Page 53 of The High Priestess

Just like I have no choice but to care about her.

I press a kiss to the top of Cassia’s head, and while I hold her, a new monster is born from the darkness in me, and it will destroy everything and anyone who dares to threaten her.

Cassia is the first to pull back, and glancing out over the ocean again, she asks, “How much do you charge?”

Confused, I shake my head. “For?”

“Being my bodyguard.”

I give her a disgruntled look before taking a seat and unlocking my phone.

“I’m serious,” she says, her tone firm again.

“So I hear,” I mutter as I begin to scroll through the replies. “Fourteen have confirmed, and eight of them can vouch for another twenty-seven. As the word keeps spreading, more will join.”

“God. That’s awesome,” she says, sounding stunned.

When I glance up, the surprised look morphs into a scowl, and she crosses her arms over her chest. “How much?”

“Sit down,” I mutter.

She comes to plant her sexy ass right next to me and stares a hole into the side of my head.

“I’m not going to charge you anything,” I grumble.

“You can’t work for free,” she argues, her tone climbing to a high pitch.

“I’m not.” Turning my head, I lock eyes with her.

She gives me an incredulous look. “What do you get out of protecting me?”

“Redemption.”

Instantly, her features soften, and she slowly shakes her head. “God, Lincoln.” She leans into me, a pleading expressiontightening her features again. “You can’t punish yourself like this. What happened to Ronnie wasn’t your fault.”

For the first time since I lost my sister, the words form on my tongue, and they leave my mouth as I admit, “I was too late. When I got to the room, there was a fucker on top of Ronnie. He was raping my baby sister while she was overdosing on the shit they injected into her veins.” I turn my head away from Cassia. “That’s what I see in my flashbacks. The foam around her mouth and the life draining from her eyes while a man fucks her starved body.”

I suck in a shuddering breath, and another first happens as a tear escapes and rolls down my cheek. I wipe the drop away while lowering my head.

There’s only the sound of the yacht and ocean for a few minutes as I try to shove it all back into the darkness.

Instead of saying anything, Cassia climbs to her feet. She pushes my legs apart and comes to stand between them. When she presses my head to her chest, my whole body shudders.

I wrap one arm around the back of her thighs and the other across her ass and hips, gripping her tightly.

I feel her press a kiss to my hair, and her voice is hoarse as she says, “I wish I could help you.”

I clear my throat before replying, “By letting me protect you, you’re helping me. It gives me a reason to go on.”

Her palms settle on the sides of my jaw, and she nudges my head back so I’ll look up at her.

“Okay.”

I pull her down until she sits on my lap, and holding her as if my life depends on it, I close my eyes and focus on taking deep breaths.

Chapter 18

CASSIA

---