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“All right. I’ll go see if she needs help getting ready.” With a smile she left, and I blew out a heavy breath, ru
I turned on the light and walked through the racks of clothing to the back where a mahogany dresser was built into the wall. Bending down, I pulled open the bottom drawer, wiggling it free from its track and pulling it all the way out to set it on the floor. The small space below the drawer was where I kept things I didn’t want Grace finding when she cleaned the house. It was all that remained aside from the nightmares and A
“It’s not her,” I repeated again to Taylor, who was pacing the floor.
“How do you know if you haven’t tried?” He bent down to my eye level, gripping the arm rests of my chair.
“She’s not a si
“So tempt her.” His eyes were wild behind his thick brown frames and devoid of all reasoning. “She trusts you.”
“I’m not you. I can’t do it.”
The back of his hand came down across my cheek, and in an instant my chair flew back against the wall. Then I was standing, towering over him as he took a step back.
“If you ever touch me again, you will be meeting God a lot sooner than pla
“Colin…Colin…you need to listen to me. We’ve worked for years.” His eyes fell closed as he shook his head, his hands extended toward me looking for mercy. Where was his mercy for those girls?
“I won’t do it.” I swiped my hand in the air in front of me, finalizing my decision. As I turned my back toward him, his hand fell on my shoulder.
“Then I’ll find someone else.”
I slowly turned around, murderous rage coursing through my body. There was a steely, determined look in his eye, and I knew he wasn’t bluffing. It was only a matter of time before something happened to A
When I opened the door, I was immediately filled with a sense of calm seeing her lying across my bed reading, oblivious to the deals I was making with the devil himself to keep her safe. Every day we grew a little closer, and slowly she’d begun to trust me, opening up and telling me stories of her life outside the commune. It fascinated me to hear how she was raised by a single mother because her father had left them when she was only a few months old.
The Bible, a book that I had learned to use as a guide to immorality, brought her comfort as she worried about her mother and her own safety. I lay down beside her on my stomach, glancing over her shoulder to see what passage she was reading. She no longer recoiled, but turned her head to smile at me. That was when I did something that to this day I couldn’t explain; I kissed her. It was a chaste kiss on the lips, but it was anything but i
I set the pictures back in the corner and pulled out a tiny box. I flipped the black velvet lid open and looked down at the old cross necklace my mother had worn until the day she had died. It was a present from my father.
Still, it was the one thing that had a true co
I slid the necklace into my pocket and replaced the drawer before turning off the closet light and closing the door behind me. I left my bedroom and made my way downstairs to where Amanda and A
A
“Little Orphan A
“You think you could stop calling me that now?” she replied dryly as she folded her arms over her chest.
“Not a chance, little one. You look beautiful.” I pressed a kiss into her hair, and she rolled her eyes.
“At least not when the guests are here?”
“I make no promises.”
Amanda bumped my arm with hers and laughed. Being an only child, she thought the way I picked on A
I left the girls to gossip as I went and checked on the caterer. The doorbell began to ring shortly after, and guests filed in. My eyes danced over the crowd. Everyone who was anyone was here.
“I’m going to make sure my door is locked,” I said to Amanda, who stood in the doorway. The last thing I wanted was some asshole trying to fuck his girlfriend on my bed. I said hello to everyone as I passed by in the crowded hallway. Luckily, no one had ventured upstairs yet. I pulled my keys from my pocket as I hurried to my room. I glanced around, making sure no one had slipped inside, before twisting my key in the lock I had added to ensure my privacy.
I rushed from my room, plastering on a smile as I casually strolled down to the first floor. Casey and Mara stood just at the bottom and I shot them a wink as I greeted them.
“You guys seen my sister?” I asked as I rounded the banister.
“You’re not even going to talk to me?” Casey laughed flirtatiously as she pushed her long brown hair over her shoulder.
“I’ll be back. I promise.” I put my hand over my heart as I walked backward a few steps down the hall before turning around and shaking my head.
“Hey, man.” Shawn grabbed my hand and pulled me in for our shoulders to bump. “Friday night at my place.”
“I’ll be there as long as you aren’t drinking vodka,” I called over my shoulder as I continued through the growing maze of people.
“That was one time, man.” He shook his head, and I focused my attention on finding A
I stepped into the dining room and through the kitchen before I heard her laugh from the entertainment room. I grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and twisted off the cap, tossing it into the trash. I took a long pull, nearly emptying the bottle as I walked across the hall and under the staircase. The entertainment room was decorated like it was New Year’s Eve, and it was packed full of people from every corner of town. A