Breakaway - Sadie Jacks Page 0,31

male snarling growls lifted into the room.

“Are you saying that’s happened before?” Tove asked. Barely concealed violence laced his tone.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“What the fuck kind of place did you live in, Stretch?” Thane whispered as he crouched down.

I shook my head. The less they knew about it, the better. They couldn’t be hurt by the answers they didn’t have.

“You’ll tell us some day. Some day when we’ve earned your trust,” Tove said from behind me. “I promise you, nothing you say to us will change how we feel about you.”

I swallowed the wild laughter that crowded the back of my throat. I would move the earth and stars before I let them find out everything. There was no way they’d love me after they learned the truth.

I was a monster.

Chapter 19 – Thane

I watched her face. The shuttering of her soul masqueraded as rapid blinking. The withdrawal of the heat in her face. The moment had passed.

Stuffing my disappointment, I reached down a hand.

She jerked back as if I’d offered to punch her in the face. This strong, slightly crazy, woman had pulled back into my brother as if she needed protection.

I clenched my teeth at the instinctual action. She wasn’t impugning my honor. She was reacting without thought. If I ever met the person who taught her how to cower, I was going to rip him, or her, into fucking shreds.

“I just wanted to help you to your feet, Stretch,” I said.

Still leaning back into Tove’s arms, she looked up at me from under her deep purple bangs. “I knew that.” She put her hand in mine and allowed me to haul her to her feet.

I bit back my smile. “Sure, you did.”

She wrinkled her nose at me before looking away. Her gaze stuck on something to her right, her eyes widened. “Matty.”

I growled. “I suppose we should get him picked up and disposed of.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Tag. Do you have any contacts?”

My middle brother snorted. “Yeah. But why do you assume it’s me? Tove has shady contacts as well.”

Tove laughed as he got to his feet. “Not in body disposal.”

Hollyn jerked, rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Do you guys get rid of bodies on a regular basis?”

I stepped into her personal space, pulled her into my chest. “No. We don’t. We’re good people.”

She huddled into my chest for a moment. “Yeah. You guys are.”

I heard something in her voice, but couldn’t figure out what it was. But it made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I put my hands on her arms and set her back from me so I could look into her eyes.

“This isn’t your fault either. Matt attacked you. You had every right to protect yourself. To save Tag.” I watched her intently, needing her to know that we didn’t hold her responsible for any of this.

She looked up at me.

At least she didn’t call me a liar to my face even if that’s what hers was screaming. She really thought she was responsible. That somehow the evilness of Matt’s actions was her fault.

“I think it’s time for some hard talk,” I said, still holding her gaze.

Tag and Tove groaned long and low behind me.

Hollyn’s eyes widened. Her expression was so very easy to read. Her gaze darted over my shoulder. Whatever she saw there must have been okay because her shoulders relaxed under my hands. Her breathing returned to normal.

I spun her around and led her to one of the couches that were set up on three sides of a square. The empty line was for the TV that slid from the floor so we could play video games on the rare occasions we had some time free.

Settling Hollyn next to me, I angled myself on the couch so I could watch her face. I don’t think she’d ever lied to me, but I wanted to be able to see her face. Her eyes. I was finding that they told a better story than her words did.

She folded one of her legs up under her ass, the other knee bent up. She folded her hands over her knee and rested her chin on top of her hands. She looked as innocent as a baby.

And as sexy as a temptress.

I shoved that thought away. We needed some answers. Real ones. “Where are you really from, Stretch? All I know is that you came from a magical wall. But only magical when you’re