Page 59 of They Will Fall

“Pancakes are always the best choice.”

We finish eating and put our dirty dishes in the sink, deciding we’ll wash them later. Then we do exactly what Riley wants—snuggles and a back rub.

Pure beauty lies flat on my bed. The porcelain skin of her stomach pressed to the mattress and her hands folded under her head.

Straddling Riley’s ass with my knees, I squeeze a glob of lavender-scented lotion on my hands and rub them together to warm it up before pressing my fingertips into the center of her back.

I spread the lotion outward in gentle circles, relishing the way her soft skin feels against my calloused hands.

“That feels soooo good,” she mumbles, eyes closed and a smile parting her lips.

“It’s only the beginning,” I tell her as I work my fingers, increasing the pressure while working out all the tension she’s feeling.

“I almost feel guilty being this relaxed while Lev and Ridge are out doing all the dirty work.”

My hands glide to her sides, fingertips running over the curves of her breasts. “You deserve to relax. You’ve been through a lot. And don’t think I’m not moving to those feet next.” Riley’s feet have been through hell. Running barefoot through the woods for God knows how long while she was trying to escape, who appears to be my dad, really messed them up. She tries not to let us see her limping here and there, but there was a reason I carried her down to the kitchen. I don’t want her hurting, and if I can make up for some of what my father did to her, I have to try.

The thought infuriates me. Finding out your dad is a terrible person should hurt, but it doesn’t. Not in the way I would have expected. Instead, I’m silently plotting a revenge scheme of my own. He’ll pay for what he’s done, and I’m gonna make damn sure he never hurts anyone else ever again.

CHAPTER20

LEV

Walkingup to the backside of Cade’s house, a wave of nostalgia washes over me. The air is suffocatingly thick with trauma and resentment as I look at the house I lived in the years after I lost my family.

It wasn’t always bad here. In fact, the first year was surprisingly good. Uncle Austin and Aunt Marta did everything they could to make me feel welcome. But even sweet fruit rots after a while.

Looking back, it’s almost as if I can pinpoint the exact day their perspective of me shifted. I was no longer a family member, but their ticket to a multi-million-dollar trust fund. Or maybe it was always that way, and they just put on a show in the beginning. It was a damn good show too.

My second year here is when the verbal abuse began. I was belittled and, many times, forced to eat in my room instead of at the dinner table.

My third year is when things got physical. A slap here, a punch there. My last day here, I’m pretty sure I told my uncle I hated him before he knocked me out cold. I barely remember the details. All I know is, the next day, I fled the house. A week later, a social worker came to school and I was put in foster care with a horrible man—even worse than Uncle Austin.

“You good?” Ridge asks, noticing my reluctance as we approach the house.

“Fucking golden,” I tell him.

The truth is, I am fine. I’ve lived through some shit, but I survived it. I’m still here. It’s those sorry bastards who aren’t. Austin and Cade got what they deserved. Had they not been taken out, they would have found another way to hurt me and take everything my family left to me.

With the camera in sight, Ridge and I press our backs to the side of the house so we’re out of view. Once we’re at the back door, I kick up the mat in front of it and retrieve the spare key that’s been there since I was, like, six years old, long before I even lived here.

I stick it into the key slot and a second later, the door is open. We walk inside and the scent hits me like a tornado. The smell of leather and money, not that they have much. Austin and Marta pretty much live off The Society. Being a member does have its perks, but I have yet to decide if they’re worth it or not.

If my memory serves me correctly, the only cameras are out front and the one we just slipped passed out back. There’s no indoor security, so we’re good there.

Ridge drops the heavy box he’s been carrying to the floor and it lands with a thunderous clap. “Fuck, that thing is heavy.”

“I’m not surprised. After all, it holds everything you’ve collected over the past year on your precious angel.” There’s a bite of sarcasm in my tone, but I’m actually glad Ridge was so obsessed with Riley. It’s about to come in handy.

“Pick it back up. We gotta make this quick.” I walk through the kitchen, taking a left down the hall to Cade’s bedroom. I push open the door and step aside. “Put it all in his closet. Make it a shrine that shows his sick obsession.”

“Hey,” Ridge barks. “It’s not an obsession. It’s love.”

“What-the-fuck-ever.” I roll my eyes. “Just make it look like the guy would kill for her.”

“With everything in here, it most definitely will. After all, I did.”

Once he’s in Cade’s room, I go across the hall to Austin and Marta’s room. I remember a week after I lived here, I walked by this room and saw Austin in his closet, kneeling over an open tote-box full of papers and shit. As soon as he caught sight of me, he quickly threw the lid on it like he was hiding something. Then he jabbed a finger in the air and shouted for me to get the fuck out. So I did.

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