SARAH “Tell me exactly what happened. Every single thing,” Kevin inches forward, slowly reaching for my hands with his trembling ones. I fake a nervous shudder as he touches me, as if the mere feel of a man’s hands on mine scares me to the bone. If I’m going to make this believable, I must unleash the A-list actress buried deep inside of me. He takes the bait. Sympathy floods his gaze as he withdraws, folding his arms across his chest and watching me carefully. “Don’t leave out anything.” He concludes. I don’t have plans to. I didn’t think he would willingly swallow my lies without trying to probe further. The party had aroused his suspicions already, and today was a much more compromising situation. Which is why I have armed myself to the teeth with a full proof storyline. I did work on it throughout our awkward quiet ride home, and I’m certain he was wondering why I didn’t throw a tantrum at his attitude. I have bigger fish to fry. “I left the house at midnight because I couldn’t sleep. There was a lot of stress and drama surrounding me. I could…I could even see Aaron’s face when I closed my eyes. I went out for a walk with my purse, in case I ran into any sort of trouble and needed my ID, since it was late,” Kevin’s eyes narrow into slits. Regardless, I continue. “After my long walk, I decided to check into a hotel where I drank wine and slept off until 10am this morning. I still felt like shit. Then I went shopping. You know, a little bit of retail therapy fixes everything,” A dry laugh leaves his throat, but the caution in his eyes remains unchanged. Am I messing up already? I shift in my seat. “Well, I didn’t see anything I liked besides these rings,” I hold out my hands for him to see. He studies them carefully while my heart pounds against the walls of my chest. I don’t want to lie about it, but my story has to be as thorough as possible. “A kind gentleman paid for them though, luckily. They did cost a fair fortune.” “They look really nice,” he looks up at me. “You have good taste.” Not me. They. Them. His best friends. But I plaster a smile on my face and nod, despite the ache in my chest. “Thank you.” “You were saying?” I heave a small sigh. “After that, I went to brunch. That was where I met them. They were at the same restaurant. We ate together and I was about to get in a taxi…but they noticed something was fishy and tried to help me. The man who tried to assault me spilled hot coffee on me when he couldn’t get his way, so Ronan had to give me his clothes and stop to get a new one.” Kevin scratches his jaw. “That explains the clothes,” his eyes roam all over my body. “I was beginning to wonder.” “I just wanted to take a drive after it was all over. Knowing what almost happened to me, what would have happened to me if they weren’t there…” I pause, allowing my voice to break a little as I bow my head. “It was so scary, all of it.” Then I look up at him once more. For the final, finishing act. Tears run down my eyes. “They saved me, Kev. They saved me and took care of me, all three of them.” My loving brother who would rather die than see me cry comes over to me. He sits by my side and pulls me into his arms. I press my face against his chest and cry bitterly. Oscar winning nerve-wracking sobs. He rubs my back gently, over and over again. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Berry. I really am.” He sucks in a deep breath. “And I’m glad they were there to help. I just thought…I assumed the worst. The HawkThorne brothers…” Another sigh. Kevin seems to be at a loss for words, so I raise my head to look up at him. “Are they so bad?” “They’re not.” He responds, quick enough for me to see the remorse in his eyes. “You just have to be careful around them.” “But they’ll never do anything to hurt me. You said that yourself, remember? You let me go on a whole trip with them.” He frowns. “I know, okay? I know. I wasn’t there and I needed someone to look after you. But it’s not the brothers I’m worried about. I’ll kill them before they ever lay a finger on you, they know it.” My chest tightens. How do I tell him they have laid all ten fingers on me? Occasionally, some fingers have been in me. In my mouth, in my cunt, in my ass… I squeeze my legs together. I should not be getting turned on right now. “It’s the people who would want to hurt you to get to them I’m worried about…” People like Luke HawkThorne. “It’s why they’ve been on their own all these years. They’ve made enemies out of people as ruthless as they are. I do not want them to put you in harm’s way. If people get the wrong idea about their relationship with you, you’ll be in danger,” he takes my hand and gently caresses my knuckles. “You need to watch out for yourself, Sarah. They won’t always be there to protect you. Stay away from them as much as you can.” His eyes and voice grow softer at the same time. I can tell his plea is genuine, and it hurts me even more. “Please.” Without a word, I pull away and force a reassuring smile. But I don’t say a word. I can’t promise to stay away from them. I’ve already lied to him so much already. “I’ll be in my room,” I say, rising up. “I’m sorry for causing so much trouble. I promise it won't happen again.” He nods. “Okay, Berry. Goodnight.” I’m halfway out of the sitting room when he calls me back. “Berry?” I pause, stiffening without turning to him. I can’t afford to look into his eyes after what I’ve done tonight. “Yes?” “You’d never lie to me, would you?” I gulp down the lump in my throat. Don’t do it, Sarah. Don’t tell one more lie tonight. Please. Slowly, I turn to face him. He’s standing tall, hands in his pockets as his trusting eyes search mine. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but I’m determined to make sure he doesn’t find it. So, I send him a kiss through the air as my cheeks rise up with a bright smile. “Never, Kev. I’ll never lie to you.” When his orbs brighten, my heart twists in my chest. The severe pain has me looking away from him as I frown. It’ll all be worth it. I’ll tell him. Just not now. When I’m back in the safety of my room, I find my phone on my bed. Kevin must have brought it in here for me. I take it, settle into bed, and unblock the brothers. Why did it take me so long to do this? I have no idea. I stare down at the rings on my fingers, remember their words, and smile just a little. Okay. A lot. I’m a blushing mess at this point. So, when my phone rings, I don’t bother to look at the called ID. I know it’s them. I swipe right and put the phone on speaker. “You miss me already?” “Sarah Wellspring.” Blood drains from my face as I whip my head to the side. I stare at my phone screen, only to see the PRIVATE NUMBER staring back at me. The metallic voice at the other end of the line sends chills down my spine. It’s distorted, like a glitch. It sounds like so many people, and no one at the same fucking time. “I know you can hear me, pretty Sarah.” Panic shoots up from my stomach to my chest, and I stumble backwards. “Don’t run,” the voice laughs. “It’s not me you should be scared off.” Tears gather in my eyes. “Who are you?” I bark. “Who the fuck are you and what is this?” “The question should be…who are they?” I blink, beads of sweat trickling down my forehead. The room suddenly begins to spin around my head. “W—what?” “You love them, but do you know who they truly are?” Is he…is he talking about the brothers? My God. I press my hands against my chest as I fall off the bed. I scramble to my feet, stepping backwards. “From your reaction, it seems like you don’t.” Can he…can they see me? I look around, searching for any signs of a camera, a recording device, any fucking thing. None. Nothing. It’s only when I turn to my window that I see it. A shadow in the dark. Somewhere beyond my security lights…staring at me…with a phone pressed to its right ear. My breath catches in my throat as I freeze on the spot. “Stick with me, Sarah Wellspring. And I’ll show you.”