Page 45 of Caretaker

Chapter Fifteen

As soon as I heard the car start, I unfroze.

I jumped to my feet, dripping with chicken blood, and went for Rhys. Clayton took a quick step back and left Rhys to face my wrath.

“Trinity,” Rhys said. “Let’s talk about this. You’re—”

I slammed into him, driving him back against the wall, and drew back my fist with every intention of breaking his nose.

He moved his head to the side at the last possible second, and I slammed my knuckles into the wall. I cried out when the pain traveled over my hand and up my wrist, but I was too angry to stop.

“You should’ve warned me,” I yelled, and rammed my fist into his belly.

He grabbed me and turned me so my back was against his front, and his arms were like a vice around me. My arms were pinned so I couldn’t punch him, but I lifted my foot and slammed it down on his instep. With the movement, my ass rubbed against his groin.

He groaned and shuddered against me, his breath leaving his lungs in a hard rush, and he lowered his mouth to the soft area between my shoulder and my neck. He didn’t bite, but he nibbled.

While I was still thinking about the feel of his mouth on my skin, he slid his lips to my ear. “I am sorry, love.”

I pushed against him until he released me, then walked a few steps away before I turned to face him. “You let me walk blind into that scary ass fucking wall, Rhys.” I turned my glare on Clayton. “You both did.”

They said nothing.

“Well?” I bellowed. “Why did you?”

Rhys shook out his bruised foot, then lowered it gingerly to the floor. “Because he asked us not to. He wanted the real you. Not the rehearsed you.”

I looked at the ceiling and sighed. “Does he have a name? Other than Himself, I mean?”

“His name is a secret, sacred thing,” Clayton answered. “No one alive knows it.”

“His name can be used against him.” Rhys stuck his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall. “It can be used to weaken him. Not even Nadine knows his name.”

“Is he…” I shook my head, remembering how it’d felt to have him inside my head. How all I’d wanted to do was please him. Serve him. “Is he the king of supernaturals?”

“He may be the king of everything,” Rhys said. “I know little about him. He doesn’t make appearances often. He really wanted to see you, Trinity.”

“You heard him,” Clayton said. “He spoke inside your mind.”

I nodded. “He was in there. It was…strange.” I didn’t look at him.

“Not many people can hear him,” Rhys said, almost gently, as though he felt sorry for me.

I frowned. “So what does that mean?”

“You really are a potential gatekeeper. I’d hoped you wouldn’t be. I didn’t think he’d accept you. I thought…” He blew out a breath and rubbed his face. “He had a feeling, though. He had to have known.”

“And the test?” I asked, unsure about everything.

“What test?” Rhys asked.

“The one where he wants to see if I can free Angus.”

“That’s not a test,” Clayton said. “It’s a task.”

I swallowed, suddenly afraid, and not because I feared losing the house. “What if I fail?”

They exchanged glances.