Benjamin jerks up his head and his gaze shoots to mine. “She’s important. More than anything else in my life.”
“Dangerous words.” The very ones I’ve spoken to myself in the dark hours when it’s just me and my thoughts of Delilah. “No one is worth the risk.”
“She is.”
I couldn’t agree more.
“Why?” I ask.
“She’s family.”
“Your lineage can be traced back to the Mayflower, and she isn’t part of it.”
Benjamin shakes his head. “We’re not related by blood, but she’s…”
“Like a sister?”
He slowly nods, but his hesitation speaks of things he wants to deny. Or keep secret. It doesn’t matter. She’ll never be his.
I’ll kill him first.
“Why are you telling me about her now?” I ask.
“You know every summons is different. I have no idea how long I’ll be gone. It will be easier for me to concentrate if I know you’re watching over her.”
I’ve been watching over her for three fucking years. Within a few days, she’ll be the closest she’s ever been, and I’ll struggle to maintain my distance more than ever.
“Why me?” I ask.
“You’re the only one I trust to look after Delilah while I’m gone.”
The air becomes charged with unspoken thoughts. Her name holds a significance that neither of us is willing to admit out loud. Although a delicate thread, this woman binds us together.
“Will you help me?” he asks. His eyes reflect a mixture of desperation and pleading. “I have to know before I leave.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Benjamin exhales and runs his fingers through his hair. “Thank you, X. This means more than you know.”
Yes, yes it does. It means I’ll be around her, breathing in her scent and watching her from the shadows, doing my best not to touch her despite being willing to kill for the chance.
“Do you have a picture of her?” I ask, my lips lifting into a smirk. “It might help.”
Benjamin releases a nervous laugh and retrieves his cell phone. After a few seconds, he hands me the object. I take it, and my breathing stops. My objective to display casual indifference is shattered by the image of her.
Delilah’s beauty is captured in a single frame, a brief second in time that will haunt me for eternity. The gentle curve of her smile. The way her green eyes glitter with happiness. The softness of her skin taunting me.
I swear I’m going to lose my fucking mind over a group of pixels.
“Pretty, isn’t she?” Benjamin remarks without dampening the pride and affection in his voice.
I scoff. “She’s fucking gorgeous.” It takes a huge amount of effort to tear my gaze away from the screen and hand the phone back to him. “But you knew that’d be my reaction when you asked me to look out for her. You also know our oath prevents me from fucking her.”
He narrows his gaze. “Not just our oath, but our friendship.”
“That too.”
I grin at him, concealing the maelstrom of violence churning in my chest. The complexities of this situation will only intensify as I navigate the thin line between duty and desire. Between my oath and my obsession.
The tightness in his shoulders eases, as does the tension around his eyes. But they don’t disappear completely. “The Order can’t find out about her.”
“No shit.”
“I’m fucking serious, X. If they knew what she meant to me…” He scrubs his mouth with his hand. “I’ve seen what they’re willing to do to keep members from refusing their orders. I won’t let them hurt Delilah, but I don’t know how to stop them if they were to discover her.”
My blood ices over at the thought. “You can’t.”
“That’s why it’s important to keep them from noticing her. It’s the reason I’ve never told you about her until now.”
“I get it. But to be clear, that’s not a long-term strategy.”
Unlike mine. For years, I’ve weighed all the risks and considered every possible outcome. The reward is worth it.
She is worth it.
I will have Delilah.
Even if it means I have to kill my father first.
Chapter 10DELILAH
“Here we fucking go.”
I take a deep breath and look around in awe at the stately brick buildings and manicured lawns sprawling before me. Everything screams money and privilege. I don’t belong here.
But… where Ben goes, I go.
I pull out my phone and check it for any unread messages, my heart sinking when I find nothing. I texted my foster brother the date and time I was arriving on campus. As a senior, I know he’s busy applying for jobs and whatnot, but I can’t ignore his dismissal of me.
Actually, this is more like the hundredth time. I knew things would change when he left for college, but I didn’t think we’d grow apart like we have. Or that he’d stop contacting me altogether.
Ben and I came from the same place and experienced the same shitty childhood. He knows how much it means to me that I obtained a scholarship to any university, let alone that it was the same place as him. All I’ve wanted since he walked out the door of that foster home is for us to be together again, like old times.
Okay, maybe not exactly like old times considering Frank “disappeared.” Murdered is more accurate, but I’ve had the hardest time wrapping my mind around that. And the dark stranger who broke into the house all those years ago.
Regardless of how much he freaked me out, that guy did me a favor. Not only did the girls and I not have to worry about being assaulted by Frank anymore, but we were moved into a nice foster home with Gloria. If I could choose a mother, she would be it.
I shoot her a text letting her know I’ve arrived on campus safely. She’s quick to respond that she’s glad and super proud of me. After that, she sends me a picture the littles drew to wish me luck. I smile, feeling loved despite Ben’s lack of communication. Once I find him, everything will be fine.
Lugging my overstuffed suitcase up the stairs of the residence hall, I remind myself that I’ve dreamed of this day. My scholarship is going to change my life for the better. And not just mine, but everyone I’ll end up helping with my education in the future.
The hallways echo with the chatter of students hanging out and loitering in the common areas. I make my way toward my assigned room and push open the door. A young woman with jet black hair snaps up her head to pin me with a stare. Her dark red lipstick accentuates her impish grin as she assesses me. I return the favor.
She’s dressed completely in black, her dress clinging to her curvy frame, paired with ripped fishnet stockings and boots. An assortment of silver chains, beads and pentagrams hang from her neck. Her forehead creases when she asks, “Excuse me, ma’am, but do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior Edgar Allen Poe?”
I lift a brow. “Is this your way of telling me you enjoy poetry or that someone is buried under the floorboards? Either way, I’m down.”
She chuckles with a tiny shake of her head. “You’re unexpected, but that’s a good thing. It means we’ll get along great, and I won’t have to find a way to get rid of you.”