Tainted Bastard (Tainted Knights 4)

“Yo, Sin, get out of my way so I can take care of my girl,” Aubree commanded.

I started to stand, figuring she knew better how to take care of Roanna than I would, but Roanna made a whimpering noise when I tried to move away. The sound wrenched my gut, and I covered her hands, silently promising her I wouldn’t leave her.

Seeing the exchange between us, Aubree pushed the bottle of Patrón into my hands. “Then you need to get her to drink some of this. It will help calm her down.”

I took the bottle and gently placed it to Roanna’s lips. “Come on, sweet girl. Just a few sips for me.” Her mouth opened a tiny bit, and I smiled at her in encouragement. “Good girl,” I told her quietly as I poured a little of the tequila into her mouth.

It took a while, but eventually, her shaking stopped, and her fingers slowly released their hold on my shirt. Her hands fell into her lap, and she leaned back against the couch, closing her eyes. London offered her more chocolate, which Roanna took without bothering to lift her lashes.

I brushed my thumb over the back of one of her hands lying on her thigh. “You okay now, sweet girl?”

“Yeah,” she choked out. “Thanks.”

“Any time, babe. I got your back,” I promised.

Harris and Tiny came into the room. Harris’s face was like a thundercloud; I’d never seen him so pissed before. “Are you all okay?” he asked. “Does anyone need medical attention?”

“No, no, we’re fine,” Genesis told him. “Ro just had a little bit of a panic attack. She’s good now, though, thanks to the Knight.”

“I’m going to have to hire more security for Thursday nights,” Harris told them. “I never expected the crowd to get so out of hand. I’m closing the club for the night, and the guy Sin took down is being arrested, along with half a dozen other people.”

“I don’t think I’ll be singing that song again,” Roanna whispered.

“It was just a song, Roanna. Nothing wrong with that. Those idiots were just drunk and disorderly. Sing it again if you want. I don’t care. Next week, there will be double the security around the stage to keep you safe, I promise.”

“Thanks, Harris,” Peyton simpered as she walked over to join him and Tiny.

While they discussed the security measures they would be adding, I focused on Roanna. She was still ghostly pale, but the fear had finally died in her eyes when she lifted them to look at me. My thumb continued to caress the soft skin on the back of her hand.

“You going to be okay?” I asked quietly.

She lifted one shoulder, but it seemed like the movement cost her some much-needed energy. “My girls will make sure I am.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, sweet girl.”

“Yes, Sin, I will be fine. Thanks to you.” She turned her hand over, catching my fingers in her cold ones and giving them a squeeze. “Would you…like to maybe eat with us later?”

Her voice was so soft, so full of a shy innocence that I couldn’t explain why I found myself smiling. I wanted to protect her from all the bad things in the world that could touch her, keep her safe and innocent like that forever.

But there was something in her eyes she was too vulnerable to attempt to mask right then, and my smile began to fade. There was a darkness she was trying to hide from in there.

Something I recognized instantly because I’ve been hiding from it myself for years.

Chapter 5

Roanna

I pulled the weighted blanket tighter around me before taking the paper plate loaded with greasy pizza from Genesis. Beside me, Sin was already devouring his second slice, and despite everything that happened earlier, I found myself wanting to smile.

After changing clothes, we decided just to go home. I had another brief wave of panic, not wanting to leave the room for fear of the mob of people trying to attack us again. Then Sin told me he wouldn’t mind grabbing some food, and he offered to drive me home while the others stopped for pizza on the way.

The idea of getting into a car with him hadn’t sent me into an imme

diate panic attack or made me turn into a human statue, but I still asked Aubree to come with us. She was my security blanket, most likely always would be. But every therapist I ever talked to said that was normal.

All three of my soul sisters might have saved me, but it was Aubree who destroyed Sicko Stan’s chance of hurting anyone ever again. Given how close I was to the knife she brought to fight him off so they could save me, I got a front row seat to his penis nearly being severed when she sliced through it. If the cops Genesis called before they ran to my rescue hadn’t arrived when they did, he most likely would have bled to death.

Aubree might have been the smallest Blonde, but she was the most badass chick I’d ever met. Before she came to live with us at the foster home, she’d lived on the streets, hiding from the system after running away from home. She knew how to take care of herself—and others, if they needed help. As easily as she handled the knife that night, I knew she must have learned how to use it at a young age.