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She leans back and looks at me. “Like a bedtime story?”
“Something like that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: DELPHINE
Usually, after several mind-blowing orgasms from Dixie, I can barely keep my eyes open. But my mind and body are still tingling from the last one. So, the offer of a bedtime story from Dixie is tantalizing.
“What kind of bedtime story?” I prod him when he doesn’t start.
“Not a good one, although the ending is happy,” he says with a grin in his voice. “Do you realize that you and I have learned more about each other in these past few days than we have in all the months we’ve been together?”
I open my mouth to object, but realize he’s right. With Vladimir’s arrival, I’ve shared several secrets with him and my children. Not the least being that I murdered the father of my daughters. Dixie revealed that he’s a hired assassin.
“I guess you’re right,” I grudgingly admit.
“Rarely happens, I know,” he counters, which makes me chuckle. “You and I both had secrets we’ve kept hidden not only from each other, but from everyone in our lives. It’s why I’m not upset about Hex branding me. This scar will remind me to not keep secrets from you or my brothers.”
I don’t immediately reply, because I want to argue with him and make him see that the wrongness of what Hex did to him, but I can’t without betraying Hex. When Hex started this club, I vowed to not interfere because I knew how much this meant to him. Yet, I did when I protested his treatment of Dixie. Looks like I have a choice to make. Let my anger continue to fester or let it go. Dixie’s come to terms with it. I guess I should as well.
“So no more secrets?” I ask.
“No more secrets. Which is why I need to come clean about more than just my career. I need to go all the way back and explain how I gained the attention of Sigil.”
“Before you explain, can you answer one question for me?”
“Of course,” Dixie says.
“No secrets? No lies?” I press.
He pauses and then nods, his chin touching the top of my head. I can feel his heartbeat speed up before returning to normal. “I promise I won’t lie to you. But if there is something that I can’t share, I’ll tell you.”
“Fair enough,” I respond. “Have you ever killed an innocent?”
“No. Never,” he responds immediately. “Not even by accident. I’m very good at what I do. I don’t make mistakes.”
I nod, releasing the breath I was holding.
“Okay, continue with your story,” I say.
He squeezes me before he begins. I can feel his heart rate increase again, so I gently stroke his chest. Earning a kiss on the top of my head.
“You know I’m from Ireland?” He starts, and I nod. “I told you and Hex that I came to America for a vacation. How I needed to figure out what I wanted to with my life after leaving the Irish Army. However, that wasn’t the truth. Yes, I was in the Army. But only long enough to train to become a more efficient killer. My first kill wasn’t in the army. By the time I joined, I had already killed four men.”
“How old were you when you joined?” I ask.
“Eighteen.” I sit up in surprise to look at him. He’s looking back at me with concern in his eyes. “I was sixteen when I made my first kill.”
“Self-defense?” I ask, but he frowns and shakes his head. “Who?”
“When I was fourteen, a local gang robbed the store that my parents owned. They shot my dad when he tried to stop them. My mom had been in the back and came out when she heard the shot. They shot her, too. Dad died immediately, but they shot my mom in the stomach and left her to bleed out. One of the gang members stayed behind. He called the ambulance and then sat with her until they arrived. She died on the way to the ER. They arrested him, but the rest got away.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, using my fingers to wipe the single tear he couldn’t stop from falling. He grabs my hand and kisses my fingers.
“I went to live with my grandfather. He had a farm,” Dixie continues. “I was so angry. Angry at him, at my parents, the police, and the thugs. I wanted to kill them all, but no one knew who else was involved. The kid they caught wouldn’t give up the others even to reduce his sentence. They knew he didn’t shoot either of my parents, but he got a stiff sentence. So, he was the one I hated the most. Because he was protecting the worthless scum who killed my parents.”
“Did they ever catch them?” I ask.
He gives me a feral grin that freezes my blood. I have a feeling I know what happened to those men. Their fates didn’t include jail time.
