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“Why would he do that?” Declan asked, his gaze never wavering from mine.
“Because of what my grandfather was involved in. He had no clue, and like me, he was sickened by it.”
The car fell silent as the weight of my words sank in. I didn’t miss the look that Rory and Declan exchanged, right before Declan spoke, his voice lowand dangerous.
“Katrina George, you’ve got some serious explaining to do.”
I looked at Rory. “You know that my maternal grandfather was Knox Lachlan.”
There it was again, that look that Rory and Declan exchanged before Rory slowly nodded, “Uh, yeah.”
“Well, he was—”
“The Clan Captain for Salt Lake City,” they said in unison.
I looked between the two of them, wondering what the hell was going on between them. “Yeah, Salt Lake City.”
“Go on,” Declan said.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the flood of memories I’d tried so hard to bury. “That night... It was a wake-up call.”
The car fell silent, tension thick in the air as everyone’s eyes but Wren’s focused on me. I could feel Rory’s gaze burning into the side of my face, but I kept my eyes fixed on the road ahead, lost in the past.
“I was barely seventeen,” I continued, my voice just above a whisper. “I’d been training with my grandfather for years, learning the family business.But I had no idea how deep his darkness went until that night.”
I closed my eyes, the vivid images flooding back. The oppressive silence of the mansion. The flickering shadows cast by the fireplace. The sickening smell of whiskey and cigar smoke that always clung to my grandfather.
“He’d been drinking heavily, more so than usual. I found him in his study, surrounded by ledgers and stacks of cash. But it wasn’t the money that caught my eye. It was the photos.”
My hands clenched into fists, nails digging into my palms. “Young girls and boys. So many of them. Some couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen. And the look in their eyes... God, I’ll never forget it.”
I heard Wren’s sharp intake of breath, but I couldn’t stop now. The floodgates were open.
“I confronted him. Demanded to know what the hell was going on. And he... he laughed. Said it was just business. That they were assets, nothing more.”
My voice hardened, rage seeping through. “I lost it. Screaming at him that I could be those girls in the photos.” I felt a tear slip from my lashes as I looked at Rory. “Do you know what he said to me?”
He shook his head, as his hand draped aroundmy shoulders, rubbed my upper arm.
I squeezed my eyes shut as my grandfather’s words echoed in my mind, and I repeated them aloud word for word. “That can be arranged, my dear.”
“Sick fuck,” Rory muttered, his hand tightening on my arm.
I nodded grimly. “Exactly. I don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was rage.”
“What did you do?” Declan asked, his voice gentle.
I took a shaky breath. “I killed him with the fire poker.”
“Stop the car little goose,” Declan said.
“What?” Wren looked at him. “Why?”
“Just do it,” he said.
She pulled the car over to the side of the road, and Declan shoved open his door and said, “Rory, a minute.”
Confused, I looked at Rory, “What’s going on?”
