I’d awoken to stabbing pain at the back of my head and gritty dirt in my fucking mouth and eyes. The only other awareness I’d had was the confusion as to how I found myself on the ground. And then, Arrow had appeared, freaking the fuck out, like only he can. He swore he hadn’t hit me, but that’d been my first assumption. I work my jaw to the side. Hisreaction, though, is burned into my retinas. I don’t think it was him.
Frowning, I watch as Kiefer drags in a deep breath. Why would he say it wasCross? Does he know something? Did he see something out there?
The lumpy oatmeal I’d eaten for breakfast curdles in my stomach, weighing heavily like a lead brick. My mouth goes dry. “Father.”
He turns to face me, brow arched. “The two of you constantly bicker. Him, with Nolan’s ideas in his head.” He huffs out a disgusted laugh, then walks away. “Watch your back, son. He’ll surely come after you again since he was unsuccessful in his first attempt.”
My eyes widen.What in the ever-loving fuck is he talking about?I bring my hands to my head, looking around wildly. His words fester like a disease eating away at my brain.
No.My chest tightens.Not Cross.
THIRTY-TWO
ARROW
This key is practically burninga hole in my pocket, and concern for when—and how—the Collective will decide to take action against Delilah for her perceived betrayal has been rising steadily. The need to protect is a fierce beast within my chest. And now, after spending quiet hours wrapped around her, I have to return the key to the hook in the gathering room before anyone notices it’s missing. We have to come up with a better way to keep them from harming her.But how?
I move through the kitchen area and give a furtive look around, but it’s empty. The women haven’t even prepared breakfast yet, so I’m in the clear as far as they’re concerned. No one else is around either. Striding quickly to the Collective’s meeting room, I let myself in and turn to the set of hooks that line the wall.
Mission almost complete, my hand dips into mypocket just as sharp, agitated voices echo from the main hall, and I go completely still.
“I’ll grab it. I’d like to be the first to have a word with her.”Oh, fuck. Delilah. Panic surges. The key.That’s Nolan for sure, but the other voice is lower, bitter, and at first, I can’t make out what is being said.
“I’d rather you let me handle her after all the trouble she’s already caused my boy.” My stomach flips in recognition. It’s my father.
From the sound of it, at least one of them is heading in this direction. Heart in my throat, I yank the key from my pocket and put it back. My breath is unsteady. Returning it is important for sure—but if I’m caught in their sacred space without permission, I’m still in deep shit. They’ll correct me to within an inch of my life.
The ugly memory of the way it felt to have leather splitting the skin of my back slams into me, and I shudder hard. With my jaw clenched, I spin on my heel and attempt to judge not only how long I have before they enter the room, but also if there’s anywhere at all to hide.Fuck!
On the side wall, a large trunk sits, its lid gaping open. They store all sorts of things in there, including the whip they made Hayze use on me. I skid toward it with the thought that there might be just enough room for me to wedge myself between the trunk and the stone behind it. As I conceal my body, the hammering of my heart sets a frantic rhythm and blood roars in my ears.
From there, the seconds pass slowly while I wait for whatever happens next, the pounding of each heavy footstep ringing inside my skull like a death knell.
“I’m the one she duped,” Nolan spits, his agitation palpable. “Why do you feel the need to go down there?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.The curse is on repeat in my head.Maybe I shouldn’t have put the key back.Bile rises until it clogs the back of my throat.But Nolan has a valid question. Whydoesmyfather want to speak to Delilah?
The deep bass of my father’s voice booms inside the high-ceilinged room. “Because I’m done with that girl. She fooled all of us, and she’s gone too fucking far this time. First leading my son astray. Now this bullshit about the birth control?” he blusters. “I’ll take the whip to her myself.”
I duck my head, turning away, my back slicking with sweat. This is it. They’re going to find me hiding here.Fuck.
“That’s enough.” Finneas bites out as he charges in. I slowly turn my head to get a look at what’s happening when Kiefer enters the room right behind him, a terrible smirk on his face. Finneas eyes Nolan and my father in furious disbelief. “Do you realize that your voices are carrying all the way down the motherfucking hall?” He throws out his hand, gesturing to the two of them who stare daggers at each other. My father’s face has gone a shade of red I haven’t often seen. As Nolan opens his mouth to speak, Finneas swings his arm, smashing into a candlestick on the endtable and sending it flying. It hits the wall with a harsh clank. “It’s not even up to you!” he roars, losing control of his temper.
I flinch at the display of fury, my eyes widening as I peer through the tiny space between chest and lid at the hinge. Breathing isn’t even an option. I don’t dare, and my lungs protest.
Kiefer runs a hand over his jaw, watching the argument with a mocking smile. “Every single one of us wants to be the one to teach her a lesson.” He huffs out a laugh, the scar on his cheek pulling grotesquely. “I’m willing if you all can’t come to a decision as to who it should be.”
Finneas scowls at him. “Of course you are. But it’ll be me.” He nods, thoughtfully. “At this moment, I’m enjoying letting her stew about it. Wonder what we’re going to do to punish her. It’s psychological warfare at its finest.” He smirks.
Kiefer grunts, his annoyance clear. “Whatever you think is best.”
The gaze of our leader bounces around the room. “Indeed. And you all had best remember that. No more just winging it. This collective was not built on doing whatever the fuck we wanted. It thrives on patterns of behavior that get results.” He shakes his head. “Why buck the system now, especially when we all have boys who are of age?”
Nolan huffs a bit but quickly clamps his lips together.
Finneas’s growl is unmistakable. “Which of youhas been fucking the women on the sly? I want to know.”
There’s dead silence for several beats before my father hesitantly offers, “Come now, Finn. I think we’ve all been guilty of taking certain liberties with the women.” The tension in the room thickens unbearably as they engage in a four-man standoff.
