AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Vee trembled at the loss of his embrace, and I moved in, desperate to wrap her up and shield her from whatever harm she’d endured. I couldn’t undo it now, and it killed me inside.
“You better tell me or so help me,” Kieran snarled as he closed the gap between him and Thomas in the blink of an eye.
Thomas recoiled, his jaw clenched as he shot Vee a desperate look.
She huddled against me, and the way her small frame shook had me wanting to beat someone into a bloody pulp.
A glance at Zane was enough to know he’d re-engaged with his own emotions, because those icy eyes were filled with bloody murder.
“Kieran, don’t, please. He saved me, if it wasn’t for him…” Vee’s voice wavered, and I wrapped my arms tighter around her, crushing her to my chest in an effort to comfort and protect her.
“What happened, Vee?” Zane’s voice was low, but the emotion dancing in the undertones was enough to make her stiffen.
“Please,topolina,tell us. We’re here now, you’re safe,” I said gently against her ear, running my hands up and down her back in an attempt to ease the rigidness.
“I know,” she breathed, her body deflating against me, like all the adrenaline and fear were being released.
Kieran turned his attention to her, those dark eyes swimming with confusion and rage, his jaw set as he flexed his hands uneasily.
Whatever she said, he was going to go off.
I just prayed he saw enough sense to spare the boy.
“Vee?” Zane coaxed her, reaching out to rest a hand on her upper arm.
“A man there, he attacked me,” she said slowly, and I rested my chin on her head, hating how her words wobbled.
“Attacked you?” Zane said carefully, and I exchanged a look with him. There was red in those steely eyes now. He and Kieran were both on the brink of going off. This room was a hot zone, and all I could do was hold Vee tight, wanting her to feel safe. One of us had to comfort her in this moment.
“How?” Kieran’s tone was deadly enough that even Thomas shrunk on the bed, as if he could make himself small enough that he might avoid the wrath of my brothers.
“Don’t hurt Thomas. I owe him everything, he risked everything,” she said, a harsh sob tearing from her as she started to tremble against me. No matter how tight I held her, it didn’t stop, and it tore me apart.
Kieran’s expression shifted to pain, and Zane sucked in a breath.
Vee let out a shaky breath, her hands curling in the front of my tee as she tried to steel herself.
“He forced himself on me. Thomas came down and knocked him out, pulled him off me and got me out of there.”
Vee’s words were like a gunshot going off in the room, silencing everyone as a stillness settled in the air.
The kind of stillness that happened right before a storm unleashed.
“He forced himself on you?” Kieran’s face twisted, an array of emotions washing over him–fury, rage, despair, pain.
“What was his name?” Zane growled.
“I…” Vee shook her head.
“What was his name?” Kieran repeated, this time focusing on Thomas for a response.
Thomas looked to Vee, like he was seeking her permission.
“Someone tell me his name,” Zane demanded, his tone carrying with it a sense of impending doom.
“Vincent,” Vee whispered.
“He’s dead.” Zane’s voice was so low as he moved to the kitchenette, a tone that carried with it a heaviness that even Vee felt as she shrunk against me, as if she needed to find shelter from the storm.
