Page 7 of Haven

“Alpha said not to touch her.” One of the men said, but Sadie didn’t know what that meant.

Kile started to pursue the man, but the man called Eric stopped him. “It’s not worth it, brother.” He looked around the parking lot. “There are too many witnesses.”

“Fuck that,” Kile growled, his narrowed eyes glaring at Colton’s retreating back.

“Think of Gemma,” Eric replied, which seemed to calm Kile down. “You are connected, and she doesn’t need this kind of trouble.”

Sadie heard everything, but her eyes stayed on Colton. Once at the truck, he pointed straight at her and ran his thumb across his neck. Kile had already turned away to stare at his brother. It was a message only for her eyes. Colton and his men got into the truck and peeled out of the parking lot, leaving black smoke in their wake.

“Fucking assholes who drive Chevy’s.” Cole snorted, shaking his head, then looked toward Sadie and Lily. “So what’s the story?”

“What do you mean?” Sadie frowned as all eyes turned toward them.

“We found material similar to the jacket you’re wearing outside of our...property,” Eric informed her, watching her intently. “You been running around the woods in the area?”

“And if I was?” Sadie wasn’t sure how this would go because she was, in fact, the one sneaking around. Had she finally found the right place? Hope filled her, but she tried to keep her emotions hidden and in check. Yeah, her trust needed a lot of work.

“It was her,” Kile said as he pulled a piece of yellow cloth matching her raincoat out of his pocket. “The question is why?”

“Tell them, Sadie,” Lily said, shivering as the rain started to pick up. “I trust them.”

God, how she wished she was more like her sister. Sadie wanted to trust them more than anything, but she had to think of her sister. Lily was her responsibility. She had promised her mom and dad that she would take care of her. So far, she had done a real shitty job, and it ate at her.

“Lily, go back to the motel. I’ll be there in a minute.” Sadie tried to push her that way, but Lily refused. “Go on, you’re freezing.”

“No,” Lily shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Sadie sighed, taking off her raincoat and giving it to her sister. ‘Then at least put this on.”

Lily did as she looked up at Eric. “Do you know anything about the Sanctuary? We have been trying to find out if the place exists, and so far, we haven’t been able to find any information about it.”

Sadie glanced at Kile, who was staring at her. A half-grin tipped his lips at Lily’s question.

“Why don’t we all go up to the motel and get out of this rain so we can talk without a crowd,” Eric said, then turned toward the other man who announced he was human. “Brad, I think we need to set up another meeting.”

“No need,” the man said with a laugh. “Whatever you guys need from me, just give me a call, and you’ll get it. I haven’t had this much excitement in years.”

The men shook hands with him before he took off, giving Sadie and Lily a nod. “Trust them,” Brad said, then looked at Sadie. “They’re good men.”

Sadie only gave him a nod of thanks before he walked away. Lily was already leading the men, Eric and Cole, toward their motel room. Her eyes went to Kile, who continued to stare, his gaze leaving her body and rising to her face. “Shall we?” He motioned with his hand toward the others.

Swallowing hard, she nodded and began to walk. “Thank you for what you did,” She whispered, knowing that if it hadn’t been for this man, her sister would be back with a monster, and there was no telling where she would be. The sudden shaking of her body was uncontrollable as the reality of what could have happened set in. Not wanting her sister to see her breakdown, she stopped as the tears began to flood her eyes. She was going to lose it in front of the stranger, and she had no power to stop what was coming—a total meltdown.

CHAPTER 5

Kile wasn’t sure what to do when Sadie started to cry. He knew what he wanted to do: take her in his arms and reassure her everything would be okay. Dammit, he looked toward his brothers, who disappeared inside the motel room with Lily.

“Hey,” Kile said, keeping his voice calm. When she didn’t respond, he gently lifted her face to his. “You’re safe. Your sister is safe.” Okay, that seemed to make her cry even harder. Fuck! He sucked at consoling crying women. His eyes landed on her bruising face, and his mouth turned down in a sneer. Damn, he would love to get his fucking hands on that bastard one more time.

“Sorry,” She sniffed, trying to pull herself together. Wiping her eyes, she gave him a shaky smile. “I don’t normally cry.”

“Two women alone and on the run is brave, and I’m sure very stressful,” Kile said, not really knowing what the fuck he was talking about because he was getting lost in her gaze that seemed to see too much in his own eyes. “Come on, let’s get you out of the rain.”

She nodded as she let him lead her to the motel room. Walking inside, his eyes scanned the room with a frown. “Sorry, it’s a mess.” She whispered, embarrassed.

“How long have you been here?” Kile asked, his eyes meeting Eric's, then Cole’s, before looking down at her.

“Almost a month, I think,” Sadie said as Lily nodded in agreement.