Page 28 of Unfulfilled Promises
“Watcha doin’?” James asked, and I gave him a confused look.
Pulling out the flour, I held it up as I placed it on the island. “I wanted to make something for lunch.”
“You don’t have to do that. Rhys can order lunch so you can get ready for your date,” James offered as I washed my hands in the sink while Devlin silently looked on.
“I don’t have to leave for,” I glanced at the clock, “seven hours, so I think I’ve got time to make lunch for everyone.”
“Where are you going for dinner?” Devlin casually asked, and I glanced over my shoulder at him while I dried my hands.
“I’ve already agreed to take a secure vehicle so you can track me,” I answered.
“That wasn’t why I was asking,” Devlin interjected, and James moved back as the madman stepped closer. “I know you’re pissed off at . . . everything, and I’m the first person who agrees people should be able to keep secrets, but I worry that you’re keeping something inside that’s going to split you apart.”
Exasperated, I turned to look at him. “What are you going on about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that for years, no one knew how close we were to you or what you were living through. And that doesn’t take into account what we saw when we rescued you. If you could just tell us something . . .”
His words trailed off as I cast my eyes down, suddenly feeling exposed. Lifting my gaze again, I was about to say something snide when I heard someone defending me from behind us.
“Leave her alone. If she doesn’t want to talk about it, who the fuck are you to try and guilt her into it?”
I snapped my head and saw a pissed-off Seth standing at the edge of the kitchen with his eyes locked on me. He shifted his stance and gave Devlin his undivided attention. “Whatever secrets Regan has, they’re hers to keep or share. You trying to guilt her or persuade her into spilling her guts onto the floor is pretty fucking low. Even for you.”
“Listen here, motherfucker,” Devlin started, and I jumped around him to stand between the two men.
“Seth’s right, Devlin. If I want to discuss what I experienced, then I will, but it’s wrong of you to expect me to share something deeply personal, extremely painful, and highly shameful.” He cut his cold, blue eyes to the side, and I snapped my fingers, drawing his attention back to me. “I don’t see you asking Elise or Aubrey about their pasts. Hell, why don’t you call Stella, or even Grace, and see if they want to take a walk down memory lane?”
“I didn’t mean—” Devlin began, only for me to speak over him, causing James to smile behind his back.
“I don’t see you telling anyone what your life was like during the years you were kept by that man, what he did to you, what you survived, and what you don’t want to remember. So, if you’re so eager for me to share, why don’t you go first?”
He opened and closed his mouth without uttering a word. James walked up and clapped him on the shoulder. “I told you that wasn’t going to work, asshole.”
“Damn, I never realized your temper rivaled your brother’s,” Devlin remarked, and I gave him a smile.
“Rhys only wishes he had the temper I have.” Stepping closer, I added, “Please don’t push me on this, Devlin. You won’t win.”
He and James shook their heads as they moved out of the kitchen and headed toward the war room, leaving Seth and I alone. The smile I was greeted with when I looked at Seth spoke volumes. People tended to let Devlin run over them, but I wasn’t in the mood.
Something about today was bothering me. Maybe it was my date, maybe it was talking to Seth after so long, or maybe I was close to getting my period. Whatever it was, I felt like the next corner I turned was going to lead me into the mouth of the lion, and I feared I wouldn’t return from something like that.
Chapter 14
Seth
Looking down at Regan, I wanted to kick my own ass for what we were going to do. For months, we’d all felt like she was keeping something important from us, and while everyone should be able to keep things private, after speaking with some of the women in the family, they agreed it was time to get dramatic.
Regan was carrying more pain and guilt inside her than any other woman we’d ever encountered, and once I told Rhys, James, Lucian, and Devlin about what she’d yelled out that night at my house, they agreed there were too many similarities between information in the journal and what she relayed to me in her state of anger and confusion.
We believed she’s the person being referred to in Kelly’s journal, which meant she could potentially be the person Sergey was protecting. Why and for what reasons, we had no clue, but with what we anticipated as another impending initiation, we feared someone else randomly connected to the Syndicate was going to be taken.
And Regan deserved to live a life free of regret, shame, and fear of the past repeating. And if she was the person with Sergey during his last few months on earth, then she could be the key to cracking this whole thing wide open and settling it once and for all.
But, like Stella warned, if we were wrong, we were damning her to a life of not trusting anyone and fearing those she shouldn’t. We could’ve potentially been destroying all the hardwork Regan had put in over the last four years, making her unwilling or unable to be herself ever again.
“Thanks for standing up for me, but I know how to handle those two,” she remarked as she stepped back from me and went to the island in the middle of the kitchen.
“I just didn’t like hearing his bullshit and figured you could use a break from all the badgering.” I pushed what I hoped to be a sincere smile onto my face as I said, “I’ll leave you to your cooking.”
