Shameful by May Dawson
62
Killian
Rhett sauntered into the room,jangling car keys in one hand, and stopped to give Tobias and West a sympathetic look—not that either of them noticed him, as they were quite preoccupied.
“West,” I called. “Come overhere.”
West reluctantly stalked over, swiping at a spot of blood on his cheek.
I faced the girl I loved and Rhett and West and told them what I knew they didn’t want to hear: “We’ve got to take Tobias back to Reject Island.”
Rhett threw back his head and laughed. “Hahano.”
“I’m serious. The only way to stop Cyrus is to get the Elders involved.”
“Because they’re going to believe us? This time?” Rhett sounded deeply skeptical. “Why would they trust a handful of Rejects and a fucking vampire over Cyrus?”
“It’s the truth.”
“The truth doesn’t matter.”
I took a deep breath. I couldn’t even look at Legacy. “I knew Cyrus was working with vampires. I thought he was just selling them stuff. I always knew he was lying, but when he sent me here, he claimed he needed me to watch Rhett and West. Sean had gotten into deep shit for fucking—and telling—a humangirl.”
“What happened to the girl?” Legacy asked, her voice quiet.
There was no point in hiding any of the shameful truth anymore. “Cyrus killed the girl. Sean’s life has always been forfeit. Cyrus has kept him alive to keep me useful. He said I could make up for some of my family’s shame by serving the pack at Reject Island, but I think he wanted me out of the way because I knew too much about the vampires.”
West’s nostrils flared in anger, and even though I’d taken him in a fight before, I didn’t relish the thought of dealing with him now. Besides, he stunk of vamp blood.
I raised my hands. “I didn’t realize he was using their blood. I thought he was trying to form an alliance with them so he could be more powerful, maybe invade other packs.”
“West and I had run into some vampires,” Rhett said. “The alpha said we started fights over nothing. That we were too hot-headed to be trusted.”
“He was just trying to cover up what he was doing.”
But Legacy only had eyes for me. “Why did he trust you with his secrets, Killian?”
“Because he knew I’d do anything to protect my little brother Sean. He framed sending me to Reject Island as being because he trusted me, but I knew what would happen if I betrayed him. You know how the pack views exposing us to humans. Cyrus has an excuse to hurt him, and he used that to bribe me… he thought he could keep me loyal to him, that it would be useful to have me on the island.”
I raked my hand through my hair, afraid of what might happen to Sean back in the Northwood if I set this plan in motion. It was all too easy to imagine Cyrus ripping his head off like he’d done to the human girl Sean had loved.
But I had to act, so I forged on. “I tried to bring it up on Reject Island, find a way to talk to Gibs without revealing too much. But now that I know for sure… I can be a witness. I won’t let Cyrus shut me up anymore. We can demand the other Elders confront Cyrus.”
Rhett whistled. “I can’t imagine that going wrong.”
“What else do you want to do?” I exploded. “The clock is ticking to when Gibs will realize I’m not coming back. And if I don’t drag you guys home, he won’t just send out the Guard. He’ll tell Cyrus. And thenSean…”
“Then you go back,” Legacy said suddenly. “Take Tobias back. But I’m not going back to Reject Island. My word doesn’t matter to them anyway. If people aren’t going to believe me, I don’t owe them my story.”
The thought of being apart from Legacy killed me. “No. Legs… I can’t protect the three of you if you’re on therun.”
“You can’t protect me anyway. And that’s not your job.” Her hand hovered near the mark, though she didn’t seem to realize she was touching the spot on her skin I’d bitten.
“The fuck it’s not.” I swore.
Everything in me wanted to protect Legacy.
“I can’t go back there with you.” Her eyes had gone wide and luminous and pleading.
I could never resist Legacy when she was so powerful, strong and sexy, but I sure as shit couldn’t resist when she looked at me like she neededme.
“I’m not going back to the island and being a captive again,” she added softly.
I should tell her no, but I couldn’t get the word out when she bit her lower lip and stared up at me. I’d fucked up before. I owed her whatever she wanted.
I blew out a breath. “Okay.”
Her eyes brightened, her face transforming. I’d do anything forher.
“Don’t tell me where you’re going to be,” I told her, even though I hated the idea of being apart from her, forget not even knowing her location. “I can’t know. That way I can’t tell them, evenif…”
There was a possibility the Elders would use magic—or plain old pain—to get the truth if they didn’t believe me. To them, this beautiful girl in front of me was just a runaway, a runaway who could trigger bloody conflict between her pack and the Elders. I was pretty sure they would help us, but I wouldn’t gamble her safety.
“But you can call.” Rhett suddenly flipped me a phone. “We’ve all got burner phones now. You can text us without anyone being able to track a phone number so you two can sext all you want without giving Legacyaway.”
“Rhett.” Legacy narrowed her eyes athim.
I put the phone in my pocket. “All right. Think it’s safe to give me a ride back to the hotel? If it is, I’ll load up this asshole then and take him back to RI. Gibs will make sure that Cyrus doesn’t get the chance to murderhim.”
“More wolves,” Tobias rasped, his voice damaged by West’s tender touch. “I feel so safe already.”
West’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t argue with me. I waited until we had a moment, then pulled him aside.
Quietly, to me, West said, “We can’t let him live. He’s tried to kill Legacy three timesnow.”
“I know,” I said. “But I can imagine what the Elders are going to do to him. He’s not going to get another shot at Legacy.”
West gave me the most disappointed-homicidal face, but nodded.
“I don’t like this, Kill,” he said. “I think we should stick together. You could call Gibs, see if you can get the Elders to see reason without putting yourself on theline.”
“They’d never listen if I was a runaway too,” I scoffed. “What’re you worried about? That I won’t come back? That you and Rhett’ll be left with Legacy? Sounds like it’d be better for youguys.”
“Nah, I don’t want that.” West looked me dead in the eyes, as if he’d softened from our old animosity, and I thought he was going to say something kind before he added, “You’re such a cocky dickhole, you make me look good to Legacy when we’re standing together.”
“I’m touched,” I toldhim.
Maybe the guys and I could leave the past in the past. The thought filled me with hope, assuming we survived the next twenty-four hours.
But most of all, I was dying to talk to Legacy. Rhett came back and we carried Courage and Tania into the car. If they could shift, it would go a long way toward helping them heal, but we couldn’t force them to shift. They’d lost too much blood, which made me think about if that blood had left the warehouse yet ornot.
“Hey, we gotta get going,” Rhett called after me as I headed toward Tobias’s shiny black muscle car. “We’ve been here too long already.”
“I know.” I quickly opened the trunk. Inside Tobias’s trunk were two coolers, and when I opened one, the two of us stared down at bags of thick, red blood. “Evidence. The Elders might not want to believe us, but they have to believe at least some ofthis.”
Tania and Courage couldn’t take that blood back because it wasn’t labeled. We might just hurt them worse trying to helpthem.
West leaned down toward Tobias, who pulled away, his eyes wide and terrified. But West just threw him over his shoulder and threw him into the trunk.
“Hey.” Legacy threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight, surprisingme.
“Hey.” I wrapped my arm around her, studying her beautiful, angular face, those long-lashed brown eyes and soft, supple lips. “I’m sorry, youknow.”
She stared up at me, her brows rising. “Are you really?”
“I’m not sorry that you’re wearing my mark,” I amended. “But I’m sorry that I didn’t talk to you first.”
I could’ve told her that when I saw her, the rush of desire I felt for her was so powerful it was overwhelming, but that wouldn’t make it any better. That wasn’t her problem.
“Stay alive and come back to me, and I’ll think about forgiving you,” she said lightly. She bobbed up on her toes and swept her lips acrossmine.
It was the briefest, softest kiss the two of us had ever shared. But it still made my chest expand with brightness.