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Christ, has this girl ever hadanyfreedom or kindness in her life?
I can see her spiraling, so I decide to get a little more firm with her. “Blake. I need you to listen and listen good, okay? You may not know any of us yet, but we know you. Wewantto know you. We’ve been looking for you for a very long time and now that you’re here, we’re all in. Take as long as you need, get to know every member of this pack, but you need to know we want you, and nothing is going to change that. Now, go take a nice, hot shower, get some fresh clothes on, and come down when you’re ready so we can all have lunch. Do you have any food preferences or allergies?”
She blanches. “Umm… just… no tacos please. I can’t... That’s what he used to drug me, and I don’t think I could stomach them right now.” Her stammered sentence ends in a whisper, and I’m ready to go tell the guys what I know so I can go kill this bastard. Making people sleep with the fish is still a thing, right? I’d love to toss her foster father into the ocean. Or a shark tank.
Instead of letting my anger show on my face, I let out a breath and run my thumb over her dimple. “You got it, no tacos. Are you hungry for anything specific? Anything at all. Name it and it’s yours.”
She looks unsure, so I smile to encourage her to be honest. This girl went seven years, maybe more, with nothing. We’re damned well sure gonna make sure she has everything now, no matter the cost. Hell, if she told me she wanted Italian food, I’d be tempted to haul her cute butt on the jet to Italy.
Kai gives me a look over her head that’s clearly meant to say, “Slow down before you scare her off, Frenchy”. But I’d bet my sweet strawberry doesn’t scare easily.
Looking up at me with a shy smile, she says, “I would love a Hawaiian pizza with black olives. I haven’t had pizza since I was a kid, but it’s one of my favorite foods.”
She’s going to make me cry. I dam the building tears back, so I don’t upset her and instead, with a small smile, say, “That sounds great. Anything else? Anything to drink?”
The sweet girl thinks hard for a moment before asking, “Can I have a Dr. Pepper and maybe some ranch for my pizza, please?”
I’m nodding before she even finishes her question.
“You don’t even have to ask, Pretty Girl. Who would ever eat pizza without ranch? It’s a requirement in the Beaumont pack,” I say with a wink. “And I will make absolutely sure we get your soda, too. Have a nice shower, okay? I think Kai is probably—” I look over to the man in question and he gives me a slight nod. “Yeah, so Kai is gonna hang out up here until you’re done, so you aren’t alone in a strange place. Just yell if you need him, okay?”
She gives me another nod and a big smile, her eyes sparkling more than they have since she came out of the bedroom. I lean in and give her a quick hug and lightly brush the top of her head with my lips and mumble, “Blake?”
“Yeah, Achilles?”
Hearing her use my full name gives me goosebumps and threatens to wake my dick up again, but I try to stay focused on the task at hand.
I hug her a little tighter, just for a moment, and say, “I’m really happy we found you. Welcome home.”
ChapterFour
I’M SO SORRY
Hades
I’m pacing in the living room like a caged animal when Achilles comes tripping down the stairs, narrowly avoiding face planting at the bottom. He’s panting like he just ran a marathon, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so angry.
“He— that fucking— mother of—” He’s panting so hard he can’t get a full sentence out, so I walk up to him and shake his shoulders.
“Lee, shut the hell up for a second andbreatheso you can tell us what happened.” Normally I’m more patient than this, but mybest friendis at the top of those stairs, and she has no freaking clue I’m here. That this is my pack. That I’ve been looking for her every single day since I left.
Sucking in a huge, gasping breath, he tells us about how last night when he went to get tacos; he ran into a man who was being a grade A douche-canoe to the employees. As the dude was leaving, he caught faint traces of strawberries coming off of him, not realizing until bumping into Blake just now that it washerscent.
Taking my own deep breath to subdue the rage coursing through my veins, I’m shaking as I ask, “Lee… what did the man look like?”
He looks at me hesitantly and gives me an exact description of my god-awful foster father. It takes a second to sink in. Without a second thought, I turn around and throw my fist into the wall. Still breathing heavily, I whip my head around when I hear a soft gasp.
Holy. Shit.
Blake is everything I remember and an entirely different person all at once. Her gorgeous bright red hair is still long, easily to the middle of her back, and set in her natural soft waves. She hasn’t grown much since she was eleven, and I hate not knowing if she’s just naturally tiny or if the fosters started starving her again after I was taken away. The biggest difference in my girl is the look on her face when she realizes it’s me.
“What. The.Fuck.” She looks absolutely devastated, tears already streaming down her face. Her hand flies up to cover her mouth as a ragged sob escapes, and she spears Kairo and Achilles with a look of betrayal.
I step forward, hoping to pull her into a hug I desperately need. “I’ve missed you so fucking much, Shortcake. I can’t believe we—”
She interrupts me, shouting “NO!”
Holding her hand up to stop me in my tracks, she continues, “How are you here?Whyare you here? Did you suddenly grow a conscience after abandoning me and leaving me with those monsters for seven years?! You LEFT ME without a goodbye. Just like my parents. Just like every other person has my entire life.”
