Chapter One

Keiran

Three Weeks Ago

The first forty-eight hours were spent in an interrogation room trying to persuade the moronic detectives I hadn’t tried to kill my own brother.

They were convinced if I didn’t put the bullets in him myself, then I was somehow responsible for what happened to him.

I told them all to get fucked.

The last forty-eight hours were spent looking for Mitch. My fucking father.

I slipped from the black leather seat of my car, and before I could even close the door, I was swarmed.

Endless condolences and questions.

Pats on the back.

Sympathy.

Pity.

It was all unwanted.

The exposure was even more annoying.

My desperation for a distraction overshadowed my better judgment, and before I could rethink it, my attention turned to the nearest hopeful notch.

She batted her eyelashes for the hundredth time, officially going into overkill. She was perfect for what I had in mind.

One flash of a smile and she was instantly on me. Her breasts pressed against my chest when I caught her. My hands instantly sought out her ass, and when I felt the soft globes under my hand, disappointment flared.

Nothing.

Not even a twitch.

This chick made my dick want to deflate and die.

I was thinking of ways to change my mind without embarrassing her because I wasn’t a complete dick… at least not to people who didn’t affect me. It was backward, and it would only make sense to someone who walked in my shoes.

It was a good thing I had lifted my hands when I did, or I would have lost them when the blonde was snatched away and thrown on the ground.

My eyes refused to believe what was taking place before me, but when her fist reeled back, I snapped into action, saving the face of the wide-eyed girl who wasn’t expecting to get her face pummeled for being groped by me.

“What are you doing, Lake?” I managed to keep my tone level while holding onto her wrist for dear life. The rage in her eyes was not to be mistaken. If I hadn’t been so surprised, I would have been turned on.

“What am I doing? What are you doing?” She snatched her arm away and shot me a look meant to maim. My dick jumped in my jeans.

Ah, there it is.

“You disappear for days, and the first time I see you, I find you with your hands all over the nearest skank?”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

It was a lie. I knew what I was doing when I grabbed the girl who had already run off, clutching her head in pain. Who knew little Lake was a scrapper?

“The hell it isn’t, asshole.”

Now that pissed me off. My nostrils flared and the beginnings of a headache stirred. I just needed to do what I came to do and leave. That was the plan. Not feeling up random chicks in the school parking lot and fighting with Lake in the open for everyone to see.

“Let’s go.”

I walked away without looking back, knowing she would follow, and didn’t stop until I reached one of the empty classrooms that served more as an oversized storage closet. I can remember over the years wanting to pull Lake in one of those very rooms and committing forbidden and uncensored acts against her body.

“Where have you been?” she asked as soon as we were inside. I willed my hard-on away and released a breath for patience before responding.

“Look, I’m sorry I disappeared. How are you?”

“Pissed and I don’t know… maybe hurt? Where were you?”

“I had to figure shit out.” I didn’t want to tell her about the two-day interrogation and then my endless search for Mitch because worry was the last thing I wanted to see in her eyes. She had managed to make me care despite my best defenses.

The look she gave me was full of disappointment. “But how could you just leave Keenan alone like that?”

“He isn’t safe as long as my father is out there and he has John.”

“But he needs you too, you’re his bro—”

“Don’t. Don’t say that.” I’ve known since the beginning Keenan was my brother, but it didn’t make others knowing any easier. Especially now. I may have been cold and cruel, but I never wanted Keenan to find out the way he did. Now I was forced to wait while my brother died in some fucking hospital to see how much damage I’d caused or if he would forgive me.

“Did you know all this time?”

“Yes.” I could tell it shocked her.

“How?”

“I saw her picture on Keenan’s nightstand the day John brought me home. He said she was his mother.”

My heart started pounding just as it had the day I discovered my mother had another child. One she loved enough to keep. At least that’s what I felt then. I don’t know what to feel now except confusion. I sure as hell didn’t like the vulnerability it created.

“What did they make you do?” The drastic change in subject didn’t go unnoticed. Parents were a sore spot for her though she cared enough to hide her pain.

Just like her parents were a taboo topic for her, talking about my days of enslavement was or should have been forbidden. After spending time in my father’s company, I felt like I owed her at least a condensed explanation. I would never be able to bare myself enough to reveal everything. Besides, after today, I was letting her go.

“I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, anyway.” I ignored the increasing pain in my chest. No amount of mental preparation could make what I had to do any easier. “I made my first kill for them when I was six.”