AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 12
I lostmyself in the pages, and it wasn’t long before I heard the bustle of life from the front of the bar. For a second, I closed the book and considered going out to help. I got as far as the office door before I paused and took a deep breath. James told me he had it, and I needed to learn to trust him. He’d never hesitated to ask for my help before, and tonight would be no different.
So, I reclaimed my spot and reopened my book. Though all I did for the next hour was try—and fail—to reread the same page. I needed to call Kian. It’d been days since we met, and I was sure that keeping quiet was killing him as much as it was killing me. But the idea of spilling everything brought a pang of protectiveness for James. I’d just gotten comfortable with the idea of a lifelong bond with him. Well, as comfortable as I could be.
I was trying, okay?
Telling Kian the truth would throw a wrench in all of that. James would be exposed, again. And God, I’d been hard on them when I caught them creeping outside the bar last year. I’d been certain that he and Hannah were out of their minds, that no such thing as a vampire could ever exist.
Oh, how quickly that changed.
If I decided not to tell him the truth, whatwouldI say?
When I was about to give up on reading and throw the book across the room, there was a soft knock at the door before it crept open. I was expecting to see James or Shiloh, and my heart started racing when Kian poked his head inside the room—with a nasty bruise on his forehead.
“What the hell happened?” I asked, closingDraculaand setting it aside.
“I ran into a door.” At my narrowed eyes, he laughed. “I promise that’s actually what happened. It was dark, I was drunk on cold medicine. Teaches me to turn a light on when I use the bathroom at night. James told me where to find you. Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all.” James had given me space to figure out what I was going to do, and now I was out of time. I dropped my feet to the floor and offered Kian the seat next to me. “Is it busy out there?”
“James said you’d ask that,” he snickered as he perched on the edge of the couch. “He said to tell you it’s fine. Nothing those two can’t handle.”
“I thought you’d be working today.”
“Called out sick again.”
“Still not feeling any better?”
He shrugged. “Physically I feel fine, but I… haven’t been focusing very well, and since Hannah has a busy day, I thought I’d see if you found anything.” He wrung his hands in his lap. “I’ve, uh, been going a little stir crazy.”
I blew out a breath. “I understand the feeling. I discovered a lot, Kian, but it’s not going to be an easy conversation.”
His eyes met mine, and he nodded. “Okay.”
“I’m going to tell you everything I know. I need you to hear me out, and I need you to remember you’re not alone.”
He nodded nervously. Going to James’s desk, I retrieved the folder and returned to the couch with it.
“The papers you found were legit. You were born Kian Parker. Luke wasn’t lying either: your parents died in a fire when you were five years old.”
Kian accepted the folder and opened it, landing on the lone surviving article about the fire. “Where does Luke come into this? How did I end up with him?”
I let out a deep, shaky breath. “That’s where things start to get a little strange. And I need you to stick with me.”
“Okay.” He set the file aside and gave me his undivided attention.
“I did some digging, and the fire that killed your parents wasn’t an accident.”
Kian sucked in a breath. “Arson?”
I nodded grimly. “But it wasn’t intended for them. Someone made a mistake.”
“How did you find out about it? Was there an investigation?”
“No. There are people who didn’t want a paper trail.”
Kian paled. “You know who it was.”
