Brody’s silence infuriates me. I just want to know what he’s thinking.
“Dad only humored me with this hotel so he’d have another place for his business. It was never actually about me.”
“Listen.” Brody props both hands on my shoulders and lowers his voice. “I don’t think Dad will kill Kellin. Finn will lose his shit if he does. And even though Dad’s trying to build an empire here that rivals that of the NYC Gallaghers, he needs to play it smart. Connor won’t let Kellin die.”
“Connor hates Kellin. You saw the way he glared at him over dinner.”
“That’s just his face.”
Despite this shit show of an evening, Brody’s statement almost startles a snicker out of me. What he said, though true, is sadly not helpful.
We enter my room, and I close the door with a snap.
Brody rests against the wood. “It’s too big a risk to kill Kellin. So much wrath would rain down on us. We don’t have the money, influence, or manpower to win that battle. So, Dad won’t even start it.”
“Then what’s he doing with the guy upstairs? Won’t that stoke a war?”
“That’s different. Don’t worry. Kellin will be all right.”
I believe him, but I can’t help but wonder what kind of condition Kellin will be in when our father finishes with him.
I shiver.
In a rare moment of compassion, Brody tugs me into a hug.
I stiffen initially, as I don’t even remember the last time anyone hugged anyone in my family as a form of comfort. But then I hug him back.
“I’m sorry, sis. I…I’ll try to do better.” He pulls away and reopens the door. Back to business. “Stay in your room for the remainder of the evening. I mean it.”
I nod, and at that moment, I mean it too.
Though my silent agreement hardly matters. The only way past the guard that Brody will post in the hall is out a sixth-story window.
I’m a prisoner in my own hotel, which reminds me more and more of an armed camp.
Once he’s done delving out orders, Brody walks away from the guard, and I shut and lock my door before sagging against it.
Waiting is my only option.
Not that I really know what I’m waiting for.
I catch a glimpse of my savage appearance in the mirror on the opposite wall and grimace.
No wonder my brother lost his shit. With Kellin’s blood smeared across my lips and chin, I could probably pass for a vampire after a hearty meal.
Unrecognizable.
I’ve lost control of my life.
The only thing I do know is the one thing I can’t get myself to say out loud.
I’m definitely in love with Kellin.
So in love with him that I forgo cleaning myself up in the bathroom and crawl right into bed instead.
Where I can sleep with his sweat, his stench, his blood, and his cum all over me and inside me, because if I can’t be with him, I’ll do whatever I can to hold him to me.
If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.
