toys. Well, apart from my transformers. But other than that, nothing. I even have a few hairs coming in on my top lip, see?” He points. I see nothing but smile and agree with him anyway.

We’ve fed the chickens and Caden is showing me his martial arts moves.

“Caden, honey, time to go to Aunt Lily’s,” Rose yells.

He immediately stops what he is doing and runs to Rose, and I follow him back to the house. Rose pulls me to one side. “I will come by the club later. Don’t worry, they look scary but in reality, they're pussy cats.” She hugs me then leaves with Caden.

Rip walks in, and I think out of all of them, he scares me the most. His eyes are glacial, there is no softness to them, only a coldness. “Right, you ready?” he asks. I smile and nod.

On the way there, I'm silent. Golem and Rip talk amongst themselves, and I just stare out the window, wondering what is to come once I give them the information they want. Then what? What will I do with my life? I have no job, no money, I don’t even have my own clothes. I even had to have something explained to me by an eleven-year-old, how on earth am I going to make it in the real world?

When we arrive, Golem takes me to an outbuilding away from the club, and inside––at the centre––is a lone chair. The place has a weird smell to it, a sort of metal mixed with cleaning products.

“Wait here, we will be in in a minute,” Golem informs me. I nod my head, swallowing nervously as I take in the room.

Hanging from the walls are chains, and there’s a large metal cabinet. Maybe this is where they fix up their bikes? The door opens and they enter one by one. I grip my hands tightly in my lap. Each one of them surrounds me, watching me. It’s then I see him, Khan, and my eyes stay glued to him. He doesn’t look at me, he keeps his gaze cast down.

Rip is the last one to walk into the room. He stands in front of all of them and lights a cigarette, taking a long pull, looking at me. “Here’s the thing, Talitha, my old lady and the other old ladies actually have become fond of you. I mean, you seem nice, you seem like a sweet girl, but here’s the thing… what you come from, where you were brought up and raised is not a sweet place, it’s not what it appears to be to the outside world.” He pauses, taking another drag on his cigarette. “And that is where I have an issue. My issue being that, how can someone like yourself not have any idea about what goes on in your community? I mean, the clue is in the word comm-un-ity,” he sounds out.

I look at him, frowning with confusion. “I don’t understand what you're asking me,” I state.

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