“And if she was?”
He swallowed, a foreign look washing over my brother’s face.
Guilt.
“The house takes in runaway girls, giving them a chance to have a better life,”he replied, choosing his words carefully.
My gaze narrowed on him.“What else?”He ripped his gaze away from me, his mouth moving as if he were uttering a silent curse.“What. Else. James?”
He inhaled a breath, returning his cold stare to me.“The girls are taught discipline and respect. When they reach a certain age, they’re given lessons on how to please men before they’re rehomed to members of Legion. Happy now?”
I gaped at my brother, my jaw hanging open as I tried to process his words.“Please men? As in…they’re taught how to fuck men?”
Willow grimaced, hiding her face against James’ shirt.“Yes,”he replied, stoic as ever.
Disgust curled in my stomach.Evenif Billie wasn’t currently inthatvile house, I would have been sickened to my core knowingthatit existed.
“What the hell, James? You can’t be okay withthat, surely-”
“The Peartree House program was set up long before you or I were born, Kiera,”James barked.“Believe me, it’s not something I’m happy about, but all the time Legion members vote to keep it-”
“You’re the head of Legion!”I shrieked, incredulous.“You have the power-”
“Me being the head is averyrecent development if you remember correctly. But it isn’tjustdown to me. The society votes, and at the last vote, they voted to keep the program running. We’ll vote again when Cleo and the twins take their father’s place on the board, but untilthen, my hands are tied.”
I glared at my brother, unable to comprehend his stance on the matter. How in the fuck could he be okay with allowing young girls to be taught how to pleasure men? It was beyond wrong.
“So that’s it?”I said, my tone laced with anger.“You’re happy tojustsit back and let girls like Billie go throughthat?”James’ nose lifted into a sneer before his eyes dropped to Willow. Like a wrecking ball slamming into me, the truth struck me.“That’s where you met Willow, isn’t it? She was at the house, that’s how she knew about the room Billie was taken to.”His silence confirmed my suspicion.“Jesus Christ, James. What the hell is wrong with you?”
I shot to my feet, unable to look at my brother any longer. Of all the things I thought James was capable of, this wasnotone of them. Squeezing past Jackson, I stomped off toward the back of the plane, shoving a door open in hopes it was a bathroom, but finding a small bedroom instead.
Slamming the door behind me, I collapsed on the bed and let my tears fall, my mind spinning with the horrors of what went on at the house. Damn Legion. James was out of his goddamn mind if he thought I was going to allow Billie to be any part of his fucked up society.
The bedroom door opened, closing softly a second later. Before I knew it, I was lifted into Jackson’s lap, his arms winding round me. I wanted to fight against him; he knew aboutthatdamn place as much as James did, but I didn’t have the energy. Instead, I slumped against him.
“Kiki, it’s not what you think. Willow wasn’t part of the program,”he whispered.
I wiggled free to look up at him.“She wasn’t? How did she know-”
“She did live there, but she was kept separate from all the others.”He shook his head.“It’s James and Willow’s story to tell, but believe me, James has always been against the program.”
“Thenwhy can’t he shut it down?”
“He wants to, he really does. But-”
I pulled free of Jackson’s grasp.“Don’t tell me rules prevent him. Seriously, Jackson, what sort of organization has Legion turned into? We both heard the stories growing up about how our ancestors created the organization to better people’s lives. This doesn’t sound like bettering anyone’s lives, except dirty perverts who like to abuse women.”
Jackson sighed.“I know, Kiki. It’s something James is keen to change. He always saidthatwhen he was the head of Legion, he’d get rid of the bad apples and return the society to how it was always meant to be. Youjustneed to give him time; our fathers and grandfathers have caused a lot of damagethatneeds to be undone. It won’t happen overnight, but have faith in him; hewillchange things.”
I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. Jackson was right, I needed to trust my brother. James wasn’t our father, orevenJackson’s father. Like me, he witnessed our father abuse our mom for years, and part of the reason I’d never confided in himthatI had been raped was because I knew he would have committed murder to avenge me.
If he said he didn’t agree with the program and was going to shut it down,thenunless he gave me reason not to, I would believe him.
“I’m sorry,”I said, wiping my eyes.“Ijustwant Billie out of there. The thought of herevenwitnessing what goes on inthatplace makes my skin crawl.”
Jackson pulled me back into his embrace, and this time, I went willingly.“Soon, Kiki. Another couple of hours, and you’ll have your daughter back. Andthenwe can think about our future.”
A small smile curled my lips.“Our future. I never thought we’d have one.”
