Kyler's Justice (Assassins of Gravas Book 3) - N.J. Walters Page 0,4

a time.

“Ky.”

Short and to the point. “You going to be around these parts long?”

“Depends.”

The tables around them had lost interest and gone back to their own conversations. Not that there wasn’t someone listening. Someone was always listening. Word of this incident would reach her father as soon as he turned up tomorrow. Maybe even tonight, if one of his cronies hunted him down.

She fisted her hand in her lap, anger suddenly pouring over her. “I shouldn’t be here.” Etta hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but it was still the truth. And she didn’t just mean at this table talking to this man. Five long months had passed since Balthazar had shown up and destroyed her old life and her peace of mind.

She had indeed sold her soul to the devil.

Helldrick wouldn’t let her take her sisters and leave. He didn’t want them. Couldn’t care less about them. Their only use was as leverage over her. Not that he wanted her any more than he did her sisters. All he wanted was control.

No one left unless he allowed it.

The only one of them he showed any fatherly interest in was Balthazar, and that was likely because he was the only one who looked and acted like him.

“Then why are you?”

Shocked that he’d not only spoken more than one word but had also asked her a question, she was momentarily at a loss for words. Ky’s face might be hidden, but she sensed the intensity of his stare. This was a man who missed nothing.

Leaving her drink, she stood. “I’ve got to go. Enjoy your evening.” Forcing herself not to run, she strolled back to the bar, put her head down, and worked, all the while conscious of the man in the corner.

Finally, the place emptied out and closed. Ky had slipped out without her noticing when she’d gotten busy. She rubbed the back of her neck and muttered while she shut things down, locking the cash and credits in the huge safe in the office.

With the riot screens down on the windows and doors, she set the alarms and headed to the door beyond the office. Eight locks later, she shut and secured them behind her and then climbed up the stairs to the rooms above.

No one was waiting when she entered and secured the final door. Leaning against the portal, she sighed, unable to let her guard down even here. She checked the entire place for hidden cameras and listening devices almost daily, coming up empty, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Tiredness seeped into her bones and exhaustion overtook her. Working fourteen hours a day was nothing new, but the stress from everything else on top of it was taking a toll.

She pushed away from the door and silently made her way to the first bedroom. Both girls were tucked in their beds, their soft breathing a balm to her soul.

This was why she was here. This was her purpose.

“Etta?” a sleepy voice asked.

She walked over and sat on the edge of the narrow bed. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” At ten, Sera was way too old for her age, her green eyes ancient in her young face.

“I sleep better when you’re here.” The simple truth was a knife in Etta’s heart. As long as her sisters were here, she was trapped.

“I’m glad.” She pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Are you going away?”

She shook her head. “We’ve talked about this. I’m not leaving until I can take you with me.”

Sera’s eyes darkened and took on a faraway expression, as though she was seeing far beyond the boundaries of this room. “He won’t let you.”

The girls had noticed how she never called Helldrick Father and were imitating her. “We’ll figure something out, but not tonight.” She tucked the girl in and kissed her again. “I’ll see you in the morning.” After checking on Maggs, who was a sound sleeper, Etta went to her room.

The same size as the girls’, it held a slightly larger bed, a chest of drawers, and a closet. Its saving grace was the private bathing chamber, complete with a gel cleansing unit that worked most of the time.

After getting cleaned up, she crawled under the covers and closed her fingers around the handle of the knife resting under her pillow.

Chapter Two

Kyler clung to the side of the building, listening and watching Etta check on two little girls before retiring. Specialized gloves and boots made it easy for him to scale the outer wall. Muscles