Tainted Forever (Tainted Knights 5)

I want to disappear.

Seconds later, a new message popped up, and I was finally able to take a deep enough breath.

Done.

Chapter 5

Jace

I was still a mess by the time Gray pulled the rental into the driveway at Alicia’s. As soon as they were out of the car, I was going to wrestle Gray to the ground and steal the keys so I could go back for Kin.

We had to talk.

She had to listen to me.

We belonged together, and yes, this shit with Eden was my fault, but we could work through it. I wouldn’t keep anything from her ever again. I would swear on my life, on Kassa’s life, on a stack a bibles taller than the Empire State Building. Whatever the fuck she needed me to swear on, I would.

If she would just take me back.

I fucked up, but we would fix it as soon as she let me explain everything, damn it.

Gray and Kassa didn’t immediately move when the car stopped. Instead, Gray sat there, refusing to unlock the doors. Not that it would have helped me any. The freaking child safety locks were engaged, so I couldn’t get out of the car until one of them let me out because I sure as hell couldn’t climb over the seats as big as I was.

“Let me out,” I ordered. “Let me the fuck out. Now.”

“Hold your horses, dickhead,” Gray snapped, at the end of his patience with me. I was fairly sure the only reason he hadn’t knocked my ass out was because of Kassa. And honestly, I would have preferred unconsciousness to suffering this debilitating agony coursing through me.

From inside the house the three of us all grew up in, a light came on in the living room, and then the porch light flickered to life. It was early in the morning, dawn would be breaking soon, but Alicia was always up by six regardless of what day it was.

My throat bobbed as I saw the woman who’d adopted Kassa and me, who’d kept us from having to experience the same hell Eden faced. The woman who loved us as her own and never judged us for the mistakes we made, no matter how catastrophic they might have been.

Alicia was dressed in her night clothes with a robe tossed over them, the belt untied. Her hair was in disarray, rumpled from sleep, but there were pure love and concern on her beautifully aged face as she took the steps from the porch and practically sprinted toward us.

“It’s time to tell us everything,” Kassa informed me as Alicia rushed forward. “I want to know what the hell has been going on, and I don’t want bullshit answers.”

“Kassa,” I began, but she lifted her hands, urging me to stop.

“Don’t. What part of no bullshit do you not understand, brother mine? The minute we walk into that house, you are going to spill your guts, or I will refuse to speak to you ever again, Jace.” Tears filled her eyes, but her voice was full of frost. “You not only destroyed what you had with Kin by keeping this from her, which I still don’t understand at all. But you have completely broken my trust in you. I want answers, and if you don’t give them to me, then we’re done as a family. Because, apparently, you don’t need anyone but Eden anymore.”

I groaned, scrubbing my hands down my face. Kassa had never been mad at me like this in our entire lives. We had arguments growing up, but she always knew I loved her, and I never questioned her love for me. But I could finally see how keeping her in the dark about our older half sister had been a bad mistake all around. Even if I only wanted to protect Kassa, I should have told her regardless once I knew Eden wasn’t really a threat to her.

The back door of the car opened, and Alicia stuck her head in. “Jace,” she cried, throwing her arms around me. “Kassa said you and Kin broke up. Ah, honey, I’m so sorry.”

I hugged her back, realizing just how much I missed her now that we were living on the other side of the country. I’d just seen her on Thursday, when we spent the night before driving down to Charlotte for the festival, but before that, I hadn’t seen her in months. “We’re not broken up,” I told her, my jaw clenching in determination. “It’s all just a huge misunderstanding. As soon as we all talk, I’m going back for her.” No way was I going home without her. We could move in together as soon as we got back.

Now that I knew just how much Kin wanted it, that was all I could think about. I shouldn’t have been such a chickenshit. I should have listened every time she brought it up instead of freezing her out because I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide the truth about Eden if we were living under the same roof full time.

None of the reasons why I hadn’t wanted to move in together mattered any longer. I would move heaven and earth to give Kin what she wanted. But first, we had to talk.

And before that could happen, I had to confess everything to Kassa and Alicia.

Once in the house, we all ended up in the kitchen. Gray started pulling out leftover takeout containers, along with some fresh fruit for Kassa. I sat at the table, a mug of strong coffee in my hands, waiting for my sister to take her seat before I began.

Gray placed the bowl of strawberries and raspberries in front of her, kissing the top of her head reverently before going back to the microwave to take out the food he’d just finished nuking.

Once he was seated, Kassa lifted her brows at me. “Well? Let’s hear it. I want to know everything.”

Blowing out a hard sigh, I placed the mug on the table and pushed it away. “Remember the Petrova party in Miami?” She frowned for a few seconds before nodding. “I ran into Eden there. She was with the drug dealer passing out coke and pills like they were party favors at the request of Petrova himself.”