Page 40 of Behind the Shadows
Holland’s lips parted. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t pull away.
“You were there that night.” I blinked hard, lost in the fog. “You saw what they did to me. To you.”
Gunshots. Fire. Her mother slumped over the table. My uncle saying something I couldn’t hear.
“Kip,” she whispered, her voice soft, strained. “You’re scaring me.”
Her words snapped me out of the flashback. My hand recoiled like I’d touched fire, and I stepped away, putting distance between us.
“Fuck—Holland?—”
She didn’t move. Just stared at me like she finally saw the ghost inside of me.
“I can’t stay. I’ll have to touch base with you tomorrow. I wanted to check on you.”
“Oh. Okay.” She rubbed her arms as if warding off a chill. “Well, I’m fine. I haven’t seen Cooper or Draco.”
Her nose sounded stuffy as she talked.
“Keep your door locked,” I ordered.
She didn’t know it, but I would check on her through the cameras in her house while Dope and I were flying to Arkansas. If I saw anything go down, I would reach out to Riley. She’d done me a solid before when I was out of town. That was one thing about her: she’d proved herself over and over again whileworking at Velvet Vortex and the society. When we were risking lives and breaking laws, we had to be able to trust the other person working with us. Riley definitely had our backs.
“I will. Thanks for checking on me.” Her words were full of gratitude, and I pushed down the overwhelming urge to hold her, but then Mother’s words whispered at me again.
“When we have time, we need to talk.”
Curiosity flickered across her pretty features. “It sounds serious.”
Her soft tone went straight to my cock. “Yeah.” I took a step back before I did something stupid like pin her to the wall and kiss her. I was losing my goddamn mind riding the roller coaster. I needed to jump off before I completely lost my shit. Just because she was beautiful didn’t mean she wasn’t dangerous.
Before I made a reckless move, I spun on my heel and stormed out the door. Dope was waiting for me at his place, and the chaos waiting for me loomed like a storm on the horizon. I had to stay laser-focused on the impending shitshow that threatened to consume everything in its path.
I paced the creaking floorboards,my boots thudding like war drums in the cabin’s silence. The place was remote—meant to keep secrets buried.
But mine were rotting through the floor.
Dope settled into the old navy recliner, its fabric faded and frayed with time. The cabin was modest, a compact sanctuary. Despite its size, it was everything we needed—hidden away from prying eyes, a safe haven that provided shelter from the world’s chaos.
Death, a silent presence, leaned against the dark-paneled wall, his silhouette blending into the shadows. His arms were folded over his chest, and he watched me intently, as I wrestled with the words that hovered beyond my grasp.
Finally, I said, “Mother.”
“You want us to take care of her finally?” Death asked, a hint of excitement in his tone. As far as I knew, Death had never killed a woman, but my mother wasn’t human, so there was that.
I cracked a grin. “As much as I would love to be rid of her …” I coughed into my hand as I said, “I need her alive.”
Death tilted his head, eyeing me. “Do you want to fill us in? I have another bastard to fillet, so let’s get on with it.”
Dope snickered at Death’s comment.
“I visited Mother,” I said, wiping my sweat-slickened palms on my dark wash jeans.
I hesitated.
“She gave me a number. Said an old friend wanted to meet me. She didn’t say who until I was halfway out the door.”
I looked at the ceiling. Maybe if I didn’t say it out loud, it wouldn’t become real.
