Page 121 of Restitution

I don’t have Bernadette holding my family over my head anymore, and I don’t need to worry about my dad’s position in the institution or him being a target, so she has no idea what the fuck is coming to her.

Her failsafe is gone – everything destabilised.

She created me; the havoc that runs wild in my head, and I’ll unleash it all on her.

Arms wrap around me from behind, and Stacey presses a kiss to my back then between my shoulder blades, and rests her cheek against my bare skin. “You have a lot of new tattoos.”

“So do you,” I say, offering her the cigarette.

She takes it and yelps when I drag her down on the seat with me. We’re both naked – my cum is leaking out of her, but when I use my fingers to shove it back into her, she slaps my arm. “Stop that. You covered up all the tattoos you got for me. I feel like ‘accidentally’ kneeing you in the balls.”

I chuckle and lace our fingers together, filling my lungs with nicotine when she passes the cigarette back. “I kept one.”

I show her our initials in the exact same design she has on her back. She kisses there too and grins up at me. “Your balls are safe.”

Stacey stands, and I look up at her like she’s my own guardian angel. “Put your phone on charge so we can turn it on. We should really know the damage that’s been done.”

I huff. “If there’s only a report to bring me in for questioning, then I should be more worried about being assassinated in my home. Will you go to the safe house?”

I know the answer, but she crosses her arms and gives me a deadly look, so I opt for dragging her back to bed and hearing her moan my name as I drive my cock into her again, and again, and again.

36

STACEY

Waking to an empty bed has my heart stopping. I panic until I see Kade’s cigarettes and motorbike key on the bedside unit, his phone charging next to the digital clock. It’s just after three in the morning.

I pull the duvet off and check the bathroom, bare feet slapping on the floor as I open the balcony doors and glance down at the grounds, only seeing security. The pool house is dark, and I can hear the water of the loch crashing into the small pier in the rain.

Dressed in Kade’s boxers and top, I slip out of the room and down the spiral steps, stopping when I see two guards. The young one moves in front of me.

“Whereare you going?”

For a second, I’m confused. I point my thumb over my shoulder. “Kade wasn’t in bed.”

“Boss had an urgent meeting, though I think it’s over now.”

“Where is he then?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll escort you.” He lowers his head and gestures with his hand for me to continue, following me and leaving the other guard. “Mr Mitchell has instructed us to ensure the safety of all members of the household. We’re… not allowed to let you walk around alone.”

I screw my nose up, but I walk anyway. I get it. The manor and everything within its walls are at high risk, and he’s only doing his job.

He’s tall, blonde and wears a fitted black suit, a gun strapped to his chest. He walks beside me as I hunt the manor for Kade. His earpiece keeps falling out, he yawns twice and he looks like he hasn’t slept in days.

To make conversation, I ask, “How long have you worked for Kade?”

He thinks for a second as we take the main stairs. “He wouldn’t let me work for him until I was old enough, so only a few months. I’m shadowing the other guards just now.”

“How did you meet him?” I ask. The more I look at him, the more I see a kid holding a gun.

“I was taken from my family and forced into a camp when I was eleven. Mr Mitchell raided the place and saved me when I was sixteen. He slaughtered everyone involved when he found out about the training regime.”

I blanch, unblinking. “Oh.”

“At least I know how to shoot.” His shoulder rises. “My parents keep asking to meet him and thank him, but he’s notone for being praised.”

So he looks like a kid but probably has more experience with that gun than most. “How old are you now?”