Page 23

Chapter 23

Ranen

I scroll through my subs list slowly, trying to see if something stands out that could belong to Mr. Barlowe. It’s not easy, since I have over two thousand subscribers. Maybe that’s why North asked this of me. He knows it’ll keep me occupied while he and Wylder do… whatever they’re doing.

Wylder was a surprise. I expected him to be handsome as well, since both Atlas and North are, but I didn’t expect him to look like he does. His name suits him. Even with basic jeans and T-shirt on, he looks like he’d be more comfortable living off the land, that he’d find the woods more preferable to the big city. His hair is long and brown, like maybe he only grows it because it’s easier than cutting it every few weeks. The whole time he was standing in my kitchen, his eyes bounced around my house, landing on one spot for a second or two as if to catalog it before moving on. He seems like he’s always on high alert.

Their mother must have been incredibly beautiful as well. Atlas looks decades younger than he is, North has the face of a Greek god, and Wylder looks like someone who could be the poster child for off the grid living. The entire family looks like they belong on the cover of a magazine.

Yeah, Murder Weekly.

I roll my eyes, though a smile crops up on my face. I’m not sure how I ended up in this situation—a dead body in my kitchen, the man I love being the murderer—but I don’t think I want out.

And what was that Wylder said? Something about killing people who’d sent me threatening messages?

Since I have my site up, I scroll back to the messages I got after the attack. Three men. Three motherfuckers who didn’t think I warranted feeling safe in my own home. I check their usernames, then go back to my viewers. They haven’t been active since… right after I got out of the hospital.

My smile widens, though I know it’s fucked. I shouldn’t feel touched that North wanted to ensure they didn’t make me feel like shit again. I shouldn’t be happy that they’re no longer in the world.

Oh god, who am I becoming?

The ringing of my phone makes me jump, my heart thumping hard. I guess I’m not completely devoid of any feeling, since my fear ratchets up. Is it someone who knows about Mr. Barlowe and will call the police on North? Will they take him from me?

I grab my phone with a shaky hand and turn it over so I can see the screen. The pent-up breath caught in my chest eases out when I see Olly’s name.

We have our movie date in a few days, something we’ve kept up with, even with North here and me wanting to be under him all the time. I don’t want to be one of those people who drops his friends when I have a boyfriend.

Fuck, I have a boyfriend . It’s a word I didn’t think I would ever say when I was talking about myself. Not seriously anyway. We’d told Mr. Barlowe so he would stop propositioning me, and North told Atlas because… well, I don’t know why he told Atlas, but he did. Then he told Wylder today and he fucking meant it.

I’ve always liked men, sure, but never enough to be in a relationship. I figured I’d go through life alone, with my friends, and be content to stay single forever. I felt like no one but Olly would understand what I do and still want to have a relationship, knowing I cam for money.

Then North came at my lowest point and showed me I’m worth more than even I could have told myself. He made me feel not only desirable, but loved and taken care of. I’ve never felt so happy as when I’m with him. He came into my life like a fucking wrecking ball, knocking down my walls and setting up shop like he’s been around forever.

God, I really love that man.

My phone vibrates in my hand again, and I shake myself from my thoughts and answer. “Hey, Olly.”

“Hey, yourself. How are you?”

I sigh, knowing he’ll be able to hear the smile in my voice. I can’t help it, though. Any time I think about North, a smile splits my face. “I’m good. A little sore.” My cheeks heat, but Olly knows what that’s like. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I caught your show. He was gentler with you this time. I’m glad.”

The grin on my face spreads. “Yeah. He’s… so amazing. I can’t even begin to describe just how amazing.”

Olly hums. “I can imagine. We’re still on for the day after tomorrow, right?”

“Yep.” The sounds of whatever North and Wylder are doing on the other side of the door reach my ears and I pray that Olly doesn’t hear it.

No such luck. “Everything okay over there?” he asks, and I can practically see his curious expression in my mind’s eye.

Scrambling for an answer that sounds halfway believable, I say, “Oh, yeah. North is just moving some furniture around for me. I’ve been wanting to rearrange for a while.”

“I could have helped you. I may not have muscles like him, but I’m pretty strong.”

I giggle, thinking about North and his muscles. Then my mind flashes to how his hand bulged when he had his arm around Mr. Barlowe’s neck before he killed him. It was… fuck, I’ll admit it was hot. It wasn’t hot when I saw him bleeding, though.

“That’s not necessary,” I tell Olly, snapping back to my phone call and the subscriber list in front of me. “It’s not much. Besides, if you came to move my furniture, we’d just end up sitting on it, talking and eating popcorn.”

“There’s some truth to that,” Olly says with a chuckle. “I bought some of that movie theater butter popcorn you love so much. And extra napkins,” he adds cheekily.

I laugh again, shaking my head as I scroll through the list. “I wiped my hand on your couch one time and you keep giving me shit for it.”

“What kind of weirdo wipes his buttery fingers on a man’s couch?”

My eyes lock on Mr. Barlowe’s name and email as I smile at Olly’s words.

From what I can see, this is his only account. My first thought is to block him and be done with it, but it might be suspicious if I block his account the same day he goes missing. I don’t want any reason for the cops to come here and take North away. I’ll just tell North he has only one account that I can see.

“Ranen!” Olly shouts and I jump, the phone bobbing in my hand.

“Yeah?” I ask when I have control of it. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I asked if you were okay? Really okay? He’s not… hurting you, is he? I saw a few bruises when you were on cam.”

Another smile stretches my face. North never hurts me. But he does love sucking his marks onto my body. If Olly saw bruises, it’s from North not being able to keep his hands or mouth off me.

Not able to keep the happiness from my voice, I say, “No, Olly. He’s not hurting me. He’s good to me. I think… I think I—”

A bang sounds in the kitchen and my head snaps up. “Shit, Olly,” I say, already standing up. “I gotta go see if he hurt himself. I’ll see you in a few days. Love you.”

“Love you too. Be careful.”

I open the door and rush out of the room. I expect to see… I don’t know, body parts and blood and guts everywhere, but I don’t see any of that. Instead, there’s a large suitcase and a bunch of cleaning supplies by the door. There are specks of blood here and there, but a lot fewer than I expected.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, my eyes meeting North’s. “Are you hurt?”

Wylder chuckles. “No more than usual, kitty. You’re a protective one, huh?”

I shake my head. “North can take care of himself. I just worry, is all.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” North says, holding his hand out for me and glaring at his brother. “Back off, Wylder.”

Wylder holds his hands up in mock surrender. “You’re the boss. Come on, we gotta get to Dad’s.”

“I wanna go,” I blurt out, looking up at North.

He sighs, turning to me with a serious expression. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Yes it is,” I counter. “I don’t… I can’t be here alone right now.”

While I don’t care about Mr. Barlowe being dead, I don’t think I can sit in my house alone without North. I could clean up the mess or I could call Olly to sit with me, but I don’t want to be away from North right now. He makes me feel safe. I won’t feel safe if I can’t have my eyes on him, making sure he’s not suspected of a murder he only committed because of me.

North’s face softens as he relents. “Take your car so you’re not riding with us while we’re transporting a body.” I nod quickly, a smile stretching my face. “Go on and get dressed. We’ll finish cleaning up, then we can go.”

I hurry to my room, changing out of the pajama pants I have on and grabbing a dark-blue sweater and a pair of jeans. I grab a jacket for North since it’s chilly outside and I leave the room.

Wylder and North are cleaning up the kitchen counter when I get back. I drop the jacket and grab some gloves, an old cloth, and some cleaning spray, and start on the floor. There are a few droplets of blood and a small puddle near the fridge. I clean all of it with vigor, wanting no traces left of the crime that was committed here.

We’re done a few minutes later. I grab a bag from the pantry and stuff the clothes, gloves, and cleaning supplies in. “Dad will get rid of these,” North says.

Grabbing my keys, I open the door and let Wylder walk past, dragging the suitcase. I look at it, wondering how they got Mr. Barlowe inside. It’s not a big suitcase, which means he’s probably in pieces and they had to—

“Don’t think about it,” North says from behind me, kissing my neck softly. “Put it out of your mind.”

Blowing out a shaky breath, I nod and step out of the apartment, making sure the door is locked behind me. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

“Because I know you.” He kisses me gently, then threads his fingers through mine, pulling me down the stairs. “You can follow us, but here’s Dad’s address in case we lose you.” He rattles off the address quickly before giving me a quick kiss and jogging over to Wylder.

North’s brother waves him off when he tries to help him lift the suitcase. My eyebrows shoot to my forehead as I watch Wylder lift it with one hand and an almost bored expression. Yeah, he’s fucking jacked.

I follow behind them to a modest house on a lot of land about twenty minutes from my apartment. I’ve lived in Red Hill for fifteen years and I never knew this area existed. It’s nice, with some trees further back on the property that are beautiful in autumn, the leaves changing from green to red, yellows and oranges. The house itself is homey and comfortable, with a wraparound porch and a few rocking chairs by the front door. It reminds me of my grandpa’s house before he got sick. An involuntary smile crosses my face as I think about my old home.

Atlas steps out onto the porch, his eyebrows dipped as he watches his sons get out of the car. “You didn’t cause trouble, did you, Wylder?”

“Of course I did, but not on purpose. I thought the kitty knew about the other guys.”

North growls as I step out of the car. “Stop calling him that before I snatch out your fucking tongue.”

Wylder smiles as if he wanted to get a rise out of North. Their relationship is weird.

I walk over to North and stand beside him. “Hey, Atlas.”

He smiles at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Ranen. How are you?”

“Better now.”

“Why don’t you sit with me while my sons take care of your landlord?”

I look up at North and he nods, kissing me lightly. “Dad will watch over you. I have to talk to my brother, anyway.”

“Okay.” I kiss him again, then go to stand beside Atlas.

He throws his arm around my shoulders and leads me into the house. The inside of his home is different than I thought it would be. I expected a man cave type of deal, but again, I’m hit with a wave of nostalgia. It’s almost like my childhood home, but more modern.

The black couches look worn, but not old—comfortable and well used. The coffee table has chips on the surface, but again, it only looks well used. The only thing that isn’t like my old home is the large television mounted on the wall, turned to a news channel. The threadbare rug appears to have seen a lot of foot traffic, but it’s clean and matches the decor of the living room.

I really like Atlas’s place. I immediately feel at ease.

“Have a seat,” Atlas says. “Make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink?”

“Water please,” I say, toeing off my shoes and hanging my jacket on the coat rack. “Thank you.”

He nods, then walks towards his kitchen.

I sit down on the couch, looking around at the pictures on the wall and end tables. There are a few pictures of North, Atlas, and Wylder together, all looking stoic and serious. They look different, but the same—same facial features, same shape, but different colored eyes and sets to their expressions.

Then my eyes lock on a photo with the three of them and a beautiful woman. She’s dark-haired like Wylder and North, but that’s where the similarities end. I’m not sure how to describe it from just a photograph, but she looks like light. Her expression is open, her eyes shine, and her smile lights up the entire picture. She’s beautiful.

“That’s Julia, the boys’ mom,” Atlas says as he steps back into the room, a bottle of water in his hands. “Did North tell you what happened to her?”

I nod, setting the picture down. “Yes. I’m sorry to hear you lost her. I lost my grandpa a few years ago. It’s not the same, I know,” I rush to say. The loss of a spouse is different to the loss of a grandparent. Grandparents are expected to die in their old age. But you plan to keep your spouse with you as you grow old together and watch your grandkids play from your porch.

My heart clenches as I think about losing North. I couldn’t bear it. Atlas was able to move on with his life, though I don’t know to what extent, but I don’t think I could. I’d have to die with him.

Atlas nods. “It’s not, but thank you. She was a wonderful woman.” He pauses for a second and I see hurt flash in his eyes. Maybe he hasn’t really moved on. North said she died years ago, when he was younger. He had the boys to look after, so that’s probably why he kept going.

I place a hand on his. “I can imagine.”

He nods. “How you handling everything? North said you were there?”

Swallowing roughly, I remove my hand and say, “Yeah. He… he tried to hurt me. Atlas, I was fucking terrified. But North, he…” I smile and duck my head, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. “He saved me. You saw the state I was in when I was in the hospital.” Atlas nods. “He killed the man who did that to me. I’m… I love him.”

“That’s good,” Atlas says, as if my confession was as simple as me saying the sky is blue—like it was a known fact that I loved his son. “Means you won’t go telling what we do.”

“I wouldn’t. Never.” We stare at each other for a few beats. “What did they… Where did they take him?”

“Into the tree line. No one will check this property for bodies. There are a few buried out there—some mine, some North’s, some Wylder’s.”

I notice how Atlas looks at me, scrutinizing my every expression. He appears to be gauging whether I’ll run away or become suddenly afraid of them because I know what they do. That won’t happen. In a strange way, I feel closer to them, even Wylder. It’s like I’m in on the secret with them, and I’m honored to be in their inner circle.

Still, it’s a little disconcerting for him to talk about piles of bodies with me. “Will anyone come to check it out?”

“They haven’t yet. Want to go see?”

My eyes widen and I’m nodding before I realize. “Yes, please.”

I don’t think he expected me to say yes. Atlas almost looks taken aback. “You’re taking it better than I thought you would. I figured a tiny thing like you would be gone by now.”

I shrug. “I’m not leaving North. I wasn’t before I knew what he did, and I’m not now. He’s stuck with me.”

“For some reason,” Atlas says, opening the door and motioning for me to step out, “I don’t think he’ll mind that.”

The smile on my face feels permanent.

We trek across the grass, the abundance of leaves crunching under our feet. “Are you sure no one will find out?” I ask, looking over at Atlas. He looks relaxed and almost carefree.

“I’m sure. He’s safe, Ranen.”

An imperceptible breath leaves my mouth. I’ll probably be paranoid for the next few weeks, thinking every time I hear sirens or see a cop they’re coming to get one or both of us.

But I’ll do everything I can to make sure North is safe. He’s protected me. I’ll give my life to protect him in return.

We take a well-worn path deep into the woods. I’m not concerned—I know Atlas wouldn’t hurt me. Not only would North not allow it, I feel like Atlas and I have a connection. After he watched over me at the hospital, we’ve been friendly. I don’t think he’d try to harm me to keep their secret. I’d never tell a soul.

Raised voices meet our ears, though they don’t sound angry, just like they’re both talking over each other to get their point across.

“Look,” Wylder says, leaning on a shovel and pushing his wild mane from his face, “all I’m saying is, it’s not safe. He could—”

“No, he won’t,” North says vehemently, “You don’t know Ranen. He wouldn’t betray me, Wylder.”

“North—”

“I won’t,” I cut in, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Wylder, you don’t have to believe me. Hell, I wouldn’t believe me. But I’m not going to say anything. I love your brother and he loves me. I’d rather die before I let someone take him away from me.”

Wylder studies me, his gaze boring into mine. I fidget—his stare is intimidating and I feel like he’ll incinerate me with his eyes—but I don’t look away.

I’m not sure what he’s thinking, since his face betrays nothing. We have a stare off, no one saying anything—the only sound is the wind blowing and the leaves rustling.

Finally, fucking finally, he drags a hand through his hair and he nods. “Okay, kitty. I guess the only thing left to say is welcome to the family.”