Page 40 of Butcher

CHAPTER 14

Isla

Iwoke up sore but more satiated and content than I remember ever being. Frowning, I sat up and looked around. I was still naked and the room was empty. I dropped my head into my hands. “What are you doing, Isla?” I muttered. “You’re supposed to be keeping him at arm’s length.”

It was one thing to have sex with him. That was easy. It felt good, and I could walk away from a sex-only situation. But this was more than that. I wanted to lie to myself, to bury my head in the sand, but I was too much of a realist to do that. Every piece of himself that Butcher showed me was making me like him more and more.

I got out of bed, not caring about my nudity, and went over to my go bag. Pulling the folder out, I went and sat cross-legged on the bed and flipped it open. Butcher scowled at me from the page and I scanned the information there, even though I’d read it a hundred times. It was different now that I knew him. Now that he was breaking through my defenses.

Setting his file aside with a sigh, I got up and showered. I pulled on fresh clothes after I’d gotten cleaned up and went downstairs to search for him. It was time for us to come up with a plan. Since these men were going to work with me, I didn’t need to wait for the assassins to come to me. We needed to go on the offensive.We. Not I, we. I really was becoming one of them wasn’t I?

As soon as I got downstairs, I spotted him. He was in the corner speaking with his brothers. The conversation looked intense, so I turned away, then froze as I saw who was standing behind me. Terror wasn’t a normal feeling for me. “Um. Hi.”

The little girls smiled up at me. “Hi,” It was the oldest one that spoke, Gabby.

“Hi,” I repeated. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

“Why do you have this?”

I looked over and saw Taylor holding my favorite knife Mrs. Stabsworth, Stabby for short. Naming things was common for me. I’d done it when I was a little girl because my mother had left me alone a lot and talking to dolls wasn’t as weird if you named them. Of course, I didn’t have a lot of dolls so I had to pretend that random utensils were dolls. Having a tea party with a wooden spoon and a spatula would have just been weird, so in my mind they were regular toys. Older me was used to the tradition and I wasn’t sure it was even a choice anymore. Things just had names.

What the hell?Patting my waist, I frowned. I hadn’t even felt her take it from its hiding spot. A ratherintimatehiding spot. “You-”

“Oh, you look pretty with red hair,” Gabby commented.

She’d taken my ID holder from my back pocket while I was focused on her sister. It had all my different passports and IDs in it.

“Why does it say your name is Tiffany?” Taylor asked, craning her neck to read.

“Mama said your name is Isla,” Cassie said, very matter of factly.

“It is-” I started then broke off when a new hand patted my thigh. I stared at Caitlyn. There was a vibe about her that made my hard exterior soften. I knew a wounded little girl when I saw one. Hell, I’d been one. “Yeah?”

“Taylor said you have a kitty,” she said, her eyes shining with excitement. “Can I meet her?”

Wow. These girls packed a punch. And it hit you straight in the heart. There was no way I could crush the hope I saw on her face. “Sure.” I reached out and swiped Stabby from Taylor’s hands before she could react. I didn’t need Jenny and Priest lecturing me on allowing their kids to play with a sharp implement. Not that I’d allowed it in the first place, but I was sure I’d get the blame.

“Hey!”

“It’s not polite to take things that don’t belong to you,” I told her. Like I had any idea. I did stuff like that all the time when I was working, but it was something I remember some adult telling me when I was younger.

Cassie shot me a winning smile and whispered, “Uncle Butcher and Uncle Toxic are teaching us.”

My brows shot up. “They are?”

“They teach us lots of stuff,” Taylor replied with a grin. “It’s fun.”

“You’re pretty good at it,” I admitted.

Her gaze turned devious. “Maybeyoucould teach us some stuff sometime?”

I stared at them, and they were all giving me hopeful looks, and my heart twisted in my chest. I liked them. Wanted to teach them things and get to know them better. When was the last time I wanted to learn more about anyone? Yet, here I was again wanting that with these girls, with the women, with Butcher…

How could I do that though and then walk away once we took care of Randal and the assassins? I’d be the one left alone, once again. I wasn’t sure I’d survive this time though.

“Please?” Taylor begged.

“Okay. Yeah, sure.” I was going to have to safeguard my heart. Because the man who was now staring at me from where he sat in the corner of the room was already a threat to it. But damn, these girls would probably steal it away before I even realized their sticky hands were on it.

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