Page 66 of Twisted Devotion

When did he get back?

“Human or not,” Nik continues, “from the sounds of it, they have some connections in this city, and we’re not going to allow you to put yourself in harm’s way by acting too fast and recklessly because you blame yourself for something that wasn’t your fault.”

I gape at him as anger bubbles to the surface. “First off,allow me?Are you kidding?”

Skylar waves her hand, catching my attention. “Kelsey, he didn’t mean that how it sounded. We’re your friends, we’re all family, and we protect one another. That’s what he meant.”

I blow past it. “I’m going to hunt down the people who killed Kyle and make them deeply regret ever deciding to go after my foster family. It’s that simple. They’re human. I’m faster, stronger, and a hell of a lot smarter than them. I’ll take them out without even breaking a sweat.”

“You’re not as smart as you believe if you think going after them alone is a good idea,” Aurora says, and Tristan glances at her, frowning. “I’m sorry,” she adds, “but it’s true.”

There’s a knock at the door before I can answer, and Jackson slips out of the room to answer it.

My breath catches when he walks back into the room with Seth beside him. Allison and Monica follow behind them, pushing a stroller with a sleeping Adam inside. Allison passes it off to Aurora and follows Monica to take a seat next to the others.

I rush to Seth and wrap my arms around his shoulders. He hugs me back, and while I’m trying to be gentle with him, his grip is firm—which is a good sign.

“How are you?” I ask, pulling back to give him a once-over.

“I’m feeling good,” he says. “I’m sorry about Kyle. We’re going to make this right.”

I force a smile. “Yeah.”

“We have a plan,” Tristan announces, and the rest of us take a seat around the room. “The men who killed Kyle were released from prison, likely through paying the right people to do the wrong thing. We were able to track one of them down and get some information out of him. It looks like they were planning on finding the remaining Young family members—Kyle and you, Kelsey—in search of money, which you already know.”

Kyle and I were the only ones left. Both Mark and Claire’s parents had passed, and neither had siblings.

“I don’t have their money and there’s no way Kyle did, either.” My hands clench into fists in my lap as I grit my teeth. The same four words play over in my head on a loop.

He didn’t deserve this.

I shake my head, glaring at my lap. “It’s not fair.”

“We know,” Skylar says. “Which is why we’re going to make sure they don’t get away with it.”

“Please tell me we’re going to kill them,” I say. “It’s what they deserve.”

“Has there not been enough bloodshed?” Seth asks, his voice reeking of sadness.

My heart cracks. “What do you suggest we do?”

He scratches the back of his head. “What if we erase their memories of everything related to your foster family? I realize the damage has already been done. Too many innocent lives lost. But if we plant new memories in their heads about crimes they’ve committed that will guarantee them life behind bars, and then force them to turn themselves in, that will at least bring them to justice.”

“How exactly do you expect to catch these guys? The police are looking for them, right? If you’re all vetoing my killing them, why don’t we leave it to them to do their job?”

“Because you’re still in danger every moment they’re out there,” Jackson says in a low voice. “They pose a threat to you. We’re going after them.”

My mouth goes dry, and I quickly scan the room. “Is that part of the decided plan, too?”

“Yes,” Tristan says, taking control of the conversation. “We’re not making you sit it out—as much as Jackson would like us to. You’ll play an important part.”

“I’ll do whatever needs to be done,” I vow.

Tristan nods. “I had one of my private investigators with ties to the police department pull the old case file from your family’s murder and go over everything. He also had a look at what the detectives have so far in Kyle’s file. He deduced that the men who killed Kyle likely connected him to you after seeing the two of you together at the café he worked at. I can give you his report if you’d like to review it, but essentially, the plan is to set you up at the café. Have you go there on a daily basis. If they have eyes on the place, which we expect they do, waiting for you to return, it shouldn’t take long to see some action.”

“You think they’ll try to attack her there?” Seth cuts in, his brows knitted with concern.

“Probably not, but they may try to take her from that location. She’s strong enough to protect herself until the rest of us can show up and deal with them.”

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