Page 5 of Blood and Honor

“For the last time, she is the head of this family, and we will wait for her to say what we should do.” His voice was barely above a whisper. His disdain for Anthony was palpable. “As Harrison said, get the fuck out.”

Anthony’s gaze never broke from Nate’s as he slowly rose to his feet and left.

My father sighed. “Is there any other business? Any reports on this gang?”

The room was quiet.

“Okay. Then get the fuck out of my sight until you find the ones who did this to her.” He slowly rose to his feet as he looked every man in the eye. “Then I start taking your heads.”

Everyone stared at me before they left. When the room was empty, I stood up and headed back to the darkness of my room. In my absence, someone had opened the curtains. Sunlight poured into the room, canceling out the darkness.

I shut them immediately. As I collapsed into bed, there was a knock at the door. I didn’t say anything, but the door opened anyway.

“Hi, Addie.”

Charles’ voice was jarring. I didn’t expect him to visit me, but Nate and my father told me he was with Nate and Eli when they found me. Charles was Lucian Sky’s son and had the same blond good looks.

I should thank him for helping Nate find me, but the words never leave my mouth. I rolled over to find him standing in the doorway.

Seconds tick by and neither of us said anything.

“I just wanted to come by and check on you,” he finally said.

I gazed at him. His blond hair was slicked back. Charles looked how he always looked, neat and clean. Everything in the right place.

He waited. And waited. I knew what he wanted but he wasn’t going to get it.

Slowly, he nodded. “Well, I’ll leave you to get some rest.”

I rolled back over to face the wall and heard the door close. I closed my eyes and waited for the sun to disappear. In the silence of my room, I heard distant voices, probably downstairs, my father and Nate were talking. I heard footsteps near my door, but no one came in or knocked. They just walked by every few minutes.

As the sun began to disappear, there was another knock on my door. They didn’t wait for me to answer. The door slowly opened, someone entered, and then the door closed. I wasn’t tempted to turn around.

The pressure of someone sitting at the end of my bed didn’t persuade me to look.

“Hey, Little Red.”

Eli. Eli was here.

I heard his hard shoes fall to the floor. He stood up and took off his jacket before climbing into the bed beside me, wedging himself between me and the wall. I tried to wiggle away from him as tears slid slowly down my cheeks, but he pulled me closer until my head rested on his chest.

“It’s okay, Red. You don’t have to say anything until you’re ready… until you sift through your anger. I just wanted you to know I’m here.” He held me to his chest and held me as silent tears slid slowly down my cheeks.

I didn’t pull away or speak. I kept my head on his chest and let the steady beats of his heart drown out the world around me… and the faces in my head.

Chapter 3

Addie

When I woke the next morning, Eli was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me. I stretched and he stood up.

“I have to go, Little Red.” He kissed the top of my head. “I have some meetings this morning, but I’ll be back later. If you need me, just text me.”

I nodded and he gave me a reassuring smile, not one of pity. I could always count on Eli not to see me differently, no matter what I did or what happened.

“Try to eat something today, baby.” He pointed to the tray filled with food on the desk on the far side of the room. “Martha gave you a stack of bacon to rival your father’s.”

A smiled tugged at my lips but I didn’t give into it. I just nodded. As he slipped on his shoes, I took the stuffed wolf off my bedside table and wrapped my arms around it while I rolled onto my side and faced the wall.

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