Fearless (Broken Love Book 5) (6 page)

LAKE

The air between
us that had been charged with heat had just frozen over with four little words. “What did you just say?”

“You’re yelling and it’s getting us nowhere. Besides, I’m hungry.” His grip had slackened so I used the opportunity to get away. I was lying just as I lied to him all those months ago, and he knew it. But if he found out Q was there and he was the one to kill Mitch, he would kill him.

I tripped over my feet to get to the kitchen and only a hand on the banister stopped my fall. I knew he had followed me. I could feel the heat of his stare on my back.

“Lake. I’m trying—I’m really trying not to hurt you.” His voice sounded strained. I spun around to face him. He stood in the doorway, gripping the sides. His impressive chest moved as he took a deep breath.

“Are you going through the checklist?”

“Yes.”

“Is the person in front of you worth your anger?”

His eyebrows drew in, turning his visage harsh. “I don’t know.”

“Is it worth your freedom?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it worth losing me?”

“No.”

“Then can I eat now?”

He stared for long moments, and I held my breath waiting for his response. When he finally nodded, I moved to turn away. “But I have one more question first.”

My heart skipped and my throat ached. I should have known it wouldn’t be so easy. “Yes?”

“Do you have any idea what being mine means?” His voice was full of possession. He still thought he could own me.

Control me.

If I rolled my eyes, Keiran might kill me. He was just that mad but holding my irritation and my own anger at bay was proving a challenge.

“It’s been five years. I’m aware.” I kept my tone as bland as possible instead of lashing out like I wanted.

“Wanna bet? Cause I say you don’t anymore.”

“Well, then, enlighten me, Keiran.”

“Being mine means you don’t think, you don’t plan, and you damn fucking sure don’t make a move without my permission.”

“Excuse me?”

He stalked forward, invading my space. “Piss me off, Lake. I fucking dare you.”

“Step back.” I issued my own warning. “I’m not taking this shit from you again.”

His eyes flickered with what might have been regret, but it was gone in a blink. “I won’t hurt you, baby.” He paused to run his finger down my cheek. It slipped from my face roughly, indicating the force of his next words. “But I will punish you.”

* * *

SEVEN MONTHS AGO

I stormed from
the center, but when I reached my car, I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I came here with the intention of killing Mitch, and I wasn’t leaving until he was dead.

I drove my car out of sight knowing Q would check to make sure I had actually left and waited, keeping watch on the door. I didn’t have to wait long. Q slowly exited the building and crept away all too calmly with his outer shirt folded in his hand.

I decided to follow after him to make sure he left the city and when he did, I turned back for the center. I waited once again for another employee to take a smoke break and slipped back inside. It didn’t occur to me until I was pushing through his room door once again that I no longer had my knife, but it didn’t matter.

Mitch was already dead.

The gaping hole in his throat where blood had gushed, staining his gown and sheets, was proof that Mitch had finally met his deserved ending. 

With each step toward his bedside, my relief over his death grew.

Keiran was safe.

I felt a sick pleasure witnessing Mitch’s lifeless stare. He deserved to suffer more than he did, but I would take what I could get. I hadn’t been the one to deliver the deathblow, but my hand in his death was as rewarding as it was damning. I had repaid him for all the evil he had done and the pain he had caused.

Keiran was finally free though a part of me died with Mitch—the innocence that had made me the perfect victim.

“I hope you suffer in hell, Mitch Masters.”

He couldn’t hear me, and I wished he could. I needed him to know he had paid his debts and that he didn’t win. I heard the sudden splatter of his blood on the wall and looked away, fighting the urge to gag. I shrunk back at the gruesome sight of the red lettering on the wall.

For John.

Why could Q write that? It was damning evidence that could come back to haunt us.

Suddenly, I had the feeling that coming back was a mistake. I ran from the room without looking back, and in my frantic need to escape, I stumbled down the wrong hallway and bumped into a nurse.

“Oh!”

“Sorry!” I forced the apology past my aching throat and attempted to get away when she shouted for me to stop. My instinct was to run but with a dead body that would soon be found it wouldn’t have been my smartest move.

“Now where are you off to in such a rush?”

“I was just looking for my grams room. I was hoping to visit her before she took her nap.” I was amazed at how easy the lies rolled off my tongue. 

“What room is she in?”

“408.”

“You’re in the wrong wing. Take a left down this corridor and make a right at the end.”

“Thanks.” I tried once again to leave.

“Wait a second.” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She eyed me suspiciously while taking in my appearance. “You’re not wearing a visitor’s badge. Did you sign in before roaming these halls?”

I felt the first rivulet of sweat on my top lip. I licked it away nervously and stilled my shaking hands. “Um. I’m sorry. I must have missed it.”

“Well, come on. I’ll walk you to the nurse’s station. You’re not allowed back here without signing in and wearing a visitor’s badge,” she berated unnecessarily. 

I followed her to the desk where she handed me a clipboard and pen. Q’s wasn’t on the log, which meant he came in the same way I had. I scribbled my name and looked around at the busy nurses whose eyes were busy pouring over charts. The coast was clear so I bolted through the front doors.

* * *

Keiran had disappeared
after delivering his promise, and Keenan and Sheldon came home with a sleepy Ken a few hours later. Keenan disappeared upstairs to put Kennedy down, and Sheldon pulled me into the living room to grill me.

“How was it?” Sheldon asked with a nervous flutter of her hands. I didn’t miss the way she looked me over for signs of abuse, and I couldn’t say it was completely unwarranted given our history and how angry he was when we left them.

“I’m fine if that’s what you’re really asking.”

“What happened?” she repeated.

I ran down everything, excluding the blowjob, but I did tell her about his threat before he left. The heat in his eyes promised things I wasn’t sure I could handle. He was taking my deception better than expected, but something told me not to be fooled by the calm. It was only a prelude to the storm that always followed.

“What do you think he’ll do?”

“I wish I knew. He’s taking this better than I expected.”

“I wouldn’t trust it. We all know how—crazy— he can get. He’s distracted now, but what happens later when we clear your name? I mean—you didn’t do it. Thompson said the arrest was a fluke to uncover a lead, which is illegal by the way.”

I didn’t hear much of what she said after that. Guilt chomped away at my consciousness. None of them believed I could kill a man much less be responsible. “Sheldon…” I started but nothing came after.

“Jesus Christ.” We both swung and faced the entrance. Neither of us noticed Keenan watching us. The knowing look in his eyes and frazzled stare made me feel like I’d swallowed my tongue. He ran a hand down his face, but his expression was frozen in place. “You did it, didn’t you?”

“What? Of course, she didn’t do it,” Sheldon interrupted, saving me from answering. “It’s Lake. She doesn’t kill people. You should ask your brother what he’s hiding.”

He turned his cold gaze to his fiancée and if looks could kill… “I think the only one hiding something is standing right here.”

“She didn’t do it!”

“Why don’t we let Lake answer for herself ?” He turned his black gaze back on me. I felt so exposed. “Lake?”

“Leave it alone.”

He continued to berate me anyway, and I just stood there taking it all in. It wasn’t easy admitting you were a murderer. “You do know they’re after my brother, don’t you? What were you thinking?”

“You’re not helping, Keenan. You’re scaring her.”

No. I shook my head, denying Sheldon’s claim, but they didn’t seem to notice as they began to argue. I wasn’t afraid. I refused to be afraid. I spent my life giving in to fear.

“I killed him,” I blurted, stealing their attention again. Wide eyes turned on me, but I didn’t see them anymore. I only saw Mitch’s blood that poured from the open hole in his throat. “I dug the knife deep in that sick son of bitch’s throat, and I’d do it again. He deserved to die. He needed to die.”

I sounded monstrous even to my own ears, but my emotions were running too wild to care. Keenan swore and ran his hands through his hair. “Does Keiran know?”

“He knows.”

“All of it?” His grilling made my palms sweat. I ran them down my jeans and nodded. Keiran knew as much as I could safely tell him. I didn’t expect Keenan to grab and pull me into his side. He looked as much at war with his emotions as I was. “I’m sorry I’m being an asshole. I don’t want to see you hurt, and I don’t want my brother to lose you. What would Ken do without her Auntie Lake?”

His gentle words affected me more than his cold accusations. “What am I going to do, Keenan? I have to fix this.”

“Let your man handle this and accept the consequences when it’s time.”

“I’m not going to lie down and cower because he throws a tantrum. We’re not those people anymore.”

“It might be better for you. Safer.”

“No.”

Rather than argue, the beginnings of a smile broke his pensive expression. “Atta girl.” He shrugged and released me. “You always have plan B.”

“What’s plan B?”

“I kick his ass for you if he gets out of hand.”

Sheldon snorted, earning a glare from Keenan. “Careful, woman. I still have tonight.” Sheldon shifted and paled as I looked between them.

“What happens tonight?”

“I know she told you where Mitch was.”

“How?”

“She told me.”

“So you think you’ll punish her for it?”

He tore his gaze away from Sheldon and smiled a cocky smile. “I know I will.”

“Well, maybe I’ll have Keiran kick
your
ass.”

“You could try, but I’ve grown a full inch.” He comically poked his chest out with his words. “I won’t be so easy to beat now.”

“Want to bet?” Keiran’s deep voice rumbled from the door. His challenging smirk was far too sexy under the circumstances, and a violent shiver shook my body. As if he sensed my desire, his gaze shot to mine and darkened.

“Damn… You two look ready to hump each other right here. It’s like watching a mating dance.” I managed to hear Sheldon giggle at her fiancé over the blood rushing to all my pleasure points. Keiran ignored them and ate up the distance between us to take my hand and lead me upstairs.

“Where have you been?” I asked as soon as his old bedroom door was shut.

“Thompson had some information. I met with him to go over your case.”

“Don’t you think I needed to be there?”

“So you can tell more lies?”

“This is my problem. You had no right.”

“I could say the same to you but get this… I have every right. It was my father you killed. It was
my
right you took, and you’re mine.
Mine
,” he repeated with force. “But don’t worry,” he whispered, calm again. “You’ll have the opportunity to dig a deeper hole for yourself tomorrow morning.”

“Whatever you’re going to do, just do it already. I’m sick of your threats. I’m sick of you treating me like I’m weak.”

“Aren’t you?” he spat venomously.

I didn’t know I would slap him, but it felt good when I did. I moved to repeat the hurt, but he caught my wrist and yanked me to him. “You’re going to regret that.” His voice was too level for the anger I knew brewed inside him. I didn’t have time to analyze it because I was tossed face down over the side of the bed. I wasn’t given time to recover. His fingers pinched my skin as he ripped the button of my jeans apart and stepped between my legs, forcing them open.

“Your niece is in the next room,” I reminded. I was grasping at straws.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to fuck you. Consider this a preview.”

He leaned down so I felt his breath on my neck. It was ragged and deep, and I knew he was warning me how close he was to losing it—how dangerous it would be for him to let go and was I willing to let us risk it?