Page 60 of The Secret of Pain

He smiles down at me as I lean back, and pulls a cellphone from his jeans. "Modern technology is a wonderful thing."

He passes it to me, and I put my number in. My phone pings seconds after handing it back to him.

"Now you can reach me whenever you need." He smiles before leaning forward and kissing me softly again. I sigh as we part and he lifts me with ease to my feet, standing swiftly as he does.

"I will leave first, ensure it is safe. Wait two minutes before you leave." He runs his thumb across my lips, his eyes flash with heat, and then in an instant he is gone.

My heart thunders as my brain swims with this new knowledge, the love, the pain, all of it. It threatens to overwhelm me, but I take a deep breath and shove it down. Later.

Later I can sift through everything, but for now, I have to get myself together. I wait the two minutes he requested before I leave and walk on silent feet back to my Mustang, parked three blocks away. I pull the keys from my pocket and unlock the car. A breeze rushes past me, his scent hits my senses, and I know that that was his goodbye. That he kept me safe, even when I didn't realize. Just as he promised he would.

* * *

I pull the car up in the driveway at my dad’s and rest my head on my steering wheel. So much happened tonight, even though so little transpired. Chunks of my memory still float out of my reach, and I can't help the frustration I feel. The guilt from my selfishness reaches up and hits me as I realize I haven't thought about my dad once since I left here. I groan and shake off what I’ve learned tonight. My dad needs me, even if he's still unconscious. I need to get a grip on myself. My family has always been there for me. They’ve helped me, even when I didn't want or need it. The least I can do is be here and be present, rather than being wrapped up in my own shit.

I climb out of the car, take a deep breath, and head into the house where I find Bauer and Creek sitting around the table, talking in hushed voices.

"Remy," Creek says, seeing me first, giving me a look that could make a girl swoon. Bauer’s head flicks to me and he gives me a taut smile.

"What’s wrong?" I ask warily. "Is it Dad?"

"Oh, Fates, no. Dad is fine," Bauer says quickly. "Sorry. We just got news from Archer. Roman Knight has been spotted in the city, and nobody seems to know why."

I feign shock and sit beside them. "Roman Knight, Alpha of Alphas, right?"

"The one and only," Creek says, and fear flickers in his eyes. It disappears a second after, but I tuck it away to look into later.

"Have you guys met him before?" I ask, looking between them. Bauer shakes his head, but Creek nods.

"Just once."

"And he still lives?" I ask, knowing that the opportunity for any Hunter would have been too great to pass up on.

"It's complicated." His voice strains before he empties the rest of the glass in front of him.

"I won't ask," I say, and he relaxes a little. "I'm getting the impression that questions are not the way forward." I laugh, and Bauer shoots me a look.

"What? Every time I ask a question, I get told to wait. So I'm waiting, kind of." I stick my tongue out at him and he shakes his head.

"Only you could hear that Roman Knight is in town and shrug it off like I just told you what's for dinner," Bauer says while rolling his eyes at me.

"Well, I mean, he hasn't caused any trouble yet, or you'd have said something. And since the Dracul activity is up in town too, something is obviously happening. Maybe we need to dig a little deeper. Maybe I can look into it?" I offer, shrugging my shoulders, like I'm doing this for them, not to meet Roman. I mean, really, it’s for both reasons, but they don’t need to know that, and since Dad is okay, I don't see how offering myself up could hurt.

"Not a chance in hell, Remy," Creek says, gripping his glass so tight I fear it might shatter. "You're still going through your awakening. He'd chew you up and spit you out."

"Oh, shut the fuck up." I roll my eyes and they both gawk at me, mouths open. "What? He doesn't know that I don't have all of my memories back. And it’s not like I was suggesting I just rock up and knock on his door, announcing myself. I was just going to poke around. I want to be useful, and you guys keep pushing me back. I get it, you want to protect me, but did you ever think that maybe I don't need you to protect me? I've heard stories and remembered even more at this point. I might not have everything, but I know for sure that I'm not some goddamn helpless freaking fairy princess who needs to be locked in a goddamn tower."

I hadn't realized how much it was getting to me, everyone trying to protect me, and as much as I appreciate where they're coming from, I'm starting to feel stifled. Like they're trying to clip my wings.

"Well, I guess more of the old Remy is back than I realized," Bauer says with a frown. He stands from the table and leaves the room without so much as a backward glance.

"What crawled up his ass?" I ask Creek, who's just looking at me like he doesn't know where to start.

"Remy, Bauer has seen you rush into things more times than he can count, and while you're some person of legend, you're still his little sister and he's nearly lost you too many times. He might have only been around for six of your twelve lives, but he feels the loss of you each and every time. He is the cautious brother, he thinks before he acts, unlike you and Colt who act first and damn the consequences."

"Oh," I say, unsure what else to say, especially when he seems so disappointed.

"Yeah. So maybe just try not to rush into danger so much before you remember. I know it goes against your nature, against the very grain of who you are, but with your mom gone, your dad already riding the line, and Colt not here, Bauer is struggling. Even more so with this new Hunter killing material that no one seems to have a clue about."

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