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“Where the fuck did you come from?” Kyle seethes, spitting onto the ground.
“She was with me,” another voice says, and a girl I don’t recognize walks through the boys. She’s short, petite, with a round face and doe-like eyes. Her hair is dark on the top and blonde on the ends, and her blue eyes are as moody as the ocean. I don’t know who she is nor do I recognize her.
The girl turns to face Wicked.
I look between her and Wicked, confused.
“Hey, big brother…”
I freeze.
Wicked’s hand comes up to her face, blinking back the tears that are pricking the edges of his eyes. “Poppy?”
“It’s me.” She smiles up at him, and I see the adoration she has for Wicked as she leans her face into his hand. “I’ll explain later.”
She turns back to face Kyle, her shoulders squaring, and her lip curled. “You may not know this, Mr. K, but all these years—” Poppy moves around him as Olivia remains near Lion. Probably to ensure he doesn’t kill Kyle. This whole situation is fucked.
“Listen!” I snap, I’ve fucking had it with the delay. “I need fuckin’ blood, so all of you are going to have to wait until I’m done, and then you can wear his organs as a necklace. We good?”
Poppy stares at me blankly. “You must be Royce.” The way she confirms it is enough to have me stop talking. As if she knows more about me than I want her to know. “She spoke about you a lot.”
“Who!” I yell, my fists clenching at my sides.
“Me,” Jade whispers from the doorway, and I spin around in a rush, my teeth bared in anger.
“I fucking told you! What did I say, Jade? I said to keep your ass at the motherfucking clubhouse so I can handle this shit!”
Jade clears her throat, stepping farther toward me while an angelic smile remains passive on her lips. “I love you. You know that, right?”
“What are you doing?” I say, exasperated. If I didn’t love her so damn much, I’d put a bullet between her pretty little eyes just to put myself out of my misery. She has always been the crux of my pain, but around that crux, we had a life together.
“As I was saying, an angel has been working with you for years,” Poppy says, turning to face Kyle.
The blood in Kyle’s face drains, his skin going pale. I’m still standing here, fucking gobsmacked as to what the fuck I’m missing.
“Me,” Jade announces, like she’s fucking bulletproof. She steps closer to Kyle and my hand flies out to connect to hers.
She turns to face me. “Roy, I’ve been through more than you know over the years. Let me handle this. Please.”
There’s an internal battle that pulls in my chest. The me who wants to protect her at all costs and not let anyone go near her ever again, and then there’s the other side. The side that has realized over the past few days just how much she has grown. By the hand of my father, she has endured pain, suffering, and loss, and that’s only from what I know. I know that there’s so much more she has to tell me. But with that pain and suffering came resilience.
I let her hand go, with my other fisted so tight that crescent moons scar my palms.
“Over the years, I’ve been freeing girls,” Jade announces, her shoulders back. Lion takes the few steps it is to me, leaving the girls at the front line. We hang back like hungry wolves, waiting for our alphas to say it’s feeding time.
I’m good with that.
Jade carries on. “The first girl I freed was Poppy. After seeing her the first time you took me to the compound, curled up in the corner crying. I knew right then and there that I would not allow my part in your life to be in vain. I would use it for good.”
Jesus fucking Christ, I want to fuck all that good out of her right now.
Jade leans down, her hands pressed on either side of the chair. “You thought you were so smart, Kyle. But among all of it, you seemed to forget one thing.”
“And what’s that?” Kyle snaps, and I watch as defeat drags out of his eyes.
“I was your blind spot. You conditioned me to sit like a lapdog, which I did. I battled with a lot of guilt inside of me, but there’s always one thing that would outweigh the abuse, and that’s the strength I built. I wanted revenge. I wanted to help these girls. So, one after the other, I freed them before they even made it to the podium. I wish I could have saved them all, but I always went for the younger ones first.” Jade pushes off the chair. “Poppy got in contact with me the day I started at the university. She said that they had formed an elite group of women, and all of those women were girls I saved over the years.” She looks at me over her shoulder. “With the help of some wealthy rich pricks, they have been able to do so much more for survivors.” My brain fuzzes. Anonymous? She turns back to Kyle. “I agreed to continue when I found out. To play your game until the right time came.” She moves to standing. “But then Royce happened, and you stole me.”
