Killer E-Book

Shan R.K

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

"She told me, she promised me, she'd stay away, now she's here and all I have to do is pull the trigger."

A life for a life were the words we parted with.
I left Liston Hills, out of FEAR, for one man.
He was supposed to be my family, and PROTECT me.
HE betrayed me instead, ripped my family away from me, took the love of my life and everything else I cared for. It's 10 years later, I'm back and I need him.

Only now, he is no longer the man with a grudge, and a gun, he is worse and his cold heartless eyes are promising me DEATH. I once called him Kevin.

Now, I call him Killer and I, Sienna Bray is next on his LIST.

Killer never wanted much in life, but a woman who would be his wife and make his mother happy. But now, while searching for Lucca Sanati, secrets of his past come to his club and she comes with an entire package of her own problems.

He should kill her but the club stands against him. They all want to protect her.

What they don't know, is Sienna Bray is no damsel in distress, she is the Grim Reaper deciding who to take out next.

This book is not for the soft-hearted. If you have a problem with step-cousins dating, please don't read. If you have triggers to good romantic books, please move along. Killer isn't an erotic read, so if you looking for that sort of thing, please go for Beggar, or wait for Sienna's book, there will be alot of THAT inside.

While I have taken every measure to make the book enjoyable, please leave a review and let me know how you felt reading the book and which character would you like to see next.

Book 5, in the Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club Series, brings a completely new story that will make you cry, laugh and scream for more in this enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity and second chance romance. 

Leseprobe

Copyright © 2020 Shan R.K

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction from the Author’s imagination.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any manner without written permission from the author except in the

case of brief quotations for reviews or fan made articles.

Any names resembling any living person is purely coincidental.

First Edition. October 29th, 2020

Written by Shan R.K

www.shanrk.com

Also by Shan R.K

Catch Me, If You Can

Shock Me Twice

Love Hate and Billions

Kylie Bray

Secrets Of The Famiglia

Capo Dei Capi

Union of Death

Queen Of Killers

Conception Of Truth

The Angel Descendants

House Of Legions

The Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club

Beggar

River's Keeper

Zero

Beauty's Breath

Killer

Sienna (Coming Soon)

The Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club Book Bundles

The Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club Book 1 - 4

Standalone

Faces Of You

Watch for more at Shan R.K’s site.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Also By Shan R.K

Acknowledgements

For people who suffer from detachment and those who have loved one person their whole lives

Taylor

Taylor

Marcus Bray

Sienna | 10 years ago ,

Sienna | 10 years later

Killer

Killer

Sienna

Killer

Sienna

Killer

Killer

Sienna

Sienna

Killer

Sienna

Sienna | 3 months later

Sienna

Sienna

Acknowledgements:

VINCENT

Also by Shan R.K | The Angel descendants:

Love Hate and Billions:

The Famiglia:

Satan Sniper's Motorcycle Club

Liston Hills:

Stand Alone:

Further Reading: Capo Dei Capi

About the Author

Acknowledgements

I would like to take a moment to say thank you to my boyfriend, who spent nights watching me write this book. You are fantastically amazing. I want to also say a big thank you to my daughter for all those cups of coffee on weekends and being the amazing daughter you are. LASTLY but most importantly I want to say thanks to all my readers who have remained loyal to me during the times when I was unwell and months where I conked up or didn’t produce the books on time. You guys are amazing. And I love each and everyone of you.

For people who suffer from detachment and those who have loved one person their whole lives

Somewhere in Red Rocks Mountain Park

Denver

1999

Taylor

“Taylor, I’m cold.” She’s jittering, her words are no longer whinny. They come out weak. We’ve been walking for hours, and I know my sister needs to rest.

Harlin is 3 years younger than me, and tiny, like mommy.

I wish I could stop just for a minute. Every step I take, my legs burn, and my calves ache, as they pull taut from the long walk daddy took us on yesterday. But, daddy told me not to stop.

For our own good coming here needs to happen. We had to come here to be safe. I pray, please god just keep my parents safe. I promise I won’t steal marshmallows anymore. I’ll stop swearing Richmond about peeing his pants, and I swear I would be nicer to my sister. I’ll even let Harlin play with Toby. I’ll never tell another lie again. Please God, please let them be safe.

“Taylor, can’t we stop? I need to pee.”

“I know. We’re almost there, Harlin. If it makes you better, I need to pee too.” 

“I don’t wanna be here. It’s scary, Taylor. Why did we leave Morrison? The Manor is safe. I wanna go home, to McKinney. Please Taylor, please.”

“Stop Harlin, alright!” I yell, spinning around to face her. Her stiff shoulders rise and fall, and I’m sure tears are gliding down her cheeks. The dark doesn’t allow me to see her face clearly.

Harlin sniffles, and it makes me cry too.

“Daddy said we had to alright. At the restaurant, those men who walked in were bad men. Mommy said she’s going to find us later. We need to get to the cottage or else we are going to get sick. Daddy ain’t gonna take us to see the eagles if we sick.” I wipe roughly at my wet cheeks as Harlin does the same. 

It’s black outside, and late. My parents didn’t like us out late. Daddy said lots of dangerous men waited in the shadows to take kids who lurked outside, wondering at night by their lonesome.

Daddy was right. I always thought he was just trying to get me to stop riding bike with Toby. Those men were evil. They didn’t want us though; they wanted the grownups. My daddy used to be a great fighter, and he still looked strong, so he will be alright. I felt it.

“Can’t you carry me?” Harlin asks in that pleading voice she makes when she wants something.

Daddy would say yes, and I want to make Harlin happy. Carrying her meant leaving the food because the bag would not carry itself.

No bag meant no food. And hunger pangs weren’t something I wanted to experience. Our key priority was getting to the cottage. 

Whenever Daddy took me on this route to the cottage, he made sure I memorized the way. Whether the people who owned the place could help us once we got there were real, I wasn’t so sure. 

“I can’t kitty cat, the bags too heavy. We’ll be there soon.”

“You said that hours ago Tay, I’m too big to pee my panty.”

“I won’t tell if you do,” I assure her, as we take the dark road.

“Okay, I’m doing it.” She is quiet for a while and I know she’s peeing as she’s walking. And true to my word, I won’t tell a soul. Harlin never messed the bed. I sometimes did, but never Harlin.

“Tay, do you think the stars are aliens?”

“I think they are gods, with wings that glow so bright it never dims, even in the sun.”

“Do you think daddy is going to get me that telescope for my birthday?” She asks as she puts her icy fingers in my hand.

“I think daddy will get you a better one if you eat all your spinach.”

“I don’t like spinach Tay, it gives me gas.”

I giggle at her octave voice, shaking my head.

“There’s over 100 thousand million stars in the MilkyWay, when I am older I am going to map them all,” Harlin states. Although I know nothing about stars, I know my sister is correct. Harlin is different, smart and crazy different, but she’s always correct.

“I see the cottage,” She shouts excitedly. 

We rush toward the hill. Harlin is already halfway up, whereas I am slower to climb with the backpack of food dragging me behind. My bladder threatening to burst doesn’t help my load as I trek my body up the hill.

“Harlen wait!” screaming, I rush after her. The relief I feel is palpable and the reality of my parents’ absence scares me. But, daddy told me I must keep Harlin safe, and this place is going to help me do that.

“Taylor, open up, I need to pee.”

“I thought you peed in your panty’s?” 

“I lied. I ain’t ever gonna pee in my panty, I ain’t you, now open up,” She groans and I roll my eyes.

“Okay, okay.”

Keying the lock, I push the wooden door open. My baby sister rushes into the dark cottage straight to the bathroom. Next is my turn and when I am done, I head straight for the button daddy said I should press if I ever was in trouble. Looking at my sister, she gives me a sharp nod, as though she can feel our lives are about to change. 

A tiny part of me wishes for the ability to see into our future, but it fades to anxiety as soon as I press the red button.

Black Ops Agent T519

“Sir, the breach came from the Frankfurts safe house. Do you want us to check it out?” The young soldier asks from the untraceable phone. It was almost 96 hours since I gave the team the order to land in the Mountains Park, in Denver.

He suspected because of their previous 8 week departure in the Congo, Team 5 wanted to get the job done, quick and clean. He had a strange feeling this matter was going to complicate things. 

Next week Agent G9 was expecting his first child, and Christmas was right around the corner. Agent T519 just wanted to get home to his own kids.

“No, head straight for the cottage, by the lake, tell Agent C to head North East. I will send the coordinates.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Let’s get this one done and call it a year,” He says, feeling the relief in Agent G9’s voice when he sighs.

“Over and out.”

Agent T519 stared out into the blackened sky. The crisp, wintry air promised the snow would fall soon, making a white Christmas an inevitable fate.

Thoughts of his daughter took hold of his attention. She was 7 going on 40 and although she’d never admit it; she was more like him than she was like her mother, wild and ferocious. A remarkable girl, however naughty she was. He couldn’t for the life of him understand why her mother would decide to just leave her. Although she came back, he didn’t need a psychologist to tell him it scared his daughter’s spirit.

But his ex-wife’s sudden departure was the eye opener he needed to become a better man. It helped him to see what this job was doing to his family. And it was time to change that, not just for his kids but for his peace of mind. 

Agent T519 wasn’t getting any younger, it was time to hand in his badge and leave this part of his life for good.

He’ll always remember being part of the black ops team 5, but if he didn’t get out now and something happened to him, his kids would never know their father.

“Sir, we have them,” The agent calls in, and it confuses agent T519 who ‘them’ were. He was hoping for a clean swift take out, not an extraction.

“Them?” He questions and the other end of the phone goes mute.

“Sir, we have two female kids here. They say they are Frankfurts. Agent C just confirmed the last whereabouts of our order, and the order is now... sir, mission Frank Vera is complete.”

His heart speeds up. For years Agent T519 has done these kinds of jobs, and for years he hunted Allan Frankfurt down. He learned everything about the man, or so he thought. Because from the many things he knew, Allan Frankfurt never had kids. Now Allan Frankfurt was dead. 12 years of tracking to this, a cold case.

“Sir? WE NEED TO EVAC, we can’t find the file.”

“Wipe the course off the map, this mission is now a 024, nobody will find out about this, do you understand?” Agent T519 orders his team.

“Sir?” The puzzled question filters through the phone. 

“Do you understand Team 5.”

“Yes sir,” The group says as he clips the call off. His fingers hover over the device, considering his options. Eventually a resigned conscious decision filters through his mind and like he has done in the past when things are difficult he takes a deep breath, holds it and exhales. Agent T519 punctures in the new co-ordinates for the team to meet him. 

He was only an hour’s flight away. He could make it there before the team arrived. 

“I hope I’m making the right decision. God help me if I’m not.”

Taylor

The helicopter just dropped us off on the tarmac, Harlin and I were told to wait here, outside the helicopter. I kneel in front of my sister. We’re waiting for the men in black that saved us to come down from the helicopter. My hair is blowing all over the place. I’m so tired, but Harlin is panicking. We do not understand where we are and mommy didn’t end up fetching us. Truth is, I don’t think they are ever fetching us.

“I just wanna go home, Taylor. Why won’t we go home to McKinney? I swear I’ll eat spinach, please Taylor,” Harlin cries, her big blue eyes scared and I know that look. This isn’t good. 

I grab her on the top of her arms and shake her, “Harlin listen to me, you can’t lose it now, you need to hang in there for a bit longer. If they see you go crazy they will separate us, do you understand?”

She cries louder and I turn my head around to see the one man coming from the plane. 

My attention snaps back to her and I shake her harder, “You understand Harlin,” I snap at her the way daddy did when she got all weird. And she nods her head and looks at me before staring at the man coming toward us. 

The big muscular man is younger than the bald one and the old uncle with the beard. He has a long nose, and deeply burned skin. He was the only one who really spoke to us. He said we’ll be safe. He talks funny like the people from Rico’s Pizza shop. But I like him, I trust that he is telling us the truth, we will be safe.

“Come on, there’s a car waiting for us. The rest of the guys would wait here,” The nice man says to us and I grab Harlin’s hand. 

“What’s your name?” Harlin asks as we follow him. 

“Agent C.” 

“That ain’t your actual name,” I respond. Feeling a lot braver than I did 2 hours ago. 

We rush after him, my legs paining with each footfall I take. My stomach growls in hunger. 

We run down to the other side of the tarmac and the place takes us to what looks like a school. We see the black car with a man standing outside of it. He is even taller than Agent C.

“Come on,” Agent C says as he ushers us into the car with the tall man jumping in the driver's seat. We rush so fast from there. 

We drive past a river and into a place with big houses, like Mansions and castles everywhere. We drive up a long road and take the first right. 

Big, gold and black gates block us from going anywhere further. 

“This place is enormous, Taylor,” Harlin expresses this with sticking her head out the window.

“Yeah.” The gates open and we go down a long driveway lit up with lights. We stop in front of the house where another man is waiting for us in a black suit. He is older than my daddy. 

Agent C opens the door and Harlin grabs onto my hand as I get out of the car first. The place looks so fancy that it is only then I realize how dirty we must look.

The old man by the door smiles at us, his face is warm and he looks like a good man. Not like the ones by the restaurant. 

He takes out his hand, “I’m Marcus Bray, what do I call you lovely ladies?”

Harlin, forever the brave one takes his hand and smiles, “I’m Harlin and that’s my sister, Taylor.” 

He frowns but keeps his smile, looking from Harlin back to me.

“How old are you?” 

“I’m 5 next week, Taylor’s 8.”

“Wow, you are big girls. Why don’t you go on inside, and if you run down the passage and knock on the door, you might just get Kevin up to make you some hot chocolate? What do you say about that?” He smiles, and it is so big and honest that I get a little happy. 

Harlin takes my hand and we rush inside and down the long passageway, and knock on the door, the only door. A few seconds later, a boy opens the door. He has dark blue eyes and messy long blonde hair that stands up in all directions. His top skin is bare, but I can see the lines on his face from sleep. He is wearing long blue track pants and is so tall.

“Who are you?” He asks us, and I can hear he is a Texas boy, which meant we weren’t that far from home. I didn’t like boys as yet. Harlin always teased me I would probably grow up liking girls. Maybe I would, but he looked somewhat alright, I guess. 

“I’m..” I begin

“We are visitors of Marcus Bray, he said we should knock on this door for chocolate milkshake.” I frown at my sister’s boisterous explanation, since I knew it was hot chocolate and we weren’t guest. We were... No, I can’t say it. Not until I know for sure.

He folds his arms across his chest, “Alright, but I should warn you, the milkshake machine is toast.” He walks past us and turns right. 

“I think we should follow him,” Harlin mumbles, tugging my hand. 

“Why did you lie?” I ask her as we follow his direction. 

“He could be the helps son.” I roll my eyes at that one. 

“I highly doubt that.”

Marcus Bray

“Did you tell the others to leave?” He asks Agent C, as they head into his home office. 

“Yes sir, and as ordered, I wiped all traces clean. I pulled up the children’s profiles, there’s something you should see sir.” 

Marcus closes the door, knowing Kevin would take care of the two girls without waking up the entire household. And then the boy and he would have a talk. He still couldn’t understand why Kevin preferred to stay here this week, but he presumed it had something to do with his older brother’s arrival. But he would get to that issue another day. 

Agent C walks around Marcus’s desk and pulling up the files. Marcus bends over as the Agent stands in full position. 

The more he reads, the more dread fills him. This couldn’t be real. He checks the file on one child. 

“Which one is this?” 

“It’s the youngest, sir.” 

“Call Michael Stone, tell him we need him to wipe out everything on this file. No one can know of this. If I find Frankfurt alive, I would strangle the fucker myself. What was he thinking?” 

“Sir, you would have to wait in line.” Marcus would smile at the young soldier’s remark, but what he just saw was no smiling matter. 

“Do the children know about this?” 

“I suspect the older one might sir, she found the safe house on her own. She was also talking to the younger one, about something, shaking her.”

“They are so young. Do you think they know where the file is? I can see two intellectual minds growing up together as trouble.” 

“Sir, I am not sure. When I asked the older girl, it puzzled her about what file I was talking about. The younger one just started smiling like she didn’t know what I was even saying. But with her IQ level, I doubt that is the case. What are we going to do?”

Marcus walks around the table and sits on the brown leather sofa. There were many options, but the right one would be to kill the children or hand them over to the pentagon to do it.

“We must split them. We must watch the small one closely, without so much as a sliver of awareness. If this file is accurate, the girl is a very rare type of genius. And the other one, well. They would need new identities. Ages, birth dates, everything.”

“And the big one sir, she doesn’t have the same structural patterns as her sister but I believe she might know more than she is letting on sir. If she has the file, it would make her a target if the Pentagon ever found out.”

“No, she’ll be fine.” 

“How sure are you?” 

“Very, I am going to tell her myself. And then she can choose, live a normal life on my terms or die.”

“Sir.”

“From now on, no one would know Frankfurt ever had kids, let alone these two. You would leave here and tell no one about what you saw. According to you and me, those girls never existed.”

“Yes, Sir,” Agent C says as his jaw tightens. 

“You’ll make a great boss one day,” Marcus tells the Agent as he leaves the room. 

Marcus heads straight to the kitchen and the sound of the girls talking with Kevin stops him for a moment. 

His initial plan was to send them off to separate parts of the world. But what if he could keep them around? He knew of a woman who would be a splendid mother to a hot-tempered kid. And he knew a genius who could help an intelligent one. However, the youngest would need a familiar face to stay. A reason to belong. 

But first he would need to chat to the older girl, and then to Kevin. The boy was almost 13, hardly an age to not be wise. 

“Papa,” The sound of a soft voice, stops him in his tracks and he whirls around as his youngest daughter, Natasha, stands in the hallway wearing her long pink gown. Black hair curtails down her back as she smiles and opens her arms. He is hesitant, but his heart melts and he walks to lift her up into his arms.

“I thought you weren’t coming.” 

“I’m here baby,” He whispers as he gives her a kiss on her head carrying her back to her bedroom. 

Tomorrow he will figure it all out. But seeing his daughter, his heart caved as the reality of his decision hit him. One of those girls had to die. He would have to take care of it himself. Then he will hand in his resignation. 

Your love is like a cocoon, the thought of it, drenched with the idea of your beauty, like a butterfly, splashed in color, but the reality is like a moth, ordinary and simple. I don’t know why I keep hoping you are different. 

Sienna Bray ,

12/08/2020

There were many ways to describe Kevin Stone. I’m sure we all had our own words about the Ghost, but his presence, and his frozen gaze as it stared into the cruxes you thought were hidden, was the most common. Growing up, I wanted to believe there was something dormant in him, that his unfeeling soul had an inkling of emotion, which didn’t surround his need to protect the ones he loved. I wanted to believe many things when it came to Kevin Stone, and at 16 I was sure I had him pegged. 

I didn’t know then what I knew today. But it was at the tender age of 16 did I get my first actual glimpse into the man we likened to a ghost. I saw the spark of something real in him, but it wasn’t aimed at me. It was her, always her, Natasha Bray. 

I want to say, or better yet, I should say she didn’t deserve him, BUT she did. Natasha deserved way more. It was him who was lacking. Kevin Stone had one vital fault. He was without emotion except when it came to her, and even then, I wondered to what degree his emotions ran. 

I remember the last time I saw him; it was 10 years ago; I was a wild girl living a lie, and he was my executioner.

Liston Hills

Sienna

10 years ago ,

––––––––

THE NIGHT IS STILL, with the stings of a winter’s kiss. I take in the crisp air, as my fingers burn from the effects of its nakedness exposed unduly long to the harsh stagnant weather. My feet, though wrapped in boots, wail for heat. 

“I’m not getting my hide turned for this Sin, Papa is going to be ten shades of mad if we get caught.” 

“We won’t, next week is my birthday, you promised,” I remind Natasha as she picks the school’s lock. How she learned that in less than two days was beyond my understanding. 

It’s dark, and since we were out after curfew, neither of us had any cellphones or torch lights. We went on a whim. My Uncle Marcus was home, and when he was around, he kept his eyes on us constantly. We had to make it so Mason and Kylie were ‘occupied’ so my Uncle didn’t get suspicious. 

“I know, but Ky is already in deep shit, after she knocked Dexter,” Natasha whispers as she pulls the chain from the gate. 

“He deserved it,” I respond without bothering to lower my voice.

“No one deserves to get run over Sienna, Ky could’ve killed him,” She babbles as we open the gate and I pick up the backpack, we packed weeks ago.  

“He cheated,” I declare a bit too loud, considering where we were. Tonight was the night to prank the football players at Liston High Public School. I’ve always wanted to be part of the action, but my cousins never allowed me to. Which sucked, but this year, no one was going to stop me. 

“She dumped him,” Natasha hisses, and we both duck down as a light flashes too close to us.

“Come on, that’s Mason,” I grab her hand as I secure the bag on my shoulder and we run, with our backs bent, keeping close to the school walls.

There were perks to attending Liston High Public. I would have liked it here, but my uncle insisted we attend Private School. Which meant it was prankster night, and since it fell a week before my birthday, I insisted we prank the teams tonight. They wouldn’t suspect a thing. 

“Come on,” Mason calls out as we near them. 

“We could hear you whining from here. Could you have been anymore softer?” Jace Stone says to Natasha as we make it to the school’s back door. 

Jace Stone was my cousin, Kylie Bray’s brother. Long story short, her mother married his dad and they pro-created, not just one, but three children. When my mom passed away, Kylie’s mother, Hunter, looked after me for a month. 

My uncle took her passing worse than I did, and I was her daughter, her only child. Jace was the only one who pretended to be nice to me. I didn’t miss staying at the Estate during that summer. Their sibling rivalry didn’t extend to swearing each other, but apparently beating the crap out of one another was ‘as usual’. 

Considering his father, Hector, had 6 children, add in my cousin Kylie, and he was a father of more than a half a dozen of the world’s population. There was so much male testosterone in that house. 

I felt sorry for Jace since he was the youngest boy and often got the brunt of his eldest brother, David’s anger. So, when he knocked on my room door and offered to take me with him, I was running down the stairs like a puppy following its treat. 

Well, it was like that going out with my cousin Mason, Jace and their friend Sabastian Delroy. A treat. The three of them would take me to all kinds of places. My favorite was the woods on the Estate. 

We’d climb the trees and wait for the birds to show up. Natasha wouldn’t tag along when Mason was around, and since he was always around, it was just me and the boys.

After I left the Estate, those days left with me. I spent all my time with Natasha, or Kylie. Mostly Kylie, since Natasha preferred spending her weekends at the mall and I preferred mine on a motorbike, off riding in the forest.

Kylie’s best friend Diamond joined us when she got away from her books, which hardly happened, but I looked forward to the days when she did. It made it more memorable. I loved Dakota, or should I say Diamond, since that was what people called her.

Why she changed her name was beyond me, and I didn’t bother asking. She didn’t say too much to me. Not for my lack of trying to talk to her, but Diamond treated me as she would a very distant friend.

I didn’t mind then and don’t mind now. Because I still enjoyed spending those hours with her.

It was a shame that Kylie was finishing her last year, and off to Washington to study. I wouldn’t get to see any of them. 

I guess it was going to be mall weekends, with Natasha and her friends from now. I didn’t have any other friends, since everyone in the school feared my family, or feared me. I couldn’t help that fate, even if it slapped me in the face. I had a temper that unrivalled most people in the school. 

Natasha had a few friends, but mostly she hung out with Victoria Stone, Jace’s youngest sister.

They were both 14 going on 15 and I was 15 going on 35. We were all worlds apart except for tonight. Natasha and I agreed. She wouldn’t admit it, but she loved the thrill of sneaking into the school.

“I have the spray and sour cream. Did you girls bring the hair remover?” Jace asks, as he unzips his black fat bag.

Mason bends down and his deep brown hair hangs over the torch light he remembered to bring. He rummages through his brown leather bag, making clinking noises. Both the boys are wearing black cargo pants and a dark t-shirt. I can’t tell if they are charcoal grey or black.

But if I am going to remember this story long enough to journal it, I need all the details.  

“Yup, let’s do this,” I say, feeling the excitement rise as Natasha hands all of us the hair remover bottles.

“So, the boy’s locker room is on the bottom floor. Go right, and then the 2nd left. Mason and Sin will do the showers, and Natasha and I will head for the lockers,” Jace says as he zips up his bag and slings it over his shoulder. I do the same with ours.

We head into the school, grateful they don’t have an alarm. Once we reach the door, Natasha giggles, and I squeeze her arm, snorting. I knew she would enjoy it.

Mason hands me the torch as we split up. I hand him my hair remover, and we collect the shampoo bottles around the open stalls.

We take a while to empty some shampoo out and pour the hair remover into the bottles, but by the time we’re done shaking them, Jace and Natasha are back, and help us put the bottles in the shower stalls. 

“Are we all done?” 

“Yeah, I think so,” I respond to Jace’s question and we run out of there like our feet are on fire. 

We get to the gate and close it with the new lock and leave the key in the hole. 

“I can’t believe we did it,” Natasha muses, shell-shocked, but high on adrenaline as we walk closer to the end of the road to get to our cars. I see something, or someone, in the shadows of the trees move. The shadow is dark, and I instinctively grab Natasha’s arm, “What...” Her words die as she sees it as well, a man. 

Jace curses, and Mason stops dead. 

“I told you not to do it,” A deep distinctive voice says as he walks closer to us. Blonde hair, cropped short, with army pants and a dark t-shirt tells me exactly who it is, but even if I didn’t know, all I need do is hear that voice. 

“I said it was part of growing up okay, what’s the big deal?” responds Jace as the rest of us stand there.

He comes into the street and now all we can do is see him, and his blue eyes that glare at his brother. 

“Leave them alone, Kevin,” says another voice, a female voice coming from behind us, and I feel instant relief at the sound of approaching footsteps. 

“Go home, Kylie,” Is the response she gets from her brother Kevin. I never understood their relationship, but I got the sense they were closer than either would admit. Kylie moves her long, lithe, stopping only when she’s right in front of Mason. Her legs slightly parted, hips jutted out to the left. 

“You the one who should go home, I had my eye on them since they left. Nothing is gonna happen to them, though I can’t say the same about you big brother.”

“Why is that?” 

“Momma cooked, and she waited, and waited, and Kevin, her boy didn’t show up.”

“And?” He responds, and I know Kevin Stone enough to know what he means is he doesn’t care. He can’t, because Kevin Stone doesn’t have those kinds of emotions. Caring is an emotional response to someone else’s actions. 

“You wouldn’t wanna see momma cry now, would you? Michael was there,” She announces, with that hint of questioning buried in her tone. I am not sure why Michael’s presence is important enough to be announced but Kevin finally moves his lifeless eyes, to stare at Natasha and it is here, under the nights sky, that I see a glimpse of something in his view. 

I’m uncertain the glimpse is good or not, but it is gone. I learned very early in life to spot a fox, and I learned later on to spot a ghost, and Kevin Stone has always been the latter.

“Go home Kevin, I’ll make sure they all get back safe and sound,” Kylie assures him. 

“No, I’ll make sure they get home, and then I’ll go,” He smiles suddenly, but it’s icy, and for a split second his eyes land on me, and my heart beats a million times faster as fear creeps in. Kevin Stones attention is not something needed or wanted in my life right now. I didn’t even know he was back on this side. He was older now, more rusty around the edges.

“You can go with Sienna, I’ll get the rest,” He says before turning his back on us.

I’m not sure why that hurts like a sucker punch to the gut. I’ve always felt like an outcast when I was younger. My mom insisted I attend a private school when she was still breathing, the kids didn’t like me as much as she hoped.

But I didn’t want her to worry, so I pretended I was the happiest kid on the block. But when I came to stay Liston Hills, I never felt that way. Even though I was the scariest girl in school and I lacked any desire to be nice, I had my cousins and the Stone family too. It was like we moved in a circle of our own, untouchable, respected, desirable but never exclusively liked.

And at times, when he came around, I had Kevin. Regardless of our age difference, we had a few moments over the years. Some were bad ones, others were good, but mostly it ended with me running away. But sometimes when he looked at me, it sent a shiver down my spine, a reminder that he knew. 

“Come on Sin, it’s almost 1 am, I’m sure we still have time for a quick ride. You game?” Kylie grins as she asks me the question, and I stare at her brown chocolate eyes that screams of an innocence I’m not sure I ever possessed.

My mother once said innocence was a rare gift to receive upon birth, but the lightest to lose its way. Deep down she knew mine slipped from my grasp years before I even understood what it was. 

“I’m always game, Ky, Ky,” I wink and smile as she groans at the mention of the nickname she got from Diamond.

We take less than 15 minutes to get home, and another 10 to grab the keys for the garage and get our gear on to ride.

“We should totally use those new helmets Papa bought,” suggests Kylie, as she goes to grab them, handing one to me. I don’t mention how angry Uncle Marcus is going to be when he finds out we took it without permission. We knew they were ours but I gathered yesterday, any gifts bought would not be handed to either of us. I was still in trouble for swearing Ms. Drier, and Kylie was in major shit for knocking her ex-boyfriend, Dexter Kent.

I push my bike out of the garage as Kylie saddles hers, before following suit. She has on a black biker jacket, and I have on a yellow and blue one.

Our helmets were the same, since Uncle Marcus got them for us and he never treated the kids differently. A car pulls up next to us as I’m securing my gloves, strapping the Velcro tight around my wrists as my curiosity has my face scrunching up.

I want to roll my eyes when Mason, Natasha and Kevin jump out of the black BMW but I don’t. I expected Kevin to be in a muscle car, like a mustang, not this sleek sedan. The last time I saw him, almost a year ago, he drove a big Range Rover.

I wonder if he likes the car? When I stayed at the Estate, Kevin was already attending some military camp at 16.

He came home that summer, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why he constantly came off as a fake. We hung out a few times, mostly climbing trees or sitting on the porch having Aunt Hunters famous ice-tea. I acknowledged his keen interest in everything was just an act because I was a lot like him. I was living a lie that I convinced myself was true. 

Yes, I was lying to myself and the scariest part of it was that I was aware of all the reasons I woke up every morning pretending to be someone I was not. But Kevin had no excuse, and even if he justified it in his mind, he was a fraudster. When I was younger, my dad always said the mind didn’t know the difference between what we told it, and what was real. I know from experience now, that if you tell yourself a lie some many times you believe it, is it actually a lie? 

I knew from the first day I saw Kevin, something wasn’t right with him. He lacked depth. It was a month after my 12th birthday did I understand how unfeeling he was. Kylie and I were out in the gardens playing with Uncle Hector’s golf balls, and like all kids, we were up to no good. 

Kylie suggested we ask Diamond to make us mini explosives. She was in her element and agreed. We attached the explosives to the balls and put them behind the rose bushes, and lily’s so whenever the gardener, Arnold, got close enough we could make it go off.

He didn’t get hurt, and the explosives were really so small. 

But Kevin came outside and yelled at us to quit it. Obviously we didn’t listen, and when he stepped near the rose tree, Kylie tripped the switch. She was mad at him, and when she got mad people got hurt. 

The ball exploded and a piece of it got stuck in his arm. It looked painful, and we both ran to see if he needed to go to a doctor.

He pulled it out, without so much as a flinch, and I watched him in fascination. A part of me felt strange seeing the blood run down his arm as he stared at his sister. She studied him for a long time, not doing anything and I just stood there, scared, confused and very much impressed.

I went to touch him after Kylie turned and ran away to call someone, but Kevin took a step back. And even though he looked at me, I finally saw it. He was empty. And it scared the living daylights out of me.

I kept a physical distance from him after that day, but my eyes never missed him. My gaze always watched, even in the shadows. Over the years, he learned to pretend I never existed, or maybe I did to some extent, but it was never enough for him to notice me for too long. The moments we shared were too quick, except for that one night.

And it thrilled me. To him, and the other Stone brothers, I was a destructive influence to their sister, Victoria, so they kept her away from me. It was a good thing too, because I was the worst influence. I was a virus, that once I got my claws in you, I infested you from the inside out.

I did it to my mom. I did it to my friends, and I knew I was doing it to Kylie. She didn’t realize it yet, but one day she would, and by then it would be too late.

“Aren’t you gonna go on home to Mama, or are you scared?” Kylie asks Kevin in a mocking tone as Mason and Natasha head inside.

“I was, but I never say no to a ride,” He answers, but there is no thrill in his tone as he stands there watching us.

“There are 2 bikes, and as you can see Sienna and I were about to use them.” Kylie shows her point by slipping on her helmet, and I hold my smile. Well, barely as I follow her direction and fasten my own.

He ignores his sister as he walks closer toward me, and my heart beats double time. 

“You can hold on, can’t you?” He doesn’t say my name, it pisses me off. The only reason I bite my tongue is because my Uncle wouldn’t like the colorful words. And, well, Uncle Marcus was in a foul mood with Kylie’s antics. She sometimes had a way of making me look like the good one. Kylie’s anger always came in big disastrous cyclones. People got hurt.  

I wasn’t about to add on to that fuck fest. It still boggles my mind that Kylie knocked Dexter Kent. I mean, the guy cheated, sure, but it wasn’t his first time on that roller coaster. 

I look at her, saddling her bike, helmet on, form so tall and solid. Kylie didn’t wear her heart on her sleeves and from what I knew, she had the biggest not so secret crush on her step-brother, Vincent Stone. He didn’t stay with the Stones, so I never considered him a part of the family. Nor did I even put him as a Stone. He was nonexistent. Much like I was to Kevin, I guess.

But maybe Kylie didn’t like Vincent as much as she did, if she could get so pissed off with Dexter for cheating on her. 

“Yo, earth to bitch, I am waiting,” Kylie yells.

I huff, but slide down my bike and swing my leg off, rushing to grab him a helmet. Kevin saddles the bike and slips his helmet on, and because I really want to ride, I get behind him. 

They start the bikes and the vibration of the machine between my legs makes me come alive. The motorcycles were new, super bikes, which were great for speed, not so much for cruising. Which meant a tighter grip on Kevin’s torso was a must if I expected to keep my ass planted to the seat. I’ve seen him ride, and he was all speed, and no curtesy. 

He rode like the bike was glued to him, and the only way to free himself from it was to go faster, to push harder. I was certain as I put my arms around his leather jacket and felt the hard ripples under his clothes he trained just as hard. He was honorable, unlike me, a liar with no moral reason. He chose lies to make his family happy and pretend he was like them. I lied because I was selfish.

We take the 2nd left and two rights before we are on the back road. Locking my arms tighter around him, he bends as we take the sharp turn and straightens just in time as we hit the bridge, passing the river.

The mountains in this region were a thing of beauty. I have always loved Liston Hills. I spent most of my younger years in different parts of Texas. When I got older, I stayed with my mom in Miami.

My mother was fantastic, in every way I could describe her.

She never complained, always smiling and full of life. Every holiday she’d bring me to Liston Hills, and we’d spend Christmas morning riding up these mountains. She loved her bikes, and fast cars.

She loved these mountains too.

We ride up the mountain road at a fast but steady pace. Kevin makes the ride feel easy. The wind blows my hair as the impact of the wind seeps through my jeans.

The ride is long and freeing, I could never get used to it. 

There is something said about the one willing to put their life on the edge and surrender to the throttle of a machine. Which is why we overcome the fear of falling to have this moment.

Only it will be better if I were the one riding it. But I have to admit Kevin is an expert rider. 

It’s later, or later than it already was by the time we make it to the top. I remove my helmet as Kylie grabs the blankets from her saddle.

“You’re a natural,” Kevin compliments as a small grin touches his face like a shadow. I want to believe it is natural, but something tells me I am missing something.

The little I knew about Kevin Stone, he didn’t smile unless it was for a reason, and I was certain the reason did not revolve around praising someone. But, as I inhale the air, I choose to give him a little benefit of the doubt. People change all the time. I was living proof of how much one can change.

“Thanks, you were a little rusty around the corners. But not too bad.” Kylie laughs at my comment and Kevin just shrugs as he turns and walks to the blankets Kylie set up on the floor. 

This was the best spot to watch the sunrise in Liston Hills. It seemed like a majestic sight when you saw it from up here.

I lie on the floor next to Kylie. She takes my hand, which we have done since we were kids, and we peer into the night sky, waiting.

“Do you think my momma is watching me?” I ask the same question I always do.

“Yeah, your momma is probably turning in the clouds after watching her soon to be 16-year-old daughter at the back of my bike,” Kevin is the one who answers and Kylie squeezes my hand at that one.

“True story, Momma never liked you,” I tell him. 

“Didn’t blame her either, she had reasons not.”

“Like screwing Ginger Cray in the barn,” Kylie adds with a chuckle.

“Beating up Craig Sawyer after he forgot to make their dinner date,” I continue with a smile as a tear travels down my cheek. I had forgotten about that time until now.

Kevin was staying with Uncle Marcus the weekend we arrived and my momma burst into a fit of tears. He didn’t take long to find Craig Sawyer and show him the error of his ways. 

“I forgot about that until now,” My voice is low at my confession and I am glad Kylie is holding my hand. 

“You wanna know what I remember?” Kylie questions.

“Momma chasing you around the Estate?” 

“Yeah, your momma could run, I knew if I didn’t start running she’d eventually catch me, and true to word she always did.” Kylie’s memories cause a pain in my heart. The thought of her makes it hurt more, because she was my momma, even if the life I lived was mostly a lie.

“You gonna be 16 soon Sienna, you ready for what comes next?” Kevin asks, and the question makes my saliva lodge thick in my throat. There is a whole new meaning to that question and an answer I couldn’t mention to either of them. Was I ready? The answer is no. In actual fact, I wasn’t even 16. Kevin knew that.

“I’m sure I’ll get there.”

“You know what I just realized?” Kylie interrupts and I am glad for it.

“What?” I say, genuinely curious.

“Diamond is exactly 12 months younger than you,” She says in awe. 

“I haven’t seen her this week, is she alright?” I keep my voice low and casual but hoping I get a genuine answer. 

“She’s fine. Michael and her are working on a study. She’s agreed to take the Professorship at WU next year. I’m grounded until doomsday,” Kylie answers and relief washes over me that her best friend is fine. 

“That’s a slap on the wrist compared to jail time. You lucky he didn’t press charges.” Kevin is right. Kylie could have found herself in juvie. 

“I’m rich, luck has nothing to do with it. Papa is coughing out 10 mill to keep Dexter in check,” Kylie says but her words say she doesn’t believe them.

“Do you really think Marcus needs to cough out anything?” Kevin’s question makes my suspicions about Kylies’ feelings for Dexter run deeper.

“He already did. But no, I think Dexter would rather lose his leg and hate me than send me to Juvie.”

“It is sad you couldn’t take your pride and leave, and had to knock the guy, because he pissed you off. I stopped over at the hospital to see how’s he doing. His football career is over,” Kevin says, and his words come out blunt and harsh. And I flinch as Kylie sucks in a breath.

“Well, he was going to work for the Delroys anyway, not like he was going to go pro,” She snipes and I know she is feeling like shit.

“Now we’ll never know. You should have called me,” Kevin tells her.

“Should have, but didn’t. No use talking about the past. Let’s just enjoy the sunrise.” Her words mute Kevin and I as we lie under the star filled night. We watch the sunrise without a word. All lost in our minds. 

By the time we get back home it’s closing on 6 o’clock.

“Sienna, can I talk to you?” Diamond asks, standing in the middle of the foyer. I don’t look at Kylie’s quizzical look, or Kevin’s keen eyes.

“Sure.”

I walk closer toward her, my jacket half off, my mind rambling with reasons as to why she’d want to talk me.

“What’s up?” I ask, tugging off the rest of my jacket.

“You’ve been acting strange around me recently, is everything alright?” Well, that is a loaded question. The thing is, everything would never be alright because she didn’t know who I was. Sometimes I wish I could tell her, but with 3 surgical procedures done to my face and hair, she’d never believe me. 

So I smile and shrug, “All is good, I’m a bit tense with mid-term coming up.”

Her blue eyes stare directly into my brown ones. My once black hair, now golden blonde, doesn’t even give me a way. Sometimes I wonder if I ever told her, would she believe me? Was she already too far gone? 

“Okay, I have to get home. My dad is cooking his famous shepherd’s pie.” 

“Cool, bye.” 

She doesn’t smile as she walks away and I stand there, with my jacket dangling on the ground, and my jaw locked tight. Kevin walks in after Diamond leaves, and he gives me an expression I know all too well. 

I march past him, and he grabs my arm. I glare at him, as he tightens his hold around my flesh and bone, “Whatever you thinking about doing, don’t.” His warning is clear.

Pulling my arm out of his reach, I head upstairs, straight to my room, slamming the door closed. 

This is my hell, this is the price I pay everyday just to be closer to her. But my time is ticking, I’m 16 soon and before I go, she needs to know. Diamond needs to know I am alive. 

Even if it means risking my life. What about hers, a voice whispers? 

"Sin, get your behind downstairs," Kylie shouts as I grab my other boot from under the bed. I cringe when I see the amount of clothes nesting by my headboards legs and the middle of the floor.

I have never been the neatest and although I had my cleaning moments, it never lasted long enough to make it permanent.

Uncle Marcus made it clear. When we turned 13, we were all to clean our own rooms. Uncle Marcus said it would teacher us to have the willpower to finish what we started. The only thing I learned was to make sure I could afford a cleaning service.

The house staff only cleaned our rooms once every 2 months and that clean sparkling feeling only lasted for a day, if not hours.

I tie my shoelace of my boots as Kylie yells again.

"Keep your panties outa your ass, jeez like it," I screech and Kylie laughs so loud I can hear it from my bedroom.

Finally, I get downstairs and head to the back of the house where she is waiting with a big naughty grin. She recently cut her hair to the shoulders, but she still makes it look good. I wished she'd grow out her hair for a change.

"Are you ready for your present? I ain't waiting for the party. You look good though."

I looked great, my blonde hair was curled into waves down my back, and my black dress was a tidbit daring with the 6 fingers above my knee but loose enough that uncle Marcus wouldn't throw me into an early casket.