Page 29 of A Skirl of Sorcery (The Cat Lady Chronicles #3)

‘No.’ I grimaced. ‘It was a bog-standard parasol, inasmuch as any parasol can be considered standard.’ They were hardly everyday objects, especially in this chilly part of the world.

‘I’d been contracted to take out a druid.

He had several bodyguards, each of whom I’d clocked beforehand and managed to finagle my way around – but I didn’t pay any attention to the woman by his side.

She was far more lethal than her manner and bearing suggested. ’

Thane raised an eyebrow.

‘Yeah, I fucked up,’ I admitted. ‘I was still pretty new to the whole assassin thing. Let me tell you, though, that after being stabbed with the blunt end of a damned sunshine umbrella I never made that mistake again. I also never again made the error of thinking I was invincible.’

‘She must have put incredible force behind the blow to pierce your skin.’

‘I felt every ounce of that energy.’

Thane crouched down until his mouth was level with the scar and kissed it gently, making me shiver, then he stood up and pulled off his own T-shirt. He didn’t make any move to pull me to him; instead he gestured towards a scar located perilously close to his heart.

‘Bullet wound,’ he whispered. ‘It was supposed to be silver and if it had been, I’d be dead. But my aunt who pulled the trigger had been scammed and it was a dud.’

My eyes widened. ‘Your aunt?’

‘To be fair,’ he said, ‘she found me standing over the bloodied corpse of her husband, my uncle.’

‘Thane…’

He turned around so I could see his back. I’d caught glimpses of those scars before but I’d never really examined them. Although they were clearly old, they still told a brutal tale.

Thane pointed to a long thin mark that wrapped around his back and reached under his armpit. ‘This was the first one – I lost track of the others. But you always remember the first time you’ve been whipped to within an inch of your life.’

A sound escaped my mouth. It wasn’t a whine or a squeak, it was a growl because it wasn’t pity for Thane that I was feeling but rage. ‘How old were you when that happened?’ I bit out.

‘It was the day after my tenth birthday.’

Every single one of my words vibrated with fury. ‘Your uncle did that to you?’

He nodded.

‘Why? For God’s sake, why would he do that? And keep doing it?’

Thane ran a hand over his head. ‘I’ve asked myself the same question many times. He was the Barrow beta and my mother was alpha. Perhaps he wanted to make sure I stayed in my lane and wouldn’t ever think I could make a bid for her spot.’

‘He wanted to succeed her as alpha,’ I spat.

Thane shrugged. ‘It’s a theory. But they were a similar age and he wouldn’t automatically have taken her place if something had happened to her.

He might have been beta, but he wasn’t popular with the rest of the pack – not all of them, anyway.

’ He paused. ‘So sometimes I’ve wondered if it was my fault. ’

‘You were a fucking child!’

‘Maybe I provoked him. Maybe I should have been better behaved. Maybe he was trying to teach me to be strong.’

‘Thane—’

He held up a hand and I quietened. ‘I think the truth is that he did it for no other reason than because he could. My mother was busy with pack business, my dad was already gone, the Barrow wolves were in real trouble. There was every chance that one of the larger packs would try to gain control. As a pack, we’d have ceased to exist.’

I snorted. ‘That’s no excuse.’ I held his gaze. ‘I’m glad you killed him.’ I meant it.

An odd light was reflected in Thane’s green eyes. ‘That’s the thing, Kit,’ he said starkly. ‘I don’t remember killing him. It must have been me – I hated him enough to do it, and I was strong enough. But I don’t know if I stabbed him because my memory of that whole day is a blank.’

‘You’re saying that it might not have been you?

’ I said slowly. ‘Someone else might be responsible?’ It was a given across Coldstream that Thane Barrow had killed his uncle twenty-seven years ago when he was only fifteen years old.

Nobody had ever questioned it – hell, I’d never questioned it and I was well aware of the link between trauma and amnesia.

‘It must have been me. I had motive, opportunity and ability.’ He hesitated. ‘But sometimes I wonder.’

I bet he bloody did.

‘I’ve never told anyone else outside my own family that I don’t remember what happened. My own pack believed I’d killed him so why would anyone else listen to me?’

‘I’m listening,’ I whispered.

‘I know. I trust you. More than anything.’

We stood there looking at each other, half naked. It wasn’t the lack of clothes that made us vulnerable, it was us. I allowed the moment to draw out then I straightened my shoulders and moved towards him.

I dipped my head towards the bullet-wound scar and kissed it gently, then moved to his back and did the same with cross-hatched shadows of old pain, trailing my fingers and my lips across every raised line.

I felt Thane’s body tremble but I didn’t stop.

Eventually my mouth reached the first one, the long thin scar that was seared into Thane’s memory.

It was more than a foot long and I kissed every inch of it.

I would give him something new to remember.

‘Kit.’ His voice was hoarse.

‘Is it too much?’

He answered immediately. ‘No.’

I smiled and moved so I was facing him again. ‘Good,’ I said. I started to unzip my jeans. ‘Because I’m just getting started.’