Page 91 of Rebel Heart

“Get out now, Vaughn. Rebel isn’t safe, and neither are you. They won’t stop until you pay.”

The line cut out before I could say another word.

Rebel’s face was white with terror when I looked up.

Guilt swamped me as I reached for her, trying to pull her close. But she wouldn’t budge.

“It’ll be fine,” I promised her. I had no idea how, but I would make sure it was. “No one is gonna hurt you, Roach. I won’t fucking let them. You don’t need to be worried.”

She shook her head. “It’s not me I’m worried about.” She gripped my arm. “Vaughn, she said the Guerra family.”

“Does that mean something to you?”

Fang quietly spoke up. “At the gym the other night, Kian’s friend’s name was Luca Guerra.”

Silence fell.

“Vaughn,” Rebel asked slowly. “Where is Kian right now?”

My blood ran cold.

The note had said they’d cut up someone I loved.

They’d never said it would be a woman.

30

KARA

Icouldn’t stop shaking. My entire body trembled from head to toe, and no matter how much people reminded me I was safe in the Slayers’ clubhouse, with my daughter in my arms, I no longer believed it.

I wasn’t safe anywhere in Saint View.

None of us were. Not while Caleb was out there, still hunting us down.

Which meant it was time to leave. I needed to go back to my family, accept whatever punishment they had in store for me, and take the ridicule and shame that would no doubt be cast upon me for having a baby out of wedlock.

I’d sworn to myself when I left I would never return. I’d never go back to their way of life.

But what choice did I have? I couldn’t make it in the real world. That much was clear. I needed the safety and security of the commune.

I could breathe there. I could watch my daughter grow up without fearing white vans and men in balaclavas.

I would love her enough that she never missed having a father.

Winnie stroked my hair. Georgia had wedged herself tightly beside me on the couch, her arm around me.

Nova and Vivienne sat on the coffee table in front of us, both staring off into space. Vivienne’s expression was calm as always, though tension held her rigid.

Nova’s was a storm cloud, though. Her fingers clenched. “I’m so sorry, Kara.”

I didn’t understand. “What for?”

She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have let us get separated. I should have been there to help you.”

I leaned forward and squeezed her knee. “There was nothing you could have done.”

But it was clear my words did nothing to ease her guilt. I wasn’t sure when she’d decided it was her job to protect us, but I could see now it was eating her alive that she hadn’t been able to.

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