“Family is everything to us,” she said, spinning back to face him. “We are loyal to each other.”
“I know everything about family loyalty, Grace. We’re both in the same business. But I know I can trust my family. Did your father let you into his safe without him?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, no. He said I didn’t need to know what was in it yet.”
“That doesn’t sound like trust to me.” She opened her mouth, but he continued before she could say anything. “My father has said nothing of the sort to us. He’s been very open with us about what we do, and why. Any information that we need to know, he tells us right away. You can’t really say the same, now can you?”
Rain continued to soak them as her mouth opened and closed, reminding him of a fish out of water. Finally, she gave a sharp ‘Humph,’ before saying, “We need to find shelter. We can come back when the rain has stopped.”
He nodded and went to his car. Grabbing both of their backpacks, he tossed Grace’s to her before settling his over his shoulders.
“Where will we go?” she asked, not looking at him.
“There are some hostels ahead, and we can stay there for the night until we can find someone to help us free the car.”
Grace nodded in agreement and trudged through the puddles and mud. They hiked over the Wishing Bridge and through the pass until they found the hostel they were looking for. It was tucked into the surrounding black stone, appearing to be over the pass itself. He welcomed the warmth as they stepped inside.
“Got caught in the storm, I see,” the rotund woman behind the desk said.
“Unfortunately,” Grace muttered, and rubbed her hands together in a desperate attempt to return feeling to them.
“Yes, we weren’t expecting it,” Kilian said with a charming half-smile. “Car got stuck in the mud.”
“Ah, that’s a shame,” the woman said with a sigh, “I’m sure you won’t be the only ones stranded tonight.”
“Yes,” Kilian said, not really caring about the other people who may or may not be out in the storm, “Can we get a room for the night?”
“Of course,” she said. “I just need some information first.”
Kilian answered all of her questions and gave her his credit card when the time came. Once she had run his credit card, she handed it back to him with a key.
“Room 6 on the second floor,” she told him. “Enjoy your stay.”
“Thank you,” he said with a nod. In his mind, he wasn’t rain soaked in the hallway, he was already in a hot shower.
Grace walked at his side, up the stairs and to the room they had been given for the night, and once they’d showered, separately, to his disappointment, he entered the bedroom and was met with a surprise.
“What is this?” he asked as he stared down at a pillow on the floor.
“You didn’t expect to sleep in the bed with me, did you?” she asked sharply.
“Well, actually,” he started, and offered her a slow grin, hoping to remind her of the morning they’d shared.
Grace snorted. “I will admit that last time was enjoyable. But it meant nothing. Today wasn’t a good day. You will sleep on the floor, or I’ll fight you for the bed.”
Kilian eyed the bed. After being soaked to the bone, and having to walk several miles in a storm, he’d been looking forward to sleeping on a soft bed with a hot-blooded women in his arms, but he had never forced a woman before. He wasn’t going to start now. Laying down on the floor, he simply sighed, “Good night.”
15
“She would never just runoff like this,” Peter mumbled, his voice shaky and uncertain. “I don’t understand it.”
“You can’t trust cops, and you sure as hell can’t trust Kilian Kelly,” Mark spat, his tone becoming more furious with each word. “That bastard,” he hissed, pacing back and forth frantically.
It was a rare thing to see Mark so enraged and worried, but he was also fiercely protective of his sister.
“Do you think…” Peter’s voice lowered to barely above a whisper. “You don’t think he did something to her, do you?” He bit his lip, his eyes becoming wide with fear and trepidation. “Oh, my God. That Kelly boy is a piece of work.” He slammed a fist down on a nearby countertop, nearly shattering it with the sheer force of an ex-boxer. “Shit.” He winced in pain, shaking his head.
“What the hell do we do? Do we go look for him?” Mark ran a trembling hand through his tousled hair, frowning. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I find out Kilian did something to her, Dad. I might fucking kill him.” His voice cracked as his face became frighteningly serious; when it came to family, the Walshes would stop at nothing to protect one another.
