Then her head bowed as she said hesitantly, “I’m not really hungry.”
Fuck that. “Wasn’t giving you a choice.”
Her head snapped up.
My brows lifted when I saw the brief flick of anger in her narrowed eyes. So, she did have a backbone in that waif’s body. Good, she’d need it.
It was like watching a balloon deflate as her eyes lowered from mine and her shoulders sagged forward. “Okay.”
Jesus, this chick needed a lesson in how to be a bitch.
Kilter kept his hand on my lower back as we walked upstairs. He guided me through the kitchen into a dining room, and I immediately noticed the expensive antique furniture.
Scars were immortal, or so Anton had told me, and it was obvious some of the stuff was centuries old. I was by no means worldly, but Anton liked antiques, and on occasion, he let me pick out things on the internet, when he was monitoring of course.
I suspected he had another home somewhere because the items never came to the compound and sometimes Anton would be gone for months at a time.
I liked when he was gone. I liked it even more when Ben went with him. If they both left, Roarke stayed and I kind of liked him. He often tried to shield me from Ben’s cruelty, and he’d be gentle when I’d been forced to do that experiment with him.
“Babe?” Kilter nodded to the oblong wooden table and my heart raced when I noticed the three Scars, at least I assumed they were Scars, watching me.
Walking out the front door sounded really appealing right now. The Wraith woman said I could and no one would stop me. And go where? I had no friends, family, or money. Nothing.
“You will not leave,” Kilter said in a low growl next to my ear.
I gasped, eyes widening. He’d read my mind? He managed to get through my blocks?
“See your surprise, babe. Yeah, we can read most people’s thoughts when they’re not being blocked. Yours have been pretty much blocked. Not often humans can block us,” he explained while his thumb casually stroked my back. “I told you, no one will harm you here.”
I wasn’t so sure about that.
He raised his hand and cupped my chin, guiding my head back to meet his eyes. “One day you won’t fear me.” His hand fell away and he whispered, “The Scars want to meet you. Don’t worry, they are harmless kittens.”
Kittens have sharp claws and sharper teeth.
Kilter’s brows rose, and I was surprised to see a look of amusement, but he didn’t say anything.
I concentrated on blocking out my thoughts again. When I was weak, it was difficult to keep the shield around them, but I’d managed it at the compound. It was obvious Kilter was stronger than anyone there, plus he was a Scar.
He guided me toward the table and stopped.
“Hey, I’m Anstice.” I turned my attention to the young woman smiling at me.
“Ah, hi,” I replied.
“That’s Jedrik.” Anstice nodded to the guy with blond curls, stark blue eyes, and ridiculously deep dimples who sat beside her. “And that’s Hack, Keir’s brother. Keir is my maite. My husband. You’ll meet him later.”
Hack had soft features and wide, round eyes with long, black lashes. He wore glasses and had a kind smile, which made him look safe.
The woman, Anstice, was exceptionally beautiful with flaming red curls, still damp from a shower, hanging over her shoulders. Her complexion was fair with the odd freckle sprinkled across the bridge of her petite nose. Her green eyes were intense and captivating and yet had softness.
She nodded to the floor beside her chair. “And that’s Finn. Loves food and hugs in that order.” I glanced over at the big, black ball of fur sprawled out on his side, his tongue hanging out and resting on the floor as he snored.
Kilter pulled out a chair. “Sit.”
I sat.
He picked up the plate in front of me and proceeded to fill it with scrambled eggs, several pieces of toast, bacon, sausages, slices of cheese, and tomato. Then he placed the heaping plate down in front of me.
“Frig, Kilter, even I can’t eat that much,” Jedrik said as he winked at me. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to sit at the table until it’s all gone. Some of us are normal.” He shoved the last of his bacon into his mouth and spoke while tapping his fork in the air. “Well, I for one want to apologize,” he paused, swallowing, “for not getting you out of that place. Kilter didn’t tell any of us he was going. He thinks he’s Batman and needs to save the day all by himself.”
“Quill was there,” Kilter muttered as he poured me a glass of orange juice.
“Only because you needed an explosive expert,” Jedrik retorted.
Kilter shrugged.
Hack said, “We could’ve helped.”
“Obviously, didn’t need it,” Kilter replied.
Anstice piped in, “Well, it’s done, so we’ll deal with the consequences.”
“Yeah, Waleron,” Hack muttered.
There were a few minutes of silence with a subtle tension in the air.