Page 117 of Praying for Thunder

I grabbed her chin, forcing her head back. “If you get her killed, I’ll—”

Why was I so livid? Several reasons, but the main one was Rya. Was this bitch the reason Onus wanted Rya away from me? Was this undercover bitch placing Rya in more danger than I had already put her in?

Another reason for my rage? Rya was the one thing I had to myself. To even suspect any of our special times had been violated had me seeing red. Red blazes of uncontrollable fury. I was going to keep my one joy in life, private. Period. The end.

I may have been a lanky sixteen-year-old, but I was much larger than Tabi, and easily overpowered her. Or, at least, she wasn’t using any of her training against me.

Again, I was being used. That’s what it felt like.

From under me, she whispered, “Keep being better than him.”

Fuck with Rya, you fuck with a whole different Hellion. My fingers tightened on her chin. “Stay away from her.”

Tabi’s eyes softened. “He’s right to separate you two.”

I wanted to kill this woman. “You don’t know anything about me and Rya.”

“She is your strength. I’ve watched her make a man out of you.”

What? “How long have you been spying on her?”

Tabi’s tone, even though she still whispered, switched into some sort of professional mode. “Long enough to have discovered that Titans sold Mr. Stannon a little girl. Fourteen years ago.”

My skin broke into a sweat. I could barely breathe. “W-what—W-what do—I—Are you saying—” I rolled off her. “No.”

Tabi got to her side and scooted closer to me, to not be overheard, but now sounded more empathetic. “Think about it. Five sons.”

“So?” I had just seen them. All of them.

“Lessie, Mrs. Stannon, wanted a girl.”

I let my eyes drift shut because I felt sick. Rya loved her mama, unconditionally. Was it all built on a lie?

“Hellion, we have intel—a family member—that says the guilt of loving Rya had Lessie wanting to come clean. That ‘praying to Jesus’ was no longer enough.”

Since Rya had been born, that woman must have prayed every day for her guilt to fade. She had illegally purchased a child. Someone else’s stolen child.

My stomach twisted. Rya was a stolen child.

And that child turned to Jesus because that is what she witnessed…

Witnessed… Her mama’s murder. I covered my face with both shaking palms. “Oh my God.”

Tabi touched my arm. “It’s why the Titans are here in Wilmington. Rya was their last delivery from the mountains. They never left. That’s why Stannon hates them. They’re here because of him.”

“Please stop.”

She gently pulled on my arm to see my face. “I know this is a lot, but I need your help. I need the help of Rya’s biker boyfriend who led us to this clubhouse.”

I pled, “Please, this can’t be all my fault.”

“It’s not. You’re as innocent as she is.” Her eyes welled again. “And that’s why I cry. As soon as I get Rya a protection detail, I blow this case. Very little happens in this town without Onus or Stannon knowing about it. And, blowing this case scares me because… we have reason to believe they’re still selling girls.”

Now my pity shifted. For this agent. Everything Piercer had most likely already put her through, sexually. Was it for nothing?

I let my head sink into the pillow as the weight of the world crushed me. “They are still selling girls.”

Her forehead dropping to my chest told me she felt the same pressure. “Are you sure?”