Page 51 of Darling Wildfire
“Graham can take you to get cleaned up,” Atlas said, looking at me over her head.
I pulled her against me and this time she let me lead her upstairs to the room I’d been staying in. I helped her out of her clothes as the shower water heated.
“I shouldn’t have slapped him,” she said finally.
I kept my smile hidden as I helped her pull down her jeans.
“I think he’ll survive,” I said dryly.
“But—I did it in front of Nyx and Atlas…and you,” she insisted. “That’s so disrespectful. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I’m so tired of his bullshit.”
“I’m sure they’ve done their fair share of punching each other.”
I gently pushed her under the spray and leaned against the entrance to the shower. She watched the water run red for a minute before she grabbed soap and scrubbed the rest away.
Kaelin finished showering in silence. She didn’t have any clothes here so I gave her one of my oversized t-shirts that swamped her but also did things to me that weren’t appropriate at the moment.
“I’m finding out what’s going on,” she said finally.
The look on her face when she turned to me was one I’d seen a few times when we were surviving together. A strong resolve to get what she wanted and fuck everything else.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “It’s time. Whether he likes it or not, we need to know.”
“So you’ll support me now?”
“Princess, I’ve always supported you,” I said, wrapping my arms aroundher. “I only know bits and pieces, not enough of the full picture to tell you anything. I’m sorry you think I’m keeping things from you. It isn’t my story to tell anyway—but at this point, it’s escalated to include us.”
Kaelin nodded. The silence was broken by her stomach growling and I chuckled.
“Let’s get you something to eat,” I said, nodding towards the door.
We made it down to the kitchen and she hopped up on a barstool while I rummaged around the kitchen. Anytime I turned to look at her, she was chewing on her bottom lip, staring off into space with a crease between her brows.
“I’ll be right back,” she said abruptly.
I didn’t protest but watched her leave the kitchen. I knew better than to think she was just going to the bathroom.
She was looking for trouble.
But maybe it was time she found some.
24
THERON
I heard Kaelin’s voice from down the hall. “I’m sorry—”
I found her in West’s room. One glance inside and I saw several of his monitors hadAtroxinformation displayed and Kaelin had just jumped up from West’s chair wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt.
“North, I’m sorry—I stepped away for a minute—” West insisted.
I held up my hand to stop him. Kaelin went from looking sheepish at being caught by West to fuming mad as she rounded on me.
“What the fuck is all of that?” She demanded, throwing her hand back at the monitors. “What isAtrox? And why the fuck are there invoices fromPhoxhere?”
I didn’t answer for a long moment. Maybe it was her slapping me that solidified it, although we’d talk about that later—but it was time to stop running. It was time to tell her.
The commotion had drawn Graham. I could feel his presence lingering in the doorway.
