Page 14 of Firefly (Redemption 2)

Lethal.

So silent that the lack of sound felt heavy in my ears.

I knew what I would find when I glanced up, had seen the image so many times before, but the sight of his eyes somehow still shocked me.

He was staring off toward the edge of the bed, seeing nothing as he listened to something I couldn’t hear. His eyes lacked any of the warmth I’d seen before, and even with the distant look in them now, were filled with a hollowness that terrified me.

Nightshade.

Ev

en though I was prepared for it, a scream tore from my chest when Kieran’s arm snapped back and he let the blade in his hand fly. The sound of one of his knives embedding into the wall was closely followed by a familiar voice.

“Jesus fuck! You almost got me, you asshole. Jesus.” Beck was bent at the waist as he dragged in ragged breaths, not even noticing Kieran had already gotten off the bed and had another knife ready to throw before he’d realized who was walking in.

I scrambled for the comforter to cover myself before Beck straightened, my eyes widening when I saw the handle of the knife less than an inch from his ear.

“You—” Beck paused when he took in Kieran’s naked body, his face pinched. “That’s not any way to greet someone, dude. You don’t need to brag.” His eyes darted to me, then back to Kieran, his eyebrows lifting when he finally understood what he’d walked in on. “That would explain the near-death experience.”

“You coming in unannounced would explain it,” Kieran growled. “Leave.”

Not seeming to care about the demand or that Kieran was still naked, Beck pointed to the opposite side of the guesthouse. “I live here, in case you forgot. Your orders, if I remember correctly.”

“You still announce yourself so you don’t die, Beck. Leave.”

Beck threw his arms out to his sides and then let them fall. “I didn’t know you were here. Conor said he hadn’t seen you since the meeting, and I didn’t think I needed to announce myself to Lily. Mickey’s looking for you.”

Kieran tensed, then slowly forced himself to relax by flipping the blade with a flick of his wrist over and over again. “What does he want?”

Beck shot out a hard laugh. “What . . . I could’ve asked him that?”

Glancing over his shoulder, Kieran’s hardened eyes took me in as he spoke to Beck. “Get out so Lily can get dressed. Don’t leave the house.”

The door had barely clicked shut before Kieran was stalking to the bathroom to clean up. He didn’t acknowledge me in any way when he came back in the room, grabbing his discarded clothes. He didn’t look at me at all until he was dressed and I was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Stepping up to my side, he gently grasped my chin in his fingers and lifted my head so I would look at him.

His eyes were now etched with worry, but I could see the warrior in him slowly taking over. I knew it wouldn’t be long until the moment where I’d thought I was breaking through to him would just be a memory.

His fingers slipped from my chin as he turned and left the room, ripping the knife out of the doorframe as he did.

No words.

No assurances.

No empty promises.

No murmurs of love.

Less than a minute later, I was stumbling from the bed to the bathroom when Beck walked back in with wide eyes and an apology already on his lips.

“I didn’t know what I was walking in on. I’m so—” His brow pinched when he saw the wetness gathering in my eyes. “Lil . . .?”

Unable to hold them back any longer, a sob tore from somewhere deep within me and the tears fell free.

“Lily, what happened?” Beck rushed toward me, his hands moving to my shoulders to keep me in place when I tried to wave him off. His eyes were wild and panicked as he took in my tear-streaked face. “Did—did he—fuck, did he hurt you?” he finally asked between gritted teeth.

I shook my head as another sob broke free, and pressed my hand to my chest in an attempt to ease the aching there.

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