Page 8 of Justice

“How many children did James have?” Liberty asked, and honestly, the number was embarrassing.

“Upward of a thousand. We were the only ones turned involuntarily. James liked to help people. A lot of times, the ones he turned were going to die, and he just . . . saved them,” Ellis explained. “Mostly, everyone is a good type of people.”

“Mostly?” She questioned.

“There are always a few pricks in a crowd,” I elaborated.

She turned to Ellis. “Do you trust him?”

“I do.” He shrugged, and before the words even left her mouth, I knew Ellis was about to get his way.

“Then contact him.” She leaned back against Oak again, his arm banded around her, his fingers flexed.

His voice was almost a growl when he spoke, “The more people involved, the greater the risk.”

“The fewer people involved, the weaker we are,” she countered, and she wasn’t wrong. “Plus, I trust Ellis, and he trusts . . .”

She waited for someone to supply her with a name. “Ramsey.”

“If Ellis trusts Ramsey,” she continued, “then so do I.”

Oak groaned. “If things go wrong, you are responsible for him, Ellis!”

The plane jolted below us, our bodies jerking as the wheels hit the runaway. “It will be fine, promise.”

An hour later, we were all piled into the rental car, driving down an empty country road to a cottage in the middle of nowhere. Ellis had called Ramsey when we landed, and through the speaker of the phone, I could hear his excitement at meeting us there. The excitement wasn’t mutual. In fact, I dreaded it. In the years since deciding to part ways, I avoided James’ other children in any way possible. But here we were, about to team up with one.

The vehicle rolled to a stop in front of the cottage, and a small sports car sat parked in front; a familiar man hidden behind dark shades waited. My body tensed. I was terrified to speak my greatest fear – what if this thing was meant for more? What if he was meant to join Liberty too? My stomach rolled at the thought of Ramsey joining Liberty in our bed because wherever she slept was ours now, regardless if we were there or not.

“Is that him?” Liberty pointed to the figure.

Oak grunted out a response before pulling off his sunglasses and turning to Liberty. “Until we figure him out, be cautious. I would like to trust him, but it’s been years.”

“Okay.” She agreed quickly enough, before leaning over and kissing Oak’s cheek. His body visibly relaxed. “I’ve got this, don’t worry.”

Before they could exchange another word, she had the passenger door open and her feet on the ground. Her hand already outstretched toward him as she introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Liberty; you must be Ramsey.”

Ramsey stared at the outstretched hand, not making a move to shake hers until he assessed the surrounding situation. When we were all close enough, he removed his shades slowly and tilted his head to the side, examining her. Finally, the moment I thought she would lower her hand was when his hand grasped hers to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Liberty. I’m Ramsey, and I can’t wait to find out just how well you know my brothers.”

Chapter 5

LIBERTY

I leaned over to Ellis.“He’s staring again.”

I knew Ramsey heard me; these men’s hearing was top-notch, but the part of me that was still human felt it was better to whisper.

“I can’t figure it out. You’re not dead. But you’re barely alive. Yet you seem to be thriving just fine.” He eyed me curiously. “Who has fucked her?”

I blinked a few times, ignoring the growls coming from the guys. “Excuse me?”

“Look, love, there is no way you could get a bite like that and not fuck. They go hand in hand.”

My hand went to my neck, and I tried to hide the smug smile as I remembered the quick and honestly, mind-blowing fuck in the plane’s bathroom with Sterling right after the plane landed, and everyone else went to gather our bags. “I’m not sure it matters.”

He shook his head. “No, love. I don’t imagine it does. Not when you are coated in the scent of all three.”

“I’m feeling interrogated.” Not that I was threatened at all by it, but definitely humored.

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