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twenty-six

Braids & The Spinnies

Jade

The moon shining through the windows, and whispers echoing off the high ceiling, wake me from my slumber. How long have I been out for?

“You guys suck at a low profile, if that is what you’re going for.” I groan as I roll over to see exactly who's in my room. Sitting up, I climb out of the bed, walk over to them sitting on the couch in front of the roaring fire and I snark.

“Ahh, good evening, Madra.” I snicker, and he rolls his eyes. Looking over at Flynn, I raise a brow.

“Are we ready to talk?” I ask, sitting in the high-back winged chair to the side of them.

“Tea, my dear?” Flynn offers, but I shake my head.

“Answers, Flynn. Before I get trigger-happy in this place.” I warn, and he shakes his head.

“Well, at least you didn’t lose your spunk, child.” He laughs as the dog adds in.

“She’s definitely a firecracker.” I narrow my eyes at him.

“If you only knew.” I spit, and Flynn raises his hands.

“Enough.” He orders, his jaw clenched. I sit back and cross my legs, twirling my long lock around my fingers as I wait for some answers. He clears his throat, taking a sip of his tea.

“Like I said this morning, Cillian called in a panic and I came. What I don’t understand is how you don’t remember him. Are you sure Fight Night is the last thing you remember before waking up here?” He asks, and I huff.

“Yes, Flynn. It’s August and I’m supposed to leave for The Academy this week. I haven’t seen Slim in years.” I say and the dog interrupts.

“August?” he laughs and I wish I had a knife to sink into his throat. His fucking laugh is grating on my last nerve.

“What is so funny about that, Madra?” I say through gritted teeth and his eyes narrow at me, but before he can reply, Flynn is barking orders.

“Kane, either shut the fuck up or leave.” He grits. Now it’s my turn to laugh and our eyes connect. He’s so fucking beautiful if it wasn’t for his fucking mouth. It ruins the whole fantasy. The dickhead smirks and I roll my eyes, looking back at Flynn.

“It’s January, Jade.” He says and I gasp. Standing from the chair, I start to pace.

“What do you mean it’s January? It’s fucking August. I’ve been here sleeping this whole fucking time? What the fuck? That doesn’t make sense.” I yell, not being able to hold in my anger any longer.

“No, you twit, you’ve been here since right before Christmas. Do the math, princess.” He spits, and I spin, getting in his face. Gripping his knife and removing it from his hip holster in one swift movement, I bring it up, piercing under his chin.

“Who the fuck are you calling a twit? I don’t think you truly know who the fuck I am. I will fucking slice you from ear to ear and bathe in your blood before you could even take a breath. So I advise you to stand the fuck down before I make my threat a promise, Madra.” I spit, dragging the tip of the knife up over his chin, winking as I step away. His eyes narrow but never leave mine as I turn to look at Flynn, who's sitting there with a smile on his face. I throw my hands up in the air, knife and all because I’m so goddamn confused.

“What are you smiling about?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“Nothing. Anyway, Kane is right. You were brought here right before Christmas because–” He says and I interrupt.

“Get to the point already. I’ve been here for a month and have been sleeping the whole time and I don’t remember anything from August until now. What the fuck!” I scream, ready to spiral and kill everything and everyone in my way.

“Child, calm down.” Flynn orders.

“And this is who is supposed to take over?” Kane mumbles, and my eyes shift back to him.

“What was that? Jesus, you guys. One issue at a time!” I yell, and Kane shakes his head.

“She can’t even handle this and you want her to run the kingdom.” He grits and again my head is spinning and I feel myself swaying. Strong hands catch me as my vision flutters and I see sad steele-gray eyes looking at me, his hand reaching out for me to take.

“Gra? Gra. Are you okay?” Kane’s voice takes me out of whatever the fuck that was. My vision clears and I see hazel ones looking down at me with concern laced in them.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” I whisper as he lays me on the couch. He sits down next to me, but lifts my head into his lap and places a warm rag on my head. I try to protest, but he growls.

“Just lay there, close your eyes, and listen to the boss.” He commands, and I listen for the first time in my life because I have no fight left in me. Huffing, I let this strange, but beautiful man take care of me when I can't take care of myself. These dizzy spells are getting old but understandable since I’ve been out for a month.

“Flynn, start from the beginning, please.” I say and he takes a deep breath.

“How far back, child? Because there is a lot you haven’t been told and I'm afraid some secrets will send you into another dizzy spell,” he says and I groan.

“What were my injuries when I arrived here?” I ask as Kane switches the old rag for a new one as he braids the side of my hair. I look up at him and he winks, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Slim said Spade, Jameson and Dario found you face down in Whitestone Lake. You drowned, and no one could revive you. The ambulance brought you in, but Slim felt it wasn’t safe in the states for you.” He reveals. I can feel my heart fucking drop. I take a deep breath, trying to process what he is telling me.

“So, I drowned in a lake that I’m terrified of, and then Spade,Ja-something-I mean, who the fuck are these guys and why would Slim think the place I grew up in wasn’t safe for me anymore?” I ask as Kane continues to braid my hair. It’s soothing as fuck having someone play with my hair while I relax, but at the same time it feels wrong. Like he’s the wrong person to be doing that for me but then again, no one ever takes care of me. It’s always the other way around, so this change is nice even though he’s a complete stranger, but I will allow myself to revel in it.

“You have a bounty on your head.” He says.

“Who?” I grumble.

“Pakhan. He’s no longer a ghost.” He reveals and I seethe. That man has been on our hit-list for the last two years, and all of a sudden he wants to put a bounty on my fucking head.

“Do we know why?” I ask, sitting up, handing Kane the rag as I run my hand over the few rows of braids he made on the one side of my head. Looking up at him, he smiles down at me.

“Sorry, but I had a vision of you and those braids make you look badass, Gra.” he says and it causes a blush to crawl up my cheeks. Flynn clears his throat and my eyes collide with his.

“The why, is because I’m your father, and this,” he waves his hands around the room, “is your empire. You’re not a Rivers. You are Fallon O’Patrick, Irish royalty.” I gasp again before the room spins and I feel sick to my stomach, my vision flutters all different colors as Kane yells my name, but all I see are blue eyes and a mouth dripping blood before darkness takes over.