Page 90 of Back In the Shadows

“That night I didn’t really learn much about the others except that they were very close friends. I didn’t think much of it, but Chuck invited me again and soon it was a few times a week that we would all hang out together. One of the other girls, Lily, took an interest in me, and we started to date here and there. It was during one of those dates that she explained why Chuck thought I might be a good fit for the group. She said each of them had a dark secret that they’d shared with each other. At first it was a sociology experiment to see if people really bonded over secrets, but then they learned to trust each other on a deeper level and become true friends. Chuck saw something sinister in me and thought I might be a good addition.” The Pied Piper grinned. “After giving Lily one hell of an orgasm, she confided in me that Cindy didn’t actually —” His phone rang, and he picked it up off the coffee table in front of him. “Excuse me, I have to take this.” He rose from his seat and walked into another room, leaving me with my fucked-up thoughts of how to kill him once he finished telling me what I wanted to hear.

While he was gone, I looked around the living room, searching for anything that might tell me more about this man, but he returned rather quickly.

“Where was I?”

“Cindy,” I reminded him.

“Ah yes. As I was saying, Lily confided in me that Cindy hadn’t given birth to a baby, but she’d stolen two from a mother who had left the babies in the stroller near the park bench while she met with someone halfway across the park. In Cindy’s mind, that woman didn’t deserve to be a parent if she left her children unattended. Cindy had always wanted to be a mother, so she took the two boys.”

“Xavier and me?”

“Yes. After Cindy stole you both, she changed her name to Emma Jo.”

“My mother.”

“Yes. And my new friends knew this secret about her.”

“They never turned her in?” If they had, I wondered how my life would have turned out. Would I have become the same monster I was now?

“Eventually, I was trusted enough in the group to learn all of their secrets. Emma Jo’s secret was peanuts to the rest of us. One man was a serial rapist, another a thief, another loved to kidnap and drug young women. The ladies also had their dark secrets. By the end of our freshman year in college, the serial rapist fell in love with Emma Jo. The weight of college and caring for her newborn and toddler had left her vulnerable and desperate, making her an easy target for Martin’s advances. Around that time, she sold the baby for cash, but kept you. She shared that information with Martin. Emma Jo naively believed she knew who he really was, but the truth was far darker. Martin was not a serial rapist of women, but something even more depraved. After they got married, they moved to Australia until you were in grade school. Martin landed a job in Minnesota, and that’s when they relocated back to the states.”

As he fell silent, the realization of his words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. A fiery rage consumed me as I remembered my so-called father, a monster who had repeatedlyviolated and scarred me in unimaginable ways. A flash of a memory bombarded my mind, and I resisted the urge to stagger backward with the weight of it.

“She knew what he did to me all along, didn’t she?”

The Pied Piper nodded. “She told me about the time she witnessed what Martin was capable of, but she was too terrified of him to turn him in.”

“So, she sacrificed me instead!” I roared. If they weren’t already dead, they would be my next victims. I hadn’t hurt a woman in my life, but she would have been my first, and I would have refused to feel one ounce of guilt over it.

“Would you like me to continue, or have you heard enough?” he asked.

46

ELLA

“Something is really wrong, Kip. I can feel it.” I paced back and forth in the small office, hoping that Sebastian would come through the door at any second.

“He’s okay, Ella. I’m not sure what’s going on but think about who this man is. He can deal with anything.” Kip rolled his shoulders back, and I assumed it was an attempt to relieve some of his tension.

“You say that, but I can tell you’re worried too. Maybe, maybe he just left.” I swallowed over those words. “He’s been having such a hard time with Death being a part of him, and he doesn’t understand our relationship …” I blinked, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Would he do that, Kip? Would he leave me and the kids?”

Kip placed his hands on my shoulders. “Look at me, El. Even if Sebastian left, Death didn’t. He’ll be back, then we will both beat his ass for being stupid.”

I couldn’t help but smile through my tears. “I wish he could understand how much I love both sides of him, but Sebastian is so damn hard headed sometimes.”

Kip grinned. “You don’t say.”

I patted one of his hands before he dropped them. “So you suspect that he just took off to think?”

“Probably, but when he’s back, we’ll tell him that wasn’t cool shit to do. You can decide his punishment.” His chuckle warmed me and eased my anxiety.

“Thank you for being here with me, and always supporting Sebastian and Death. You’re an amazing friend, and I’m grateful to have you in my life.”

Kip placed his palm over his heart. “It’s a good thing you’re married to a guy with a dark side …” He leaned forward, staring at me. “Because if you knew who I really was, you’d take all that back.”

Startled by his revelation, I stepped away. I licked my lips before I said, “I doubt it’s any worse than Death’s secrets. Maybe you just need someone in your life to help you heal about whatever it is you’re punishing yourself over.”

Kip blinked at me several times and then turned away and stared out the window. It seemed as though I’d triggered something inside of him. I cleared my throat, giving him a moment. “While we’re waiting for my husband, what should we do with Xavier?”

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