Burning House

Chapter 28

Killian

I sighed scrubbing my hands through my hair and over my face. Another night of no sleep. The perfect relief would be having Paige here. To pull her close and sink into her hot pussy. I could fill my hands with her perfect tits and rub them down her soft...pregnant stomach. Fuck. She claims the baby is mine but I'm not so sure. I have the implant in my arm. They didn't take it out. And if I admit the truth, Paige and Ace have a bond she and I don't.

It was a sheer miracle when I woke up in this fortress that Paige was here. Tristan told me when I came out of it that she had been there talking to him and she was pissed. She had every right to be. Our relationship was so far gone I didn't know how to begin to fix a portion of it. I fucked up and I knew it. I'd do it again though if it meant keeping her safe.

Rachel was out for Paige's blood. She wanted to be in control of all the sectors and had thought by having me that would be possible. It was awkward enough the first time she tried putting the moves in me, rubbing her hand up and down my leg before straddling me on the couch. We had been at a party to celebrate the start of summer. I rebuffed her, outraged because she was supposed to be in love with my best friend and I loved Paige. I even had the engagement ring I planned to give her even though I sort of already proposed the night before because I couldn't wait. I walked away from Rachel that night and thought it would blow over. She kept trying though, even coming into my room one night at my own home. At that point I decided I needed to tell Tristan. The look on my friends face was horrible. I wasn't prepared for what he told me next.

"I know," he said, "Alonzo told me the same thing. I don't know why but he thinks it has something to do with Padget."

Even though it broke his heart Rachel was using him Tristan was the better man to put his sister first. Any time Rachel tried something I told Tristan. When she talked bad about Paige we told each other. It didn't take long for her to believe that we had given up championing Paige. I couldn't believe how lucky we were and stupid she was in that. She really thought she had us. We were too good and too convincing we weren't prepared for what she actually had in mind.

Alonzo had sent a note to Tristan telling him to "get her out". Her who? Rachel or Paige, we never found out. A few days later the keeper of his household reported him missing and he was never found. A week later my world fell apart when Rachel orchestrated that scene in the living room calling us out. Tristan and I said what was necessary and did what was necessary thinking Rachel would leave her alone.

My heart felt ripped from my chest when Paige took off my engagement ring. The look on her face should have brought me to my knees but I wasn't done acting for Rachel. My mind screamed at me to stop Paige from running, to hold her, to marry her right there. Foolishly, we thought Rachel would just stop. Then Paige went missing.

For three years I mourned her as if she were dead. We kept up our charade hoping to learn anything. Humiliatingly enough I was given the favor of sharing Rachel's bed. I got the implant right away knowing I couldn't trust her to have hers. And honestly I didn't want to have a baby with that fucked up bitch. So yes, rape, I took it and acted like a participant all the while I was empty on the inside and prayed for any information of Paige. For three years. One thousand and ninety-five days of wishing I was married to the love of my life and we were starting our family.

I got up and started pacing around the room. Family. The word was foreign to me now. My own parents passed when I was little. Paige and Tristan's family was all I had known for so long. Alonzo had been like a distant uncle to me and I mourned him knowing now that he was indeed dead. I fingered the small raised mark on my bicep where the implant was embedded. I couldn't be the father there was just no possible way.

I fell back in my bed remembering the first day here in the Displaced. I felt like a freak show from the moment I first woke up. My face hurt like hell so did the ribs that had taken a few hits from those soldiers. I recalled the woods, Tristan, running and then this old woman who looked more like a witch telling us to jump off a cliff.

I argued with her figuring she was working for Rachel. We lost all reasoning when she said Paige was alive and we would see her if we jumped. I didn't think twice. Coming out of my delirium all I wanted was to find her. I didn't care about the warning she issued to Tristan, I envied he was able to see her already, I didn't care that everyone was cautious around us or wanted to know a million questions. I just wanted Paige.

We found the great dining room and it felt like everything slowed down when I saw her again. She was descending the stairs in this hot red dress that made my blood heat and my borrowed jeans uncomfortable. I had to be next to her to breathe her in and know she was real. Paige had always been paler in comparison to the rest of us and she still was. She looked less soft and had definitely got thinner. That last thought bothered me the most thinking she wasn't eating enough to sustain. I could help myself, ignoring her startled look when I turned her to face me, her mouth opened, most likely to yell at me, but I slammed my own mouth on hers. The same feelings came rushing back, I was hard in an instant wanting to drag her off like a caveman and keep her locked away so no one could ever hurt us again. Then he was there. Defending her, which had been my job and she thought I failed.

I threw my blankets back over and tried to fall back to sleep. The memories of the past six months flooding my mind. They of course all revolve around Paige, her pregnancy, Ace, and the war we were now fighting. Tomorrow was going to be another long day where living really meant nothing to me.