Page 100 of Selling Innocence

“I guess this explains why getting attacked didn’t freak you out,” Hayden said. “Why would it when you were raised as a mafia princess surrounded by the worst of the worst, when your family has the most dangerous killers in it?”

“It’s not like that,” I said.

“Not like what?” Char asked. “Because I’ve worked in the shadows long enough to hear plenty of stories. Are you going to tell me they’re killers with a heart of gold or something?”

I shook my head. “It’s not that. I know how dangerous they are, but that’s not who they are to me. To me, they’re family. To me, Nem is the woman who could have left me to my fate, to get sold off by my father and killed, but she didn’t. She risked everything and came back to rescue me. The Quad are my brothers, men who put themselves between me and danger time and time again. They’re overbearing and annoying, but they care about and look out for me and gave me stability in life when I didn’t have any. Even the Fox—he stepped in like a father for me when he had no reason to. I’m not stupid. I know people fear them, but to me? They’re just my family.”

Hayden let out a sigh that implied he thought me stupid. “You’re naïve, Kenz.”

“I’m really not. I didn’t grow up nearly as sheltered as you seem to think. I’ve seen my share of terrible things, I’ve seen people killed, I’ve been targeted, I even know what it’s like to feel my blood leaking away and think…this is it. It was the Fox who carried me to help, who saved me, and it was Nem who took over for my father to ensure I could leave and get away from that life. I know exactly who and what they all are.”

Silence descended on the room, but it held less tension than before. It seemed like they each thought hard, like they worked through the pieces I gave them.

“Does Lorien know who you really are?” Char asked.

I nodded. “He does. He said it on the phone when we spoke alone.”

“So that’s why he wants you?”

I shuddered as I remembered the way he’d called us soulmates. “He said he loves me. When you were out of the room, he said that my real identity was why his family supported him going after me, but that he wanted me because we’re soulmates.”

A strange chill crept over my skin, and when I looked toward Tor, a darkness in his gaze made me want to curl in on myself. He blinked quickly and ripped his gaze from mine, as though shielding me from it.

“Doesn’t that mean you’ve met him?” Vance asked. At my look, he shrugged. “If he claims he loves you, he must have met you. He came back specifically for this auction, for the one where you were set to be sold. He had to have met you somehow then, or he wouldn’t have had any reason to target you.”

“He used a voice changer on the phone,” Char pointed out. “Even if she knew him, she wouldn’t recognize his voice.”

Hayden set his coffee down, most of the drink gone. “His family here is almost as big as the Williams family on the West Coast. It’s possible he met you at an event sometime. Maybe he became obsessed then? While his family is important, it’s too far for him to have had a hope of getting you from your father, but once you weren’t protected? If he figured out your death had been faked, he might have just kept searching until he found you.”

“Maybe,” I said, unable to deny it. “My father knew a lot of people, after all, and I met more than I could hope to remember from parties.” I rubbed my eyes, the coffee not doing nearly enough to keep me awake.

Then again, I’d snuck out the night before, which meant I hadn’t managed any shut-eye. The idea of going to class today felt wholly impossible. How could I force myself to get up, put on a fake smile and see anyone?

“You should sleep,” Hayden said.

“No, I’m fine.”

“You aren’t fine. You’re going to pass out on the spot.” Hayden took my mostly untouched drink from my hands. “You can miss your classes today and rest. You won’t be any good in them anyway.”

“I’m supposed to meet up with my advisor,” I said.

“That’s at four this afternoon. If you sleep now, you’ll get a few hours before you have to go.”

“So I can still go?” Hope sprang inside me. I’d thought after this fiasco he’d end up locking me down. I figured they wouldn’t let me do anything after this whole mess.

“Yes,” Hayden said, but the harshness in his tone said he I was far from being off the hook. “And tonight, after you’re back, we will have a very thorough conversation on exactly what you did wrong, Kenz.”

And here I thought I’d gotten off lightly…

* * * *

Hayden

“She asleep?” Vance asked when I got back to the living room.

“Yeah. I didn’t know if she’d fall asleep, so I sat there for a few minutes, but she was out fast.”

Char let out a long sigh, annoyance tinging the sound. “Well this sure all went to shit, didn’t it?”

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