Page 89 of Finding Kyler
The beast slithers away, and my blood pressure moderates. While the urge to teach those girls a lesson hasn’t dissipated, I know Brad is right. Ky will be able to deal with this more effectively, and right now, the most important thing is extricating Kent from the situation as quickly as possible.
On a hunch, I rush out to the front deck, finding Kyler instantly. Addison is on his lapagain, grinding against him as her tongue strokes up and down his neck. The beast, only recently tamed, roars inside me, and I’d love to release my pent-up frustration on Addison and her perfectly formed writhing butt, but this isn’t about me. To be fair, Ky is like a statue—motionless and expressionless as Addison gyrates on top of him. Nonetheless, it does little to appease me.
“Ky!” I call out. “You’re needed. Right now.”
His eyes widen in alarm at my urgent tone, and he lifts Addison off his lap instantly. She starts to protest, and he darts down and kisses her on the cheek. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He takes my elbow and leads me around the other side of the deck, to a quiet spot in the corner. “What’s going on?”
“Kent’s out of control. He’s in one of the bedrooms with three girls. It’s…I”—my speech falters—“I’m no innocent, but I’ve never seen anything so shocking. It’s wrong, Ky. You need to stop him.”
“Where are they?” His voice is deathly quiet.
“Last bedroom. Brad’s there.”
“Come on.” He leads me back into the house.
Brad steps out of the way as Ky charges into the bedroom. Now that he has this in hand, I turn on my heel and head out in search of the girl’s sister. Locating her where I left her in the kitchen, I whisper my discovery. She looks as sick as I feel.
After finding Rose, and explaining I’m calling it a night, I head away, no longer in the mood to party.
I tap timidly on Lana’s window, hoping she’s still awake. A second later, the blind retracts and the window opens. Lana greets me with tear-swollen eyes, and I want to rip shreds off Kal for upsetting her like this. “Oh, Lana! He didn’t mean it.”
“He did. He meant every word.” She chokes on a sob.
I take her warm hands in my cooler ones. “I know it makes no sense, but he was actually trying to protect you. He’s a gobshite for the way he handled it, but his heart was in the right place.”
“You genuinely believe that?” she asks, wiping her wet eyes with the hem of her nightie.
“Yeah, I do.”
Her features harden. “Well, I don’t. That little boy that I knew? The one I thought I loved? He’s gone, and all I have are my memories.”
I suspected Lana was crushing on Kal, but it seems her feelings ran even deeper. My face softens. “Lana—”
“It’s okay, Faye. I’m not sorry I went. I needed closure and now I have it. Kalvin did me a huge favor tonight.” She wipes away the last of her tears and faces me with determination. “I’m fine, and it’s late. You should go.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
She grants me a small smile. “I’m good. Talk to you later?”
“’Kay.” Closing the window, she secures the blind in place.
I make my way out of the forest and back toward the main house. I lie down on one of the loungers by the pool, draping a towel over my body to ward off the intense bout of shivering that’s taken possession of me. It takes a lot to put me in a funk, but the events of tonight have opened old wounds. I can’t stop shivering as unpleasant memories return to haunt me.
And that’s how Brad finds me a few minutes later.
“Hey.” He sits on the side of the adjoining lounger. “Are you okay?”
“Truth?” I stare into his concerned eyes. “No. I’m not okay. That was…”
He rests his elbows on his knees. “Insane, I know. Kent was always a little shit but that’s on a whole other level.” His eyes pin mine. “I’m sensing there’s more to your reaction than this. Maybe I’m wrong, and I don’t mean to pry, but I’m here if you want to want to talk about it.”
I tuck my hands under my cheek. “No offense, but it’s a part of my past that I hate reliving.”
His spine stiffens, and I reach out for his hand.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. I wasn’t raped or into orgies or anything. It was a different situation, but seeing Kent like that has brought certain ugly feelings to the surface again.” Feelings like helplessness, abandonment, and the accompanying rage. I haven’t spent years learning to control my fears and my drivers for it all to unravel in one night.
I pull myself upright, holding my knees snug to my chest. I secure the towel around me as I decide to share what I can. “The worst thing is that he doesn’t see his vulnerability. But I do. I see it and my heart aches for him.” And that’s the truth. At least when I was taken advantage of, I recognized my vulnerability. But Kent doesn’t. He thinks he’s in control, and that’s arguably a more dangerous position to be in.
