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The way he said it made me feel like shit. No one wanted the Son here, least of all me. I knew what it meant…
The others would torture and even try to kill him, and they’d force me to watch it happen. I stepped into the room as Thomas rose, looking down at the Son now secured to the wall by a chain.
“Outside, Helen,” He murmured, giving me no choice but to follow.
I met the Son’s stare and that same feeling of belonging filled me. His dark eyes softened with the connection. Whatever it was I felt, I knew he felt it too. But I followed Thomas outside the small room, meeting one of Finley’s bodyguards.
“Ten years in the military police. If he knows anything, I’ll get it out of him.” He said, glancing at the room.
Could I trust him? I wasn’t sure. I needed him, that I knew.
“Nothing will happen, unless he forces my hand. You have my word.” The guard urged.
I had to trust that…for now.
Raised voices came from the main room where everyone waited. I headed back in with Thomas, finding the dull roar quieting the moment I stepped inside. Heads turned my way. No one wanted to see me, not after bringing the enemy through the door. But it was Vivienne and Ryth who broke away and headed toward me.
“It’s okay.” Vivienne ran her hands along my shoulders and pulled me in close. “I know what you’re doing.”
I held her, meeting Ryth’s stare.
“We can’t do it,” My sister murmured in my ear. “So it has to be you.” I pulled away, finding desperate compassion in her stare.
“Thank you.” Ryth said and smiled.
“You feel it too, right?” I asked. I had to know…desperate to find out it wasn’t just me. “That connection to them.”
Ryth eyes widened. Vivienne glanced over her shoulder to where Colt and Carven stood. “Yes.” She turned back to me. “It’s like fate, like you’ve known them your entire life even though you’ve only just met. I don’t believe in past lives or alternate realities. But if I did, it’d be like this.” She turned back to me. “There is a connection between us, one only we can feel. If there’s a way to exploit that connection to end this and be rid of Hale once and for all, then we need to do everything we can. If that means you need to form a connection with this Son, then I’ll do everything I can to help you.” She looked at Ryth. “We both will, but we can’t be part of it…you understand that, right?”
My sister spoke of fate as though it was a tangible thing, but fate, to me, was a hunter just like a Son. One always hunting, desperate for a connection. I’d known it the moment I stepped into the path of Riven’s car and the moment I’d made the decision to become a Daughter in The Order. But my fate wasn’t just tied to the men I loved and the Sons…it was also tied to the two women standing in front of me.
I felt their connection as clearly as I did the Sons’.
“The attack from the tunnels was a damn mess, but this is bigger than that. Whoever he has hiding his tracks is good.” Anna’s voice rose above the groans and mutters of revenge, calling my attention. “He’s good, Fin. He’s really good. But I need to be better.”
“We need to be better,” Harper added. “We need to break this code and find a way into this system. We need to figure out where that bastard is hiding.”
Anna ran her hands through her hair and turned to Kat. “I’ll find him. Believe me…I’ll find him.”
“The moment you do, we’re ready.”
I met my sisters’ panicked stares. But what if she never did? What then? There was no way in hell I was waiting for the moment both of them looked at us, defeated. Hale had escaped once before by pretending he was dead. We all knew he wasn’t…because monsters like him don’t die. They infect. They possess…and they live on through reputation alone.
“I can’t wait for that.” I murmured and turned away. “I just can’t.”
I walked out, leaving those I loved behind. I needed quiet. I needed me. My pulse raced as I headed out of that room and sought a darkened, quiet hallway, one where I could think. My steps blurred as I paced, the movement sanely comforting.
I’d spent my entire life pretending.
First, I was the daughter to a stranger, content to be alone.
Then I was a sister with a loving family.
After that I was a meal to a group of violent and dangerous men…and through them, I became a pawn for The Order. So what was a little more pretending?
“You give too much of yourself.” I stopped walking and slowly turned around, meeting Thomas’ stare. He strode toward me, powerful and sure, slid his hand around the back of my neck and forced my gaze to his. “Too damn much.”
An ache bloomed in the back of my throat. I wouldn’t cry. Not now. Not here. There wasn’t time for that. But as Thomas pulled me closer, that knot of pain moved into my chest.
