Page 33 of Twisted Heathens

Shaking her head, her eyes drop. “It wasn’t you.”

I slide a digit under her chin, tilting her face back up to look at me.

“Then what is it?” I ask.

Her lips press together and she shakes her head, refusing to answer. She’s keeping it in, using all her strength to prevent the words from leaking out. “Why are you doing this to me?” she eventually whispers.

“Because helping people is what I do, love.”

She pries my hands away, gently pushing me back. Rejecting me again, ever the stubborn bitch.

“No. Not me. I don’t want to be helped.”

“Why not?” I hiss at her.

“Nope.” She presses herself further into the corner.

My patience snaps and I hold her still, forcing her to listen to me. “Please let me in. Look at Eli, he was a mess when he got here six months ago. And Phoenix? First time I met him, he threw up on my shoes. Coming down from a weeklong bender and quivering like a leaf. You don’t need to be ashamed.”

A bitter laugh escapes her lips. “Don’t I? You don’t know me.”

“You’re right, I don’t. But I want to. If you’d just let me.”

I shuffle back and keep my distance, allowing her the space she clearly wants. I know the drill, it’s like approaching a wild animal at first. You’ve got to ease in. Get them used to your presence. Hell, it took Eli a month before he allowed me this close. Poor guy was so traumatised he barely moved, let alone spoke. To this day, I’ve never heard his voice.

“I’ll hurt you,” Brooklyn whimpers.

“You won’t,” I assure her.

“It’s what I do.”

Ever so carefully, I stretch out a hand. Palm up in offering, careful to leave distance between us. I’m giving her the option to take it, rather than forcing it upon her. “Come on, Brooke. Trust me. Just for a moment.”

She daggers me with those steely eyes. Gunmetal grey and full of bleak defeat. “And if I say no?” she mutters.

“Then I’ll leave.”

The suspense threatens to cripple my confidence, but she blindly reaches out and grabs my hand. I tighten my grip, clinging to her now she’s on board. Refusing to let go for fear she’ll run away from me.

We end up on the bed, bags tossed aside without another word. Her body instinctively curls up, arms tucked close to her chest. I toss any reservations aside and stretch out opposite, our heads mere inches apart, making sure my legs don’t touch hers. I don’t want to scare her off now we’ve gotten this far.

“Why are you here?” she asks.

My instinct is to lie, whether deliberately or by omission. That would be infinitely easier and less complicated for both of us. But the whole point of this isn’t to do that. There’s only a handful of people in this godforsaken place that know of my true purpose here.

“My brother,” I reveal.

“Hudson?” she guesses.

“You know him?”

“No, just heard his name around.”

She’s frowning to herself, like the name brings back bad memories or something, but quickly clears the expression away. “He’s here?”

I breathe a sigh. “Yeah, he’s here. It’s complicated, but when he was arrested and charged, I was desperate to protect him. Having that power stripped away was tough. I was a student at the time, studying for my master’s degree in mathematics.”

“What happened?”

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