Page 83 of Wicked Heiress

After we had sex, I got into the bathtub with Cole and let him wash every inch of my body before fucking me again. Exhausted, we got out and laid in my bed. I fell asleep with his fingers interlaced with mine on the mattress.

“With his family.” Bastian shifted my weight in his arms and kicked open the door wider for us to pass. Judging by the lack of light in the house, it was the middle of the night. “The Marshalls can’t protect you anymore, Grace. You’re not safe here.”

I tried to sit up, shifting my pajama top into place, and he tightened his grip. “What? No. I have to stay with Cole. His mom just died. He needs me.”

“Cole asked me to come here,” he said emotionlessly. “I can protect you better than he can.”

“But…” I gripped his shoulder as we approached the grand staircase. “Where are you taking me?”

“To one of The Knights’ safe houses. No one knows it exists. You’ll have protection around the clock.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” I tapped his arm. “Cole needs me. Put me down.”

Bastian shook his head. “I’m here because of the message Cole sent me.”

“What message?”

He ignored me and rushed downstairs and into the living room, which was dark and silent.

“But I need my stuff,” I protested, tugging on his arm.

“Damian already packed your bags,” Bastian said on our way out of the house. “They’re in the car.”

Bastian deposited me into the backseat of a black SUV and got in beside me. He patted the driver’s headrest. “Let’s go, D.”

Damian hit the gas hard, and the tires screeched as we peeled away from the house, whipping around the circular driveway and down the long pathway illuminated by solar lights.

“If Willow wasn’t safe at Fort Marshall, neither are you,” Bastian said. “This is for your protection, Grace.”

Her death was all my fault.

How did Cole not hate me?

Instead of me comforting him, he sat on the cold bathroom floor with me. He kissed me and tried to make everything better. My heart ached at the thought of everything he had given up to be with me. And if my grandfather got his way, we would never have a life together.

I put on my seatbelt and settled in beside my cousin. “What message did Cole send you?”

He reached into his pocket and produced the skeleton key.

Surprised, I raised an eyebrow at him. “Cole gave that to you?”

He nodded. “It’s time you learn the power of this key.”

Chapter Forty-Seven

COLE

My mother’s death was my fault. If I hadn’t contacted Viktor, his brother wouldn’t have come to my house looking for Grace. He wouldn’t have killed my mom.

I stared at my mother’s casket, tears spilling down my cheeks. We ordered dozens of calla lilies—her favorite flower, which littered the space. It was a small funeral, with only family and close friends.

Grace would have wanted to be here. And my mother would have liked that, too. But The Knights couldn’t risk Grace’s safety. Viktor and his men could have been watching, waiting to kidnap her. So we had to do everything in our power to protect her.

She was at the safe house in Beacon Bay with Bastian and Damian on guard twenty-four hours a day. It was just as much their duty to protect her as mine. The Devil’s Knights answered to The Founders Society. We had to defend our Grand Master’s heir.

My heart felt like it cracked open from losing my mother. The pain was so intense my entire body was numb. I felt like I was dying. Like I couldn’t fucking breathe. I wanted to climb into the coffin with her.

Without my mom around, the house wasn’t the same. I never got along with my father. Neither did my brothers. She was the glue that held our family together.

---