Page 4 of Siccitas

And I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he realizes that he wasn’t strong enough to kill me after all.

Chapter Two

Iease myself ontothe bed that the Greene girl sat on before I crushed her throat, and I make myself as comfortable as I can.

My cane rests on the bed next to me as I drape an arm over my forehead.

I’ve been smart enough through all of these years to stay off his radar, and I have to maintain the secrecy until Dalton sends me word that Darby’s children are safely away from the house.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.

Instead of thinking abouthimso much, I need to gathermyself.

My body hurts from all the walking I did to get to Dalton’s home. A small smile curves my lips, because I know this ramshackle of a domain had a woman’s touch.

Either he’s hiding her from me, or she left him.

That’s how it is with all Greene men.

Hide the wife so no one knows what truly goes on under their roof, and then wonder how they got away while they slept.

My eyes begin to flutter—fatigue finally winning the fight, I find myself thinking of the others.

I’ve seen so many of them following his mantra oflove.Forcing themselves on their “wives” to keep the family line pure of any blood other than our own.

A soft sigh escapes me.

The bed I’m lying on should have been used for the same purpose, but Dalton is one of the few of us that knows it’s wrong.

Even if he’d never been taught any different.

___

“Shhh,” I put a finger to my lips of the little girl who’s walking slowly toward me. I can see so much of Darby in her that I know she’ll never tell him I was here.

“Okay,” she replies uncertainly, her tone soft, curious, and a little scared.

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