Secret of Betrayal: Book Two of The Destroyer Trilogy (36 page)

“Sorry,” he says, though he looks rather
unapologetic. Braden steps around me and reaches for the black portfolio case
propped against my bed. With everything pinned to the walls, I assumed it was
empty. The way he holds it makes me think I might be wrong. He walks back over
to me, but doesn’t open the case.

“There were a few more drawings that I didn’t
hang up,” he says.

“Why not?”
I ask
warily. I’m scouring my mind for what might be in there.

I figure it out just as he lets the case fall
open. The sweeping lines that together form a dozen or more striking resemblances
of Braden’s face stare back at me. My fingers twitch as they remember every
stroke. I drew each of them on nights when I was missing Braden more than I
should have. I am filled with a mixture of pleasure at seeing them and relief
that he didn’t put them up with the others. If I hadn’t realized they were
there and Milo had seen them … it would not have been good.

The reality that Braden—the subject of my secret
longing—discovered them sends a shot of red streaking through my skin. My
fingers clutch the case as my eyes close against the mortification I feel. I
have turned him away so often, pushed him back when he only wanted to be near
me, tried to convince him that I have no interest in his attention. These
drawings prove my words to be lies. Every stroke is laden with need and desire
to have him. Every time I tell him now that I don’t want him, his mind will
dredge these back up. I open my eyes, utterly speechless.

Braden gently takes the stack of drawings and
closes the portfolio. “Can I keep these?” he asks.

I should say yes right away, show him how little
they mean to me. Milo might find them here anyway, and what are the chances
he’ll ever be hanging out at Braden’s house? It’s perfect. Why don’t I say yes,
then? I touch one of the sheets of paper lightly. I don’t want to let go of
them, but it’s not a good idea to keep even a single one.

Pulling my hand back, I say casually, “Sure, if
you really want to.”

Whispering through my mind is the traitorous
thought that I can always draw more.

“I do want them.”

Braden smiles as he sets the portfolio back on
the floor. My eyes still linger on the drawings, something Braden doesn’t miss.
“You can come visit them anytime you want, though, especially since you live so
close to me now.”

“Yeah, right.”
I blush
and try to shake off his teasing. “But speaking of where you live, shouldn’t
you
be
getting back there? It’s pretty late.”

And I really don’t know how much more of him I
can take tonight. As if he knows this, he puts the drawings down on my bed and
sets his hands gently on my hips. I know he can feel the shiver that runs
through my body. His hands tighten around me and I have to press my hands
against his chest to keep from being pulled in completely, literally and
figuratively. Unfortunately, I can feel the muscles under his clothes and my
mind is instantly filled with images of his bare flesh, visions of his corded
muscle and the grace of his movements.

It’s getting hard to breathe.

“I’m not going home tonight,” Braden says
quietly.

The panic I should be feeling doesn’t come.
“I … what?”

He smiles. “I don’t have a car, remember? And
you’re not supposed to be alone while Milo’s gone.”

“You could call a cab again. And it’s so wrong
that you’re using his words against him,” I say breathlessly. “You know this
was not what he meant.”

“Maybe he should choose his words more carefully
next time.”

He had no clue what kind of suggestion he was
making at the time. He never would have made it if he had. “You’re not
staying.”

“Either I’m staying or you’re coming with me.”

I wonder what his townhouse looks like. Is it as
comfortable as his car?

“Not a chance,” I make myself say.

His arms slide all the way around me and I
suddenly can’t find the strength to resist. Pressed up against him, need burns its
way through me. My body molds to his. I feel so lightheaded I have to close my
eyes to try and steady myself. The sensations get worse as the feel of his body
becomes my only focus. His lips rest very lightly against my ear.

“I’m not leaving,” he whispers.

Willpower abandons me completely.
“O … okay.”

His pleasure douses me almost to the point of
senselessness.
Almost.
I hold onto enough of my brain
power to say, “But you’re sleeping on the couch.”

Braden pulls back and looks down at me with
perfect innocence. “Of course,” he says, “were you expecting me to sleep
somewhere else?”

“No,” I say quickly.

He grins, and I swear he gets even more
irresistible than before. Leaning down so his mouth hovers way too close to mine,
he says, “I think you’re lying.”

I’m going to faint if I don’t get away from him
right now. Twisting out of his grip, I take a step away from him and I’m
finally able to take a deep breath. The air is still thick with him, but I feel
more in control than I did a second ago. It won’t last. If he gets a hold of me
again, I don’t think I’ll be able to get away. Frightened by how much I want
that to happen, I step a little farther away and gesture at the door.

“Have fun on the couch.”

Braden moves to leave, but he won’t go that
easily. He sweeps in and kisses me lightly before pulling back. I can see in
his eyes the offer to stay if I want to change my mind. My inability to speak
or react keeps me from making what would undoubtedly be a huge mistake. He
pulls the door shut and I slump down to the floor wishing I hadn’t let him out
of my sight.

Chapter 2
8

Promise

I wake to the sound of my phone ringing and the
smell of bacon. Ignoring my grumbling belly, I scramble to find my phone among
the blankets. My fingers struggle to actually answer it. After a fitful night
of sleep, the best I can manage is a grumpy “What?” when I finally get it up to
my ear.

“Rough night?”
Milo
asks.

“Milo!”
I gasp, sitting
up and brushing my hair out of my face.

“Did I wake you?”

I glance at the clock and grimace. It’s already
after ten o’clock. “I, uh, didn’t sleep very well last night. Sorry.”

“Hey, don’t apologize. Spend the whole day in
bed if you want. You could probably use the rest with how busy you’ve been. You
can’t be exhausted for the rescue. I’m sorry you didn’t sleep very well. I know
you’re worried about everything.”

Guilt rushes through me. If only it were really
worrying about the upcoming rescue that had kept me up last night. In fact, it
was the first night in a while that I hadn’t lain awake worrying about the
details. No, Braden being right outside my door is what kept me from sleeping
peacefully. Knowing that I could crawl up next to him on the couch and sleep
better than I could ever dream haunted me all night long. I fell asleep
clutching my phone, hoping Milo would call and help me resist, but his call
never came.  

Pulling my attention back to Milo, I ask, “I’ll
be fine. How’s your trip going?”

“Great,” he says, “I’m sorry I didn’t get a
chance to call you last night. I was over at Marc Hasselt’s until pretty late.
I can’t wait to show you what he taught me. You’re going to be amazed. I’m
going back over today to train again.”

“That’s great,” I say, trying and failing to
sound enthusiastic.

“I’ve missed you,” Milo says. “I’ve been worried
about you, too. Are you safe? Have you been doing alright? There haven’t been
any problems, right?”

His rapid fire questions catch me off guard.

“Um, I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I’m
honestly just relaxing and taking it easy. When are you getting back?” I have
mixed feelings about his return, not wanting to face him with my guilt and
lingering irritation at him, but desperate to see him again and give Braden a
reason to leave.

I can almost hear Milo’s eagerness to return to
work across the phone line. “Our flight gets in at eleven-thirty tonight. It’ll
be late, but I’ll still come over if you want.”

“Sure, that’d be great, but I’m not at the motel
anymore. Inquisitor Moore found me another place to stay, closer to everyone
else. I’ll text you the address,” I say and wait for his reaction.

“Oh, okay,” he says slowly. “Did you already
move your stuff? I thought you were supposed to be lying low. Moving out of the
motel might have made the Guardians watching you wonder what was going on. They
might have gotten suspicious and started investigating. We don’t need that kind
of attention right now. I would have done it for you when I got back.”

The pleasure I had felt at hearing Milo’s voice
starts slipping away. The fact that his concern is directed toward me possibly
messing up our plan by drawing the Guardians’ attention rather than concern
about me is hard to miss. Part of me wants to call him on it after the argument
we had, but I don’t want to waste the energy. I brush away another round of
frustration and answer him.

“Braden moved everything for me. He made it look
like he was confiscating everything for work, I guess, so no one cared. He made
sure no one was following him when he left, too. Everything is fine.” It’s a
somewhat misleading answer, but I’m not about to tell Milo my move was all
Braden’s idea so I could be closer to him. “I wanted to get it done quickly,
and I don’t have that much stuff, so moving was pretty easy. Don’t worry about
it.”

And don’t ask me any more about it, I add to
myself. Please. Just be glad no one cared, and let it go.

He does. “Well, cool. It’ll be nice to have
everyone closer together. It will be easier to get together now.” Someone
speaks to him in the background and his voice sounds much more distant as he
turns away from the phone to answer. He comes back to me a few seconds later.
“Hey, Libby, I need to get going, but I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Sure, Milo.
Good luck
with the training. I’ll see you tonight.”

He offers a quick goodbye with Celia yelling at
him in the background, and then I’m left holding a dead phone. I let it drop to
the bed and collapse back onto my pillow. I don’t want to move from this spot
for the rest of the day. If only. The smell of breakfast cooking in the other
room eventually pulls me from my tangled sheets. I don’t bother with anything
more than brushing my teeth and running a comb through my hair before leaving
my room.
Anything to deter Braden.

He has eggs and bacon waiting for me when I get
to the kitchen. He can cook.
Of course.
So can Milo.
Pretending to be extremely unimpressed, I slide into my seat and stab a forkful
of scrambled eggs. Braden sits down next to me without a word and starts in on
his own food. I’m halfway through my eggs before his mime impression bothers me
enough to make me speak.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

He looks up and smiles distantly. “How are your
eggs?”

“Um, fine. Thanks.”

Did he even hear my question?

“Is something wrong, Braden? You’re being
unusually quiet.”

“Oh, sorry.
I was just
thinking.” He chews on his bacon without seeming to actually taste it.

He’s really making me work this morning. “What
were you thinking about?”

 
“About the rescue.
About what could go wrong,” he says.

Instantly, my skin prickles. He’s found a
problem with the plan, something we overlooked. I knew we couldn’t have thought
of everything. Before I can ask him what he’s discovered he speaks again.

“When they find out I helped you, which won’t
take them very long, they’re going to come after me. They’ll despise me for
turning on them, but I’ll be the weakest target, too.”

“What do you mean?” Weak isn’t a word I would
usually ever associate with Braden. Milo, Lance, and Dean have improved a lot
since they started training in earnest, but Braden still outdoes them in pretty
much everything. His talents are fully unlocked. He’s even a challenge to me
sometimes.

Braden drops the rest of his bacon and looks
over at me. “The Guardians know everything about me. I’ll be the easiest for
them to find. Milo and Dean both have six talents. Even without much training
they’re going to be a handful for the Guardians to reign in. Forget coming
after you without an entire army. They know you’ll decimate them. And Lance,
well, even if his dad hates that he’s helping you, he’s still a pretty powerful
leader in the Guardians. He won’t let them take Lance. That leaves me. I’m the
weak link, and the Guardians aren’t stupid. They’ll try to grab me so they can
find out what I know and use it against you.”

“Braden, I won’t let that happen.”

“Libby, you may not be able to stop it, and if I
do get grabbed …” His voice trails off and he looks away from me.

I thought this was going to be about our plan.
The idea of there being a flaw in the plan scared me, but thinking that Braden
could be snatched away terrifies me. I slip my hand over his and hold on as if
this single touch could prevent him from ever leaving. “Braden, I won’t let
them take you. I promise.”

His hand tightens painfully around mine. “Libby,
you have to promise me something.”

“What?” I ask shakily.

“If I ever get taken, you have to promise that
you won’t come after me.”

I yank my hand away from his and stare at him.
“What?”

He stares back, so fierce it startles me. “I
mean it, Libby. You can’t come after me if the Guardians ever capture me. I
don’t care what happens. You have to let me go.”

“No. Are you crazy?” The top two buttons of his
dress shirt aren’t buttoned. Scars glare at me accusingly. I reach across the
table and lightly touch his skin. My eyes close against the scars, but I can
still feel the ruined flesh left from the last time he was punished by his
so-called brothers. “I’m not going to abandon you so they can torture you
again, Braden. If you or anyone else gets taken, I’ll tear the entire Guardian
Compound down to find them.”