Page 49 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“Aaron, I . . . apologize greatly for what transpired in Blackheart. I misjudged the situation, and I should have been more open to compromise. I understand how my actions have affected you and your family, and I know there is nothing I can do to fully make up for my error.”

“That’s a start.” Aaron flexed his jaw, with his shoulders pulled back. “I’ll need more insurance than that if I’m going to help you.”

“What do you suggest?” Kilian shifted. “My only fear is that you will take the information I have and flee. And I have no intention of stopping you or hurting you if that is what you choose to do. But I implore you, this is the closest we’ve ever been to taking down this coven, and I do not think that we can do that without you. Without you, we won’t have a chance at saving your brothers or Thane and Will. I am in need of the information that you have since you were the last one to see them alive.”

“So, you do care.”

“I’m afraid you have a distorted image of me. And for that I can only blame myself. I’d like to start anew. I want us to work together.”

Kilian stepped forward, and Aaron let him stand an arm’s distance away. It was too close. I huffed, opening my car door with no thoughts in my head other than not letting Kilian grab Aaron and pull him into the infamous van Presley was always going on about. There were no vans around as I got closer, but I was ready for anything. The cold air sliced through my jeans.

Aaron pulled his shoulders back, and his back went rigid. “I’m not the only one who needs convincing.”

The weight of Kilian’s gaze was strong but not stronger than my resolve. The anxious tension dissipated as soon as I was next to Aaron again. If he got taken, I’d get taken too.

“I couldn’t stay,” I said.

Aaron stood in a protective stance between Kilian and me, but he kept a cool, collected smile and nodded like he anticipated that answer.

“We don’t trust you.” I stared directly into Kilian’s eyes.

Normally, we’d have a buffer. Zach and Luke mainly dealt with Kilian in Blackheart, but now it was up to us, and a part of me had been dying to tell Kilian what I thought of him leaving Presley and me to die while he held the people I loved hostage.

“I understand.”

“Do you? You made a bad deal, and because of you, Skylar is dead and everyone is gone. The twins needed your help. You failed everyone, including Will. We trusted you because we’re all too young to know better and we didn’t have a choice.”

Kilian’s armor cracked for a brief moment. His eyes softened, and for the first time, it felt like he was actually looking at me and acknowledging me as a person.

I had no problem wounding him with words like he’d wounded us by his actions. If we’d worked together from the beginning, maybe all of it could have been avoided, but he’d used and exploited us for his own interests. If we were going to move forward, I needed an acknowledgment.

“I will not claim to be a saint.” He linked his hands together and rubbed them. “We may have met in a church, but I’m a flawed man who’s made many mistakes in his lifetime. A man whose faith holds on by a thread. And you two tumbled into the room and got dragged into something bigger than yourselves. I can’t help but believe that in itself is the same fate that brought you in front of me today.”

“Is it just more of what we can do for you?” Aaron said.

“I won’t twist my motives to soften you to me and my cause. And I’d like to be as transparent as possible moving forward. Many do not believe in our endeavors. My old friends left in The Legion will not help me with this because of the risks. It is only you. And I have no way of knowing where this journey will lead. But I have nothing else. I will not live another day without pursuing them for what they’ve done. You needed me, and I let you down, and now, truly, you’re the only hope I have left.”

His voice cracked but his stoic gaze never faltered. The scars on his hands had me wondering how many battles he’d fought and how many times he’d tried this endeavor only to fail. Akira claimed it was because The Family had killed his brother. At onepoint, I’d have found it preposterous to hear Kilian’s pleas at all. But now . . .

I understood how love might make someone do things they weren’t proud of. Zach’s tired, cold stare reminded me of that often, and our conversation came back to me.

“That’s what makes people like me incredibly dangerous. We’re selfish.”

Zach would never have trusted Kilian if he’d known he had a brother, but like Kilian now, he had no choice. I didn’t know why I was asking myself what Zach would do. Something told me if the roles were reversed and we’d been taken, he wouldn’t care about Kilian’s motives or even an apology. He’d grab him by the collar and make him help.

“Are you even sad that Will and Thane are gone? Are you sorry my brothers went back to Her because of you?” I’d rarely heard that kind of venom in Aaron’s voice.

His calm exterior was cracking. He was thinking of his brothers and probably feeling their pain as we spoke.

Kilian pulled his shoulders back like he’d been hit. “More than I’ll ever be able to make you understand.”

“This was a mistake,” Aaron said, shielding me. “Let’s go, Kim.”

He could be right. He was taking the cautious approach, and it made sense, but I wasn’t looking for the cautious approach. Not when our best plan was staring me in the face. I wasn’t ready to trust Kilian yet, but the thought of walking away with no other options wasn’t enticing. I grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Wait.” A car door opened, and a tall silhouette emerged.

“Dom.” I said his name more eagerly than I’d anticipated, but he’d saved my life. I hadn’t forgotten, like I hadn’t forgotten his sister. Skylar was always in the back of my mind reminding me to trust myself.