Page 196 of Savage Hearts

I wouldn’t know how to explain the emotions running rampant inside me any more to myself than I could to him.

“Come on,” he finally said, helping me off his lap. I smoothed my palms over my dress, taking away any wrinkles that might have formed. Then Killian stood up and reminded me oncemore how much bigger he was than me, made that much more apparent when we were both standing.

I swallowed and looked away as he grasped my hand and led me out the door.

“We silently walked down the stairs of this big house and found both Maverick and Silas standing in the living room.”

I hadn’t seen the three of them together much since they brought me home. But now that they were together, I couldn’t help the way my body reacted to their combined presence.

My heart felt heavy, and the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room, leaving me… struggling.

I took a deep breath, and all three sets of eyes turned my way.

Silas was the one I focused on first.

A longing look filled his face so strongly that I was left frozen.

Thankfully, he stayed where he was and kept his hands to himself. I didn’t know how I would react if he touched me. I was just feeling too much when it came to him. I turned to Maverick next, and as usual, his face gave nothing away. If I didn’t know him well, I would have said he was merely indifferent, but I knew better now.

He was acutely aware of my every movement.

I turned away from both of them, and away from Killian, looking out the window.

They all seemed to have the power to subsume the energy in any room and make me feel like I was drowning in it.

“Let’s go,” Killian said, breaking the silence. My grip tightened around his hand as we started for the front door, both Maverick and Silas following us.

I didn’t need to watch the brothers to know their entire demeanor changed the moment we stepped foot outside.

They were much more aware. Being near them made my skin prickle, and it made me take note of my surroundings.

I wondered what it was like to live life like that.

To have to watch your back because there were always people out there who wanted to put a bullet in your head.

I had to live like that at the clubhouse, but it was nowhere near this intense. Back at the clubhouse, I was protected by my father’s rage. He didn’t care much about me as a person, and certainly not as his daughter, but I had value to him. At least, in the sense that he could marry me off to Sebastian and ensure his loyalty.

I’d thought so, anyway, considering how hard he worked to ensure I couldn’t run away. It was why he had sent his men after me that first time I tried to escape.

The brothers had no one to look out for them, save for each other, so it made sense why they were so close.

We got to the waiting car. The driver nodded respectfully at the brothers. They waved him off, and he moved to the driver’s side and got in.

Killian opened the door for me, letting me go in first. The car had two rows of seats in the back that faced each other. It wasn’t as big as a limo, I imagined, but it was bigger than the average car. Like this, I would be facing whoever sat across from me.

I had expected Killian to follow me, but Silas was the one who came in next, much to my surprise. He sat close to me, leaving no room for personal space, but then again, he had never been a man who respected personal boundaries.

I glared at him and tried to slide closer to the door. The fucker just followed me.

I sighed with annoyance, and Silas sighed with relief.

I looked at him questioningly.

“If you can be annoyed at me like this, then it means you’re not scared of me,angel, are you?”

My frown deepened. “You don’t want me to be afraid of you?”

He shook his head. “Never.”