Page 31 of A Convenient Secret (Merged #3)

The need is strong. I have never felt such a strong need to protect any other person besides my children .

When she doesn’t speak, I push because the not knowing is killing me. “The day of the fire drill, you said you… Are the scars from that time?”

“Yes. There was a fire in our house, and my cousin locked me in my room so I couldn’t escape.”

Before I realize, my fist punches the window, and Lily jumps away. The rage blurs the edges of my mind. “Where is he?”

“Declan.” She steps away, pleading.

“Is he in prison?” I demand, trying and failing to keep the onslaught of feelings under control.

“It doesn’t matter. Stop it.”

“Is he in prison? What’s his name?”

Lily shakes her head, stepping farther from me. “Stop.”

I step closer to her. “Give me his name, Lily.”

She puts her hand on my chest, and the warmth of her palm once again clears the fury-induced fog, and my mind clears slightly. I’m hit with the sight of her face, anxious but defiant.

“Is he the reason you sleep with a knife?” I reign in my tone, because the last thing I want is to scare her. What is it with this woman that I barely hang onto my control?

She nods, and I swear, turning away because I need to punch something one more time. Or more.

“You said I make you feel safe.” I don’t remember the last time I raised my voice. “How can I keep you safe if you don’t tell me what the danger is? How can I help you?”

“Right now, the only danger is your anger fucking up this perfect night. You’re helping me…

You gave me a home. You made me feel beautiful tonight; instead of focusing on my scars, you worshiped my body.

I haven’t felt this whole for months, years even.

You made me feel whole tonight, so please just drop it. Don’t ruin tonight.”

I can practically feel the vein popping in my temple, but her words penetrate the rage enough for me to see how my reaction is not going to get us anywhere.

I hang my head and take a deep breath in, trying to tame my raging heart. “I’m sorry. Just the idea of someone hurting you…” My voice cracks.

Lily reaches out, wrapping her small hand around mine. “It’s very chivalrous of you, but let’s focus on here and now. I know I’m safe here. And the sex is pretty good, too.”

I snort, pulling her to me. “I think it’s time for that spanking. Pretty good is a lame description.”

She palms my cheek. “I might need a further show and tell to find a more appropriate one.”

“I thought you were sore.”

She blushes again, biting her lower lip, and fuck if I don’t love that look on her. “Maybe I can get on my knees.”

She yelps as I lift her, throwing her over my shoulder.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to my bedroom and never letting you out, Seagull.” I slap her ass.

I startle awake and turn to check the clock. It’s nine. Where are the kids? The movement beside me grounds me immediately, and I relax back.

When was the last time I slept in on the weekend? Not that we slept much. Lily murmurs something in her sleep and smiles.

She’s smiling in her sleep, and shallow me takes credit for it. She looks so peaceful, her face looking even younger, more innocent.

I reach out to stroke her cheek, unable to help myself. She sighs and turns away slightly. The cover slips from her shoulder, exposing her tits. I stifle a groan, considering how to wake her up.

She lets out a soft snore. I should let her rest. Besides, there is something I need to do. I slide out of the bed, careful not to wake her, find a clean pair of briefs, and make my way to my office.

Checking my phone, I find several photos my mom sent me three hours ago. Based on the angle and the quality of composition, I suspect Zoya took the pics of all three of them preparing breakfast.

Fuck, I miss them. If it wasn’t for the woman in the next room, I would have gone to pick them up already.

Instead, I allow myself one selfish weekend with the woman who makes me feel powerful and powerless all at the same time.

I boot up my computer and find Lily’s file I got from Summit Solutions. Pulling out her data, I start to search.

An hour later, I lean back in my chair, my eyes and mind straining to understand. As someone who’s been piecing people’s lineages together, I’m quite well-equipped in searching for relatives, especially with a history as recent as Lily’s.

But all of my usual publicly accessible sources come back empty. I follow my process, my curiosity piquing, trying to discover Lily’s family tree. A mother, a father, siblings, an old census record…

Except there’s nothing.

Not nothing in the way that makes sense—missing records aren’t uncommon. But this isn’t that. This is a dead end, so perfectly constructed it’s almost like someone built a wall where her past should be.

I rub my fingers over my jaw, narrowing my eyes at the screen. I’m used to tracing lineages back centuries. Give me a name and a country, and I can usually uncover more details than a person even knows about their own history.

But Lily?

Lily Thorne is a ghost.

Her social security number checks out, which means on paper she exists. But everything else feels… off.

No rental history under her name. No paper trail. No traces of childhood school records, no medical history—none of the usual documentation that would back up a life lived.

I drum my fingers against the desk.

Did she change her name? Is she running from something? From someone? Who the fuck is this cousin who would leave her in a burning house? Not just leave her, but lock her in?

I brought her to my house; I trust her with my children. I fucking married her. I mean, I married a stranger, a woman I didn’t know, but I didn’t appreciate just how much I didn’t know about her.

“Here you are?” She saunters in, smiling sleepily.

She is wearing my white button-down, only one button done up, exposing her legs. It covers all the little secrets beneath the fabric, and I almost forget about her big secret .

“You should only wear my shirt.” I click out of all the tabs, so only my desktop shows on the screen, my kids grinning at me from a pic on my background.

“Are you working?” She rounds the desk and sits in my lap, wrapping her arms around me.

“No, I was looking for your cousin.” I watch her face closely.

She tenses and moves to stand, but I tighten my grip on her.

She sighs. “Declan, I don’t want you to search for him. Nothing good can come out of it. I don’t want to confront that part of my life. Can you accept that?”

My instincts scream at me to trust her. But the evidence behind her on my computer raises questions. Do I have the right to ask them?

I tuck a strand behind her ear. “I’ll try.”

She brushes her lips against mine gently.

“He bullied me for a very long time. The night of the fire was the last straw for me to pack up and leave that toxic environment. I came to New York and used my money to get into therapy, so I didn’t succumb to the ghost of his assaults.

And I met Celeste, Saar, and Cora and created a life here.

And then I met you, so a part of me is grateful for the previous experience, because without it, we wouldn’t be here. ”

Fuck. Can she be any more perfect? I still want to find and destroy the bully. I still have a lot of questions, but she confided in me, and I need to create a safe space for her to share more. I’m painfully aware I don’t deserve her trust.

“Thank you for sharing that with me.” I stroke her cheek.

She hugs me tight, holding me strongly like she fears I may disappear.

“I don’t want you to worry about it anymore. I’m fine. Or getting there.” Her warm breath fans my shoulder.

Stroking her back, I bury my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the essence of her. “I’ll try. I’ll focus on family trees that I was actually asked to create.”

She shifts, and my dick gets ideas. “It’s a really nerdy hobby, but somehow it’s sexy on you, Declan Quinn.”

“Nerdy? My amateur sleuthing gets me ladies,” I taunt her.

She glances down. “I thought it was your monstrous cock.”

“I would appreciate a bit more awe and appreciation in your tone.”

She laughs. “I’m eternally grateful that your cock fills my pussy so well.” She widens her eyes like her words surprised her.

“Look, you’re already improving your sex talk.” I kiss her .

“I need to get better to compete with all your sleuthing-skill admirers.” She grins.

I cup her nape and pull her to me, resting my forehead against hers. “Actually, there hasn’t been anyone in probably the last two years, maybe longer.”

“Can you be any more perfect?” She sighs, throwing my compliment back at me.

If only she knew how imperfect I am. I vow to let go of her secrets, because if she discovers mine, she will run.