Page 84 of Savage Reign

Killian turned to me. “And he can’t keep you away?”

“Would you let him touch me? Because that’s the only way he could have restrained me. I would have fought back.”

Killian didn’t say anything. He looked away, his jaw clenched. I looked back to the man, who was now partially shielded by Silas.

Silas let out a string of curse words, pushing away and walking toward me. I reminded myself that he wouldn’t hurt me.

He lifted me up into his arms and walked us out of there.

I couldn’t look away from the man.

How many times had Dad brought traitors back to the clubhouse to do some “questioning”?

My lullaby often consisted of the torturous screams of other men. And I fell in love with men in the same line of work.

But this was different, wasn’t it? They weren’t my father. And I loved them.

Fuck, but Ilovedthem.

So goddamn much. And loving them meant loving every aspect of them.

“Don’t you fucking dare pull back from me after this,” Silas said, his voice gruff. “I don’t fucking care if this is hard to accept. You will accept it. Accept me. You understand me?”

Had I not heard the underlying desperation in his voice, I might have been mad over the command.

“I won’t pull away from you,” I said softly. It had been my decision to come looking.

I felt more than heard him let out a sigh of relief. I moved my hand to his back, rubbing around in circles, trying to comfort him. He quickened his pace and walked us back to the room, Maverick and Killian close on his heels. The door slammed shut behind us, and Silas deposited me on the sofa.

He looked down at me. I stared back up at him, neither one of us saying anything.

He let out another curse, pacing back and forth. I wanted to reach out and touch him, though I doubted this was what he needed from me. I glanced over at Maverick and Killian. They were watching the scene unfold with varying degrees of unease on their faces. The man’s bloody face flashed in and out of my mind, and I worked hard to push it out, focusing on what was important.

“What inheritance am I set to receive?” I asked.

I knew it was something big when the brothers all shared a look.

20

SILAS

Fuck.

We knew it was coming. We would have to tell her eventually, but I didn’t know how she would react to being the most wanted woman in all of America, especially now by some of the most dangerous men.

How would she react when she realized her father had kept her close all these years, not over a sense of fatherly duty or even fatherly love, but greed? That it had never been about her why Daniel fucking Hayes had been so possessive, but because he wanted her inheritance for himself. How Sebastian came into agreement with Hayes was still a mystery, considering he somehow convinced Hayes to betroth Mila to him.

There was still so much we didn’t know, and Mila happened to be at the center of it.

“Angel,” I began.

She shook her head and stood up. “No, I want to know. What inheritance? Because no one had said anything about it to me.”

My brothers didn't say anything. Like me, they didn’t want to hurt her.

“How much do you remember about your grandpa? Your mom’s dad?” Maverick asked.

She frowned. “Very little. He… he was nice to me, I think,” she said, sounding unsure, as if the thought that another family member could be nice to her was so unfathomable. My fist clenched. “We lived with‌ him when I was born until Dad took control of the narcotics trade, and then we moved into the clubhouse. He died shortly after. His house… it… it was a nice house. I was sure all that money went to my mom because Grandpa made my parents sign a prenup. Why does it matter now?”

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