His features hardened as if he was in pain and he grasped my hand tighter. “I had to get away, Rogan, please understand.”
“I do,” I replied softly. “I do.”
“You could stay. Here. With me.”
Shock froze me and I stared back at him wide-eyed.
His mouth quirked up at the corner. “It’s not such a strange request, Rogan. We were close once. We loved one another as children.” I felt pin pricks of tears at those words because they were true. We had clung to one another with a fierceness born of our grief and protected one another whenever we could. “I can’t stay, Kir. Haydyn needs my help. I can’t stay.”
“She
is
il then?”
Biting my lip, I gripped his hand tighter, pleading with my eyes. “Please don’t tel anyone.” His eyes widened and he cupped my cheek. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”
I believed him.
But…
“What about Wolfe?” I drew back a little, feeling as if I were drowning in a riptide of memories and sorrow… and affection.
Kir frowned. “What about Wolfe?”
“You seem surprisingly friendly with him considering you had to live with his family for a year.” I watched him closely as his eyes narrowed, his mouth thinning. “I have no problem with Wolfe. He was a good lad when we were young. As much a victim as we were.”
W-w-what? I struggled to breathe evenly.
My heart began thudding in my chest. How could Kir… what did Kir know that I didn’t? How could Kir forgive when I couldn’t? “What do you mean?” I was desperate to know, I needed to know.
He leaned in close to me, his expression quizzical. “Why do you care?”
“I-I… I…” I had no answer for him. And even if I did I would have been distracted by the heat that sparked to life in his eyes, his mouth descending towards mine.
Kir was going to kiss me! My heart flailed as if it were being strangled. Was I going to let him?
“Boss.”
Kir puled back, his eyes closed tightly, muttering curses under his breath. He whipped around and I folowed his gaze to the door, completely shaken by what I’d nearly let happen.
Jesper was grinning at us knowingly. “The Hawks want to talk to you, Boss.”
“The Hawks?” I queried, confusion wrinkling my brow.
Kir smiled and puled me to my feet. “My gang are caled the Hawks.”
I threw him a sardonic look. “Why? Because you always catch your prey?”
He grinned wickedly. “Always, beautiful Rogan. Always.”
I roled my eyes at him and he laughed, and by the way Jesper’s mouth fel open in surprise I was guessing it was something Kir didn’t do often.
“I’m sure Wolfe wil be finished with the tub. Why don’t you go along and check and I’l be back soon with some food.” I nodded and we headed down the halway together. When he and Jesper disappeared around a doorway, I was so in a stew about what had almost happened I forgot to knock, and just barged into the room.
“Oh,” I gasped as Wolfe stood before me shirtless, droplets of bath water faling from the strands of hair at the nape of his neck to his shoulders, running in tantalising rivulets across his muscled abdomen. He was beautiful. My gaze folowed the trickle like a magpie with a diamond… and then I gasped again at the raised scar on his lower stomach. “Oh m-” I cut off at his growl as he wrenched a shirt on over his head, covering what I had just seen.
Wolfe had been branded.
A dark horseshoe burn scar branded his lower stomach. Who would do such a thing?
“Wolfe-”
The door burst open slamming into my back and I stumbled forward.
“Oh, Rogan, I’m sorry.” Kir righted me as he came in, patting my shoulder in apology. “It’s just we have a problem.” He slammed the door shut.
“What kind of problem?” Wolfe refused to look at me.
“I’m about to have a bloody mutiny on my hands if I don’t hand you over to Solom.”
I paled, instinctively wanting to edge closer to Wolfe. Reminding myself I was an independent woman, I stiffened my spine. “So what do we do?” Kir’s gaze pinned Wolfe to the wal. “I’m sorry, brother, but I had to.”
Panic made my heart gain tempo. “Had to what? What’s going on?”
“Does she know? About your…?”
Wolfe nodded stiffly.
Kir relaxed then. “I know you tried to keep it hidden, but it was the only thing I could barter with.”
“I understand.”
Understand what?
My head swiveled back and forth between them so much I was sure it was about to spin off. “Understand what?” I snapped in burning frustration.
Finaly, Kir turned to me. “I told them about Wolfe being a mage.”
I gasped, “You knew?” Suddenly I felt hopelessly betrayed. What was it that these two men shared? Why was Kir so amiable to Wolfe? Why couldn’t he have told me he and Wolfe were friendly with one another? Why was I the only one that didn’t realy know Wolfe?!
Kir nodded. “Yeah, I know. I managed to convince the Hawk’s that we could sel Wolfe to Solom.”
“No!” I yeled, outraged at the idea. “Over my dead body! No!”
The two of them raised their eyebrows at me and then grinned.
What on haven were they grinning about?
I growled in frustration as the truth dawned on me; for a moment I had forgotten my decision to trust Kir, but I wasn’t amused at him taking an opportunity to get rise out of me. “You’re not realy going to sel him, are you?”
Kir huffed in indignation. “Of course not. I’m going to let them think I am. They’re sending a messenger to Pharya to have someone come and colect Wolfe. That someone should be here in a few days. For now I want you to rest up for the night, have some food. And then tomorrow when I come to get you, we’re going to pretend Wolfe blasted me with his powers and you escaped, when realy I’l be letting you out the back door.”
“There’s a back door?”
He grinned. “Of course. I’l have a couple of horses waiting.”
Relief washed over me and I impulsively threw my arms around him, drawing him in for a hug. Kir laughed softly and tugged me tight against him. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Worth it just for the hug.”
Later, after I too had had a chance to bathe and both Wolfe and I were fed, Kir apologised before leaving and locking us in the bedroom. Wolfe had claimed the armchair so I lay down on the bed, thinking about Kir, about Wolfe, about the horseshoe brand marring Wolfe’s body.
“I was surprised at your vehement refusal to let Kir sel me to the Markiz,” Wolfe suddenly said. “I thought you wanted me dead.”
“I thought you wanted me dead,” I replied honestly, turning to look at him. His handsome face was a mask of complete shock that soon melted into anger.
“What do you mean you thought I wanted you dead?” He snapped.
I was so tired. So sick and tired of my world turning upside down on me again and again. I wanted wildflowers and summers by the stream. I wanted tobacco in the air and lemonade on the tongue. Fighting tears, I turned my back to him, curling up to sleep.
Why would Kir protect Wolfe? Why was there friendship and trust between them?
Why did Wolfe protect me and look out for me?
“Never mind,” I finaly answered. “I’m just starting to realise I don’t know you at al.”
“Yes you do,” came his hoarse response. “You just hate that I’m not what you need me to be.” Trying desperately to ignore that enigmatic comment, I slammed my eyes shut… and dreamed of my little brother’s laughter.
Kir’s old bed was not comfortable. But I think my not sleeping had more to do with my awareness of Wolfe. I kept seeing that brand on his stomach, the pain in his eyes when he caught me looking at it, the soul deep look he and Kir shared as Kir asked him if he was alright. There was something I was missing. How could a man so committed to the protection of the crown and the principles of honour and loyalty be a charlatan underneath, waiting for his moment to exact revenge?
Oh right. Because his father had been one.
But Kir wasn’t hateful to Wolfe like I was. In fact, if my instincts were right (and who knew these days) I suspected Kir was protective of Wolfe. Why? Again, what was I missing?
Had Haydyn been right al along? Was I wrong to condemn Wolfe for the actions of his father?
My guilt was compounded by Wolfe’s tossing and turning. My whole body trembled with tension as I listened to his soft groans as he sought some kind of comfort in sleep. The need to offer comfort took me by surprise and I had to curl my fingers into fists to stop myself reaching out to him. When at last his breathing evened out, my body did too, relaxing into the lumpy mattress beneath me. With his fal into slumber, I finaly found my own.
Too quickly, I was awoken, someone shaking my shoulder. Having been dreaming of Haydyn as I had been most nights, I automaticaly assumed in my semi-conscious state that she had come into my bedroom again and had some delicious secret to tel me. Last time she’d awoken me this early it was to tel me she’d falen in love with Matai and had given her virtue to him the night before.
“What now?” I mumbled, swatting at her with my eyes closed. “You with child?”
“What? Rogan, wake up,” an irritated voice snapped at me.
Wolfe.
I shot up on the bed and cracked my head off of his. “Ow.” I winced, my eyes watering as I puled back. Wolfe’s face hovered inches before mine, his pale blue eyes narrowed in pain. He rubbed at his forehead, already swolen in the upper corner from the cut he took to it yesterday.
“It’s like waking the dead,” he grouched and puled back.
I rubbed my cheek sleepily and then cried out at the tender pain that shot up my face. “Wow, that hurts,” I whimpered and watched warily as Wolfe’s face turned black as a thundercloud.
“If I see him again, I’m going to kil him.”
No need to ask who he was talking about. “Is it realy that bad looking?” I was afraid of the answer.
Wolfe walked over to me slowly and hunkered down to his knees so we were at eye level. The air whooshed out of my body as he reached up tentatively to touch my bruised cheek, his features etched with concern and some other emotion I couldn’t quite decipher. I had the sudden urge to buss into his touch like Haydyn’s cat, Z, when one of Cook’s cakes was in the vicinity. A hot shivery rush of tingles exploded across the top of my skin as our eyes connected. My stomach lurched. I couldn’t breathe. I needed him away from me.
Clearing my throat, I knocked his hand away and stood up, brushing past him, almost knocking him on his ass. There was a mirror above the fireplace, dirty and broken, but it had enough of a reflection to show the red and purple sweling on my right cheek. Beautiful.
I sighed and caught Wolfe’s eyes in the reflection. “Is it almost time?”
He nodded, frowning, and then he broke our gaze. A strange tension sprung up between us. If I were honest with myself it had been there since we’d been taken by the Iavi. For someone who had spent the last eight years arguing with and bitching at Wolfe I had never once felt this horrible, il-at-ease way around him. I didn’t like it. Not one bit. I was so afraid of what it meant, so afraid of disappointing my family’s memory.
“I-”
I don’t know what I was going to say but it didn’t matter because the key turned in the lock in the door and suddenly Kir was there, smiling at me and befuddling me even more.
“You ready?” He asked, shutting the door and striding in, every inch the confident rookery gang leader.
I didn’t look at Wolfe. “Yes.”
“Great-” Kir cursed under his breath as he reached me, his hand cupping my chin. “That looks sore this morning.” Feeling Wolfe’s burning gaze, I gently tugged out of his hold. “I’ve had worse.”
Kir grew serious. “I remember.”
Not realy strong enough to take a trip down nightmare lane with him, I put my hands on my hips, trying to exude the strength I wasn’t feeling. “Alright, so now what?”
“Now you make your escape. Remember,” his gaze switched between Wolfe and I, “To get out, you take a left, a right, and the back door is at the top of the hal. I left it unlocked.” Now he just stared at Wolfe. “When you attack me you have to make it look real.” Wolfe’s face tightened.
Kir sighed heavily, his lip curling up almost condescendingly. “I mean it, Wolfe.”
I wasn’t surprised when Wolfe made no response. Clearly, he didn’t want Kir to get hurt.
Coming to the same conclusion I had drawn, Kir puled back his shoulders, his own expression determined. There was a dark, mischievousness in his eyes, I didn’t trust. “Fine.” He shook his head, throwing Wolfe a warning look. “Then I guess I’l just have to make you want to.” When his long arm came out and caught me around the waist I squawked in undignified surprise and instinctively pushed against his hard chest as he crushed me to him, his other hand winding into my hair to bring my lips against his in a hard, punishing kiss. The hand on my waist slid down my back and squeezed my bottom. I yeled into his mouth, trying to get away. Quite abruptly that muffled exclamation was given free reign as his body was wrenched from mine, soaring across the room and straight through the door. That’s right. Straight
through
the door. Not the doorway. The door. I gaped in befuddlement at Kir colapsed around the wooden splinters of the door in the hal, groaning as he drew himself up into a sitting position.
“Come on.” I blinked down at the large familiar hand wrapped around my wrist and then up at its owner. Wolfe. A realy angry Wolfe.
I was dragged out through the fragments of the doorway and into the hal, only to be pushed behind Wolfe at the sound of yeling to the right of us. Jesper came hurrying down the halway with Nalia at his back. Wolfe stared them down in concentration. I felt the heat of his energy as the two thugs were thrown back up the corridor from whence they came, their bodies crashing sickeningly against the back wal before crumpling in an unconscious heap.
Another groan caught my attention and I gasped as Kir wiped at a large gash on his arm. “Are you alright?” I made to rush towards him but Wolfe had turned back, grabbing my arm again to wrench me in the opposite direction. “Hey!” I growled at him, whipping back around to check on Kir.