First Debt (Indebted #2)(22)

It’d taken a while, but finally he’d texted back.

Kite007: Sometimes, it seems as if those who have nothing in life have everything, and those who have everything have nothing. Sometimes, I want to be the one who has nothing, so I can appreciate all the things I think I’d miss. But the scary thing is, I don’t think I’d miss a single f*cking thing.

My heart fluttered. It was as if he’d pulled my fears straight from the darkness inside me.

Needle&Thread: I understand completely. I love my family. I love their faults as well as their perfections, but I can’t help being angry, too. By keeping me safe and sheltered, they made me become someone who was a lie. I now have the hardship of figuring out the truth.

Kite007: The truth of who you truly are?

Needle&Thread: Exactly.

Kite007: We’re all a product of obligation. A carbon copy of what is permitted in the world we’re born into. None of us are free—all raised with expectations to fulfil. And it f*cking sucks when those expectations become a cage.

I couldn’t reply. Tears had spilled unbidden down my cheeks. I shook so much, I’d dropped the phone.

If Kite was Kestrel. He was hiding just as much as me. A man camouflaging everything real in order to protect himself in a family of monsters.

Jethro snapped his fingers in front of my nose, breaking my daydream.

My heart galloped at the thought of never being able to text Kite again, especially now we’d broken some barrier and admitted we had more in common than seeking sexual gratification.

“You’re a thousand miles away. Pay attention.”

I blinked, forcing myself to lock onto Jethro’s golden gaze.

“I was giving you an idea of how today would go. You asked me to inform you, remember, back in the woods?”

Blinking again, I nodded. “Yes. Can you repeat?”

He chuckled coldly. “No, I will not repeat. I showed kindness in bracing you against today’s events, yet you couldn’t grant me the courtesy of listening. I refuse to reiterate myself.”

Rolling my shoulders back, I tried not to worry about what my future held and only on what was important. “Please, I need my phone back.”

Jethro shook his head. “No.”

My heart sprinted. “But you said I could use it.”

“I did.” His lips twitched. “I also said you had to ask permission in order to do so. I want to check your history. Make sure you’re not disobeying the rules.”

Shit, why didn’t I delete my inbox?

“The rules?”

His eyes narrowed. “Rules, Ms. Weaver. I don’t have many, but I did request you didn’t contact your brother. If you’ve obeyed, you have nothing to worry about, and I’ll return the phone to you.”

Shit.

Not only had I been texting V, I’d also shared more with Kite than I wanted Jethro to see.

If Kes was Kite, Jethro would know of the connection I had with his brother. He would use that knowledge. He would hurt me with it.

I can’t let that happen.

I wanted to scream.

Standing as tall as I could, I said, “My brother knows.”

Jethro went still, his face tightening. “I suppose I should thank you for your honesty. I thought he would by now. The Weaver men aren’t ones for letting us take their women. Even with the correct paperwork.”

I glared. “You knew he would come for me?”

Jethro nodded. “I suspected, and your father, too. It’s been the case for hundreds of years. Do you really think your father didn’t come and try to rescue your mother?” He laughed. “What sort of man do you think he is?”

A man I never knew.

Jethro smirked, seeing my answer flicker in my eyes. He reached out, tenderly tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “To lose faith so soon in the ones you hold most dear is the worst crime of all, Ms. Weaver. I hope, for your sake, he never knows how you doubted him.”

“Why are you telling me this? Isn’t it better for you if I feel cut off and abandoned?”

He shook his head, his fingers dropping from my ear to cup the back of my neck. “No. Where’s the fun in that? You were loved. You are loved. It’s more bittersweet to know the men who tried to protect you are now on the outside trying to break in to free you. It’s much more fun when there are more players in the game.”

I whispered, “I don’t understand you at all.”

He grinned, looking positively light-hearted. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

He gripped my neck harder. “Regardless, I like it.” His eyes drifted from mine to latch onto my mouth. The air between us went from sharp to lust-laden. His tongue came out, tracing his bottom lip.

My core warmed. I was too weak to ignore the masculine call of him, even while hating his guts.

His thumb caressed the column of my neck, both in a threat and a tease. “You won the other night. We both know that. But you won’t win today. Today is mine. Today, you obey.”

I couldn’t breathe. His mouth came so close to mine, making me drunk on the anticipation of kissing.

He’d tormented me with the illusion of a kiss ever since we’d met: in the coffee shop, by the stables as I squirmed on his fingers, and now here. His lips were a fraction away from claiming mine. His breath smelled of mint and sin, and his fingers dug into my nape with everything he kept hidden.