AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s going on with you, Charleigh?” Kir asks.
Her head twitches and she frowns like she doesn’t understand the question. Yeah, right. I call bullshit. She knows full well what we are getting at. She’s not a stupid woman. There’s no way she hasn’t seen the change in herself, nor would she expect anyone else to overlook it.
“Are you going to pretend you’re the same person you were before your attack? Or can we talk about how it’s affected you?” I ask.
Might as well rip the bandage right off.
She looks down at her hands and begins to pick her cuticles. Which is good. She’s listening. Reflecting.
“We can talk about whatever you want to talk about,” she says in a flat, bored voice.
Okay. She’s not rolling over for us. Didn’t expect her to, really.
“Charleigh, we’re afraid you’re taking this training thing a little too far. Wewillget Dimitri. Hewillpay for what he’s done. Don’t doubt that. Don’t doubtus. But what are you going to do once we have gotten him? Are you going to keep this up for the rest of your life?”
She clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes like a petulant kid on the defense. “You guys are just mad because I’m not ‘servicing’ you anymore,” she says, using air quotes.
What?
Fuck all, if that wasn’t a strike below the belt.
So not necessary. And such bullshit.
Before I can think of a way to respond without losing my temper, Niko jumps to his feet, his face red. He lopes toward her like an angry bull and she recoils, I notice with her hands in closed fists. She’s ready to take him on, not that she wants to. She’s just gotten to where this is her automatic response.
Regardless, I can’t recall ever seeing my brother angry, much lessthisangry.
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” he growls. “Stop acting like you’re our whore. You know we don’t see you that way, goddammit.”
Her eyes widen at his scolding, and her own face begins to redden. Then her eyes fill with tears, which she quickly wipes away with the sleeve of her bathrobe. The new Charleigh is all about hiding her emotions.
She got the reaction out of Niko she wanted. She won’t get it from me, though. I have more control than my younger brother, for better or for worse, and I can see right through her tough talk. Underneath it is a lovely young woman who’s suffering. Badly.
What I want her to learn, to understand, is that when she suffers, we suffer too.
Finally, a tear trickles down her cheek. “I was powerless. You couldn’t protect me, Frank couldn’t protect me, nobody could protect me. I’m not letting that happen again. I’m taking back my power. If I ever had any to begin with.” This is when she starts to cry harder. “No one’s ever taken up for me. I’ve always been alone. And I’m tired of it.”
Against my better judgment, I jump to my feet and am across the room in two long steps. I take her by the arms and pull her to me. She needs to feel the protection we offer her.
And to know each of us would sacrifice our own lives to keep her safe, given the chance.
But she isn’t ready. “Let me go!” she screams.
I don’t. I can’t. I pull her tighter. She fights me harder.
Kir’s hand lands on my shoulder, warning me to loosen my grip. But I can’t seem to. I want her to know how important she is and how much she means to me. I’ve got to get her to listen. I’ve got to get through to her.
I can’t deny my feelings for this woman. They’re uncomfortable, painful, revelatory, and insidious. I don’t do things like this, fall for women, especially women like Charleigh. I’ll be the ruin of her.
If I haven’t already been.
* * *
CHAPTEREIGHT
Charleigh
When I realize I don’t stand a chance against Vadik, I stop trying to push him away. Why waste the energy? I’m already worn out by today’s workout.
