“I’m watching her to learn,” I deadpanned.
She looked at me with a smirk. “Sure you are. Drew also said she went to Annika’s therapist. Dr. Williams doesn’t ask personal questions related to names and she has payment plans for the uninsured, so Kadence got lucky there.”
“Think you can hack into that system or fuck her doctor into submission?”
Hunter folded her arms across her chest. “Are you really that desperate to know her history? Maybe you decided to bury your trauma and forget about it, Blaize, but for some people, it's necessary.”
I arched my brow. “You’re being mighty holy, Hunter. Don’t talk to me about repressed trauma.”
She shrugged. “My trauma has nothing to do with this. Kadence is a good kid. If she wanted to hurt someone, she would. She is scared and trying to live her life. You remember how I was when you met me.”
Westhaven was an odd town,but it was our home now. Olivia was sleeping peacefully, finally, and I wanted to explore the community. I would reign over this place in a few years, so I needed to get a good head on my shoulders. Olivia would give birth soon, and I needed to make sure the hospital here was suitable for her.
The streets were dark, but there didn’t seem to be any red flags until I got closer to an alleyway by the pier. There was a feminine voice and a man grunting. Something told me I shouldn’t go, but if a woman was in danger, I needed to protect her.
There was a young girl, maybe eighteen hovering over the body of a pastor. He was gasping for breath with multiple wounds. She went in for the kill shot when her eyes met mine and she froze. She was like a deer caught in headlights. Her mouth fell open, but no words came out as she looked back at his body.
I learned at a young age that police were useless unless they were in your pocket. Working on buying the police here would be my next goal. I walked to her, taking the knife from her hand and slashed his throat.
“Why did you do that?”
“A pretty girl killing a member of the church. I’m sure there’s a story behind it. I’m not a cop, I have my own skeletons,and I’ve done worse. Why don’t we get you cleaned up and you can tell me what he did?”
“Why should I trust you?”
“It’s your choice, but it looks like you need a friend. You can let them control you or you can live. Don’t let your demons take over who you are.”
And then I noticed it.In the nine years I’ve known Hunter, she learned to cover her trauma with a mask and kink. Hunter never lowered her shields, but something was throwing her off, and I knew it couldn’t be Kadence. She had a soft spot for the girl, but there was something behind it.
“What’s going on?”
She sighed. “Drew is investigating Holy Trinity.” Holy Trinity was the cult they grew up in where Hunter’s assault happened. The priest, if he could even call himself that, used religion as a scapegoat to manipulate his followers.
Hunter and Drew were twins, but only a few people knew unless they asked. They loved each other, but they didn’t want people to know they were related in case the members of the church tried to put two and two together. Drew didn’t change his name, but he didn’t look the same. Hunter no longer looked like the girl they destroyed. If people looked close enough, they would see the same caerulean blue eyes and sharp facial features.
“Didn’t Drew burn it down?”
Hunter sighed, running her hands through her blonde hair. “Isaiah survived. Bastard is a fucking cockroach, and he rebuilt. He made sure they had their treaty, and now he’s untouchable.”
She knew I would do anything for her, but I made the leaders a promise. They had power over their territories without fear of me diminishing them. The only things I didn’t allow weresex trafficking and certain drugs. I didn’t want anyone using paralytic drugs because I knew what they could be used for, but ecstasy, cocaine, and marijuana were on the table. Leaders of their territories were in charge of making sure their people were safe when distributing.
“I’ve been dealing with this trauma for ten years, Blaize. It doesn’t matter, but Drew is going to get himself killed...”
Hunter didn’t let much scare her. She turned her trauma into kink, but I knew if there was a possibility of the man who brutalized her so violently getting his hands on her again, she wouldn’t be the badass I’d come to love. Hunter liked to pretend she was an emotionless void, but she wasn’t. And her reaction to Kadence proved it.
“I’ll talk to Drew and see if I can knock some sense into him, and then I’ll talk with Damon. I know he can’t retaliate because of their agreement, but if Isaiah is doing anything, even behind the doors of the church, I’m sure Damon would want to know.”
Hunter shrugged. “Isaiah doesn’t do anything where people can see or hear. Damon won’t do anything because Isaiah won’t let him find out.” She let out a shaky breath before plastering a fake smile on her face. “Okay, I’m going to find a pair of thighs to get lost between. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 31
KADENCE
Annika deemed Wednesday nights as girls’ movie night for us to drink and watch cheesy romcoms. It was 3:00 a.m., and I was drunk. Not just a tipsy drunk, but the kind of drunk that I would regret in the morning. Whatever romcom we were watching ended forty minutes ago, and we were a giggling mess on the floor. Somewhere along the line, Annika lost her bra and her tits were on full display, but I had enough self-control to not break the promise I made to myself, no matter how hot Annika was.
“Okay, okay, tell me your most secret sexual desire?” Annika slurred. We decided to play twenty questions to learn more about each other, but we went from our favorite color to the riskiest place we’ve had sex.
“Uhh, I want to be dominated by two women. You know, be a sandwich between a rougher woman and a soft one. I don’t know if that makes sense.”
