Page 57 of Stay, Swear.

Walking out of the closet I look around the room, there’s no Kie to be found. It’s extremely early. Where could he have gone at three-thirty in the morning? Deciding to go look for him, my feet carry me to the room I assume he’s found himself in. My ears perk as his voice filters through the open doorway and into the hallway. Sneaking up to the door frame, I peer in on the sweetest sight I’ve probably ever seen before.

Kieran in his all black attire sits in the glider that’s positioned in the corner of Rhett’s room. He has Rhett in his arms with his little head buried into the crook of Kie’s neck, gently rocking him. But what has tears springing to my eyes is thatKie’s softly singing to him. Rhett’s body goes slack before my eyes as Kie sings about loving someone so big that he’ll spend the rest of his life explaining what can’t be put into words. Kie’s eyes lift to mine and a grin takes over his face as he continues his song.

Once he’s finished, he gently lays Rhett back down and silently makes his way out of the room pulling the door shut with a quiet click. “Hey, Brave Girl. Enjoy the concert?” He’s teasing me, it’s apparent by the huge smile taking over his face.

“His processors were out, why were you singing to him?” I ask with no judgment in my voice, just curiosity.

“He can feel the vibrations in my chest and throat. He likes it, so a lot of times he comes to find me in the middle of the night if he wakes up and I sing him back to sleep. Always that song.” His expression changes into one of adoration as he speaks of his and Bear’s special time together.

“I never took you as a country music guy.” I playfully tease.

“I’m not. Rhett heard it somewhere and would sing it constantly. It got stuck in my head and somehow became our thing.” He presses a kiss to my head before asking, “You ready?”

I shrug, “As ready as I’ll ever be, if nothing else I feel pretty badass.”

His eyes slowly rake over my body before a filthy grin takes over his face, “On second thought, we don’t need to do this. Let’s stay here. I mean it’s early, and I’d just love to go back to bed.” His greedy hands grab my hips and pull me flush to his hard body. Laughing, I push his hands away.

“If we go now we’ll make it back in just enough time for me to suck your dick before we have to meet with Lee.”

Kieran gives me a no nonsense nod, his eyes fill with determination, “Deal.” He smacks my ass and calls over his shoulder, “Get that fine ass moving, baby. We’re on a time crunch.”

We’re not, he’s just ridiculous. I watch him walk down the hall looking so effortlessly sexy in his black sweatpants and hoodie which are accompanied by all black shoes. Deciding I’m as ready as I’ll ever be to come face to face with one of my nightmares I follow behind him to an all black Escalade. He helps me inside and buckles my seat belt before shutting the door and rounding the front to get in the driver’s seat. Before he pulls off he takes my hand in his. A subtle reminder that he’s staying and I’m not in danger with him.

The ride over is fairly quiet as I stay lost in my own head. Pulling up to the abandoned warehouse in a run down area of town I scan the tree lines surrounding it. I can’t see anything, but the sun hasn’t risen yet either. Kieran gets out, scans his surroundings, then comes over to my door and opens it, helping me out before wrapping his hand around my waist anchoring me to his side.

“You okay, Brave Girl? You don’t have to do this.”

“I do. And I can with you here with me.” He presses his lips to my temple in a show of silent support as we make our way inside.

The warehouse is huge, bare, and dingy with a cement floor. It’s chilly and the lighting is dim to say the least. But the five large men who stand in a circle in the middle of the room stand out like a lighthouse in a storm. I know without seeing their faces that it’s Kieran’s brothers. I didn’t know that they were coming nor did I expect them to be here.

“What’s going on?” I ask with a hint of skepticism as weapproach them. Rowan, ever the leader, is the one who speaks up first.

“You think we’d let you go through this alone, Nix?”

“Well, kind of, I didn’t know I was‘inner circle’yet.”

He chuckles and kisses the top of my head, “You’ve been inner circle since the day you told Clara to give me a chance. You’re sister status because my brother loves you.”

Kieran tips his head to the side drawing my eyes in the direction of the back corner of the warehouse where one of the men who owned me is hanging from a butcher’s hook. His feet barely touch the storm drain under him. He looks like he’s already been pretty beaten. Stripped down to only a pair of boxers I notice bruises littering his face and body. He’s still alive but he’s unconscious. Mac moves to the spot beside me as I come to a stop just ten or so feet away from Jerry. He was the cruelest of the men who owned me, don’t get me wrong, none of them were nice, but he is a person who would make Lucifer look like a saint.

“You ask him whatever you need to. Whatever you want to for closure. If you want to end him, you can. If you don’t, I’ll gladly do it for you.” Mac gives me a reassuring squeeze before backing up so that the only Byrne brother that surrounds me is Kie.

His front pressed against my back, he dips his head so that he’s able to speak into my ear, “This show is yours there’s no expectations or judgments here. You do whatever you need to for closure.”

Walking over to the wooden work bench I take note of all the tools laid out in front of me. Tools that in any other situation look like they’d belong in a garage. Torches, wrenches, pliers, and cable cutters. The only thing standing out from the frayis a black case, laying open. Knives are neatly laid across the soft cloth lining the inside. These knives look like they belong in a Michelin star kitchen. A smaller blade catches my eye, as the light hits it just right, causing a glint that draws me in like a moth to a flame. I grab it without hesitation and make my way back in front of Jerry. I hear the boys stifle a chuckle behind me, causing me to jerk my head over to them.

“Care to explain what’s funny about this situation, Declan?” I ask, staring down the second oldest Byrne.

“Yeah, that’s just every Byrne’s favorite knife. It’s funny you picked it up because it’s what we all grab first. Guess you really are one of us, huh?”

The smirk that tipped the corner of my lips disappears as quickly as it showed up when I notice dark evil eyes staring at me from my peripheral vision. Jerry stares me down like I’m familiar to him but he can’t place me. After a few minutes recognition covers his features and he laughs loud, making me flinch.

“Oh, this is good.” I steel my spine. I’m not his property anymore, he can’t hurt me, but his next words still throw me back to the fourteen year old that I was when he knew me. In the commanding voice he always used, the one I was forced to obey he grinds out, “Twenty-Seven, drop the knife, now.”

The knife clatters to the floor less than a second later, my eyes meet the floor, and my head bows low. Before I can process what I’ve done Kieran is back, his hands secured on my hips and his voice in my ear, “You’re not there anymore. He can’t hurt you. He can’t get out of those restraints, and even if he could you have an army of Byrne men behind you. You, my Brave Girl, are the most powerful person in this warehouse. Everyone here follows your commands or dealswith the fallout.”

The handle of the knife presses into my palm and I look up to see Rowan giving me a reassuring smile, “You’ve got this, little sister.” Looking back, I see the other four men giving me smiles and nods of encouragement but it’s Mac who speaks up.

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