Secret Keepers

Chapter 5

Everything in my current cave was quiet. But from the hallway came the distant murmur of conversation. I tried to tune into it, but it wasn't easy. I would only pick up vague words that meant no sense.

I sighed and glanced around me. Cutter had let me sleep in his bedroom, not believing that I'd be safe anywhere else. He had a very nice room. A large fireplace in one corner was burning hit, keeping the room warm and well lit while a large bed graced the majority of the room. I looked around the walls which were decorated with paintings and weapons of all sorts. But what fascinated me most was that a lot of the weapons were covered in gold or jewels. It seemed as though he was very wealthy, but as I kept looking, a terrible thought occurred to me. Or maybe he was just a very skilled thief. Then I heard the conversation outside the door get louder.

"She doesn't belong here, Cutter."

"How do you know? I've seen what this chick can do. She's so quiet and sneaky that she's snuck up on every one of us. She knew we'd been living out here since she was little. She's got secrecy skills and she needs a place. What better place than with us?"

I could hear Rage revelling in what he'd been named for. "I don't care how skilled she is. We don't need a girl around here. She's gonna be a distraction."

"Just ignore her. I'll keep her away from you if you want. I'll distract her if that'll keep her away. But if you threaten her I'll geld you."

The door swung inward and I gasped, stepping back as Cutter entered. He looked at me and cocked his head. "How's your leg? Better?"

I shrugged and sat on the bed, looking at the bandage. "Yeah. Still hurts, but at least the bleeding stopped."

He nodded and went over to the wall, taking off his cloak and gloves. He glanced at me and shrugged. "Do you need anything? Food? Drink? Bath?"

I shrugged. "I'm a little hungry."

He opened up a small door in the wall and tossed me a small pouch of jerky and a flask of water. "That should hold you a while."

I nodded and ate quietly while he went over and stoked the fire. Then I couldn't hold it in anymore. "Why are you so partial to me? You brought me here for a reason. Now what is it?"

He paused and stared at the fire a moment. Then he sighed and came over to me, sitting on the bed beside me. "Well it's a mixture of my fascination with your stealth skills and umm...a little bit of fascination with you in general."

I glanced at him and he was staring at me. I blushed and looked away. "What do you mean?"

"I mean your pretty and I like you. But I can't just say things like that in front of the other guys. The trouble I'll have is keeping you to myself. I know that Tracker and Dagger are partial to girls. And I think Rage is gonna get a little envious."

"But I thought he hated me."

"No. I saw it when he took off that mask. He was staring you down. He liked the looks of you, but he was using anger to cover it up."

Several different emotions went through me all at once. Confusion. Shock. Amazement. But also fear. I glanced at Cutter and he stated into my eyes, studying me closely. I shook my head. "Are you saying that at last several of you guys are gonna end up fighting for me?"

He shrugged and scooted closer. "Yeah, but I'll win."

Once again, I was shocked. "You sound very sure of yourself."

"Because I am. I'm the leader because I proved I could beat all of them."

I sighed and put my head in my hands. "Alright. First of all, who are all of you. Like what are you the leader of?"

He sighed and stood, going over to a wardrobe to the side, but when he opened it, no clothes were inside. Instead, it was a large framed picture of all six of them standing in an ornate hallway, dressed in dark, but decorative vests.

"All six of us used to work directly below the king in skilled espionage. We took care of any information needs that the king had. And we also spied on his noblemen and killed off any of them that spoke against him. We called ourselves the Secret Keepers. But then we started figuring out way too much. Gamblers, whore jockeys, and sexual offenders. Noblemen have the darkest stories. So when we started going to the king about it, the noblemen turned on us and we got word that they were going to try to kill us. So we agreed to run. We escaped the castle and left our past behind us. Several of us left our relatives and Slice even left his fiance. But we escaped out here and have lived in secret ever since."

Silence held me completely still. He turned and shrugged. "You wanted to know."

I looked down at my lap and took a deep breath. "I'm not exactly sure if that's what I wanted to hear." He closed the wardrobe and walked over, standing in front of me. He lifted my chin and looked into my eyes. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

I sighed and studied him for once. He had reddish brown hair and surprisingly gentle brown eyes. I shrugged. "A lot of surprise mostly."

"Surprise? At what?"

"At everything I guess. I'm surprised that you guys had such a backstory and I guess I'm also surprised you'd take me in so quickly."

He smiled and brushed my hair behind my ear. "I thought I already exlained why I took you in."

"Yes. But I'm still surprised by the fact you like me."

He laughed and sat beside me once more. "Well whether you're surprised or not, I like you and want you to be here."

I sighed and looked away from him. "But I dont even know what to do. I've never been in a relationship."

He laughed and wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me closer before tipping my chin up to him. "Well let's start with giving you a good name. And I've had one in mind ever since I saw you in the woods. How about Shadow?"

I smiled and nodded. "Sounds great. I hated Brenna anyway."

He smiled and gestured to the bed. "Let's go ahead and sleep. I'm tired."

I nodded and kicked off my shoes. I laid down and then I glanced over at Cutter as he took off his shirt. He was indeed extremely fit and as he turned to me, it was hard to look away, but he still laughed. "You seem shy. That's quite a blush."

The blush he spoke of deepened even further as he climbed in beside me. I laid down facing away from him, but I was scared he'd hug me from behind, but as he turned the lamp down, all he did was stay respectfully on his side.

Relief battle with longing in my mind. I was scared of getting attached, but I really wanted to know what it was like to be coddled and cared for by a man I wasn't related to. I sighed and closed my eyes, letting myself drift asleep.