Page 48 of Salvation

My thoughts went to Kitty, who was lying in her room, hating the world and suddenly felt a rush of pride for Bee. Yes, she might be mute, but that was her way of coping the best way she knew how. She had still taken the huge step of starting school, which was scary at the best of times. She was still battling her demons every day—and winning. I needed to see her to let her know she didn’t have to fight them on her own anymore.

“I want to see her.”

He nodded. “I’ll take you to her now. But…” He paused.

“But?”

“I’m going to leave Axel with one of the guys. I don’t want her to be overwhelmed. She was fast asleep when we arrived last night and only saw him briefly this morning when he was still sleeping. She knows you’re both here, but I just want to make this as smooth as possible for her.”

“Okay,” I nodded back. “If you think that’s for the best.”

“I do,” he replied, finally letting go of my chin. “We’ll head up, talk to her for a minute, and then we’ll tell her to come down and meet her brother.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Chapter 19

Dante

Rachel tried her hardest to hide her nerves, but I saw the telltale signs—the tapping of her knee when she waited (somewhat) patiently for me to bring Shark into the back to watch Axel being one of them. It always amused me that she had such control over the rest of her body, even to the extent of having the best poker face I had ever seen. And yet she had never quite managed to curb her nervous habit of tapping her index finger.

When we went upstairs, she led the way, and I did my best not to stare at her ass as it swayed back and forth in front of my face. Another time, another life, I had chased her up the stairs before fucking her to the point where she could barely remember her own name. And now I was legally bound tonevertouch her.

What the fuck did I agree to that for?

All I could picture was that ass in my hands as she bounced up and down on my cock. Or that ass up in the air as she bent over for me. It was both heaven and hell, and it took every ounce of strength I possessed not to reach out and touch her.

“Is she still in the same room?” She asked, looking over her shoulder at me as we approached the top of the stairs.

“I…” I cleared my throat. “Yes.”

She gave me a weird look. And who could blame her? I was being fucking weird. But she didn’t press it any further. She took the slight turn around the corner and walked down to Bee’s room, hesitating outside the door.

“I feel like I should knock, but is that weird?”

“If you want to knock, then knock. I do.”

“Do you?”

“Of course,” I said, and then laughed at her look of surprise. “She’s seven, Rachel. She has a right to privacy. What if she was writing in her diary?” I did a fake gasp. “Imagine interrupting a girl in the middle of writing in her diary! I’d find out all her secrets.”

She smiled at me, and I raised my hand to knock on the door before she could hesitate any further and pushed it open.

“Hey, Bee,” I smiled at her, pushing the door wide open so she could see who I was with. “Look who I’ve brought to see you.”

“Hey, Bee,” Rachel repeated softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “How are you doing?” She asked, stunning me into absolute silence when I saw her hands moving.

“You sign?” I almost hissed in a whisper. Her response was to wink at me, and then she walked across the room to where Bee was sitting at her desk and crouched down low beside her.

“Do you know sign, Bee?” she asked, signing at the same time.

Bee looked at her, but didn’t respond. I knew she knew some of the basics—she was being taught them at school, after all, but it was clear she would not give into Rachel easily. Not this time around.

I saw Rachel swallow heavily and then beam a bright smile, although I could see the slight shine of tears that she quickly blinked back. “I learned sign language when I was in America, so it might not be quite what you’ve learned. America and British sign language are a little bit different, but I’m sure we can make it work.”

I watched her hands in fascination as she signed along with her words, slowing down her speech as she did so. She didn’t need to, as Bee’s hearing was still perfect, but I knew she was showing Bee what the hand gestures meant.

Bee still stared down at her, not giving her so much as an inch, and I felt my heart skip a beat in sympathy for Rachel, even if I did understand the reasoning behind my daughter’s actions.

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