Page 59 of Sugar Coated

Now I was someone who could stare into darkness without blinking, someone who could get her hands bloody and not flinch. I knew the truth now: the truth about who was behind my kidnapping, who wanted me dead, and the truth about Kieran.

What a wild ride it had been, and as I lay there in the dark, reminiscing about how everything had changed, I knew the ride wasn’t over yet.

Chapter Twelve – Laina

The next morning, Kieran came to me while I was on the treadmill, power-walking. My hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and I wore a set of ugly, plain workout clothes—still, that didn’t stop him from eyeing me up like a piece of meat as he approached. Honestly, I was surprised he didn’t come to my room last night, but maybe he was trying to give me some time to reckon with the revelation that he was my Devil.

“Tessa just left to go to the gym, but your father’s still hanging about.” He leaned on the small weight machine nearby, looking thoughtful. “Is there anywhere we can go to talk? Where we won’t be overheard?”

I pressed the stop button on the treadmill and moved my feet to the outer plastic so I could stop walking immediately. “We could go to Fang’s place.” Fang’s was the first idea that popped into my head; I supposed we could go to Lola’s house, too, but I’d rather go to Fang’s.

The way he stared at me for a few moments after I suggested Fang’s told me he was unsurprised and at the same time not all too pleased, but the displeasure faded—probably because he remembered Fang had helped Mike save me when he couldn’t. He couldn’t hate on them too much, now.

“Fine. Fang’s it is. I’ll get Mike.”

While Kieran went to Mike, I changed into normal clothes and went to let my dad know I’d be out of the house for a while—but I was taking both Kieran and Mike with me, so I’d be fine. My dad was in his home office, doing something on a tablet; I could tell he wanted to ask me questions about where I was going.

“I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?” I actually didn’t know how long we’d be gone, but a few hours seemed like a good guess. “Ipromise, I’m not going anywhere stupid. I’ll be safe.” And then, just to really make him speechless, I added, “I love you.”

My dad’s brows twitched, almost like he thought he didn’t hear me right. “I love you, too.” I hadn’t been the warmest, most loving child since my escape, mostly because I thought he had something to do with it.

Imagine my shock learning it was Tessa and not him.

Mike took me, while Kieran drove separately. I messaged Fang to let him know we were on our way over, that we needed a safe place to talk.

And there was a lot to discuss. Kieran should know that Lola and I tortured some information out of one of the kidnappers, and since they were all now dead, Tessa had to know something had happened, that we were on to her. We had to figure out something. We couldn’t just sit around and wait for her to make another move.

On the way, I glanced at Mike. He hadn’t said a word to me this morning, so it was good to know he was still his ever-talkative self now that we’d been together. I guessed I couldn’t fault him too much for it; it’s who he was. He didn’t talk just to talk, unlike Kieran. He only spoke when he had something to say.

“Be nice to Fang and Kieran,” I told him. My command earned me a glimpse and a frown. “I wanted Fang to bite me, and Kieran…” Everything he’d told me was true: if he hadn’t done something two years ago, Tessa would’ve hired someone else, and they wouldn’t have hesitated to get rid of me. My fate could’ve easily been much, much worse.

“It doesn’t matter that you asked. He still did it,” he huffed. “And Kieran is an ass. He always has been. He kept you chained to a goddamned bed for two years. I don’t know what kind of man you think I am, but I’m not someone who can overlook something like that. It’s unforgivable.”

“I gave him permission,” I said. “If you need to be mad at someone about the bite, be mad at me. He wouldn’t have done it if I wouldn’t have asked. Fang’s not like that. And Kieran saved my life. Maybe he went about it a little wrong, but I wouldn’t be here today if he wouldn’t have taken me and kept me hidden. If he didn’t chain me down, if he showed me who he was immediately… I wouldn’t have stayed. I would’ve done everything I could’ve to escape. I didn’t trust him yet. It took nearly two years for me to see the truth, and it’s a truth I had to see for myself.”

Only now I realized it wasn’t the truth about my dad, but rather about Tessa.

Mike grunted. “I should tell that prick I was with you last night, see what he does. Tell him about the bite mark on your thigh, too—”

“Mike,” I hissed out his name. “Stop it.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry. I just get worked up when it’s you.”

It was something I could understand. I might not appreciate the jealousy and the resentment between them, but I could understand it. Hopefully, in time, those negative feelings would fade, and—and what? We’d be one big, happy family, like Lola and her boyfriends? Was that what I wanted?

Yeah, I think it was.

My eyes fell to my lap, to my hands—specifically the metal prosthetic fingers and wrist bracelet Fang had crafted for me. Made with such love and care, it made me look whole again, similar to how these men helped me feel whole, too.

It was right then I decided, yes, these men are mine. We might butt heads every now and then, we might not see eye-to-eye on everything, but that wouldn’t change the fact that they belonged to me and I belonged to them.

When we pulled into the alley, we found Fang waiting near the door, keeping it propped open with a piece of wood. As muchas he’d looked handsome in those dress clothes last night, I did prefer him in his normal black, his dark pants and his black shirts, with a little bit of ash or grease on his face.

You know, a little dirty. There was something sexy about a man with a bit of dirt on him.

I was the first out of the car, and I practically ran over to Fang and threw myself at him, to which he responded by wrapping his arms around me and bending his top half down to give me a kiss. A hard kiss, so firm it pulled the air from my lungs and made me a little dizzy.

He let me go and turned his head to watch Mike get out of the car, and behind him, Kieran had parked on the sidewalk and was walking up. “Fancy seeing you three here,” he mused with a silver-toothed smirk.

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