Quain’s spine stiffened and the sound that came out of his mouth was somewhere between a huff and a growl. He stepped out of his attack position, letting his hand and the knife he held fall against his thigh. “He hurts you again, I’ll bury him.”
I believed it.
He spun on his heel and stalked away from us with a balanced walk that would put supermodels to shame. His feet barely made a noise on the floor.
All at once, the energy seeped out of me faster than water through a sieve. My muscles ached, but more than that, my glass-shredded skin and nose throbbed.
KC swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “What are you doing here? We don’t want to see you, Ren. Or should I say Renshaw? My pa could’ve put you six feet under, you know.”
I had the feeling he was more than capable. Instead of answering, I gave KC a sharp nod.
Oli’s mouth twisted. “What makes you think we’d want to talk to you?”
I hesitated. I excelled at words, used them to get what I wanted. Manipulation. Perfectly constructed sentences. Telling people what they longed to hear. There was a reason Father wanted me to go to the schools I did. I suspected at some point he’d thought I would walk in his footsteps.
KC and Oli deserved the truth. But I didn’t knowhowtogive it to them. I’d been taught to lie, to be better than everyone else, to make people do what I wanted.
Did I have the ability to be honest?
KC shook his head and grasped my hand, sending a shockwave through me. He yanked me forward, and all I could do was follow him as he led me toward the back door of the house. Oli trailed behind us, gaze narrowed and eyes suspicious.
We ended up in the massive garage, and I took a moment to look around at the bikes and cars KC was working on. Oli’s car was on a ramp, the front end of his vehicle high in the air with a creeper halfway under it.
“You were working on Oli’s Subaru?” I asked as KC pushed me in the direction of a chair stuck in the corner. Once he hadme seated, he opened a cabinet near my head and yanked out a first aid kit.
“He had problems with it.” KC slapped the kit on the wooden workbench next to me, his nostrils flaring. “So, talk.”
Oli hovered behind KC, not close enough for me to touch. His lips pressed together while he hunched his shoulders. Hiding. I hated that I’d made him want to crawl back into his shell.
Now I sat here while they waited to hear excuses. No, not excuses. Truths. I scrubbed my hands over my face and winced when I accidentally bumped my nose. A sharp spike of pain zapped through me and I groaned.
“Don’t touch it,” KC ordered, a hint of authority in his voice I didn’t think I’d heard before. He was gentle. Caring. He never told people what to do. Until now, apparently. Maybe he was more dominant when he was mad. I enjoyed learning new things about him.
“I didn’t lie to Luke in the shop. At first, I wanted to use you both.” Why did it hurt so much to tell them this? My stomach dropped with the weight of lead and a heaviness pressed down on my chest. If I fucked up this conversation, I’d lose them. All I had to do was talk. Why was it so hard? I swallowed around the tightness in my throat, words catching on a lump forming there.
I thought back to my parents, to how easily Father lied to Mother, and how she’d done the same. They lied like it was a competition, and even though they knew the other wasn’t telling the truth, they let it go. They didn’t love each other. Their relationship was a business agreement. A mutual understanding.I don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t get in my way.I didn’t want what they had, but that meant opening up.
“I’m not good at this.” I groaned as KC unzipped the kit and pulled out some alcohol wipes, immediately getting to work at wiping down the skin under my nose. He was methodical butgentle, like he didn’t want to hurt me even if he was angry, and I appreciated the sentiment despite what I’d done to them.
“You need to tell us what happened if you want us to give you a chance.” KC’s words were direct. Simple. “Or you lose us.”
And that was the ultimatum. Communicate or they’d leave me for good. I’d be nothing but a memory. A bad one.
There was no choice. I chose them. Ihadto.
“I only planned to be with you at first, KC. I was going to date you and then break your heart.” My voice trembled, and I took a breath to steady myself. “You heard what I said to Luke. I wanted revenge.”
“For Andrea?” KC glanced briefly at Oli, and I recognized the small gesture for what it was. He was checking in with him, making sure he was okay with this.
Oli was still, so motionless he resembled a statue. He watched KC’s fingers, but his breaths were small and unsteady. Shaky. He was waiting for me to make things worse, but I wouldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t give either of them up.
“She was my babysitter. You saw a picture of her.” My throat grew tight and I cleared it, wincing when KC touched the bridge of my nose.
“I don’t think it’s broken. You’re lucky. Pa can be lethal.” KC scrunched up his nose. “He was pulling his punches.”
“Pullinghis punches?” I laughed at the absurdity, then stopped when KC gave me a serious look. Who was Quain Beaumont? I thought about asking, but I had a feeling KC wouldn’t tell me.
Weirdly, I enjoyed that there was some mystery in this situation. It gave me something to be curious about.
