Rivals

CHAPTER 73:

Rebecca

We've been at Dante's home for a little over a week now.

It hasn't been the worst, but being cooped up in the same place all day everyday and constantly discussing plans to find and kill Lachlan was draining us all.

I still can't believe I was conspiring to kill my birth father.

Dante and I had been going over plans and whereabouts on Lachlan for hours and I decided to excuse myself and take a break.

This was my first time really being on the inside of gang business and it was overwhelming me.

I sat down in the living area on one of the couches and leaned back, shutting my eyes.

After a moment, I felt a body sit next to me and then a pair of arms wrap around me. I breathe in Killian's intoxicating scent, leaving me dazed and breathless.

He turns me around and brings me into a hug while I place my arms tightly around his torso.

He kisses my cheek, my neck, and then my shoulder before placing a light kiss on my lips and pulling me close to rub my back in small circles.

"Mmmm," I purr as I close my eyes and lean into his chest.

His chest rises and falls steadily, along with a heartbeat that always keeps the same beat.

"How are you holding up?" His voice is smooth like honey.

I wait a second before answering, which makes him tense slightly.

"I think I'm holding up better than some people would," I say sarcastically with a hint of the truth laced in my voice.

I pull away from him for a second to look at him. He looked tired behind his silver eyes, and they looked glossed over. His lips were plump and pink so I gave him a small peck before letting myself fall back into his chest.

"I'm planning to kill my birth father so I really don't know what to think," I announced and took a deep breath.

"He's proven to be a danger to not only you and your family but to innocent people. This has to be done," Killian considered as I nodded into his chest.

Killian took my left hand in his and played with my fingers and admired the ring placed on my finger.

"Has he said anything about this?" Killian asked as his fingers ran over the gems set in the ring.

"He glares at it every time he sees it and I can tell he wants to say something, but he won't. I think he's trying not to overstep or make me upset," I breathed out.

"I heard you both were in here, so I thought I'd step in and catch up on things," Reese walks in and then sits on the sofa opposite of the one Killian and I are sitting on.

I studied Reese, and I could clearly see dark circles under his puffy, red ringed blue eyes behind his glasses. His skin looked pale and slouching didn't even begin to describe his poor posture.

He's been involved with this as much as I have and it's drained him as well, but he formed a smile for me. The smile almost led me to believe he was alright; a smile that would lie to me and tell me everything's alright.

The sun rose higher and higher, blinding all of our tired faces through the glass windows as we talked about what little information we had.

"No fucking way!" Reese shrieks in excitement as he stands up from the sofa.

His expression and composure all change in two seconds as he runs his hands through his hair with a goofy smile appearing over his face.

"What the hell!" Killian yelled back while squeezing my hand.